Individual Notes
Note for: Eleanor of Castile , ABT. 1244 - 24 NOV 1290
Index
Burial: Place: Westminster, Abbey, London, England
Individual Notes
Note for: Henry II Curtmantle , 1133 - 1189
Index
Alias: /'Curt-Manteau'/
Event: Type: Acceded
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, Middlesex, England
Burial: Place: Fontevraud Abbey
Burial: Date: 10 JUL 1189
Place: Fontevraud Abbey, France
Individual Note: [myged9-John-of-Gaunt.FTW]
2 SOUR S04010 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Aug 9, 2003
Individual Notes
Note for: Matilda Beauclerc, BEF. 5 AUG 1102 - BET. 10 SEP 1167 - 1169
Index
Burial: Place: Bec Abbey, Le Bec-Hellouin, Eure, France
Individual Notes
Note for: Henry II King, 5 MAR 1132/33 - 6 JUL 1189
Index
Burial: Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Fontevrault Abbe, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Individual Notes
Note for: King Henry III Planagenet, King of Eng., 1 OCT 1207 - 16 NOV 1272
Index
Burial: Date: 20 NOV 1272
Place: Westminster Abbey
Individual Notes
Note for: Henry Plantagenet, 5 MAR 1131/32 - 6 JUL 1189
Index
Burial: Place: Fontevrault Abbey
Individual Notes
Note for: Queen of England Matilda, 7 FEB 1101/02 - 10 SEP 1167
Index
Alias: "Matilda the /Empress"/
Burial: Place: Bec Abbey, Normandy
Individual Notes
Note for: Geoffrey VI PLANTAGENET, 1 JUN 1134 - 26 JUL 1158
Index
Occupation: Date: 1156
Place: Count of Nantes
Individual Notes
Note for: Matilda or Maud , - 10 SEP 1167
Index
Burial: Place: Le Bec-Hellouin, Eure, France
Individual Notes
Note for: Henry II'Curtmantle' Plantagenet, 25 MAR 1133 - 6 JUL 1189
Index
Alias: King II of /England/
Occupation: Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King Henry II, of England
Event: Type: Event
Date: 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, EN
Event: Type: Acceded
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, Londonshire, England
Event: Type: Acceded
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1129/30
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: Alt. Birth
Date: 5 MAR 1132/33
Place: Le Mans, France
Event: Type: King Of England
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: 1154-1189
Event: Type: Crowned
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: King of England at Westminster Abbey, England
Event: Type: Crowned
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: King of England at Westminster Abbey, England
Event: Type: Crowned
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: King of England at Westminster Abbey, England
Event: Type: Aka (Facts Pg)
Date: BET. 1150 - 1230
Place: King Of England
Event: Type: Public Service
Place: ,,England
Event: Type: Public Service
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: , , England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Place: King Of England, Duke Of Normandy, Anjou & Maine
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Place: 1154-1189
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Place: Fontevaud Abbey
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Place: Fontevaud Abbey
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Place: King Of England, Duke Of Normandy, Anjou & Maine
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 118
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 118
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: 1154-1189
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 1164
Place: King Of England, Duke Of Normandy, Anjou & Maine
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 1164
Place: King Of England, Duke Of Normandy, Anjou & Maine
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Place: Chinon Castle
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Place: Chinon Castle
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Place: Chinon Castle
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Place: By an invasion of England in 1153, he finally forced King Stephen to acknowledge him as heir, and in
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Place: Fontevaud Abbey
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Place: King of England at Westminster Abbey, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 30 MAR 1930
Place: son of Matilda, queen of England, and Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: By an invasion of England in 1153, he finally forced King Stephen to acknowledge him as heir, and in
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England
Event: Type: Unknown-Begin
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1151 - 1154
Place: 1154-1189
Event: Type: Ruled
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1151 - 1154
Place: 1154-1189
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King Of England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King of England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King Of England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King Of England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1198
