Plantagenet
Henry II, first of the Angevin kings
parents Geoffrey the Fair (l) and the Empress Matild
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England
parents Geoffrey the Fair (l) and the Empress Matild
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England
13th-century depiction of Henry and his legitimate children: (l to r)
William, Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan and John
William, Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan and John
The House of Plantagenet (/plænˈtædʒənət/ plan-TAJ-ə-nət) was a royal dynasty that came to prominence in the High Middle Ages and lasted until the end of the Late Middle Ages. Within that period, some historians identify four distinct Royal Houses: Angevins, Plantagenet, Lancaster and York.[1]
The Plantagenet name for the dynasty dates from the 15th century and comes from a 12th-century nickname of Geoffrey. A common retrospective view is that Geoffrey V of Anjou founded the dynasty through his marriage to Matilda, the daughter of Henry I of England. From the accession of their son, Henry II, via the Treaty of Winchester that ended two decades of civil war, a long line of 14 Plantagenet kings ruled England, until Richard III's death in 1485 (at the Battle of Bosworth). Henry II accumulated a vast and complex feudal holding with his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, which extended from the Pyrenees to Ireland and the border of Scotland, that was later called the Angevin Empire.
The Plantagenets transformed England from a realm ruled from abroad into one of a deeply engaged and mature kingdom, although not necessarily always intentionally.[2] Winston Churchill, the twentieth-century British prime minister, articulated this in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples; "[w]hen the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[3] From Magna Carta onward, the role of kingship transformed under the Plantagenet—driven by weakness to make compromises that constrained their power in return for financial and military support. The king changed from being the most powerful man in the country with the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare into a polity where the king's duties to his realm, in addition to the realm's duties to the king, were defined, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. Success for the Plantagenets required martial prowess, and many were renowned warrior leaders. Conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish was to help shape a distinct national identity and re-established the use of English. They also provided England with significant buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle and the Welsh Castles. No royal dynasty was as successful in passing the crown to a succeeding generation as the Plantagenets from 1189 to 1377. In 1399 the splintering of the dynasty into competing cadet branches, the House of York and House of Lancaster, combined with economic and social tumult led to internecine strife later named the Wars of the Roses. Conclusive defeat in and the burden of taxes supporting the Hundred Years' War had devastated the English economy and broke confidence in the status quo. Several popular revolts demanded greater rights and freedoms for the general population. Destitute soldiery returned from France had turned to crime to survive, while feudalism declined into bastard feudalism, where the nobility acquired private armies used to pursue personal feuds and defy the Plantagenet government. These events culminated in 1485 with the death of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Many historians consider this as marking the end of Plantagenet power and the Middle Ages in England as the succeeding Tudors were able to resolve these problems by centralising royal power. This enabled the stability necessary for an English Renaissance and the development of Early modern Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet
Angevin origins See also: Angevins and List of members of the House of Plantagenet Henry II became the first Plantagenet King of England. The Angevins (/ændʒvɪns/, meaning from Anjou) were a family of Frankish origin descended from a ninth-century noble named Ingelger. They were Counts of Anjou since 870. The male line of Ingelger became extinct in 1060. The House of Plantagenet descended from a Count of Gâtinais who married the sister of the last count of the House of Ingelger.[4][5] Fulk V, Count of Anjou, married his daughter Alice to the heir of Henry I of England, William Adelin, to address competition from Normandy, but the prince drowned in the wreck of the White Ship.[6] Fulk then wed his daughter Sibylla to William Clito, heir to Henry's older brother, Robert Curthose. Henry had this marriage annulled because of the threat of a rival claim to his throne. Finally, Fulk married his son and heir, Geoffrey, to Henry's daughter and only surviving legitimate child, Matilda. This brought about the convergence of the Angevins, the House of Normandy and the House of Wessex to form the Plantagenet dynasty. Fulk then resigned his titles to Geoffrey and sailed to become King of Jerusalem. The chronicler Gerald of Wales borrowed elements of the Melusine legend to give a demonic origin to the Angevins, and several of them were prone to joke about the story.[7]
It was Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, who adopted Plantagenet as a family name for him and his descendants in the 15th century. Plantegenest (or Plante Genest) had been a 12th-century nickname of Geoffrey, perhaps because his emblem may have been the common broom, (planta genista in medieval Latin).[8] It is obscure why Richard chose this specific name, but it emphasised Richard's hierarchal status as Geoffrey's (and six English kings') patrilineal descendant during the Wars of the Roses. The retrospective usage of the name for all of Geoffrey's male descendants was popular in Tudor times, perhaps encouraged by the added legitimacy it gave Richard's great grandson, Henry VIII of England.[9]
Angevin arrival in England Main article: Angevin Empire Henry's continental holdings in 1154, showing the lands named as the "Angevin Empire" Matilda's father Henry I of England named her as heir to his large holdings in what are now France and England.[10] But on Henry's death her cousin Stephen had himself proclaimed King.[11] Geoffrey showed little interest in England, but he supported Matilda by entering Normandy to claim her inheritance.[12] Matilda landed in England to challenge Stephen and was declared "Lady of the English" which resulted in a civil war called the Anarchy. When Matilda was forced to release Stephen in a hostage exchange for her half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Stephen was re-crowned. Matilda was never crowned as the English conflict continued inconclusively. However, Geoffrey secured the Duchy of Normandy. Matilda's son, Henry II, by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine had acquired the Duchy of Aquitaine and was now immensely rich. With skilful negotiation with the war-weary Barons of England and King Stephen, he agreed to the Treaty of Wallingford and was recognised as Stephen's heir.[13]
Henry saw an opportunity to re-establish what he saw as his rights over the Church in England by reasserting the privileges held by Henry I when Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, died, by appointing his friend, Thomas Becket to the post. Henry had clashed with the church over whether bishops could excommunicate royal officials without his permission and whether he could try clerics without them appealing to Rome. However, Becket opposed Henry's Constitutions of Clarendon and fled into exile. Relations later improved, allowing Becket's return, but soon soured again when Becket saw the crowning as coregent of Henry's son by the Archbishop of York as a challenge to his authority and excommunicated those who had offended him. On hearing the news Henry uttered the infamous phrase "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low born clerk". In response to please Henry three of his men murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, probably by misadventure after Becket resisted a botched arrest attempt.[14] In Christian Europe Henry was considered complicit in this crime, making him a pariah, and he was forced to make a dramatic exhibition of penance, publicly walking barefoot into the cathedral and allowing monks to scourge him.[11]
In 1155 Pope Adrian IV had given Henry papal blessing to expand his power into Ireland in order to reform the Irish church.[15] This was not a matter of urgency until Henry allowed Dermot of Leinster to recruit soldiers in England and Wales for use in Ireland, including Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow. These knights took on the role of colonisers, accruing autonomous power, which concerned Henry. When Dermot died in 1171 Strongbow, as his son-in-law, seized significant territory. In response, and also to escape the controversy caused by the murder of Becket, Henry landed and re-established all fiefs, and jurisdictions in Ireland were held subordinate to him as High King.[16]
When Henry II attempted to give his land-less youngest son, John, a wedding gift of three castles it prompted his three eldest sons and wife to rebel in the Revolt of 1173–1174. Louis VII encouraged the three elder sons to destabilise his mightiest subject and not to wait for their inheritances. William the Lion and disgruntled subjects of Henry II also joined the revolt for their own ends. It was only after eighteen months of conflict that Henry II was able to force the rebels to submit to his authority.[17] In Le Mans in 1182 Henry II gathered his children to plan for partible inheritance in which his eldest son, also called Henry, would inherit England, Normandy and Anjou; Richard the Duchy of Aquitaine; Geoffrey Brittany and John would receive Ireland. This broke down into further conflict and the younger Henry rebelled again, but died of dysentery. In 1186 Geoffrey died as a result of a tournament accident but Henry was still reluctant to have a sole heir [18] so, in 1189, Richard and Philip II of France took advantage of a sickening Henry II with more success. Henry II was forced to accept humiliating peace terms, including naming Richard as sole heir. When Henry II died shortly afterwards his last words to Richard were allegedly "God grant that I may not die until I have my revenge on you".[19]
Angevin decline Main articles: Richard I of England and John, King of England Richard I's Great Seal of 1189 On the day of Richard's English coronation there was a mass slaughter of the Jews, described by Richard of Devizes as a "holocaust".[20] Quickly putting the affairs of the Angevin Empire in order he departed on Crusade to the Middle East in early 1190. Opinions of Richard amongst his contemporaries were mixed. He had rejected and humiliated the King of France's sister; deposed the well-connected King of Cyprus and afterwards sold the island; insulted and refused spoils of the third crusade to nobles like Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and was rumoured to have arranged the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat. His cruelty was demonstrated by his massacre of 2,600 prisoners in Acre.[21] However, Richard was respected for his military leadership and courtly manners. He achieved victories in the Third Crusade but failed to capture Jerusalem, retreating from the Holy Land with a small band of followers.[22]
Richard was captured by Leopold on his return journey. Custody was passed to Henry the Lion and a tax of 25% of movables and income was required to pay the ransom of 100,000 marks, with a promise of 50,000 more. Philip II of France had overrun great swathes of Normandy while John of England controlled much of the remainder of Richard's lands. But, on his return to England, Richard forgave John and re-established his control. Leaving England in 1194 never to return, Richard battled Phillip for the next five years for the return of the holdings seized during his incarceration. Close to total victory he was injured by an arrow during the siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol and died after lingering injured for ten days.[23]
Richard's failure in his duty to provide an heir caused a succession crisis. Anjou, Brittany, Maine and Touraine chose Richard's nephew and nominated heir, Arthur, while John succeeded in England and Normandy. Yet again Philip II of France took the opportunity to destabilise the Plantagenet territories on the European mainland, supporting his vassal Arthur's claim to the English crown. When Arthur's forces threatened his mother, John won a significant victory, capturing the entire rebel leadership at the battle of Mirebeau.[24]
Arthur was murdered, it was rumoured by John's own hands, and his sister Eleanor would spend the rest of her life in captivity. John's behaviour drove numerous French barons to side with Phillip. The resulting rebellions by the Norman and Angevin barons broke John's control of the continental possessions, leading to the de facto end of the Angevin Empire, even though Henry III would maintain the claim until 1259.[25]
After re-establishing his authority in England, John planned to retake Normandy and Anjou. The strategy was to draw the French from Paris while another army, under Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, attacked from the north. However, his allies were defeated at the Battle of Bouvines in one of the most decisive and symbolic battles in French history.[26] The battle had both important and high profile consequences.[27] John's nephew Otto retreated and was soon overthrown while King John agreed to a five-year truce. Philip's decisive victory was crucial in ordering politics in both England and France. The battle was instrumental in forming the absolute monarchy in France.[28]
Magna Carta and the First Barons War Main articles: Magna Carta and First Barons' War One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text of Magna Carta John's defeats in France weakened his position in England. The rebellion of his English vassals resulted in the treaty called Magna Carta, which limited royal power and established common law. This would form the basis of every constitutional battle through the 13th and 14th centuries.[29] However, both the barons and the crown failed to abide by the terms of Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War in which the rebel barons invited an invasion by Prince Louis. This is considered by some historians to mark the end of the Angevin period and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty with John's death and William Marshall's appointment as the protector of the nine-year-old Henry III.[1] Marshall won the war with victories at the battles of Lincoln and Dover in 1217, leading to the Treaty of Lambeth by which Louis renounced his claims.[30] In victory, the Marshal Protectorate reissued the Magna Carta agreement as a basis for future government.[31]
