Battle of Lincoln

February 2, 1141

Empress Matilda's Angevin forces captured King Stephen in a muddy rout outside Lincoln Castle. For a few months Matilda was effectively queen of England, though never crowned, before the Londoners chased her out of Westminster for her haughtiness. Her brief ascendancy collapsed when she demanded a tax from London's citizens and insulted their delegation, demonstrating that military victory alone could not secure the English throne without political finesse.