Henry II

Henry II (1133-1189) was king of England from 1154 to 1189. He restored and extended royal authority, supervised great legal reforms, and clashed with Thomas Becket.

Born on March 5, 1133, Henry II was the eldest son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of King Henry I. On her father's death Matilda failed to secure England and Normandy, but Geoffrey of Anjou conquered Normandy and in 1150 invested Henry with the duchy. On Geoffrey's death a year later Henry became Count of Anjou. To these lands he added the duchy of Aquitaine by his marriage (May 18, 1152) to Eleanor, daughter of the late duke. These lands were not independent states; they were separate fiefs of the kingdom of France, and for each of them Henry did homage to King Louis VII as his overlord. Louis, like other kings in this period, was trying to convert feudal overlordship into real authority to govern and deeply resented Henry's strength. The duchy of Aquitaine, often regarded as a great loss to Louis, was in many ways a liability to Henry; it had no internal unity, and it had never been effectively governed.

Recovery of England

In 1153 Henry led an expedition to claim the throne of England from his mother's rival, King Stephen. Many of the nobles had objected to a woman ruler; now they were ready to accept Henry, influenced no doubt by his power as Duke of Normandy to seize their Norman lands. The death of Stephen's son Eustace in August made a settlement possible, and at Winchester in November Stephen recognized Henry as his heir, while Henry left the throne to Stephen for the rest of his life. When Stephen died (Oct. 25, 1154), Henry succeeded peacefully and was crowned on December 19 at Westminster.

The new king was a tough, intelligent young man of 21, well educated, ambitious, and ruthless. His violent temper and his enormous energy soon became proverbial; he was constantly on the move, surprising friend and foe and exhausting his followers by his long journeys.

Henry's first objective was to regain all the rights and powers of his grandfather King Henry I. He reclaimed royal lands and castles, destroyed castles built without royal permission, and reorganized the machinery of finance, justice, and administration. He had a wise adviser in Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the service of able and experienced administrators such as Nigel, Bishop of Ely, and Richard de Lucy, justiciar till 1179. In the next 4 years he reasserted his overlordship of Scotland, the Welsh princes, and Brittany and married his eldest son to the daughter of the King of France; she brought as her dowry the Norman Vexin. He had already forced his brother Geoffrey to take money instead of the county of Anjou, promised to Geoffrey by their father.

Quarrel with the Church

Triumphant elsewhere, Henry met some opposition in his attempts to assert his authority over the clergy. On the death of Archbishop Theobald in 1161, he arranged the election as archbishop of Canterbury of his chancellor and friend Thomas Becket, hoping for his cooperation. But Thomas opposed him, and Henry's reaction was bitter and violent. The first serious quarrel was about the punishment of clergy accused of crimes; Henry wanted at least the right to punish them when convicted, but Thomas claimed them for the Church courts.

In October 1163 Henry demanded general acceptance of the customs of his grandfather's time. The following January at Clarendon the customs setting out the king's rights over the Church were defined in writing in 16 clauses, now known as the Constitutions of Clarendon. Thomas withdrew his acceptance, and Henry now determined to humiliate him. At Northampton in October 1164 Thomas was accused on trumped-up charges, and ruinous fines were imposed on him; it was clear that his resignation was required. Finally he fled secretly from England after appealing to the Pope. Henry had the support of some of the bishops and a reasonable case, for most of the disputed customs had indeed been exercised in Henry I's time. Pope Alexander III, hard pressed in his own quarrel with Emperor Frederick I, did not dare to offend Henry. Negotiations dragged on, but Thomas remained in exile till 1170.

In that year the dispute took a new turn. Henry put himself in the wrong by having his son crowned by the archbishop of York, in defiance of the known right of the archbishop of Canterbury to perform the ceremony. He now allowed a patched-up peace to be arranged, not mentioning the customs, and carefully avoided giving Thomas the formal kiss of peace, which would have been regarded as binding him not to harm the archbishop. Reports of Thomas's actions soon drove the king into one of his violent rages, and four of his knights, hoping to please him, hurried to Canterbury and murdered Thomas in his Cathedral on Dec. 29, 1170.

Henry made a great show of distress and prudently removed himself to Ireland while tempers cooled. The Pope still had to take care not to drive him into the party of the Emperor, and as all parties now desired a settlement, peace was made and Henry was reconciled to the Church on May 21, 1172, at Avranches. He promised to give up any customs which had been introduced in his time against the Church and to permit appeals from the Church courts in England to the Pope's court. The appeals were allowed from that date to the Reformation. The problem of "criminous clerks" was settled by a compromise in 1176. Broadly speaking, Henry conceded the point disputed with Thomas in return for the right to judge clergy accused of forest crimes.

