From Enclopedia Britannica Online, article titled Henry II:
"byname HENRY OF ANJOU, HENRY PLANTAGENET, HENRY FITZEMPRESS, OR HENRY CURTMANTLE (SHORT MANTLE) duke of Normandy (from 1150), count of Anjou (from 1151), duke of Aquitaine (from 1152), and king of England (from 1154), who greatly expanded his Anglo-French domains and strengthened the royal administration in England. His quarrels with Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, and with members of his family (his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and such sons as Richard the Lion-Heart and John Lackland) ultimately brought about his defeat.
"Henry II lived in an age of biographers and letter writers of genius. John of Salisbury, Thomas Becket, Giraldus Cambrensis, Walter Map, Peter of Blois, and others knew him well and left their impressions. All agreed on his outstanding ability and striking personality and also recorded his errors and aspects of his character that appear contradictory, whereas modern historians agree upon the difficulty of reconciling its main features. Without deep religious or moral conviction, Henry nevertheless was
respected by three contemporary saints, Aelred of Rievaulx, Gilbert of Sempringham, and Hugh of Lincoln. Normally an approachable and faithful friend and master, he could behave with unreasonable inhumanity. His conduct and aims were always self-centred, but he was neither a tyrant nor an odious egoist. Both as man and ruler he lacked the stamp of greatness that marked Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror. He seemed also to lack wisdom and serenity; and he had no comprehensive view of the
country's interest, no ideals of kingship, no sympathetic care for his people. But if his reign is to be judged by its consequences for England, it undoubtedly stands high in importance, and Henry, as its mainspring, appears among the most notable of English kings." Henry II was Count of Anjou (1151-1189) whose family emblem was the 'plantegenet', a yellow flowering broom; Duke of Normandy (1151-1189); Duke of Aquitane (1152-1189) and as King of England (1154-1189), ruled an empire that stretched from the Tweed to the Pyrenees. He was the Founder of the Angevin, or Plantagenet, line. Henry was the first of fourteen hereditary kings, who were later referred to in the history oracles as Plantagenets. He is more commonly known as FitzEmpress, Henry II Curtmantle, King of England.
In spite of frequent hostilities with the French King, his own family and rebellious Barons (culminating in the great revolt of 1173-74) and his quarrel with Thomas Becket, Henry II maintained control over his possessions until shortly before his death.
Henry II's judicial and administrative reforms, which increased Royal control and influence at the expense of the Barons, were of great constitutional importance. Henry II Introduced trial by Jury.
Henry II, by marrying ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE immediately after her divorce from Louis VII, King of France, gained vast territories in France. Henry had lands reaching for 1000 miles, and it was this vast domain, which was called the Angevin Empire.
In 1153 he invaded England and forced STEPHEN to acknowledge him as his heir. As king he restored order to war-ravaged England, subdued the barons, centralized the power of government in royalty, and strengthened royal courts. Henry's desire to increase royal authority brought him into conflict with THOMAS áA BECKET, whom he had made (1162) archbishop of Canterbury. The quarrel, which focused largely on the jurisdiction of the church courts, came to a head when Henry issued (1163) the Constitutions of CLARENDON, defining the relationship between church and state, and ended (1170) with Becket's murder, for which Henry was forced by public indignation to do penance. During his reign he gained northern counties from Scotland and increased his French holdings.
Henry II was also involved in family struggles. Encouraged by their mother and LOUIS VI of France, his three oldest sons, Henry, RICHARD I, and Geoffrey, rebelled (1173-74) against him. The rebellion collapsed, but at the time of Henry's death, Richard and the youngest son, JOHN, were in the course of another rebellion. He was unfortunate in love, relentlessly and romantically pursuing the hand of his wife, Eleanor, who became a selfish spoilt lady, and who turned her sons against their own father. Because of the rebellion by the eldest son, Henry was crushed, and Eleanor was placed under house arrest for fifteen years. The other brothers placed continual pressure on their father, in alliances with the King of France. Henry died a lonely and grief stricken man deserted by all of those he had loved and honored.