Place: England
Event: Type: Ruled
Date: BET. 1154 - 1198
Place: King of England
Event: Type: Reign
Date: 1154
Place: Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France
Event: Type: Reign
Date: 1154
Place: Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France
Event: Type: Reign
Date: 1154
Place: Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France
Event: Type: Reign
Date: 1154
Place: Chinon Castle
Event: Type: Nobility Rank
Place: Duke of Normandy
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 118
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Alt. Death
Date: 6 JUL 1189
Place: KOE
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: Coronation
Date: DEC 1154
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 1934
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 3 MAR 1933
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 3 MAR 1933
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 3 MAR 1933
Place: Winchester Cathedral
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 1934
Event: Type: ENDL
Date: 1934
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Seal to Parents
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: Abbey At, Fontevrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Event: Type: Seal to Parents
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England
Event: Type: Seal to Parents
Date: 1 JUL 1937
Place: SLAKE
Event: Type: Seal to Parents
Date: 11 MAR 1992
Place: Lvega
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 1 JUL 1937
Place: Slake
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 1 JUL 1937
Place: Slake
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 11 MAR 1992
Place: Lvega
Event: Type: Seal
Date: 11 MAR 1992
Place: Lvega
Event: Type: SLGC
Date: 1933
Place: son of Matilda, queen of England, and Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou
Event: Type: SLGC
Date: 1933
Event: Type: SLGC
Date: 1933
Place: son of Matilda, queen of England, and Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou
Event: Type: Fact
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: By an invasion of England in 1153, he finally forced King Stephen to acknowledge him as heir, and in 1154 Henry ascended the English throne.
Event: Type: Fact
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: By an invasion of England in 1153, he finally forced King Stephen to acknowledge him as heir, and in 1154 Henry ascended the English throne.
Event: Type: Fact
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: Fact
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: son of Matilda, queen of England, and Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou
Event: Type: Fact 1 (2)
Date: 11 OCT 1934
Place: king of England 1154
Event: Type: AFN
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: 8WKP-WF
Event: Type: AFN
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: 8WKP-WF
Event: Type: AFN
Date: 19 DEC 1154
Place: 8WKP-WF
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: House of
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: Reigned
Date: 1154
Place: Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, France
Event: Type: Reigned
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Place: King of England
Event: Type: Plantagenet
Date: BET. 1154 - 1189
Event: Type: Plantagenet
Date: 1154
Place: England
Event: Type: Plantagenet
Date: 1930
Place: Terrible temper. His sons rebelled against him.
Event: Type: Other Title
Date: BET. 1154 - 1198
Place: Count Of ANJOU
Event: Type: Other Title
Date: BET. 1154 - 1198
Place: Count Of ANJOU
Event: Type: Dynasty
Date: 1164
Place: Anjou
Event: Type: AKA
Place: England
Event: Type: TITL
Date: 18 MAY 1933
Place: KOE
Event: Type: BAPL
Date: 1930
Place: Terrible temper. His sons rebelled against him.
Burial: Date: 8 JUL 1189
Place: Fontevraud Abbey, Maine-Et-Loire, France
Individual Note: [myged4 Ferdinand.FTW][myged4 Ferdinand.FTW]
BIRTH: @@S2@@ DEATH:
King of England, 1154-1189. Also b. 25 MAR 1133.
Henry was the founder of the Plantagenet Dynasty. The long controversywith Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, led to Becket's murder inthe Cathedral.
His Queen, Eleanor, bore him three daughters and five sons, two ofwhom became kings, Richard and John. Eleanor became estranged from Henry IIbecause of his infidelity with Rosamund.
In 1170 she established her own Court at Poitiers. There she supportedher sons Richard and John in their revolt against Henry and was,thereafter, imprisoned by her husband for many years. She ultimately wassuccessful in seeing that they (t he two sons) became kings.
During Richard the Lionhearted's captivity while on the Third Crusade,it was she who collected his ransom. A colorful, strong woman. Sources include but are not limited to: "Ancestral File" and the "IGI", "International Genealogical Index" ,both resource systems developed and solely owned by The Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints.