Henry III exhibited typical Plantagent and Medieval antisemitism, exacting heavy Jewish taxation between 1219 and 1272 totaling 200,000 marks, a vast sum of money.[32] Henry made repeated unsuccessful attempts to reclaim Normandy and Anjou.[33] Despite the 1217 Treaty of Lambeth, hostilities continued and Henry was forced to make significant constitutional concessions to the newly crowned Louis VIII of France and Henry's stepfather Hugh X of Lusignan. Between them, they overran much of the remnants of Henry's continental holdings, further eroding the Angevin's grip on the continent. Henry saw such similarities between himself and England's then patron saint Edward the Confessor in his struggle with his nobles[34] that he gave his first son the Anglo-Saxon name Edward and built the saint a magnificent, still-extant shrine.[35]
Cast of the effigy of Henry III in Westminster Abbey, c. 1272 The barons were resistant to the cost in men and money required to support a foreign war to restore Plantagenet holdings on the continent. In order to motivate his barons, and facing a repeat of the situation his father faced, Henry III reissued Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest in return for a tax that raised the incredible sum of £45,000. This was enacted in an assembly of the barons, bishops and magnates that created a compact in which the feudal prerogatives of the king were debated and discussed in the political community.[36]
The pope had offered Henry's brother Richard the Kingdom of Sicily but he recognised that the cost of making this claim real was prohibitive. Matthew Paris wrote that Richard responded to the price by saying, "You might as well say, 'I make you a present of the moon – step up to the sky and take it down'". Instead, Henry purchased the kingdom for his son Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, which angered many powerful barons. Henry left a longer lasting legacy in his building projects, costing £3,000 a year or a tenth of his income,[37] which included Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle and the town of Harwich. Bankrupted by his military expenses, Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford by barons led by his brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, under which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms. He was also forced to agree to the Treaty of Paris with Louis IX of France, acknowledging the loss of the Dukedom of Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Poitou, but retaining the Channel Islands. The treaty held that "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold", he would retain "as peer of France and Duke of Aquitaine"[38] In exchange Louis withdrew his support for English rebels, ceded three bishoprics and cities, and was to pay an annual rent for possession of Agenais.[39] Disagreements about the meaning of the treaty began as soon as it was signed.[40] The agreement resulted in English kings having to pay homage to the French monarch, thus remaining French vassals, but only on French soil. This was one of the indirect causes of the Hundred Years War.[41]
Second Barons War and the establishment of Parliament Main article: Second Barons' War Death and mutilation of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham Friction intensified between the barons and the king. Henry repudiated the Provisions of Oxford and obtained a papal bull in 1261 exempting him from his oath. Both sides began to raise armies. Prince Edward, Henry's eldest son, was tempted to side with his godfather Simon de Montfort, and supported holding a Parliament in his father's absence, before he decided to side with his father. The barons, under de Montfort, captured most of south-eastern England. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry and Edward were defeated and taken prisoner. De Montfort summoned the Great Parliament, regarded as the first Parliament worthy of the name because it was the first time cities and burghs sent representatives.[42]
Edward escaped and raised an army. He defeated and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.[43] Savage retribution was exacted on the rebels and authority was restored to King Henry. Edward, having pacified the realm, left England to join Louis IX on the Ninth Crusade, funded by an unprecedented levy of one-twentieth of every citizen's movable goods and possessions. He was one of the last crusaders in the tradition aiming to recover the Holy Lands. Louis died before Edward's arrival, but Edward decided to continue. The result was anticlimactic; Edward's small force limited him to the relief of Acre and a handful of raids. Surviving a murder attempt by an assassin, Edward left for Sicily later in the year, never to return on crusade. The stability of England's political structure was demonstrated when Henry III died and his son succeeded as Edward I; the barons swore allegiance to Edward even though he did not return for two years.[44]
The Plantagenet name for the dynasty dates from the 15th century and comes from a 12th-century nickname of Geoffrey. A common retrospective view is that Geoffrey V of Anjou founded the dynasty through his marriage to Matilda, the daughter of Henry I of England. From the accession of their son, Henry II, via the Treaty of Winchester that ended two decades of civil war, a long line of 14 Plantagenet kings ruled England, until Richard III's death in 1485 (at the Battle of Bosworth). Henry II accumulated a vast and complex feudal holding with his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, which extended from the Pyrenees to Ireland and the border of Scotland, that was later called the Angevin Empire.
The Plantagenets transformed England from a realm ruled from abroad into one of a deeply engaged and mature kingdom, although not necessarily always intentionally.[2] Winston Churchill, the twentieth-century British prime minister, articulated this in A History of the English-Speaking Peoples; "[w]hen the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[3] From Magna Carta onward, the role of kingship transformed under the Plantagenet—driven by weakness to make compromises that constrained their power in return for financial and military support. The king changed from being the most powerful man in the country with the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare into a polity where the king's duties to his realm, in addition to the realm's duties to the king, were defined, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. Success for the Plantagenets required martial prowess, and many were renowned warrior leaders. Conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish was to help shape a distinct national identity and re-established the use of English. They also provided England with significant buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle and the Welsh Castles. No royal dynasty was as successful in passing the crown to a succeeding generation as the Plantagenets from 1189 to 1377. In 1399 the splintering of the dynasty into competing cadet branches, the House of York and House of Lancaster, combined with economic and social tumult led to internecine strife later named the Wars of the Roses. Conclusive defeat in and the burden of taxes supporting the Hundred Years' War had devastated the English economy and broke confidence in the status quo. Several popular revolts demanded greater rights and freedoms for the general population. Destitute soldiery returned from France had turned to crime to survive, while feudalism declined into bastard feudalism, where the nobility acquired private armies used to pursue personal feuds and defy the Plantagenet government. These events culminated in 1485 with the death of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Many historians consider this as marking the end of Plantagenet power and the Middle Ages in England as the succeeding Tudors were able to resolve these problems by centralising royal power. This enabled the stability necessary for an English Renaissance and the development of Early modern Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Plantagenet
Angevin origins See also: Angevins and List of members of the House of Plantagenet Henry II became the first Plantagenet King of England. The Angevins (/ændʒvɪns/, meaning from Anjou) were a family of Frankish origin descended from a ninth-century noble named Ingelger. They were Counts of Anjou since 870. The male line of Ingelger became extinct in 1060. The House of Plantagenet descended from a Count of Gâtinais who married the sister of the last count of the House of Ingelger.[4][5] Fulk V, Count of Anjou, married his daughter Alice to the heir of Henry I of England, William Adelin, to address competition from Normandy, but the prince drowned in the wreck of the White Ship.[6] Fulk then wed his daughter Sibylla to William Clito, heir to Henry's older brother, Robert Curthose. Henry had this marriage annulled because of the threat of a rival claim to his throne. Finally, Fulk married his son and heir, Geoffrey, to Henry's daughter and only surviving legitimate child, Matilda. This brought about the convergence of the Angevins, the House of Normandy and the House of Wessex to form the Plantagenet dynasty. Fulk then resigned his titles to Geoffrey and sailed to become King of Jerusalem. The chronicler Gerald of Wales borrowed elements of the Melusine legend to give a demonic origin to the Angevins, and several of them were prone to joke about the story.[7]
It was Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, who adopted Plantagenet as a family name for him and his descendants in the 15th century. Plantegenest (or Plante Genest) had been a 12th-century nickname of Geoffrey, perhaps because his emblem may have been the common broom, (planta genista in medieval Latin).[8] It is obscure why Richard chose this specific name, but it emphasised Richard's hierarchal status as Geoffrey's (and six English kings') patrilineal descendant during the Wars of the Roses. The retrospective usage of the name for all of Geoffrey's male descendants was popular in Tudor times, perhaps encouraged by the added legitimacy it gave Richard's great grandson, Henry VIII of England.[9]
Angevin arrival in England Main article: Angevin Empire Henry's continental holdings in 1154, showing the lands named as the "Angevin Empire" Matilda's father Henry I of England named her as heir to his large holdings in what are now France and England.[10] But on Henry's death her cousin Stephen had himself proclaimed King.[11] Geoffrey showed little interest in England, but he supported Matilda by entering Normandy to claim her inheritance.[12] Matilda landed in England to challenge Stephen and was declared "Lady of the English" which resulted in a civil war called the Anarchy. When Matilda was forced to release Stephen in a hostage exchange for her half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Stephen was re-crowned. Matilda was never crowned as the English conflict continued inconclusively. However, Geoffrey secured the Duchy of Normandy. Matilda's son, Henry II, by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine had acquired the Duchy of Aquitaine and was now immensely rich. With skilful negotiation with the war-weary Barons of England and King Stephen, he agreed to the Treaty of Wallingford and was recognised as Stephen's heir.[13]
Henry saw an opportunity to re-establish what he saw as his rights over the Church in England by reasserting the privileges held by Henry I when Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, died, by appointing his friend, Thomas Becket to the post. Henry had clashed with the church over whether bishops could excommunicate royal officials without his permission and whether he could try clerics without them appealing to Rome. However, Becket opposed Henry's Constitutions of Clarendon and fled into exile. Relations later improved, allowing Becket's return, but soon soured again when Becket saw the crowning as coregent of Henry's son by the Archbishop of York as a challenge to his authority and excommunicated those who had offended him. On hearing the news Henry uttered the infamous phrase "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low born clerk". In response to please Henry three of his men murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, probably by misadventure after Becket resisted a botched arrest attempt.[14] In Christian Europe Henry was considered complicit in this crime, making him a pariah, and he was forced to make a dramatic exhibition of penance, publicly walking barefoot into the cathedral and allowing monks to scourge him.[11]
In 1155 Pope Adrian IV had given Henry papal blessing to expand his power into Ireland in order to reform the Irish church.[15] This was not a matter of urgency until Henry allowed Dermot of Leinster to recruit soldiers in England and Wales for use in Ireland, including Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow. These knights took on the role of colonisers, accruing autonomous power, which concerned Henry. When Dermot died in 1171 Strongbow, as his son-in-law, seized significant territory. In response, and also to escape the controversy caused by the murder of Becket, Henry landed and re-established all fiefs, and jurisdictions in Ireland were held subordinate to him as High King.[16]
When Henry II attempted to give his land-less youngest son, John, a wedding gift of three castles it prompted his three eldest sons and wife to rebel in the Revolt of 1173–1174. Louis VII encouraged the three elder sons to destabilise his mightiest subject and not to wait for their inheritances. William the Lion and disgruntled subjects of Henry II also joined the revolt for their own ends. It was only after eighteen months of conflict that Henry II was able to force the rebels to submit to his authority.[17] In Le Mans in 1182 Henry II gathered his children to plan for partible inheritance in which his eldest son, also called Henry, would inherit England, Normandy and Anjou; Richard the Duchy of Aquitaine; Geoffrey Brittany and John would receive Ireland. This broke down into further conflict and the younger Henry rebelled again, but died of dysentery. In 1186 Geoffrey died as a result of a tournament accident but Henry was still reluctant to have a sole heir [18] so, in 1189, Richard and Philip II of France took advantage of a sickening Henry II with more success. Henry II was forced to accept humiliating peace terms, including naming Richard as sole heir. When Henry II died shortly afterwards his last words to Richard were allegedly "God grant that I may not die until I have my revenge on you".[19]
