Rout of Winchester (1141)

The Rout of Winchester in September 1141 followed a prolonged confrontation between forces loyal to Empress Matilda and supporters of King Stephen. Matilda's army was forced to withdraw from Winchester while Queen Matilda and William of Ypres pressed the attack.

Robert of Gloucester was captured during the retreat. His exchange for the imprisoned King Stephen restored both principal military leaders to their own sides and returned the civil war to stalemate after Matilda's brief ascendancy.

An Excellent Mystery begins with monks displaced by the destruction surrounding Winchester and Hyde Abbey. Ellis Peters uses their arrival at Shrewsbury to show how military reversals, burning and flight shaped religious communities as well as armies.