[wildkedwar.FTW]
[Ing7 4588.FTW]
[Br
The Plantagenet dynasty began with Henry II, son of Matilda andGeoffrey. Henry ruled from 1154 to 1189 over England and vast possessionsin France. He centralized the English government, established peace andorder, and founded the Engli sh common law system. His son, Richard theLion-Hearted, led the Third Crusade and ruled from 1189 to 1199.Richard's younger brother John succeded him and ruled from 1199 to 1216.John lost most of England's French possessions, and was forced to grantthe Magna Carta in 1215.[Royal1.FTW]
[Br
V2: 1990
Henry II, 1133-89, king of England (1154-89), son of Matilda, queen of England, andGeoffrey IV, count of Anjou. He was the founder of the Angevin, orPlantagenet, line in England and one of the ablest and most remarkable ofthe English kings.
Henry II
Born: 1133 Died: 1189 Father: Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Mother: Matilda, daughter of Henry I House: Angevin Crowned: October 1154 Reign Ended: 1189 Married: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Henry II (1154-1189)
Born: 5th March 1133 at Le Mans, Maine
Died: 6th July 1189 at Chinon Castle, Anjou
Buried: Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou
Parents: Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and the Empress Matilda
Siblings: Geoffrey, Count of Nantes & William, Count of Poitou
Crowned: 19th December 1154 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Married: 18th May 1152 at Bordeaux Cathedral, Gascony
Spouse: Eleanor daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitane & divorcee ofLouis VII, King of France
Offspring: William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan &John
Contemporaries: Louis VII (King of France, 1137-1180), Thomas Beckett(Archbishop of Canterbury), Pope Adrian IV, Frederick I (FrederickBarbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, 1152-1190) Henry II, first of the Angevin kings, was one of the most eff ective ofall England's monarchs. He came to the throne amid the anarchy ofStephen's reign and promptly collared his errant barons. He refinedNorman government and created a capable, self-standing bureaucracy. Hisenergy was equaled only by h is ambition and intelligence. Henry survivedwars, rebellion, and controversy to successfully rule one of the MiddleAges' most powerful kingdoms.
Henry was raised in the French province of Anjou and first visitedEngland in 1142 to defend his mother's claim to the disputed throne ofStephen. His continental possessions were already vast before hiscoronation: He acquired Normandy and A njou upon the death of his fatherin September 1151, and his French holdings more than doubled with hismarriage to Eleanor of Aquitane (ex-wife of King Louis VII of France). Inaccordance with the Treaty of Wallingford, a succession agreement signedby Stephen and Matilda in 1153, Henry was crowned in October 1154. Thecontinental empire ruled by Henry and his sons included the Frenchcounties of Brittany, Maine, Poitou, Touraine, Gascony, Anjou, Aquitane,and Normandy. Henry was t echnically a feudal vassal of the king of Francebut, in reality, owned more territory and was more powerful than hisFrench lord. Although King John (Henry's son) lost most of the Englishholdings in France, English kings laid claim to the Fr ench throne untilthe fifteenth century. Henry also extended his territory in the BritishIsles in two significant ways. First, he retrieved Cumbria andNorthumbria form Malcom IV of Scotland and settled the Anglo-Scot borderin the North. Seco ndly, although his success with Welsh campaigns waslimited, Henry invaded Ireland and secured an English presence on theisland.
English and Norman barons in Stephen's reign manipulated feudal law toundermine royal authority; Henry instituted many reforms to weakentraditional feudal ties and strengthen his position. Unauthorized castlesbuilt during the previous reig n were razed. Monetary payments replacedmilitary service as the primary duty of vassals. The Exchequer wasrevitalized to enforce accurate record keeping and tax collection.Incompetent sheriffs were replaced and the authority of royal courts wasexpanded. Henry empowered a new social class of government clerks thatstabilized procedure - the government could operate effectively in theking's absence and would subsequently prove sufficiently tenacious tosurvive the reign of incomp etent kings. Henry's reforms allowed theemergence of a body of common law to replace the disparate customs offeudal and county courts. Jury trials were initiated to end the oldGermanic trials by ordeal or battle. Henry's systematic approach to lawprovided a common basis for development of royal institutions throughoutthe entire realm.