Rebellion of 1173

By 1173 Henry seemed to have overcome all opposition. But in that year he had to meet rebellion and attack from all sides, partly as the result of his high-handed treatment of his own family. He had been constantly unfaithful to his proud wife, and he gave his sons, now growing up, titles but no power and no independent income. Eleanor and his three eldest sons now allied against him with King Louis VII of France, the Count of Flanders, King William of Scotland, and disaffected nobles in many places. But Henry had some warning (he had spies in his eldest son's household); he also had effective, paid soldiers and loyal, capable officials. His wife was captured and the rebels defeated. The Scottish king, defeated and imprisoned, had to make humiliating concessions to gain his freedom (Treaty of Falaise, December 1174).

Later Years

In the British Isles, Henry's triumph was decisive and final. In France too his prestige had never been greater. He made generous terms with his sons; the king of France was cowed. The king of Sicily sought his daughter Joanna in marriage; the kings of Castile and Navarre chose him to arbitrate between them in 1177. But his sons were dissatisfied and jealous, always ready to fly to arms and to ally with the most dangerous enemy of their house, the young king of France, Philip II. Philip had many grievances against the king of England, and he exploited the situation for his own advantage. The heir to the throne, Henry "the young king," died while in rebellion against his father (June 11, 1183); the new heir, Richard, opposed by force Henry's plan to endow his youngest son, John, with Aquitaine. Finally both allied with Philip against their father, who was forced to make a humiliating peace and died 2 days later (July 6, 1189). He was buried in the abbey church of Fontevrault, where his effigy remains.

Administration and Justice

The most constructive and enduring part of Henry's work lay in England. Here his reign saw continuing advances in the techniques of government, based on those made under his grandfather. The administration became more elaborate, more professional, and better documented, but always under the King's control, as Henry demonstrated in 1170, when he suspended all the sheriffs, sent commissioners to inquire into their behavior, and subsequently dismissed all but seven of them. The King's court was still a general center of government, but finance and justice were becoming provinces for experts, such as the treasurers Nigel, Bishop of Ely, and his son Richard, Bishop of London, who wrote the first account of the working of a government office, the Dialogue of the Exchequer.

In law and the administration of justice, progress was dramatic. Only a few points can be noted out of many. Judges were sent out on circuit from the royal court with increasing regularity, ensuring uniformity and central control. The Assizes of Clarendon (1166) and Northampton (1176) laid down new rules for the presentment of criminals by sworn freemen, who had to cooperate with sheriffs and the itinerant justices. Henry and his lawyers also made use of the Roman legal concept of a distinction between the possession of property and the absolute right to property. By the Assizes of Novel Disseisin and of Mort d'Ancestor those who had been violently dispossessed of their land could get trial in the king's court, not by the old crude method of duel but by the evidence of sworn neighbors. The treatise On the Laws of England describes the new system. King Henry wanted order, power, and the profits of justice; his lawyers, Richard de Lucy and Ranulf de Glanville chief among them, could draw on great experience and the revived knowledge of Roman law to carry out his wishes.

Further Reading

The best biography remains L. F. Salzman, Henry II (1914). Also useful is John T. Appleby, Henry II: The Vanquished King (1962). General accounts with emphasis on England are given in J.E.A. Jolliffe, Angevin Kingship (1955; 2d ed. 1963), and Frank Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042-1216 (1955; 2d ed. 1961). Important legal developments of the reign are lucidly treated in Sir Frederick Pollock and Frederic William Maitland, The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I (2 vols., 1895; 2d ed. 1899). Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings (1950), is a fascinating story told from the point of view of Henry's queen.

Additional Sources

Amt, Emilie, The accession of Henry II in England: royal government restored, 1149-1159, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK; Rochester, NY, USA: Boydell Press, 1993.

Barber, Richard W., The devil's crown: Henry II, Richard I, John, Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books, 1996.

Barber, Richard W., The devil's crown; Henry II, Richard I, John, London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1978.

Bingham, Caroline, The crowned lions: the early Plantagenet kings, Newton Abbot Eng.; North Pomfret, Vt.: David & Charles, 1978.

Butler, Margaret, The lion of Christ, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1977.