Angevin decline Main articles: Richard I of England and John, King of England Richard I's Great Seal of 1189 On the day of Richard's English coronation there was a mass slaughter of the Jews, described by Richard of Devizes as a "holocaust".[20] Quickly putting the affairs of the Angevin Empire in order he departed on Crusade to the Middle East in early 1190. Opinions of Richard amongst his contemporaries were mixed. He had rejected and humiliated the King of France's sister; deposed the well-connected King of Cyprus and afterwards sold the island; insulted and refused spoils of the third crusade to nobles like Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and was rumoured to have arranged the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat. His cruelty was demonstrated by his massacre of 2,600 prisoners in Acre.[21] However, Richard was respected for his military leadership and courtly manners. He achieved victories in the Third Crusade but failed to capture Jerusalem, retreating from the Holy Land with a small band of followers.[22]
Richard was captured by Leopold on his return journey. Custody was passed to Henry the Lion and a tax of 25% of movables and income was required to pay the ransom of 100,000 marks, with a promise of 50,000 more. Philip II of France had overrun great swathes of Normandy while John of England controlled much of the remainder of Richard's lands. But, on his return to England, Richard forgave John and re-established his control. Leaving England in 1194 never to return, Richard battled Phillip for the next five years for the return of the holdings seized during his incarceration. Close to total victory he was injured by an arrow during the siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol and died after lingering injured for ten days.[23]
Richard's failure in his duty to provide an heir caused a succession crisis. Anjou, Brittany, Maine and Touraine chose Richard's nephew and nominated heir, Arthur, while John succeeded in England and Normandy. Yet again Philip II of France took the opportunity to destabilise the Plantagenet territories on the European mainland, supporting his vassal Arthur's claim to the English crown. When Arthur's forces threatened his mother, John won a significant victory, capturing the entire rebel leadership at the battle of Mirebeau.[24]
Arthur was murdered, it was rumoured by John's own hands, and his sister Eleanor would spend the rest of her life in captivity. John's behaviour drove numerous French barons to side with Phillip. The resulting rebellions by the Norman and Angevin barons broke John's control of the continental possessions, leading to the de facto end of the Angevin Empire, even though Henry III would maintain the claim until 1259.[25]
After re-establishing his authority in England, John planned to retake Normandy and Anjou. The strategy was to draw the French from Paris while another army, under Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, attacked from the north. However, his allies were defeated at the Battle of Bouvines in one of the most decisive and symbolic battles in French history.[26] The battle had both important and high profile consequences.[27] John's nephew Otto retreated and was soon overthrown while King John agreed to a five-year truce. Philip's decisive victory was crucial in ordering politics in both England and France. The battle was instrumental in forming the absolute monarchy in France.[28]
Magna Carta and the First Barons War Main articles: Magna Carta and First Barons' War One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text of Magna Carta John's defeats in France weakened his position in England. The rebellion of his English vassals resulted in the treaty called Magna Carta, which limited royal power and established common law. This would form the basis of every constitutional battle through the 13th and 14th centuries.[29] However, both the barons and the crown failed to abide by the terms of Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War in which the rebel barons invited an invasion by Prince Louis. This is considered by some historians to mark the end of the Angevin period and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty with John's death and William Marshall's appointment as the protector of the nine-year-old Henry III.[1] Marshall won the war with victories at the battles of Lincoln and Dover in 1217, leading to the Treaty of Lambeth by which Louis renounced his claims.[30] In victory, the Marshal Protectorate reissued the Magna Carta agreement as a basis for future government.[31]
Henry III exhibited typical Plantagent and Medieval antisemitism, exacting heavy Jewish taxation between 1219 and 1272 totaling 200,000 marks, a vast sum of money.[32] Henry made repeated unsuccessful attempts to reclaim Normandy and Anjou.[33] Despite the 1217 Treaty of Lambeth, hostilities continued and Henry was forced to make significant constitutional concessions to the newly crowned Louis VIII of France and Henry's stepfather Hugh X of Lusignan. Between them, they overran much of the remnants of Henry's continental holdings, further eroding the Angevin's grip on the continent. Henry saw such similarities between himself and England's then patron saint Edward the Confessor in his struggle with his nobles[34] that he gave his first son the Anglo-Saxon name Edward and built the saint a magnificent, still-extant shrine.[35]
Cast of the effigy of Henry III in Westminster Abbey, c. 1272 The barons were resistant to the cost in men and money required to support a foreign war to restore Plantagenet holdings on the continent. In order to motivate his barons, and facing a repeat of the situation his father faced, Henry III reissued Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest in return for a tax that raised the incredible sum of £45,000. This was enacted in an assembly of the barons, bishops and magnates that created a compact in which the feudal prerogatives of the king were debated and discussed in the political community.[36]
The pope had offered Henry's brother Richard the Kingdom of Sicily but he recognised that the cost of making this claim real was prohibitive. Matthew Paris wrote that Richard responded to the price by saying, "You might as well say, 'I make you a present of the moon – step up to the sky and take it down'". Instead, Henry purchased the kingdom for his son Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, which angered many powerful barons. Henry left a longer lasting legacy in his building projects, costing £3,000 a year or a tenth of his income,[37] which included Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle and the town of Harwich. Bankrupted by his military expenses, Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford by barons led by his brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, under which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms. He was also forced to agree to the Treaty of Paris with Louis IX of France, acknowledging the loss of the Dukedom of Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Poitou, but retaining the Channel Islands. The treaty held that "islands (if any) which the King of England should hold", he would retain "as peer of France and Duke of Aquitaine"[38] In exchange Louis withdrew his support for English rebels, ceded three bishoprics and cities, and was to pay an annual rent for possession of Agenais.[39] Disagreements about the meaning of the treaty began as soon as it was signed.[40] The agreement resulted in English kings having to pay homage to the French monarch, thus remaining French vassals, but only on French soil. This was one of the indirect causes of the Hundred Years War.[41]
Second Barons War and the establishment of Parliament Main article: Second Barons' War Death and mutilation of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham Friction intensified between the barons and the king. Henry repudiated the Provisions of Oxford and obtained a papal bull in 1261 exempting him from his oath. Both sides began to raise armies. Prince Edward, Henry's eldest son, was tempted to side with his godfather Simon de Montfort, and supported holding a Parliament in his father's absence, before he decided to side with his father. The barons, under de Montfort, captured most of south-eastern England. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry and Edward were defeated and taken prisoner. De Montfort summoned the Great Parliament, regarded as the first Parliament worthy of the name because it was the first time cities and burghs sent representatives.[42]
Edward escaped and raised an army. He defeated and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265.[43] Savage retribution was exacted on the rebels and authority was restored to King Henry. Edward, having pacified the realm, left England to join Louis IX on the Ninth Crusade, funded by an unprecedented levy of one-twentieth of every citizen's movable goods and possessions. He was one of the last crusaders in the tradition aiming to recover the Holy Lands. Louis died before Edward's arrival, but Edward decided to continue. The result was anticlimactic; Edward's small force limited him to the relief of Acre and a handful of raids. Surviving a murder attempt by an assassin, Edward left for Sicily later in the year, never to return on crusade. The stability of England's political structure was demonstrated when Henry III died and his son succeeded as Edward I; the barons swore allegiance to Edward even though he did not return for two years.[44]
Hundred Years' War (1369–89) – the Caroline Phase Main article: Hundred Years' War (1369–1389) France at the truce of 1389: a mosaic of feudal territories with the Plantagenet holdings reduced to Calais, The Channel Islands, Brest, Bordeaux and Bayonne Charles V of France resumed hostilities when the Black Prince refused a summons as Duke of Aquitaine and his reign saw the Plantagenets steadily pushed back in France.[91] Prince Edward went on to demonstrate the brutal character that some think is the cause of the "Black Prince" nickname at the Siege of Limoges. After the town had opened its gates to John, Duke of Berry, he directed the massacre of 3,000 inhabitants, men, women and children.[92] Following this the prince was too ill to contribute to the war or government and returned to England where he soon died: the son of a king and the father of a king, but never a king himself.[93]
Prince Edward's brother John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster assumed leadership of the English in France. Despite further chevauchées, destroying the countryside and the productivity of the land, his efforts were stategically ineffective.[94][95] The French commander, Bertrand Du Guesclin adopted Fabian tactics in avoiding major English field forces while capturing towns, including Poitiers and Bergerac. In a further strategic blow, English dominance at sea was reversed by the disastrous defeat at the Battle of La Rochelle, undermining English seaborne trade and allowing Gascony to be threatened.[96]
The 10-year-old Richard II of England succeeded on the deaths of his father and grandfather, with government in the hands of a regency council until he came of age.[97] The poor state of the economy caused significant civil unrest as his government levied a number of poll taxes to finance military campaigns.[98] The tax of one shilling for everyone over 15 proved particularly unpopular. This, combined with enforcement of the Statute of Labourers, which curbed employment standards and wages,[99] triggered an uprising with refusal to pay the tax. Kent rebels, led by Wat Tyler, marched on London. Initially, there were only attacks on certain properties, many of them associated with John of Gaunt. The rebels are reputed to have been met by the young king himself and presented him with a series of demands, including the dismissal of some of his ministers and the abolition of serfdom. Rebels stormed the Tower of London and executed those hiding there.[100] At Smithfield further negotiations were arranged, but Tyler behaved belligerently and in the ensuing dispute William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, attacked and killed Tyler. Richard seized the initiative shouting "You shall have no captain but me",[101] a statement left deliberately ambiguous to defuse the situation.[102][103] He had promised clemency, but on re-establishing control he pursued, captured and executed the other leaders of the rebellion and all concessions were revoked.[104]
Richard II meets the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt in a painting from Froissart's Chronicles. A group of magnates consisting of the king's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, and Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, became known as the Lords Appellant when they sought to impeach five of the king's favourites and restrain what was increasingly seen as tyrannical and capricious rule.[105] Later they were joined by Henry Bolingbroke, the son and heir of John of Gaunt, and Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. Initially, they were successful in establishing a commission to govern England for one year, but they were forced to rebel against King Richard, defeating an army under Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, at the skirmish of Radcot Bridge. Richard was reduced to a figurehead with little power. As a result of the Merciless Parliament, de Vere and Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk, who had fled abroad, were sentenced to death in their absence. Alexander Neville, Archbishop of York, had all of his worldly goods confiscated. A number of Richard's council were executed. Following John of Gaunt's return from Spain, Richard was able to rebuild his power, having Gloucester murdered in captivity in Calais. Warwick was stripped of his title. Bolingbroke and Mowbray were exiled.[105]
End of Plantagenet main line When John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard disinherited Henry of Bolingbroke, who invaded England in response with a small force that quickly grew in numbers. Meeting little resistance, Henry deposed Richard to have himself crowned Henry IV of England. Richard died in captivity early the next year, probably murdered, bringing an end to the main Plantagenet line.[106]