The process of strengthening the royal courts, however, yielded anunexpected controversy. The church courts instituted by William theConqueror became a safe haven for criminals of varying degree andability, for one in fifty of the English population qualified as clerics.Henry wished to transfer sentencing in such cases to the royal courts, aschurch courts merely demoted clerics to laymen. Thomas Beckett, Henry'sclose friend and chancellor since 1155, was named Archbishop ofC anterbury in June 1162 but distanced himself from Henry and vehementlyopposed the weakening of church courts. Beckett fled England in 1164, butthrough the intervention of Pope Adrian IV (the lone English pope),returned in 1170.He greatly an gered Henry by opposing to the coronationof Prince Henry. Exasperated, Henry hastily and publicly conveyed hisdesire to be rid of the contentious Archbishop - four ambitious knightstook the king at his word and murdered Beckett in his own c athedral onDecember 29, 1170. Henry endured a rather limited storm of protest overthe incident and the controversy passed.
Henry's plans of dividing his myriad lands and titles evoked treacheryfrom his sons. At the encouragement - and sometimes because of thetreatment - of their mother, they rebelled against their father severaltimes, often with Louis VII of F rance as their accomplice. The deaths ofHenry the Young King in 1183 and Geoffrey in 1186 gave no respite fromhis children's rebellious nature; Richard, with the assistance of PhilipII Augustus of France, attacked and defeated Henry on July 4, 1189 andforced him to accept a humiliating peace. Henry II died two days later,on July 6, 1189.
A few quotes from historic manuscripts shed a unique light on Henry,Eleanor, and their sons.
From Sir Winston Churchill Kt, 1675: "Henry II Plantagenet, the veryfirst of that name and race, and the very greatest King that England everknew, but withal the most unfortunate . . . his death being imputed tothose only to whom himself h ad given life, his ungracious sons. . ."
From Sir Richard Baker, A Chronicle of the Kings of England: Concerningendowments of mind, he was of a spirit in the highest degree generous . .. His custom was to be always in action; for which cause, if he had noreal wars, he would have feigned . . . To his children he was bothindulgent and hard; for out of indulgence he caused his son henry to becrowned King in his own time; and out of hardness he caused his youngersons to rebel against him . . . He married Eleanor, daugh ter of WilliamDuke of Guienne, late wife of Lewis the Seventh of France. Some say KingLewis carried her into the Holy Land, where she carried herself not veryholily, but led a licentious life; and, which is the worst kind oflicentiousness, in carnal familiarity with a Turk."
Henry II's Genealogy A guide to the monarch's ancestors and offspring. These trails can leadyou through the history of Europe's royal houses and to some unexpectedplaces.
Return to Monarchs Index
Henry II (1154-1189)
Born: 5th March 1133 at Le Mans, Maine
Died: 6th July 1189 at Chinon Castle, Anjou
Buried: Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou
Parents: Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and the Empress Matilda
Siblings: Geoffrey, Count of Nantes & William, Count of Poitou
Crowned: 19th December 1154 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Married: 18th May 1152 at Bordeaux Cathedral, Gascony
Spouse: Eleanor daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitane & divorcee ofLouis VII, King of France
Offspring: William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan &John
Contemporaries: Louis VII (King of France, 1137-1180), Thomas Beckett(Archbishop of Canterbury), Pope Adrian IV, Frederick I (FrederickBarbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, 1152-1190) Henry II, first of the Angevin kings, was one of the most eff ective ofall England's monarchs. He came to the throne amid the anarchy ofStephen's reign and promptly collared his errant barons. He refinedNorman government and created a capable, self-standing bureaucracy. Hisenergy was equaled only by h is ambition and intelligence. Henry survivedwars, rebellion, and controversy to successfully rule one of the MiddleAges' most powerful kingdoms.
Henry was raised in the French province of Anjou and first visitedEngland in 1142 to defend his mother's claim to the disputed throne ofStephen. His continental possessions were already vast before hiscoronation: He acquired Normandy and A njou upon the death of his fatherin September 1151, and his French holdings more than doubled with hismarriage to Eleanor of Aquitane (ex-wife of King Louis VII of France). Inaccordance with the Treaty of Wallingford, a succession agreement signedby Stephen and Matilda in 1153, Henry was crowned in October 1154. Thecontinental empire ruled by Henry and his sons included the Frenchcounties of Brittany, Maine, Poitou, Touraine, Gascony, Anjou, Aquitane,and Normandy. Henry was t echnically a feudal vassal of the king of Francebut, in reality, owned more territory and was more powerful than hisFrench lord. Although King John (Henry's son) lost most of the Englishholdings in France, English kings laid claim to the Fr ench throne untilthe fifteenth century. Henry also extended his territory in the BritishIsles in two significant ways. First, he retrieved Cumbria andNorthumbria form Malcom IV of Scotland and settled the Anglo-Scot borderin the North. Seco ndly, although his success with Welsh campaigns waslimited, Henry invaded Ireland and secured an English presence on theisland.
