| |
Notes for Henry I Beauclerc - King Of England:
Henry I (of England) (1068-1135), was the third Norman king of England (1100-1135), and fourth son of William the Conqueror. Henry was born in Selby. Because his father, who died in 1087, left him no land, Henry made several unsuccessful attempts to gain territories on the Continent. On the death of his brother William II in 1100, Henry took advantage of the absence of another brother—Robert, who had a prior claim to the throne—to seize the royal treasury and have himself crowned king at Westminster. Henry subsequently secured his position with the nobles and with the church by issuing a charter of liberties that acknowledged the feudal rights of the nobles and the rights of the church. In 1101 Robert, who was duke of Normandy, invaded England, but Henry persuaded him to withdraw by promising him a pension and military aid on the Continent. In 1102 Henry put down a revolt of nobles, who subsequently took refuge in Normandy, where they were aided by Robert. By defeating Robert at Tinchebray, France, in 1106, Henry won Normandy. During the rest of his reign, however, he constantly had to put down uprisings that threatened his rule in Normandy. The conflict between Henry and Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, over the question of lay investiture (the appointment of church officials by the king), was settled in 1107 by a compromise that left the king with substantial control in the matter.
Because he had no surviving male heir, Henry was forced to designate his daughter Matilda as his heiress. Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet. Their son Henry II succeeded to the throne of England.
After Henry I’s death on December 1, 1135, at Lyons-la-Fôret, Normandy, however, Henry's nephew, Stephen of Blois, usurped the throne, plunging the country into a protracted civil war that ended only with the accession of Matilda's son, Henry II, in 1154.
The surname, Plantagenet, was originally a nickname of the English royal house of Anjou or the Angevin dynasty, which was founded by Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou (1113-51), husband of Matilda (1102-67), daughter of King Henry I of England. The name is derived from the Latin planta (“sprig”) and genista (“broom plant”), in reference to the sprig that Geoffrey always wore in his cap. Reigning from 1154 to 1485, the Plantagenet kings, in the main line of descent, were Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II; through the house of Lancaster, Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI; and through the house of York, Edward IV, Edward V, and Richard III.
|