Plantagenet cadet branches House of Lancaster Main article: House of Lancaster The Battle of Agincourt fought on Saint Crispin's Day. Henry's accession by force broke the principles of Plantagenet succession; from this point any magnate with sufficient power and Plantagenet blood could consider the throne.[107] His assertion that his mother had legitimate rights through descent from Edmund Crouchback, whom he claimed was the elder son of Henry III of England, set aside due to deformity, was not widely believed.[108]
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, was the heir presumptive to Richard II by being the grandson of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. As a child he was not considered a serious contender. He never showed interest in the throne as an adult, instead serving the House of Lancaster loyally. When Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, later plotted to use him to displace Henry's newly crowned son, and their mutual cousin, Edmund informed the new king and the plotters were executed. However, the later marriage of his granddaughter to Richard's son consolidated his descendants' claim to the throne with that of the more junior House of York.[108]
Henry planned to resume war with France, but was plagued with financial problems, declining health and frequent rebellions.[109] A Scottish invasion was defeated at the Battle of Homildon Hill, but it resulted in a long war with Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, for northern England, which was resolved only with the near complete destruction of the Percy family at the Battle of Bramham Moor.[110] In Wales Owain Glyndŵr's widespread rebellion was only put down in 1408.[111] Many saw it as a punishment from God when Henry was later struck down with leprosy and epilepsy.[112]
Hundred Years' War (1415–53) – the Lancastrian war Main article: Hundred Years' War (1415–1453) Hundred Years' War evolution. French territory: yellow; English: grey; Burgundian: dark grey. Henry IV died in 1413. His son and successor, Henry V of England was a successful and ruthless martial leader. Aware that Charles VI of France's mental illness had caused instability in France, he invaded to assert the Plantagenet claims, captured Harfleur, made a chevauchée to Calais and won a near total victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt, despite being outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and low on supplies.[113] In subsequent years Henry recaptured much of Normandy and successfully secured marriage to Catherine of Valois. The resulting Treaty of Troyes stated that Henry's heirs would inherit the throne of France. However, conflict continued with the Dauphin and Henry's brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence, was killed in the defeat at the battle of Baugé in 1421. When Henry died in 1422, possibly with dysentery, he was succeeded by his nine-month old son as Henry VI of England. The elderly Charles VI of France died two months later. Led by Henry's brother John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, there were several more victories, such as the Battle of Verneuil, in 1424, but it was impossible to maintain campaigning at this level. Joan of Arc's involvement helped force the lifting of the siege of Orleans.[114] French victory at the Battle of Patay enabled the Dauphin to be crowned at Reims and continue the successful Fabian tactics, avoiding full frontal assaults and exploiting logistical advantage. Joan was captured by the Burgundians, sold to the English, tried as a witch and burned at the stake.[115]
During the minority of Henry VI the war caused political division amongst the legitimate and illegitimate Plantagenets. Bedford wanted to defend Normandy, Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, just Calais, but Cardinal Beaufort wanted peace.[116] This division led to Humphrey's wife being accused of using witchcraft with the aim of putting him on the throne. Humphrey was later arrested and died in prison.[117] The refusal to renounce the Plantagenet claim to the French crown at the congress of Arras enabled the former Plantagenet ally Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, to reconcile with Charles, while giving Charles time to reorganise his feudal levies into a modern professional army that would put its superior numbers to good use.[118] The French retook Rouen and Bordeaux, regained Normandy, won the Battle of Formigny in 1450[119] and, with victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, brought an end to the war.[120]
The first Western image of a battle with cannon: the Siege of Orleans in 1429 Henry VI was a weak king, vulnerable to the over-mighty subjects created by the decline of Feudalism into bastard feudalism, who took advantage of the feudal levy being replaced by taxation to develop private armies of liveried retainers. The result was rivalries that often spilled over from the courtroom into armed confrontations such as Percy–Neville feud.[121] The common interest given by the war in France had ended, so Richard, Duke of York, and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, used their networks to defy the crown while the gentry attached themselves to different factions depending on their private feuds. Henry became the focus of discontent, as population, agricultural production, prices, wool trade and credit declined in the Great Slump.[122] Most seriously, in 1450 Jack Cade raised a rebellion in an attempt to force the king to address economic problems or abdicate his throne.[123] The uprising was suppressed, but remained deeply unsettling with more radical demands coming from John and William Merfold.[124]
Wars of the Roses Main article: Wars of the Roses Symbolic representation of the Wars of the Roses in art Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York's attitude to the marriage contract of Henry and Margaret of Anjou, which included the surrender of Maine and extended the truce with France, contributed to his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. This conveniently removed him from English and French politics on which he had influence as a descendent of both Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and Edmund, Duke of York.[125] Conscious of the fate of Duke Humphrey at the hands of the Beauforts, and suspicious that Henry intended to nominate Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, as heir presumptive in his stead, he recruited militarily on his return to England. Richard claimed to be a reformer but was possibly plotting against his enemy Somerset. Armed conflict was avoided, because Richard lacked aristocratic support and was forced to swear allegiance to Henry. However, when Henry had a mental breakdown, Richard was named regent. Henry himself was trusting and not a man of war, but Margaret was more assertive, showing open enmity toward Richard, particularly after the birth of a male heir that resolved the succession question.[126]
When Henry's sanity returned, the court party reasserted its authority. Richard of York and the Nevilles, who were related by marriage and had been alienated by Henry's support of the Percys, defeated them at a skirmish called the First Battle of St Albans. Possibly as few as 50 men were killed, but among them were Somerset and the two Percy lords, Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, creating feuds that would prove impossible to reconcile; reputedly Clifford's son would later murder Richard's son Edmund. The ruling class was deeply shocked and reconciliation was attempted.[127][128]
Threatened with treason charges and lacking support, York, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, fled abroad. The Nevilles returned to win the Battle of Northampton, where they captured Henry.[129] When Richard joined them, he surprised Parliament by claiming the throne, then forcing through the Act of Accord, which stated that Henry would remain as monarch for his lifetime, but would be succeeded by York. Margaret found this disregarding of her son's claims unacceptable and so the conflict continued. York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield and his head set on display at Micklegate Bar, along with those of Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, who had both been captured and beheaded.[130]
House of York Main article: House of York Bronze boar mount thought to have been worn by a supporter of Richard III, often described as the last Plantagenet king The Scottish queen Mary of Guelders provided Margaret with support and a Scottish army pillaged into southern England.[131] London resisted in the fear of being plundered, then enthusiastically welcomed York's son Edward, Earl of March, with Parliament confirming that Edward should be made king.[132] Edward was crowned after consolidating his position with victory at the Battle of Towton.[133]
Edward's preferment of the former Lancastrian-supporting Woodville family, following his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, led to Warwick and Clarence helping Margaret depose Edward and return Henry to the throne. Edward and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, fled, but on their return Clarence switched sides at the Battle of Barnet, leading to the death of the Neville brothers. The subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury brought the demise of the last of the male line of the Beauforts. The battlefield execution of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and later murder of Henry VI extinguished the House of Lancaster.
By the mid-1740s, the victorious House of York looked safely established, with seven living male princes, but it quickly brought about its own demise. George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, plotted against his brother and was executed. Following Edward's premature death in 1483, his brother Richard had Parliament declare Edwards's two sons illegitimate on the pretext of an alleged prior pre-contract to Lady Eleanor Talbot, leaving Edward's marriage invalid.[134] Richard seized the throne and the Princes in the Tower were never seen again. Richard's son predeceased him and he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, following an invasion of foreign mercenaries led by Henry Tudor, who claimed the throne through his mother Margaret Beaufort. He assumed the throne as Henry VII, founding the Tudor dynasty and bringing the Plantagenet line of kings to an end.[73]
Henry VII, the Tudors and the Plantagenet descendants Elizabeth of York Henry VII of England was crowned and married Edward's heiress Elizabeth of York to legitimise his reign. Henry battled for more than a decade to prevail over Plantagenet plots by Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy.[135] She sent Lambert Simnel, who purported to be her nephew Warwick, to Ireland. His army of Irish and Flemish supporters was defeated at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487.[136]
The Duchess of Burgundy also claimed that Perkin Warbeck was Richard of Shrewsbury and twice supported invasions of England before Warbeck was captured and imprisoned in 1497. Warbeck's later escape attempt led to his execution and the execution of the last legitimate male line of the Plantagenets, Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, in 1499. When Henry Tudor seized the throne, there were numerous Plantagenet descendants who by later modern standards had a stronger right, including both his mother and future wife. By 1510 the number of claimants had increased by the birth of more than a dozen more Yorkists. Yorkists continued to be imprisoned or executed up to the reign of Elizabeth I of England, with the Tudors ruthlessly extinguishing rival claims to the throne. Many legitimate and illegitimate lines of descent outside of politics remained unmolested, surviving to the present.[73]
Prince Edward's brother John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster assumed leadership of the English in France. Despite further chevauchées, destroying the countryside and the productivity of the land, his efforts were stategically ineffective.[94][95] The French commander, Bertrand Du Guesclin adopted Fabian tactics in avoiding major English field forces while capturing towns, including Poitiers and Bergerac. In a further strategic blow, English dominance at sea was reversed by the disastrous defeat at the Battle of La Rochelle, undermining English seaborne trade and allowing Gascony to be threatened.[96]
The 10-year-old Richard II of England succeeded on the deaths of his father and grandfather, with government in the hands of a regency council until he came of age.[97] The poor state of the economy caused significant civil unrest as his government levied a number of poll taxes to finance military campaigns.[98] The tax of one shilling for everyone over 15 proved particularly unpopular. This, combined with enforcement of the Statute of Labourers, which curbed employment standards and wages,[99] triggered an uprising with refusal to pay the tax. Kent rebels, led by Wat Tyler, marched on London. Initially, there were only attacks on certain properties, many of them associated with John of Gaunt. The rebels are reputed to have been met by the young king himself and presented him with a series of demands, including the dismissal of some of his ministers and the abolition of serfdom. Rebels stormed the Tower of London and executed those hiding there.[100] At Smithfield further negotiations were arranged, but Tyler behaved belligerently and in the ensuing dispute William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London, attacked and killed Tyler. Richard seized the initiative shouting "You shall have no captain but me",[101] a statement left deliberately ambiguous to defuse the situation.[102][103] He had promised clemency, but on re-establishing control he pursued, captured and executed the other leaders of the rebellion and all concessions were revoked.[104]
Richard II meets the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt in a painting from Froissart's Chronicles. A group of magnates consisting of the king's uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel, and Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, became known as the Lords Appellant when they sought to impeach five of the king's favourites and restrain what was increasingly seen as tyrannical and capricious rule.[105] Later they were joined by Henry Bolingbroke, the son and heir of John of Gaunt, and Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. Initially, they were successful in establishing a commission to govern England for one year, but they were forced to rebel against King Richard, defeating an army under Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, at the skirmish of Radcot Bridge. Richard was reduced to a figurehead with little power. As a result of the Merciless Parliament, de Vere and Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk, who had fled abroad, were sentenced to death in their absence. Alexander Neville, Archbishop of York, had all of his worldly goods confiscated. A number of Richard's council were executed. Following John of Gaunt's return from Spain, Richard was able to rebuild his power, having Gloucester murdered in captivity in Calais. Warwick was stripped of his title. Bolingbroke and Mowbray were exiled.[105]