English and Norman barons in Stephen's reign manipulated feudal law toundermine royal authority; Henry instituted many reforms to weakentraditional feudal ties and strengthen his position. Unauthorized castlesbuilt during the previous reig n were razed. Monetary payments replacedmilitary service as the primary duty of vassals. The Exchequer wasrevitalized to enforce accurate record keeping and tax collection.Incompetent sheriffs were replaced and the authority of royal courts wasexpanded. Henry empowered a new social class of government clerks thatstabilized procedure - the government could operate effectively in theking's absence and would subsequently prove sufficiently tenacious tosurvive the reign of incomp etent kings. Henry's reforms allowed theemergence of a body of common law to replace the disparate customs offeudal and county courts. Jury trials were initiated to end the oldGermanic trials by ordeal or battle. Henry's systematic approach to lawprovided a common basis for development of royal institutions throughoutthe entire realm.
The process of strengthening the royal courts, however, yielded anunexpected controversy. The church courts instituted by William theConqueror became a safe haven for criminals of varying degree andability, for one in fifty of the English population qualified as clerics.Henry wished to transfer sentencing in such cases to the royal courts, aschurch courts merely demoted clerics to laymen. Thomas Beckett, Henry'sclose friend and chancellor since 1155, was named Archbishop ofC anterbury in June 1162 but distanced himself from Henry and vehementlyopposed the weakening of church courts. Beckett fled England in 1164, butthrough the intervention of Pope Adrian IV (the lone English pope),returned in 1170.He greatly an gered Henry by opposing to the coronationof Prince Henry. Exasperated, Henry hastily and publicly conveyed hisdesire to be rid of the contentious Archbishop - four ambitious knightstook the king at his word and murdered Beckett in his own c athedral onDecember 29, 1170. Henry endured a rather limited storm of protest overthe incident and the controversy passed.
Henry's plans of dividing his myriad lands and titles evoked treacheryfrom his sons. At the encouragement - and sometimes because of thetreatment - of their mother, they rebelled against their father severaltimes, often with Louis VII of F rance as their accomplice. The deaths ofHenry the Young King in 1183 and Geoffrey in 1186 gave no respite fromhis children's rebellious nature; Richard, with the assistance of PhilipII Augustus of France, attacked and defeated Henry on July 4, 1189 andforced him to accept a humiliating peace. Henry II died two days later,on July 6, 1189.
A few quotes from historic manuscripts shed a unique light on Henry,Eleanor, and their sons.
From Sir Winston Churchill Kt, 1675: "Henry II Plantagenet, the veryfirst of that name and race, and the very greatest King that England everknew, but withal the most unfortunate . . . his death being imputed tothose only to whom himself h ad given life, his ungracious sons. . ."
From Sir Richard Baker, A Chronicle of the Kings of England: Concerningendowments of mind, he was of a spirit in the highest degree generous . .. His custom was to be always in action; for which cause, if he had noreal wars, he would have feigned . . . To his children he was bothindulgent and hard; for out of indulgence he caused his son henry to becrowned King in his own time; and out of hardness he caused his youngersons to rebel against him . . . He married Eleanor, daugh ter of WilliamDuke of Guienne, late wife of Lewis the Seventh of France. Some say KingLewis carried her into the Holy Land, where she carried herself not veryholily, but led a licentious life; and, which is the worst kind oflicentiousness, in carnal familiarity with a Turk."
Henry II's Genealogy A guide to the monarch's ancestors and offspring. These trails can leadyou through the history of Europe's royal houses and to some unexpectedplaces.