Contemporaries: Louis VII (King of France, 1137-1180), Thomas Beckett (Archbishop of Canterbury), Pope Adrian IV, Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, 1152-1190)
Henry II, first of the Angevin kings, was one of the most effective of all England's monarchs. He came to the throne amid the anarchy of Stephen's reign and promptly collared his errant barons. He refined Norman government and created a capable, self-standing bureaucracy. His energy was equaled only by his ambition and intelligence. Henry survived wars, rebellion, and controversy to successfully rule one of the Middle Ages' most powerful kingdoms.
Henry was raised in the French province of Anjou and first visited England in 1142 to defend his mother's claim to the disputed throne of Stephen. His continental possessions were already vast before his coronation: He acquired Normandy and Anjou upon the death of his father in September 1151, and his French holdings more than doubled with his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitane (ex-wife of King Louis VII of France). In accordance with the Treaty of Wallingford, a succession agreement signed by Stephen and Matilda in 1153, Henry was crowned in October 1154. The continental empire ruled by Henry and his sons included the French counties of Brittany, Maine, Poitou, Touraine, Gascony, Anjou, Aquitane, and Normandy. Henry was technically a feudal vassal of the king of France but, in reality, owned more territory and was more powerful than his French lord. Although King John (Henry's son) lost most of the English holdings in France, English kings laid claim to the French throne until the fifteenth century. Henry also extended his territory in the British Isles in two significant ways. First, he retrieved Cumbria and Northumbria form Malcom IV of Scotland and settled the Anglo-Scot border in the North. Secondly, although his success with Welsh campaigns was limited, Henry invaded Ireland and secured an English presence on the island.
English and Norman barons in Stephen's reign manipulated feudal law to undermine royal authority; Henry instituted many reforms to weaken traditional feudal ties and strengthen his position. Unauthorized castles built during the previous reign were razed. Monetary payments replaced military service as the primary duty of vassals. The Exchequer was revitalized to enforce accurate record keeping and tax collection. Incompetent sheriffs were replaced and the authority of royal courts was expanded. Henry empowered a new social class of government clerks that stabilized procedure - the government could operate effectively in the king's absence and would subsequently prove sufficiently tenacious to survive the reign of incompetent kings. Henry's reforms allowed the emergence of a body of common law to replace the disparate customs of feudal and county courts. Jury trials were initiated to end the old Germanic trials by ordeal or battle. Henry's systematic approach to law provided a common basis for development of royal institutions throughout the entire realm.
The process of strengthening the royal courts, however, yielded an unexpected controversy. The church courts instituted by William the Conqueror became a safe haven for criminals of varying degree and ability, for one in fifty of the English population qualified as clerics. Henry wished to transfer sentencing in such cases to the royal courts, as church courts merely demoted clerics to laymen. Thomas Beckett, Henry's close friend and chancellor since 1155, was named Archbishop of Canterbury in June 1162 but distanced himself from Henry and vehemently opposed the weakening of church courts. Beckett fled England in 1164, but through the intervention of Pope Adrian IV (the lone English pope), returned in 1170. He greatly angered Henry by opposing the coronation of Prince Henry. Exasperated, Henry hastily and publicly conveyed his desire to be rid of the contentious Archbishop - four ambitious knights took the king at his word and murdered Beckett in his own cathedral on December 29, 1170. Henry endured a rather limited storm of protest over the incident and the controversy passed.
Henry's plans of dividing his myriad lands and titles evoked treachery from his sons. At the encouragement - and sometimes because of the treatment - of their mother, they rebelled against their father several times, often with Louis VII of France as their accomplice. The deaths of Henry the Young King in 1183 and Geoffrey in 1186 gave no respite from his children's rebellious nature; Richard, with the assistance of Philip II Augustus of France, attacked and defeated Henry on July 4, 1189 and forced him to accept a humiliating peace. Henry II died two days later, on July 6, 1189.
A few quotes from historic manuscripts shed a unique light on Henry, Eleanor, and their sons.
