ENRICO I, king of ENGLAND. - B. in 1068, last son of Guglielmo I the Conqueror, d. 2 Dec. 1135.
He obtained the Kingdom of England in 1100, after the violent death of his brother Guglielmo II Rufus, and, in order to secure it against the claims of his elder brother Roberto II of Normandy, sought the help of the Church. He therefore recalled the exiled archbishop Anselmo of Canterbury, who, because of renewed struggles over the question of investitures, had to leave the country again. E., however, in 1106 renounced the investiture of bishops and abbots. He reinstated the ancient statutes against simony and clerical concubinage. He founded the bishoprics of Eè (1109) and Carlisle (1133), and the abbey of Reading (1121). The government of E. was also important for the intensification of the financial and judicial functions of the State.