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29373304. Henry b. 5 Mar 1133, Le Mans, m. (1) 18 May 1152, in Bordeaux, Eleanor , b. 1122, Bordeaux, or Belin, d. 3 Apr1204, Fontevrault, buried: Fontevrault, m. (2) Alix Porhoet , m. (3) Rosamond C lifford . Henry died 6 Jul 1189, Chinon, buried: Jul1189, Founteverald, Dutchie Of Alans. "FITZ-EMPRESS"; 13TH DUKE OFNORMANDY; ACCEDED 12/19/1154 (CROWNED WESTMINSTER); RULED FROM 1154-1189; KNOWN AS "CUR TMANTLE"; 1ST ANGEVIN, OR PLANTAGENET, KING OFENGLAND
HENRY II, ( 1133-1189), king 1154-1189, was son of MATILDA and GEOFFREY IV, Duke of Normandy, he married ELEANOR of AQUITAINE, thus gaining vast territories in France. Invaded England and forced STEPHEN to acknowledge him as heir. He restor ed order to war-ravaged England, subdued barons, centralized power of government in Royal Authority, and strengthened Royal Courts. His long controversy with THOMAS A' BECKET concerned sole jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts over clergym en accused of crimes. HENRY adopted Constitution of Clarendon ( 1164 ) which brought such men into lay courts; BECKET protested and fled to France. Soon after his return and continued insistence on ecclesiastical prerogative, THOMAS was mur dered by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral. HENRY was forced by public indignation to do penance. During his reign he gained North counties from Scotland and subdued N Wales. He was also involved in family struggle-revolt of his son HENR Y, and intrigues of sons GEOFFREY, RICHARD I and JOHN. RICHARD I, with PHILIP II of France, defeated the aged King who died. He was the founder of ANGEVIN or PLANTAGENET line.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ID: I1339 Name: Henry II King of England Given Name: Henry II NSFX: King of England Sex: M Birth: 5 Mar 1132/1133 in Le Mans, Sarthe, (Maine), France Death: 6 Jul 1189 in Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France Burial: Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, France Reference Number: 8010578.12 _UID: 75F4C9C25A66D511B4DE99B85F718F3915FF Note: (1) "History of England," by W.E. Lunt. 4th ed. (Harper & Row, New York , 1957) p.103-124,127,128-129. (2) "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700," by Frederick Lewis Weis, 7th ed. (Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore) p.3. Cites: (a) G.E. Cokayne's (new revised) "Complete P eerage" V 736. (b) James Balfour Paul, "Scots Peerage," I 1-2. (c) "Century Clyclopedia of Names" 494. (d) "Dictionary of National Biography" 26:1; 17:175. (3) Robert W. Patrick, 1815 Walker Ave., Kansas City, KS 66104-5730. Cites: (a) "Enc yclopeaedia Brittanica" (c.1974). (b) Harry Family Association. (4) "The Descendants of James and Sarah (VanMeter) Davis of Frederick County, Virginia, With Related Families," by Gary Wayne Watson, p.161-163. Cites: (a) "Historie Genealogiq ue et Chronologique de la Maison Royale de France des Pairs, Grand Officiers de la Couronne & de la Maison du Roy; & des anciena Barons du Roysume," by Pere Anselme de St. Marie, Vol. 2, p.475. (b) "The Plantagenet Ancestry," by George Andr ews Moriarty, p.2. (c) "Burke's Guide to the Royal Family," p.194.
Birth: (1,2,3,4) s/o Geoffrey V "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou/Matilda. (2,4) 5 Mar 1132/3. (3) 1133. (2,4) LeMans, Maine (now Sarthe, France). Marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine: (1) 1152. (2,4) 18 May 1152. (3) 1151. (4) Eleanor of Poitou . Death: (1) 1189. (2,3,4) 6 Jul 1189. (3) Near Tours. (4) Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France. Burial: (4) Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, France.