End of Plantagenet main line When John of Gaunt died in 1399, Richard disinherited Henry of Bolingbroke, who invaded England in response with a small force that quickly grew in numbers. Meeting little resistance, Henry deposed Richard to have himself crowned Henry IV of England. Richard died in captivity early the next year, probably murdered, bringing an end to the main Plantagenet line.[106]
Plantagenet cadet branches House of Lancaster Main article: House of Lancaster The Battle of Agincourt fought on Saint Crispin's Day. Henry's accession by force broke the principles of Plantagenet succession; from this point any magnate with sufficient power and Plantagenet blood could consider the throne.[107] His assertion that his mother had legitimate rights through descent from Edmund Crouchback, whom he claimed was the elder son of Henry III of England, set aside due to deformity, was not widely believed.[108]
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, was the heir presumptive to Richard II by being the grandson of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. As a child he was not considered a serious contender. He never showed interest in the throne as an adult, instead serving the House of Lancaster loyally. When Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, later plotted to use him to displace Henry's newly crowned son, and their mutual cousin, Edmund informed the new king and the plotters were executed. However, the later marriage of his granddaughter to Richard's son consolidated his descendants' claim to the throne with that of the more junior House of York.[108]
Henry planned to resume war with France, but was plagued with financial problems, declining health and frequent rebellions.[109] A Scottish invasion was defeated at the Battle of Homildon Hill, but it resulted in a long war with Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, for northern England, which was resolved only with the near complete destruction of the Percy family at the Battle of Bramham Moor.[110] In Wales Owain Glyndŵr's widespread rebellion was only put down in 1408.[111] Many saw it as a punishment from God when Henry was later struck down with leprosy and epilepsy.[112]
Hundred Years' War (1415–53) – the Lancastrian war Main article: Hundred Years' War (1415–1453) Hundred Years' War evolution. French territory: yellow; English: grey; Burgundian: dark grey. Henry IV died in 1413. His son and successor, Henry V of England was a successful and ruthless martial leader. Aware that Charles VI of France's mental illness had caused instability in France, he invaded to assert the Plantagenet claims, captured Harfleur, made a chevauchée to Calais and won a near total victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt, despite being outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and low on supplies.[113] In subsequent years Henry recaptured much of Normandy and successfully secured marriage to Catherine of Valois. The resulting Treaty of Troyes stated that Henry's heirs would inherit the throne of France. However, conflict continued with the Dauphin and Henry's brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence, was killed in the defeat at the battle of Baugé in 1421. When Henry died in 1422, possibly with dysentery, he was succeeded by his nine-month old son as Henry VI of England. The elderly Charles VI of France died two months later. Led by Henry's brother John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, there were several more victories, such as the Battle of Verneuil, in 1424, but it was impossible to maintain campaigning at this level. Joan of Arc's involvement helped force the lifting of the siege of Orleans.[114] French victory at the Battle of Patay enabled the Dauphin to be crowned at Reims and continue the successful Fabian tactics, avoiding full frontal assaults and exploiting logistical advantage. Joan was captured by the Burgundians, sold to the English, tried as a witch and burned at the stake.[115]
During the minority of Henry VI the war caused political division amongst the legitimate and illegitimate Plantagenets. Bedford wanted to defend Normandy, Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, just Calais, but Cardinal Beaufort wanted peace.[116] This division led to Humphrey's wife being accused of using witchcraft with the aim of putting him on the throne. Humphrey was later arrested and died in prison.[117] The refusal to renounce the Plantagenet claim to the French crown at the congress of Arras enabled the former Plantagenet ally Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, to reconcile with Charles, while giving Charles time to reorganise his feudal levies into a modern professional army that would put its superior numbers to good use.[118] The French retook Rouen and Bordeaux, regained Normandy, won the Battle of Formigny in 1450[119] and, with victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, brought an end to the war.[120]
The first Western image of a battle with cannon: the Siege of Orleans in 1429 Henry VI was a weak king, vulnerable to the over-mighty subjects created by the decline of Feudalism into bastard feudalism, who took advantage of the feudal levy being replaced by taxation to develop private armies of liveried retainers. The result was rivalries that often spilled over from the courtroom into armed confrontations such as Percy–Neville feud.[121] The common interest given by the war in France had ended, so Richard, Duke of York, and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, used their networks to defy the crown while the gentry attached themselves to different factions depending on their private feuds. Henry became the focus of discontent, as population, agricultural production, prices, wool trade and credit declined in the Great Slump.[122] Most seriously, in 1450 Jack Cade raised a rebellion in an attempt to force the king to address economic problems or abdicate his throne.[123] The uprising was suppressed, but remained deeply unsettling with more radical demands coming from John and William Merfold.[124]
Wars of the Roses Main article: Wars of the Roses Symbolic representation of the Wars of the Roses in art Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York's attitude to the marriage contract of Henry and Margaret of Anjou, which included the surrender of Maine and extended the truce with France, contributed to his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. This conveniently removed him from English and French politics on which he had influence as a descendent of both Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and Edmund, Duke of York.[125] Conscious of the fate of Duke Humphrey at the hands of the Beauforts, and suspicious that Henry intended to nominate Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, as heir presumptive in his stead, he recruited militarily on his return to England. Richard claimed to be a reformer but was possibly plotting against his enemy Somerset. Armed conflict was avoided, because Richard lacked aristocratic support and was forced to swear allegiance to Henry. However, when Henry had a mental breakdown, Richard was named regent. Henry himself was trusting and not a man of war, but Margaret was more assertive, showing open enmity toward Richard, particularly after the birth of a male heir that resolved the succession question.[126]
When Henry's sanity returned, the court party reasserted its authority. Richard of York and the Nevilles, who were related by marriage and had been alienated by Henry's support of the Percys, defeated them at a skirmish called the First Battle of St Albans. Possibly as few as 50 men were killed, but among them were Somerset and the two Percy lords, Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, creating feuds that would prove impossible to reconcile; reputedly Clifford's son would later murder Richard's son Edmund. The ruling class was deeply shocked and reconciliation was attempted.[127][128]
Threatened with treason charges and lacking support, York, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, fled abroad. The Nevilles returned to win the Battle of Northampton, where they captured Henry.[129] When Richard joined them, he surprised Parliament by claiming the throne, then forcing through the Act of Accord, which stated that Henry would remain as monarch for his lifetime, but would be succeeded by York. Margaret found this disregarding of her son's claims unacceptable and so the conflict continued. York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield and his head set on display at Micklegate Bar, along with those of Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, who had both been captured and beheaded.[130]
House of York Main article: House of York Bronze boar mount thought to have been worn by a supporter of Richard III, often described as the last Plantagenet king The Scottish queen Mary of Guelders provided Margaret with support and a Scottish army pillaged into southern England.[131] London resisted in the fear of being plundered, then enthusiastically welcomed York's son Edward, Earl of March, with Parliament confirming that Edward should be made king.[132] Edward was crowned after consolidating his position with victory at the Battle of Towton.[133]
Edward's preferment of the former Lancastrian-supporting Woodville family, following his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, led to Warwick and Clarence helping Margaret depose Edward and return Henry to the throne. Edward and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, fled, but on their return Clarence switched sides at the Battle of Barnet, leading to the death of the Neville brothers. The subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury brought the demise of the last of the male line of the Beauforts. The battlefield execution of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, and later murder of Henry VI extinguished the House of Lancaster.
By the mid-1740s, the victorious House of York looked safely established, with seven living male princes, but it quickly brought about its own demise. George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, plotted against his brother and was executed. Following Edward's premature death in 1483, his brother Richard had Parliament declare Edwards's two sons illegitimate on the pretext of an alleged prior pre-contract to Lady Eleanor Talbot, leaving Edward's marriage invalid.[134] Richard seized the throne and the Princes in the Tower were never seen again. Richard's son predeceased him and he was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, following an invasion of foreign mercenaries led by Henry Tudor, who claimed the throne through his mother Margaret Beaufort. He assumed the throne as Henry VII, founding the Tudor dynasty and bringing the Plantagenet line of kings to an end.[73]
Henry VII, the Tudors and the Plantagenet descendants Elizabeth of York Henry VII of England was crowned and married Edward's heiress Elizabeth of York to legitimise his reign. Henry battled for more than a decade to prevail over Plantagenet plots by Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy.[135] She sent Lambert Simnel, who purported to be her nephew Warwick, to Ireland. His army of Irish and Flemish supporters was defeated at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487.[136]
The Duchess of Burgundy also claimed that Perkin Warbeck was Richard of Shrewsbury and twice supported invasions of England before Warbeck was captured and imprisoned in 1497. Warbeck's later escape attempt led to his execution and the execution of the last legitimate male line of the Plantagenets, Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, in 1499. When Henry Tudor seized the throne, there were numerous Plantagenet descendants who by later modern standards had a stronger right, including both his mother and future wife. By 1510 the number of claimants had increased by the birth of more than a dozen more Yorkists. Yorkists continued to be imprisoned or executed up to the reign of Elizabeth I of England, with the Tudors ruthlessly extinguishing rival claims to the throne. Many legitimate and illegitimate lines of descent outside of politics remained unmolested, surviving to the present.[73]
The Norwegian Roots of the Dukes of Normandy
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewski, B.F.A.
Halfdan the Old was a Norwegian Noble (b. 730)
Ivar Uppland
Eystein Glumra
Rognvald the Mighty, Earl of More, Earl of Shetland and Orkney.
His Legitimate Sons:
.....Ivan
.....Thorir, "the silent"
.....Hrolf, "the ganger," Duke of Normandy
His Illegitimate Sons:
.....Hallad was the next earl, then Einar became the earl of Orkney.
.....Hrollaug
Rognvald's brother was called Sigurd.
.....Einar.
The Duchy of Normandy and the House of Wessex:
GENERATION ONE:
Rollo/Hrolf the Ganger (b. 850) (reigned 911-925) was a Norwegian Viking chieftain, he seized Rouen in 876. He invested in land on the lower Siene circa 911. He was at the castle of St. Clair-sur-Epte. Hrolf was Rollo, in Latin. He married Gisele, the daughter of the King of France. Rollo was baptized a Christian in a fountain fed by a spring names in honor of Saint Clair, who was martyred in 884. Rollo's second wife was Popee, the daughter of the Count of Bayeaux. Popee's son was William Longsword.
GENERATION TWO:
William I (925-942), "Longsword," was the son of Rollo.
.....Edgar (b. 943)was known as "the Peaceful." He was King of Mercia and Northumbria (973-975). Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey on May 11, 973. He was the brother of Eadwig and son of Edmund I. Edgar died on July 8, 975 (age 32) and is buried in Glastonbury Abbey.
GENERATION THREE:
Richard I (942-966) known as "the Fearless," was the Duke of Normandy. He married Gunnor of Denmark. Richard was the son of William I.
.....Athelred II, "the Unready" (b. 968), was the son of Edgar and Elfrida. He died on April 23, 1016, in London (at age 48), and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. Athered married (1) Elgiva (463-1002) (2) Emmas (985-1052).