From Sir Winston Churchill Kt, 1675: "Henry II Plantagenet, the very first of that name and race, and the very greatest King that England ever knew, but withal the most unfortunate . . . his death being imputed to those only to whom himself had given life, his ungracious sons. . ."
From Sir Richard Baker, A Chronicle of the Kings of England: Concerning endowments of mind, he was of a spirit in the highest degree generous . . . His custom was to be always in action; for which cause, if he had no real wars, he would have feigned . . . To his children he was both indulgent and hard; for out of indulgence he caused his son henry to be crowned King in his own time; and out of hardness he caused his younger sons to rebel against him . . . He married Eleanor, daughter of William Duke of Guienne, late wife of Lewis the Seventh of France.
Queen Eleanore and King Henry Plantagent II had the following children:
630 i.
Prince William Plantegent was born on 17 Aug 1152 in Le Mans, Sarthe,
France. He died in Apr 1156 in Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Berkshire, England.
He was buried in Reading, Berkshire, England.
631 ii.
King Henry Plantegent III was born on 28 Feb 1154/55 in Bermandsey Palace,
London, England. He was confirmed on 14 Jun 1170 in Acceded to Crown. He died
on 11 Jun 1183 in Martel Castle, Turenne, France. He was buried in Rouen Cathedral,
Rouen, France. Encyclopedia Britannica Online, article titled "Henry the
Young King:"
"also called HENRY FITZHENRY, second son of King Henry II of England by Eleanor of Aquitaine; he was regarded, after the death of his elder brother, William, in 1156, as his father's successor in England, Normandy, and Anjou.
"In 1158 Henry, only three years of age, was betrothed to Margaret, daughter of Louis VII of France and his second wife, on condition that Margaret's dowry would be the Vexin, the border region between Normandy (then held by England) and France. Henry II took advantage of Pope Alexander III's political difficulties to secure the Pope's permission for the children to be married in 1160. On June 14, 1170, the young Henry was crowned king (theoretically to rule in association with his father) at Westminster by Archbishop Roger of York. York's officiation, usurping a prerogative of the archbishop of Canterbury, exacerbated the dispute between the latter, namely, Thomas Becket, and Henry II, which ended with Becket's murder six months later. Crowned again on Aug. 27, 1172 (this time with Margaret), the Young King received no share of his father's power. (He was nevertheless called by contemporaries and by certain later chroniclers King Henry III.)
"With his mother and his brothers Richard (the future Richard I) and Geoffrey, he nearly overthrew Henry II in 1173. Forgiven for this revolt, he intrigued further against his father with Louis VII. In 1182-83 he waged war against Richard over Poitou, and he was preparing to fight Richard again when he died in France of dysentery.
"The Young King was so popular that the people of Le Mans and Rouen almost went to war for the custody of his body, and in his mother's hereditary lands he was immortalized in the "Lament for the Young King" by the troubadour Bertran de Born."
632 iii.
Princess Matilda Plantegent was born in 1156 in Windsor Castle, Windsor,
Berkshire, England. She died on 28 Jun 1189 in Brunswick, Germany. She was
christened in Aldgate, London, Middlesex, England. She was buried in St Blasius,
Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
633 iv.
King Richard "The Lionheart" Plantegent I was born on 8 Sep
1157 in Beaumont Palace, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He was confirmed on 3
Sep 1189 in Acceded to Crown. Richard Lionheart is king of England after Henry's
Death
London, 3 September 1189
Richard Lionheart, crowned king of England today, knows little of the country he has inherited. He has spent most of his life in France, as duke of Aquitaine ruling the land of his mother, Eleanor, and fighting his father, Henry 11, and his brothers. The old king's dying words to his pugnacious, disloyal son were:
"God grant that I may not die till I have had a fitting revenge on you."
Richard, aged 32, grew up in an atmosphere of intrigue. Henry had acquired vast territories in France by his marriage, and his sons were never satisfied with their shares. When Richard's elder brother Henry died and he became heir, his father wanted him to leave Aquitaine and come to England. Richard scornfully refused and another family war, the last in fact, ensued.