(1) Was known as Henry of Anjou. (2) Called Curt Mantel. (1) When he turned age 16, his mother left him her claim to the crown. (1) 1150: His father transferred to him the rule of Normandy, where he became familiar with the working of a st rong, centralized government. (1) From his mother he inherited Normandy and Maine, as well as England, and a claim to the overlordship of Brittany. From his father he inherited Anjou and Touraine. He ruled them each by a separate and indepe ndent feudal title as vassal of the King of France. (1) 1152: With his marriage to Eleanor, heiress of the duchy of Aquitaine, he acquired the right to rule Acquitaine. Before he became king of England he controlled more than half of France , and the concentration of so much territory in the hands of one vassal was a menace to the authority of the French crown. For a long time Louis VII, the French king, contented himself with stirring up Henry's vassals to make trouble for th eir lord. In the closing years of his reign he began to play the members of Henry's family one against the other, a plan which Louis' son Philip Augustus was able to carry to a successful conclusion. (1) 1153: He came to England to lead the war of succession being fought between Stephen's forces and those barons rebelling on behalf of his mother. He met with some success. Stephen lost heart for the struggle upon the death of his son, whom he had wished to become successor. Pe ace was readily arranged by the treaty of Wallingford, by which Stephen and his followers acknowledged Henry as heir to the throne, and Henry and his followers agreed that Stephen should rule for the rest of his life. (2,4) 1154, 25 Oct-118 9: King of England. (1) He was not only determined to be a powerful king, but he also loved orderly, well-organized government for its own sake. He had knowledge acquired by an exceptionally good training and natural talents of a high order . He had a store of information derived from books such as was possessed by few contemporary rulers. He had an ability to rule that was hardly short of genius. He selected efficient subordinates and worked laboriously and patiently with the m over details, but with all his care for details he never lost sight of the end to be attained. He preferred diplomacy and tact as the means of carrying his policies in the face of opposition, but did not hesitate to strike when he judged it necessary or expedient. In action he was prompt, cool and efficient. His chief work was the reorganization of the English government, part of which was that of restoration. He seized upon powers which had been exercised by his predecesso rs only tentatively or spasmodically and made their application regular and normal, defined royal rights which had before been vague, increased systematically the royal authority by encroachment upon the powers of the barons, and employed t he additional power this acquired with ever greater efficiency because of the detailed improvements which he was constantly making in the governmental machinery. He issued few laws. Some of the important changes in the working of government were brought about apparently by nothing more than oral commands, but these changes had an abiding influence upon the English constitution. We owe it largely to him that we are governed by the common law and not by the Roman law, that we a re tried by a jury and not by an inquisition. He made enormous advances in the centralization of government, and became the most powerful king that England had yet seen. Although he recognized little constitutional check upon his authority, he was not a tyrant. He used his powers for the broad ends of peace and justice. (1) He was not handsome. His face was freckled, his hair red, his body short and stout, his arms long, his legs bowed. He was careless about his personal appe arance. But he had a dominating personality. He was a man of great physical strength and vitality. Contemporaries, struck by his excessive energy, picture a king who never rested. He was always on the march, traveling from one part to anoth er of his broad dominions at a rate of speed which drew many a groan from his tired courtiers and more than once confounded his enemies. When time permitted he would hunt all day and return to transact business half the night, standing or p acing restlessly to and fro. He delighted in the solution of a knotty legal problem, but was nevertheless intensely human. He occasionally gave way to sudden gusts of passion which left him helpless by their very intensity. Pursuing great e nds with few scruples about the means employed, he was subject at times to fits of remorse. (1) He made three expeditions to Wales during his reign, which sufficed to secure nominal homage from the prince of North Wales and to restore royal authority in South Wales. (1) Henry had a deep affection for his sons, but it was said that he "could rule every house but his own." His sons were spoiled as children and grew up to become unfilial, selfish, unruly men. (1) He desired to h ave the inheritance of his dominions arranged during his lifetime. He designated his son Henry as heir to Normandy, Anjou and Maine. He assigned Brittany to Geoffrey to hold of his brother Henry, and Aquitaine to Richard to hold directly of the French king. John was too young and had no share in these arrangements. By this division Henry intended merely to indicate how his lands should be divided at his death. He would not risk their unity during his lifetime by giving his so ns real authority in the government of the territories with which he associated them. But his sons were not disposed to live quietly as princes without power, and chafed under restrictions. They became eager listeners to the many who had gr ievances against their father. Even their mother stirred them to revolt, as did Louis VII of France. Every dissatisfied baron an opportunity to strike at the father. One after another of his sons rebelled against him, and his sons became kn own as "the lion's brood." (1) 1170: He had his son Henry crowned his successor by the Archbishop of York. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, would normally have had the right to perform a coronation, but he had been quarrelling with Henry over the rights of ecclesiatical courts and laws and had fled to France. Henry and Becket met in France and effected a reconciliation, but Becket, on the day before he departed for England, suspended the Archbishop of York and some bi shops who had taken part in the coronation. When news of this was brought to Henry II in Normandy, he fell into a paroxysm of rage, in the course of which he cursed the members of his household who, accepting his bounty, would not avenge hi m upon this one priest. Four knights took him at his word and immediately crossed the Channel and murdered Becket in the cathedral at Canterbury. The shocked public opinion of Europe at once converted Becket into a martyr and held the king in some measure responsible for his death. Henry, in fear of excommunication, forstalled immediate action by sending to the pope and embassy bearing his promise to submit to the papal judgement in the matter, and by departing himself to tak e part in the conquest of Ireland. (1) 1171: One of the principal kings of Ireland was defeated by a coalition of the others and was forced to flee. He sought Henry's help to recover the throne. Henry could not go himself, but he authorized the petitioner to approach his Anglo-Norman barons. Richard of Clare, Earl of Pembroke, was induced to help. (NOTE: See Richard "Stongbow" de Clare.) The first contingent landed in Ireland in 1169, and by 1171 the conquest of a strip of te rritory extending from Dublin to Cork was practically complete. At this point Henry intervened to prevent the establishment of an independent Norman kingdom in Ireland. His hurried visit served to assert his authority over lands already won rather than to extend the conquest. The district actually occupied by the English was subsequently called the Pale. Henry gave out earldoms and fiefs to the conquerors and returned home before completing his plans for administrative organi zation, leaving the Norman barons to conquer, plunder and destroy as suited their individual capacities and desires. (1) 1172: He made his peace with the papal legates. By taking his oath that he had no share of guilt for Becket's murder he was absolved from all sentences of excommunication directed against Becket's opponents in general. He promised in return to allow the church and its courts most of the rights and liberties about which he had been quarreling with Becket in the first place. (1) 1173: His sons Henry, Geoffrey and Richard joined Louis VII at his court, and a well-organized rebellion broke out simultaneously in England and Normandy. The barons on both sides of the Channel joined in large numbers, hoping to shake themselves free from the limitations placed upon them by the king's regime of law and order. The king of France, with the aid of two of his strongest tenants-in-chief, attacked Normandy, and the king of Scotland invaded Eng land on the north. Henry was saved by the loyal support of the middle class. The outcome was a vindication of the quality of Henry's rule. He captured the king of Scotland, who, to gain his freedom, agreed to hold Scotland as a vassal and t o allow his vassals to render leige homage to the English king as their suzerain. (1) 1177: He designated his son John as Lord of Ireland. John failed to finish the conquest or to organize the government and was recalled. (1) After 1181: Hi s sons took up arms against him on several occassions. After 1186 they had the help of Philip Augustus, who had succeeded Louis VII on the throne a few years before. Philip was plotting with Geoffrey against Henry when Geoffrey's death ende d the conspiracy. Then he won Richard to his side. (1) 1189, summer: His son Richard and Philip Augustus, who had succeeded Louis VII as King of France, defeated him in Anjou, France. He was so old and ill that he could hardly ride his hors e. He met them in conference and met their demands. This was the greatest humiliation of his life, and he took to his couch to die. His last hours were made more bitter by the knowledge that John, the one son whom he believed to be true, ha d been engaged with Philip and Richard in the conspiracy against him.
[rainbolt and Boons.FTW]
1 HIST Henry II, Was Born in 1133 to Geoffrey V Plantagent and Matilda
GIVN Henry II SURN Plantagenet
GIVN Henry II SURN Plantagenet TITL Br of Import: May 23, 1997 TITL Br rt: May 23, 1997
Henry II (of England) (1133-89), king of England (1154-89), first monarchof the house of Anjou, or Plantagenet, an important administrativereformer, who was one of the most powerful European rulers of his time. Born March 5, 1133, at Le Man s, France, Henry became duke of Normandy in1151. The