GENERATION FOUR:
Richard II (996-1026), "The Good." Richard II was the son of Richard I.
.....St. Edward II, the Martyr (963-975), who was murdered by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida. Edward's father was Edgar the Peaceful (957-975). Edward's son was Edmund II, "Ironsides.".
GENERATION FIVE:
Richard III (1036-1027). Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard III.
..... Edmund II Ironside (989-1016), King of England, married Algitha in 1016, widow of Sigfrid, thane of East Anglia, a Danish noble. Edward was the son of Ethered II (966-979). Edward fled to Normandy. Edward's son was known as Edward the Exiled. Edmund died on November 30, 1016 (at age 27) and was buried in Old St. Paul's Cathedral. Edmund was the son of Athelred II.
GENERATION SIX:
Richard III (1036-1027), Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard II.
Robert I (1027-1035), "the Magnificent," was the brother of Richard III. He died while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035.
Arlette, the daughter of the tanner of Falaise was the mother of William II of Normandy (William I of England).
..... Edward the Exiled (1017-1057) married Agatha of Germany, daughter of Conrad II of Franconia, Holy Roman Emperor. Edward's most famous daughter was St. Margaret of Scotland.
GENERATION SEVEN:
..... St. Margaret (1045-1093) married Malcolm III "Canmore," King of the Scots, (1058-1093), in 1069. Malcolm III was the eldest son of Duncan I (1034-1040) of Scotland. Margaret was Malcolm's second wife. Malcolm was crowned, King of the Scots, in Scone Abbey on April 25, 1058.
THE CHILDREN OF MALCOLM III WERE:
.....Duncan died in 1094. Duncan was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Ingibiorg, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Holland/Earl of Orkney.
.....Edward died in 1093.
.....Edgar (1097-1107), King of Scots (1074-1107) Edgar was the son of Malcolm II of Scotland and Margaret.
.....Alexander I (1077-1124), King of Scots (1107-1124)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. Alexander married Sybilla (d. 1122), natural daughter of Henry I, King of England.
.....St. David I (1085-1153), King of Scots (1124-1153)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. David married Matilda (d. 1130), daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon.
*****Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III and Margaret of Scotland. She married Henry I, King of England (1068-1135) in 1100.
.....Mary (d. 1116) married Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, in 1102.
William II, the Conqueror was born in 1027 in Falaise. He was the Duke of Normandy (1035-1087), was the son of Robert I. He was William I (1066-1087), King of England. He married Matilda (d. 1083), daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, in 1050. William built the abbey church of Jumieges; the abbey aux Hommes (St. Etienne), which was begun in 1068; and the abbey aux Dames (La Trinite).
Robert II (1087-1106), "Curthose," the Duke of Normandy was the son of William II. Robert was deposed, and died in 1134.
Wiliam II (b. 1057), King of England ("Rufus") (1087-1100) was the son of William the Conqueror.
Henry I, King of Normandy (1100-1135) was the brother of Robert II , King of England (1106-1135). Henry married Edith/Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland, son of Duncan I, King of Scots in 1034. Duncan was murdered in 1040. Matilda's mother was St Margaret, daughter of Edward the Exile (1017-1057) and Agatha.
THE CHILDREN OF HENRY I AND MATILDA WERE:
.....William (d. 1120) was born February 23, 1103.
.....Matilda, the Empress was born February 7, 1102, and died September 10, 1167. She is buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Holloui. She married (1) Henry V on November 23, 1133, at Le Mans. Henry V was King of Worms in 1106. (2) Geoffrey of Anjou (b. 1134)
CHILDREN OF GEOFFREY AND MATILDA WERE:
.....William was born July 22, 1136.
.....Henry II, King of England (1154-1189) who married Eleanor of Acquitane.
Matilda was only eight years old when she married. She was raised buy her aunt Christina, the abbess of Wilton.
GENERATION NINE:
Geoffrey Plantagenet, "the Fair" was the 10th Count of Anjou(1149-1150). Geoffrey adicated and died in 1151. Count of Maine (1129) and Duke of Normandy (1144-1149), was the son of Fulk V (1109-1129), the younger, King of Jerusalem (1131-1143). Geoffrey married Matilda (1103-1167), Queen of England, in 1141, daughter of Henry I. Henry I died of lamprey eel poisoning.
.....Henry II,Duke of Normandy and King of England (1151-1189) was the son of Matilda, duaghter of Henry I and Geoffrey. Henry married Eleanor of Aquitane (1122-1204), daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine (1126-1137).
THE CHILDREN OF HENRY II AND ELEANOR WERE:
.....William (1153-1156).
.....Henry (1155-1183)
.....Matilda (1156-1189)
.....Richard (1157-1199)
.....Geoffrey (1158-1186)
.....Eleanor (1163-1215)
.....Joan (1165-1199)
.....John (1167-1216). In 1215, the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, the charter that said that kings were not above the law.
GENERATION TEN:
Robert II of Dreux who married Alix, daughter of Constance and Guy of Thouars. Alix was regent from 1221-1237. Alix (1203-1221) was from the Plantagenet line. Robert died in 1250
At this time, the French believed their kings could heal the skin disease scrofula by touch alone. Scrofula is a disorder characterized by grandular swelling.
GENERATION ELEVEN:
......Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1166-1186), was the son of Henry II of England. He married Constance, daughter of Conan IV, Earl of Richmond in 1181. Conan (1156-1166), the younger was the son of Bertha and Alan of Richmond; who was desposed and died in 1171. His son was Arthur I (1187-1203).
GENERATION TWELVE:
-----John of England (1167-1216) took his throne in 1199. He married Isabella (d. 1246) the daughter of Aimar Tsilifer, Count of Angouleme. Isabella married (2) to Hugh de Lusignan, the Count of Marche, in 1220. John descends from William I, the Conqueror. John's son was King Henry III (1207-1272), who took the throne in 1216. (Louda, Table 2).
> SOURCES:
Ashley, Mike. British Knights and Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1998.
Bouchard, Constance Brittain. Strong of Body, Brave, and Noble. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Cannon, John & Ralph Griffiths. Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Chibnall, Marjorie. The Empress Matilda. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995.
Jallam, Elizabeth. Chronicle of the Crusades. New York: Welcome Rain, 2000>
Louda, Jiri and Michael MacLagan. Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. New Tork: Barnes & Noble Books, 2002.
Markale, Jean. Cathedral of the Black Madonna. Rochester, VT.: Inner Traditions, 1998.
Morby, John E. Oxford Dynasties of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Roach, Marilynne. The Salem With Trials. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002.
Smith, Elsdon C. New Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Gramercy Publishing Company, 1988.
Written and researched by Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewski, B.F.A.
Halfdan the Old was a Norwegian Noble (b. 730)
Ivar Uppland
Eystein Glumra
Rognvald the Mighty, Earl of More, Earl of Shetland and Orkney.
His Legitimate Sons:
.....Ivan
.....Thorir, "the silent"
.....Hrolf, "the ganger," Duke of Normandy
His Illegitimate Sons:
.....Hallad was the next earl, then Einar became the earl of Orkney.
.....Hrollaug
Rognvald's brother was called Sigurd.
.....Einar.
The Duchy of Normandy and the House of Wessex:
GENERATION ONE:
Rollo/Hrolf the Ganger (b. 850) (reigned 911-925) was a Norwegian Viking chieftain, he seized Rouen in 876. He invested in land on the lower Siene circa 911. He was at the castle of St. Clair-sur-Epte. Hrolf was Rollo, in Latin. He married Gisele, the daughter of the King of France. Rollo was baptized a Christian in a fountain fed by a spring names in honor of Saint Clair, who was martyred in 884. Rollo's second wife was Popee, the daughter of the Count of Bayeaux. Popee's son was William Longsword.
GENERATION TWO:
William I (925-942), "Longsword," was the son of Rollo.
.....Edgar (b. 943)was known as "the Peaceful." He was King of Mercia and Northumbria (973-975). Edgar was crowned in Bath Abbey on May 11, 973. He was the brother of Eadwig and son of Edmund I. Edgar died on July 8, 975 (age 32) and is buried in Glastonbury Abbey.
GENERATION THREE:
Richard I (942-966) known as "the Fearless," was the Duke of Normandy. He married Gunnor of Denmark. Richard was the son of William I.
.....Athelred II, "the Unready" (b. 968), was the son of Edgar and Elfrida. He died on April 23, 1016, in London (at age 48), and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. Athered married (1) Elgiva (463-1002) (2) Emmas (985-1052).
GENERATION FOUR:
Richard II (996-1026), "The Good." Richard II was the son of Richard I.
.....St. Edward II, the Martyr (963-975), who was murdered by his stepmother, Queen Elfrida. Edward's father was Edgar the Peaceful (957-975). Edward's son was Edmund II, "Ironsides.".
GENERATION FIVE:
Richard III (1036-1027). Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard III.
..... Edmund II Ironside (989-1016), King of England, married Algitha in 1016, widow of Sigfrid, thane of East Anglia, a Danish noble. Edward was the son of Ethered II (966-979). Edward fled to Normandy. Edward's son was known as Edward the Exiled. Edmund died on November 30, 1016 (at age 27) and was buried in Old St. Paul's Cathedral. Edmund was the son of Athelred II.
GENERATION SIX:
Richard III (1036-1027), Duke of Normandy, was the son of Richard II.
Robert I (1027-1035), "the Magnificent," was the brother of Richard III. He died while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035.
Arlette, the daughter of the tanner of Falaise was the mother of William II of Normandy (William I of England).
..... Edward the Exiled (1017-1057) married Agatha of Germany, daughter of Conrad II of Franconia, Holy Roman Emperor. Edward's most famous daughter was St. Margaret of Scotland.
GENERATION SEVEN:
..... St. Margaret (1045-1093) married Malcolm III "Canmore," King of the Scots, (1058-1093), in 1069. Malcolm III was the eldest son of Duncan I (1034-1040) of Scotland. Margaret was Malcolm's second wife. Malcolm was crowned, King of the Scots, in Scone Abbey on April 25, 1058.
THE CHILDREN OF MALCOLM III WERE:
.....Duncan died in 1094. Duncan was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Ingibiorg, daughter of Finn Arnesson, Jarl of Holland/Earl of Orkney.
.....Edward died in 1093.
.....Edgar (1097-1107), King of Scots (1074-1107) Edgar was the son of Malcolm II of Scotland and Margaret.
.....Alexander I (1077-1124), King of Scots (1107-1124)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. Alexander married Sybilla (d. 1122), natural daughter of Henry I, King of England.
.....St. David I (1085-1153), King of Scots (1124-1153)was the son of Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret. David married Matilda (d. 1130), daughter of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon.
*****Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III and Margaret of Scotland. She married Henry I, King of England (1068-1135) in 1100.
.....Mary (d. 1116) married Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, in 1102.
William II, the Conqueror was born in 1027 in Falaise. He was the Duke of Normandy (1035-1087), was the son of Robert I. He was William I (1066-1087), King of England. He married Matilda (d. 1083), daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, in 1050. William built the abbey church of Jumieges; the abbey aux Hommes (St. Etienne), which was begun in 1068; and the abbey aux Dames (La Trinite).