Richard's first act as king was to release his mother, who had been confined at Winchester for supporting him against her husband. He has been busy raising money for an expedition to Palestine. He can hardly wait to be off crusading once more. The nick name "Lionheart" was given to him in France, as coeur de lion, for his military prowess.
He died on 6 Apr 1199 in Chalus, France. He was buried in Fontevrault Abbey, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France. From http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal01376:
"Richard I, the Lion-hearted, spent much of his youth in his mother's court at Poitiers. Richard cared much more for the continental possessions of his mother than for England - he also cared much more for his mother than for his father. Family considerations influenced much of his life: he fought along side of his brothers Prince Henry and Geoffrey in their rebellion of 1173-4; he fought for his father against his brothers when they supported an 1183 revolt in Aquitane; and he joined Philip II of France against his father in 1188, defeating Henry in 1189.
"Richard spent but six months of his ten-year reign in England. He acted upon a promise to his father to join the Third Crusade and departed for the Holy Land in 1190 (accompanied by his partner-rival Philip II of France). In 1191, he conquered Cyprus en route to Jerusalem and performed admirably against Saladin, nearly taking the holy city twice. Philip II, in the meantime, returned to France and schemed with Richard's brother John. The Crusade failed in its primary objective of liberating the Holy Land from Moslem Turks, but did have a positive result - easier access to the region for Christian pilgrims through a truce with Saladin. Richard received word of John's treachery and decided to return home; he was captured by Leopold V of Austria and imprisoned by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. The administrative machinery of Henry II insured the continuance of royal authority, as Richard was unable to return to his realm until 1194. Upon his return, he crushed a coup attempt by John and regained lands lost to Philip II during the German captivity. Richard's war with Philip continued sporadically until the French were finally defeated near Gisors in 1198.
"Richard died April 6, 1199, from a wound received in a skirmish at the castle of Chalus in the Limousin. Near his death, Richard finally reconciled his position with his late father, as evidenced by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: "The remorse for his undutifulness towards his father, was living in him till he died; for at his death he remembered it with bewailing, and desired to be buried as near him as might be, perhaps as thinking they should meet the sooner, that he might ask him forgiveness in another world." Richard's prowess and courage in battle earned him the nickname Coeur De Lion ("heart of the lion"), but the training of his mother's court is revealed in a verse Richard composed during his german captivity:
"No one will tell me the cause of my sorrow Why they have made me a
prisoner here. Wherefore with dolour I now make my moan; Friends had I
many but help have I none. Shameful it is that they leave me to ransom, To
languish here two winters long."
Reigned 1189-1199. Prisoner in Germany 1192-1194. A hero of Medieval legends spent all but 6 months of his reign abroad. He became Duke of Aquitaine in 1168 and of Poitiers in 1172. He joined the 3rd crusade in 1189 and conquered Messina and Cyprus before arriving in the Holy Land. His victory at Arsuf gained Joppa (1191). On his way home he was aptured in Austria and was only released by Emporer Henry VI after payment of an enourmous ransom (1194). He returned briefly to England but died in France.
Most sources agree that he died without issue, but there are some that claim he had this one child. I have no proof of either. It is always a possiblity that he left descendants, but in this case as he was royalty and well documented it is doubtful. However I added it to my ancestry because it is a possibility. Please use with caution.
634 v.
Prince Geoffrey Plantegent was born about 1159 in England. He died on
19 Aug 1186 in Paris, Seine, France. Killed at a tournament by his horse. He
was buried in Notre Dame, Paris, Seine, France. Named Duke of Brittany and Earl
of Richmond upon his marriage to Constance. He left England for Brittany in
1179.
635 vi.
Prince Philip Plantegent was born in England. He died.
+636 vii.
King John "Lackland" Plantegant.
637 viii.
Princess Joan Plantegent was born in Oct 1165 in Angers Castle, Anjou,
France. She died on 4 Sep 1199 in Fontevrault Abbey, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire,
France. She died from childbirth complications.
+638 ix.
Queen Alianor "Eleanor" Plantagent.
Return to Table of Contents