Matilda has attracted only a few new…
November 1139 CE
Matilda has attracted only a few new defections to her cause, but she still controls a compact block of territory stretching out from Gloucester and Bristol south into Wiltshire, west into the Welsh Marches and east through the Thames Valley as far as Oxford and Wallingford, threatening London.
Her influence extends down into Devon and Cornwall, and north through Herefordshire, but her authority in these areas remains limited.
She faces a counterattack from Stephen, who starts by attacking Wallingford Castle, which controls the Thames corridor; it is held by Brien FitzCount and Stephen finds it too well defended.