- The children of William I of England (1066-1087) and Matilda of Flanders were:
- Robert, Duke of Normandy married Sibyl of Conversano in Italy. No issue.
- William II "Rufus," King of England (1087-1100) ruled the Duchy of Normandy. He died August 2, 1100, leaving no issue.
- Adela married Stephen, Count of Blois.
- Henry I, King of England (1100-1135) received his mother's land in Cotentin, Normandy. Henry married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots and Margaret, daughter of Edgar Atheling, and great-grand-daughter of Edmund Ironsides.
Robert II (1087-1106), "Curthose," the Duke of Normandy was the son of William II. Robert was deposed, and died in 1134.
Wiliam II (b. 1057), King of England ("Rufus") (1087-1100) was the son of William the Conqueror.
Henry I, King of Normandy (1100-1135) was the brother of Robert II , King of England (1106-1135). Henry married Edith/Matilda (1079-1118), daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland, son of Duncan I, King of Scots in 1034. Duncan was murdered in 1040. Matilda's mother was St Margaret, daughter of Edward the Exile (1017-1057) and Agatha.
THE CHILDREN OF HENRY I AND MATILDA WERE:
.....William (d. 1120) was born February 23, 1103.
.....Matilda, the Empress was born February 7, 1102, and died September 10, 1167. She is buried in the Abbey church of Bec-Holloui. She married (1) Henry V on November 23, 1133, at Le Mans. Henry V was King of Worms in 1106. (2) Geoffrey of Anjou (b. 1134)
CHILDREN OF GEOFFREY AND MATILDA WERE:
.....William was born July 22, 1136.
.....Henry II, King of England (1154-1189) who married Eleanor of Acquitane.
Matilda was only eight years old when she married. She was raised buy her aunt Christina, the abbess of Wilton.
GENERATION NINE:
Geoffrey Plantagenet, "the Fair" was the 10th Count of Anjou(1149-1150). Geoffrey adicated and died in 1151. Count of Maine (1129) and Duke of Normandy (1144-1149), was the son of Fulk V (1109-1129), the younger, King of Jerusalem (1131-1143). Geoffrey married Matilda (1103-1167), Queen of England, in 1141, daughter of Henry I. Henry I died of lamprey eel poisoning.
.....Henry II,Duke of Normandy and King of England (1151-1189) was the son of Matilda, duaghter of Henry I and Geoffrey. Henry married Eleanor of Aquitane (1122-1204), daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine (1126-1137).
THE CHILDREN OF HENRY II AND ELEANOR WERE:
.....William (1153-1156).
.....Henry (1155-1183)
.....Matilda (1156-1189)
.....Richard (1157-1199)
.....Geoffrey (1158-1186)
.....Eleanor (1163-1215)
.....Joan (1165-1199)
.....John (1167-1216). In 1215, the barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, the charter that said that kings were not above the law.
GENERATION TEN:
Robert II of Dreux who married Alix, daughter of Constance and Guy of Thouars. Alix was regent from 1221-1237. Alix (1203-1221) was from the Plantagenet line. Robert died in 1250
At this time, the French believed their kings could heal the skin disease scrofula by touch alone. Scrofula is a disorder characterized by grandular swelling.
GENERATION ELEVEN:
......Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (1166-1186), was the son of Henry II of England. He married Constance, daughter of Conan IV, Earl of Richmond in 1181. Conan (1156-1166), the younger was the son of Bertha and Alan of Richmond; who was desposed and died in 1171. His son was Arthur I (1187-1203).
GENERATION TWELVE:
-----John of England (1167-1216) took his throne in 1199. He married Isabella (d. 1246) the daughter of Aimar Tsilifer, Count of Angouleme. Isabella married (2) to Hugh de Lusignan, the Count of Marche, in 1220. John descends from William I, the Conqueror. John's son was King Henry III (1207-1272), who took the throne in 1216. (Louda, Table 2).
> SOURCES:
Ashley, Mike. British Knights and Queens. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1998.
Bouchard, Constance Brittain. Strong of Body, Brave, and Noble. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Cannon, John & Ralph Griffiths. Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Chibnall, Marjorie. The Empress Matilda. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1995.
Jallam, Elizabeth. Chronicle of the Crusades. New York: Welcome Rain, 2000>
Louda, Jiri and Michael MacLagan. Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. New Tork: Barnes & Noble Books, 2002.
Markale, Jean. Cathedral of the Black Madonna. Rochester, VT.: Inner Traditions, 1998.
Morby, John E. Oxford Dynasties of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Roach, Marilynne. The Salem With Trials. New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2002.
Smith, Elsdon C. New Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Gramercy Publishing Company, 1988.
Women married to the Plantagenet kings of England had quite different backgrounds. Here's a list of these English queens, with basic information about each, and some linked to a more detailed biography:
1. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)© 2011
Mother: Aenor de Châtellerault, daughter of Dangereuse, mistress of William IX of Aquitaine, by Aimeric I of Châtellerault
Father: William X, Duke of Aquitaine
Titles: was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right; was Queen consort of France's King Louis VII before they divorced and she married the future Henry II
Queen consort to: Henry II (1133-1189, ruled 1154-1189) -- earlier Louis VII of France (1120-1180, ruled 1137-1180)
Married: Henry II May 18, 1152 (Louis VII in 1137, marriage annulled March 1152)
Coronation: (as Queen of England) December 19, 1154
Children: By Henry: William IX, Count of Poitiers; Henry, the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Eleanor, Queen of Castile; Joan, Queen of Sicily; John of England. (By Louis VII: Marie, Countess of Champagne, and Alix, Countess of Blois.)
Eleanor was Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers in her own right after the death of her father when she was 15. Married to then had her marriage annulled from the King of France after having two daughters, Eleanor married the future King of England. In their long marriage, she was, at different times, regent and prisoner, and she was involved in the struggles between her husband and sons. As a widow, she continued active involvement. Eleanor's long life was filled with drama and many opportunities to exert power, as well as times when she was at the mercy of others. Eleanor's life has attracted many historical and fictional treatments.
More About Eleanor of Aquitaine
2. Margaret of France (1157 - 1197)
Mother: Constance of Castile
Father: Louis VII of France
Queen consort to: Henry the Young King (1155-1183; co-ruled as junior king with his father, Henry II, 1170-1183)
Married: November 2, 1160 (or August 27, 1172) Coronation: August 27, 1172
Children: William, died as an infant
Also married to: Bela III of Hungary
Married: 1186, widowed 1196
Her father was the former husband (Louis VII) of her husband's mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine); her older half-sisters were thus also half-sisters of her husband.
3. Berengaria of Navarre (1163?-1230)
Mother: Blanche of Castile
Father: King Sancho IV of Navarre (Sancho the Wise)
Queen consort to: Richard I Lionheart (1157-1199, ruled 1189-1199)
Married: May 12, 1191
Coronation: May 12, 1191
Children: none
Richard is reported to have been engaged first to Alys of France, who was probably his father's mistress. Berengaria joined Richard on crusade, accompanied by his mother, who was almost 70 years old at the time. Many believe that their marriage was not consummated, and Berengaria never visited England during her husband's lifetime.
More About Berengaria
4. Isabella of Angoulême (1188?-1246)
Also known as: Isabelle of Angoulême, Isabelle of Angouleme
Mother: Alice de Courtenay (King Louis VI of France was her mother's grandfather)
Father: Aymar Taillefer, Count of Angoulême
Queen consort to: John of England (1166-1216, ruled 1199-1216)
Married: August 24, 1200 (John had his previous marriage to Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, annulled; they were married from 1189-1199).
Children: Henry III of England; Richard, Earl of Cornwall; Joan, Queen of Scots; Isabella, Holy Roman Empress; Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke.
Also married to: Hugh X of Lusignan (~1183 or 1195-1249)
Married: 1220
Children: nine, including Hugh XI of Lusignan; Aymer, Alice, William, Isabella.
John had beem married to Isabel (also known as Hawise, Joan or Eleanor), Countess of Gloucestor, in 1189, but had the childless marriage annulled before or shortly after he became king, and she was never queen. Isabella of Angouleme married John when she was twelve to fourteen (scholars disagree on her birth year). She was Countess of Angoulême in her own right from 1202. John also had a number of children by various mistresses. Isabella had been betrothed to Hugh X of Lusignan before her marriage to John. After she was widowed, she returned to her homeland and married Hugh XI.
More About Isabella of Angoulême
5. Eleanor of Provence (~1223-1291)
Mother: Beatrice of Savoy
Father: Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence
Sister to: Marguerite of Provence, Queen consort of Louis IX of France; Sanchia of Provence, Queen consort of Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans; Beatrice of Provence, Queen consort of Charles I of Sicily
Queen consort to: Henry III (1207-1272, ruled 1216-1272)
Married: January 14, 1236
Coronation: January 14, 1236
Children: Edward I Longshanks of England; Margaret (married Alexander III of Scotland); Beatrice (married John II, Duke of Brittany); Edmund, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster; Katharine (died at age 3).
Eleanor was very unpopular with her English subjects. She did not remarry after her husband's death, but helped raise some of her grandchildren.
6. Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290)© 2011
Also known as: Leonor, Aleienor
Mother: Joan of Dammartin, Countess of Pointhieu
Father: Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon
Grandmother: Eleanor of England
Title: Eleanor was Countess of Ponthieu in her own right
Queen consort to: Edward I Longshanks of England (1239-1307, ruled 1272-1307
Married: November 1, 1254
Coronation: August 19, 1274
Children: Sixteen, many of whom died in childhood. Surviving to adulthood: Eleanor, married Henry II of Bar; Joan of Acre, married to Gilbert de Clare and Ralph de Monthermer; Margaret, married John II of Brabant; Mary, Benedictine nun; Elizabeth, married John I of Holland, and Humphrey de Bohun; Edward II of England, born 1284.
Countess of Ponthieu from 1279. "Eleanor crosses" in England, three of which survive, were erected by Edward in his mourning for her.
7. Margaret of France (1279?-1318)
Also known as: Marguerite
Mother: Maria of Brabant
Father: Philip III of France
Queen consort to: Edward I Longshanks of England (1239-1307, ruled 1272-1307)
Married: September 8, 1299 (Edward was 60)
Coronation; never crowned
Children: Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk; Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent; Eleanor (died in childhood)
Edward had sent to France to marry Blanche of France, Margaret's sister, but Blanche was already promised to another man. Edward was offered Margaret instead, who was about eleven years old. Edward refused, declared war on FranceFrance. After five years, he married her as part of the peace settlement. She never remarried after Edward's death. Her younger son was the father of Joan of Kent.
8. Isabella of France (1292-1358)© 2011
Mother: Joan I of Navarre
Father: Philip IV of France
Queen consort to: Edward II of England (1284-1327?, ruled 1307, deposed 1327 by Isabella)
Married: January 25, 1308
Coronation: February 25, 1308
Children: Edward III of England; John, Earl of Cornwall; Eleanor, married Reinoud II of Guelders; Joan, married David II of Scotland
Isabella turned against her husband over his apparent affairs with several men; she was a lover of and fellow conspirator with Roger Mortimer in his rebellion against Edward II whom they deposed. Her son Edward III rebelled against Mortimer and Isabella's rule, executing Mortimer and allowing Isabella to retire. Isabella was called the She-Wolf of France. Three of her brothers became King of France. England's claim to the throne of France through Margaret's lineage led to the Hundred Years War.
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9. Philippa of Hainault (1314-1369)
.Mother: Joan of Valois, granddaughter of Philip III of France
Father: William I, Count of Hainault
Queen consort to: Edward III of England (1312-1377, ruled 1327-1377)
Married: January 24, 1328
Coronation: March 4, 1330
Children: Edward, Prince of Wales, known as The Black Prince; Isabella, married Enguerrand VII of Coucy; Lady Joan, died in the Black Death epidemnic of 1348; Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence; John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Edmund of Langley, Duke of York; Mary of Waltham, married John V of Brittany; Margaret, married John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke; Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; five died in infancy.
Her sister Margaret was married to Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. She was Countess of Hainault from 1345. A descendant of King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne and of Harold II, she married Edward and was crowned during the time his mother, Isabella, and Roger Mortimer were acting as Edward's regents. Philippa of Hainault and Edward III had an apparently close marriage. Queen's College at Oxford is named for her.
10. Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394)© 2011
Also known as: Anne of Pomerania-Luxembourg
Mother: Elizabeth of Pomerania
Father: Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Queen consort to: Richard II of England (1367-1400, ruled 1377-1400)
Married: January 22, 1382
Coronation: January 22, 1382
Children: no children
Her marriage came about as part of the papal schism, with support of Pope Urban VI. Anne, who was disliked by many in England and brought no dowry, died of the plague after twelve childless years of marriage.
11. Isabelle of Valois (1389-1409)© 2011
Also known as: Isabella of France, Isabella of Valois
Mother: Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt
Father: Charles VI of France
Queen consort to: Richard II of England (1367-1400, ruled 1377-1399, deposed), son of Edward, the Black Prince
Married: October 31, 1396, widowed 1400 at age ten.
Coronation: January 8, 1397
Children: none
Also married to: Charles, Duke of Oreleans, 1406.
Children: Joan or Jeanne, married John II of Alençon
Isabelle was only six when she was married, as a political move, to Richard of England. Only ten when he died, they had no children. Her husband's successor, Henry IV, tried to marry her to his son, who later became Henry V, but Isabelle refused. She remarried after returning to France, and died in childbirth at age 19. Her younger sister, Catherine of Valois, married Henry V.
1. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)© 2011
Mother: Aenor de Châtellerault, daughter of Dangereuse, mistress of William IX of Aquitaine, by Aimeric I of Châtellerault
Father: William X, Duke of Aquitaine
Titles: was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right; was Queen consort of France's King Louis VII before they divorced and she married the future Henry II
Queen consort to: Henry II (1133-1189, ruled 1154-1189) -- earlier Louis VII of France (1120-1180, ruled 1137-1180)
Married: Henry II May 18, 1152 (Louis VII in 1137, marriage annulled March 1152)
Coronation: (as Queen of England) December 19, 1154
Children: By Henry: William IX, Count of Poitiers; Henry, the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Eleanor, Queen of Castile; Joan, Queen of Sicily; John of England. (By Louis VII: Marie, Countess of Champagne, and Alix, Countess of Blois.)
Eleanor was Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers in her own right after the death of her father when she was 15. Married to then had her marriage annulled from the King of France after having two daughters, Eleanor married the future King of England. In their long marriage, she was, at different times, regent and prisoner, and she was involved in the struggles between her husband and sons. As a widow, she continued active involvement. Eleanor's long life was filled with drama and many opportunities to exert power, as well as times when she was at the mercy of others. Eleanor's life has attracted many historical and fictional treatments.
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2. Margaret of France (1157 - 1197)
Mother: Constance of Castile
Father: Louis VII of France
Queen consort to: Henry the Young King (1155-1183; co-ruled as junior king with his father, Henry II, 1170-1183)
Married: November 2, 1160 (or August 27, 1172) Coronation: August 27, 1172
Children: William, died as an infant
Also married to: Bela III of Hungary
Married: 1186, widowed 1196
Her father was the former husband (Louis VII) of her husband's mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine); her older half-sisters were thus also half-sisters of her husband.
3. Berengaria of Navarre (1163?-1230)
Mother: Blanche of Castile
Father: King Sancho IV of Navarre (Sancho the Wise)
Queen consort to: Richard I Lionheart (1157-1199, ruled 1189-1199)
Married: May 12, 1191
Coronation: May 12, 1191
Children: none
Richard is reported to have been engaged first to Alys of France, who was probably his father's mistress. Berengaria joined Richard on crusade, accompanied by his mother, who was almost 70 years old at the time. Many believe that their marriage was not consummated, and Berengaria never visited England during her husband's lifetime.
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4. Isabella of Angoulême (1188?-1246)
Also known as: Isabelle of Angoulême, Isabelle of Angouleme
Mother: Alice de Courtenay (King Louis VI of France was her mother's grandfather)
Father: Aymar Taillefer, Count of Angoulême
Queen consort to: John of England (1166-1216, ruled 1199-1216)
Married: August 24, 1200 (John had his previous marriage to Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, annulled; they were married from 1189-1199).
Children: Henry III of England; Richard, Earl of Cornwall; Joan, Queen of Scots; Isabella, Holy Roman Empress; Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke.
Also married to: Hugh X of Lusignan (~1183 or 1195-1249)
Married: 1220
Children: nine, including Hugh XI of Lusignan; Aymer, Alice, William, Isabella.
John had beem married to Isabel (also known as Hawise, Joan or Eleanor), Countess of Gloucestor, in 1189, but had the childless marriage annulled before or shortly after he became king, and she was never queen. Isabella of Angouleme married John when she was twelve to fourteen (scholars disagree on her birth year). She was Countess of Angoulême in her own right from 1202. John also had a number of children by various mistresses. Isabella had been betrothed to Hugh X of Lusignan before her marriage to John. After she was widowed, she returned to her homeland and married Hugh XI.
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5. Eleanor of Provence (~1223-1291)
Mother: Beatrice of Savoy
Father: Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence
Sister to: Marguerite of Provence, Queen consort of Louis IX of France; Sanchia of Provence, Queen consort of Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans; Beatrice of Provence, Queen consort of Charles I of Sicily
Queen consort to: Henry III (1207-1272, ruled 1216-1272)
Married: January 14, 1236
Coronation: January 14, 1236
Children: Edward I Longshanks of England; Margaret (married Alexander III of Scotland); Beatrice (married John II, Duke of Brittany); Edmund, 1st Earl of Leicester and Lancaster; Katharine (died at age 3).
Eleanor was very unpopular with her English subjects. She did not remarry after her husband's death, but helped raise some of her grandchildren.
6. Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290)© 2011
Also known as: Leonor, Aleienor
Mother: Joan of Dammartin, Countess of Pointhieu
Father: Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon
Grandmother: Eleanor of England
Title: Eleanor was Countess of Ponthieu in her own right
Queen consort to: Edward I Longshanks of England (1239-1307, ruled 1272-1307
Married: November 1, 1254
Coronation: August 19, 1274
Children: Sixteen, many of whom died in childhood. Surviving to adulthood: Eleanor, married Henry II of Bar; Joan of Acre, married to Gilbert de Clare and Ralph de Monthermer; Margaret, married John II of Brabant; Mary, Benedictine nun; Elizabeth, married John I of Holland, and Humphrey de Bohun; Edward II of England, born 1284.
Countess of Ponthieu from 1279. "Eleanor crosses" in England, three of which survive, were erected by Edward in his mourning for her.
7. Margaret of France (1279?-1318)
Also known as: Marguerite
Mother: Maria of Brabant
Father: Philip III of France
Queen consort to: Edward I Longshanks of England (1239-1307, ruled 1272-1307)
Married: September 8, 1299 (Edward was 60)
Coronation; never crowned
Children: Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk; Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent; Eleanor (died in childhood)
Edward had sent to France to marry Blanche of France, Margaret's sister, but Blanche was already promised to another man. Edward was offered Margaret instead, who was about eleven years old. Edward refused, declared war on FranceFrance. After five years, he married her as part of the peace settlement. She never remarried after Edward's death. Her younger son was the father of Joan of Kent.
8. Isabella of France (1292-1358)© 2011
Mother: Joan I of Navarre
Father: Philip IV of France
Queen consort to: Edward II of England (1284-1327?, ruled 1307, deposed 1327 by Isabella)
Married: January 25, 1308
Coronation: February 25, 1308
Children: Edward III of England; John, Earl of Cornwall; Eleanor, married Reinoud II of Guelders; Joan, married David II of Scotland
Isabella turned against her husband over his apparent affairs with several men; she was a lover of and fellow conspirator with Roger Mortimer in his rebellion against Edward II whom they deposed. Her son Edward III rebelled against Mortimer and Isabella's rule, executing Mortimer and allowing Isabella to retire. Isabella was called the She-Wolf of France. Three of her brothers became King of France. England's claim to the throne of France through Margaret's lineage led to the Hundred Years War.
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9. Philippa of Hainault (1314-1369)
.Mother: Joan of Valois, granddaughter of Philip III of France
Father: William I, Count of Hainault
Queen consort to: Edward III of England (1312-1377, ruled 1327-1377)
Married: January 24, 1328
Coronation: March 4, 1330
Children: Edward, Prince of Wales, known as The Black Prince; Isabella, married Enguerrand VII of Coucy; Lady Joan, died in the Black Death epidemnic of 1348; Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence; John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Edmund of Langley, Duke of York; Mary of Waltham, married John V of Brittany; Margaret, married John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke; Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; five died in infancy.
Her sister Margaret was married to Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. She was Countess of Hainault from 1345. A descendant of King Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne and of Harold II, she married Edward and was crowned during the time his mother, Isabella, and Roger Mortimer were acting as Edward's regents. Philippa of Hainault and Edward III had an apparently close marriage. Queen's College at Oxford is named for her.
10. Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394)© 2011
Also known as: Anne of Pomerania-Luxembourg
Mother: Elizabeth of Pomerania
Father: Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Queen consort to: Richard II of England (1367-1400, ruled 1377-1400)
Married: January 22, 1382
Coronation: January 22, 1382
Children: no children
Her marriage came about as part of the papal schism, with support of Pope Urban VI. Anne, who was disliked by many in England and brought no dowry, died of the plague after twelve childless years of marriage.
11. Isabelle of Valois (1389-1409)© 2011
Also known as: Isabella of France, Isabella of Valois
Mother: Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt
Father: Charles VI of France
Queen consort to: Richard II of England (1367-1400, ruled 1377-1399, deposed), son of Edward, the Black Prince
Married: October 31, 1396, widowed 1400 at age ten.
Coronation: January 8, 1397
Children: none
Also married to: Charles, Duke of Oreleans, 1406.
Children: Joan or Jeanne, married John II of Alençon
Isabelle was only six when she was married, as a political move, to Richard of England. Only ten when he died, they had no children. Her husband's successor, Henry IV, tried to marry her to his son, who later became Henry V, but Isabelle refused. She remarried after returning to France, and died in childbirth at age 19. Her younger sister, Catherine of Valois, married Henry V.