Butler, Margaret, The lion of England, New York, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan 1973.

Butler, Margaret, The lion of England: a novel of Henry I, London, Macmillan, 1973.

Butler, Margaret, The lion of justice, New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1975.

Butler, Margaret, The Lion of Justice, London; New York: MacMillan London, 1975.

Butler, Margaret, This turbulent priest, London: Macmillan, 1977.

Cooke, Carol Phillips, Through a glass darkly: the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, S.l.: M.H.I., 1990 (Concord, N.C.: Concord Print. Co..

Corfe, Tom, Archbishop Thomas and King Henry II, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975.

Corfe, Tom, The murder of Archbishop Thomas, Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co., 1977, 1975.

Duggan, Alfred Leo, Devil's brood: the Angevin family, Bath: Chivers, 1976.

Fry, Christopher, Play, London, New York, Oxford University Press, 1971.

Gillingham, John, The Angevin empire, New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984.

Gittings, Robert, Conflict at Canterbury: an entertainment in sound and light, London, Heinemann Educational, 1970.

Goldman, James, The lion in winter, Harmondsworth, Middlesex; New York: Penguin Books, 1983, 1964.

Warren, Wilfrid Lewis, Henry, London, Eyre Methuen 1973.

York, Robert, The swords of December, New York: Scribner, 1978.

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Early Life

Henry's early attempts to recover the English throne, which he claimed through his mother, were unsuccessful. He was made duke of Normandy in 1150, and at Geoffrey's death (1151) inherited Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. His marriage (1152) to Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him Aquitaine, Poitou, and Auvergne. 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.

Reign

Restoration of Royal Authority

Henry's vast Continental domains (he ruled about half the area of present-day France) were to occupy him for much of his reign, but his first objective was to restore order and royal authority to an England ravaged by civil war. He did this (by razing unlicensed castles, reclaiming royal castles and alienated crown lands, and appointing capable crown officials) so effectively that the country was free of major disorder until 1173.

Henry's desire to restore royal authority to the level of that in Henry I's reign brought him into conflict with Thomas à Becket, whom he had made (1162) archbishop of Canterbury. The quarrel, which focused largely on the jurisdiction of the church courts, came to a head when Henry issued (1164) the Constitutions of Clarendon, defining the relationship between church and state, and it ended (1170) in Becket's murder, for which Henry was indirectly responsible. The crime aroused such indignation that Henry had to make his peace with the papacy in the Compromise of Avranches (1172). But, though he made some concessions, most clauses of the Constitutions remained in force.

Henry's most significant achievement lay in his development of the structure of royal justice. With the aid of such competent jurists as Ranulf de Glanvill, he clearly established the superiority of the royal courts over private, feudal jurisdictions. His justices toured the country, administering a strengthened criminal law and a revised land law, based on the doctrine of seisin (possession). Procedural advances included the greatly extended use of writs and juries.

While these developments were taking place, Henry was also engaged in consolidating his possessions. He recovered (1157) the northern counties of England from Scotland and undertook (1171–72) an expedition to Ireland, where he temporarily consolidated the conquests already made by Richard de Clare, 2d earl of Pembroke. He was less successful in his attempts (1157 and 1165) to extend his authority in Wales. Henry also expanded his holdings in France, acquiring Vexin, Brittany, and Toulouse.

His Rebellious Sons

In 1169 the king distributed among his three oldest sons the titles to his possessions: Henry was to receive Normandy, Maine, and Anjou (he was also crowned king of England in 1170); Richard (later Richard I), Aquitaine; and Geoffrey, Brittany. They did not receive actual authority, however, and, encouraged in their discontent by their mother and supported by Louis VII of France, they rebelled against Henry in 1173–74. The rebellion collapsed, but the king's sons continued to conspire against him. Richard and the youngest son, John, in alliance with Philip II of France, were actually in the course of another rebellion in 1189 when their father died. Since the young Henry had died (1183), Henry II was succeeded by Richard.

Bibliography

See biographies by J. T. Appleby (1962), R. W. Barber (1964, repr. 1967), and W. L. Warren (1973); A. L. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta (2d ed. 1955); F. Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042–1216 (2d rev. ed. 1962); J. E. A. Joliffe, Angevin Kingship (2d ed. 1963); T. K. Keefe, Feudal Assessments and the Political Community under Henry II and His Sons (1982).

King Henry II was born March 5, 1133, in Le Mans, France. He reigned from 1154 to 1189 and founded the Plantagenet dynasty of English rulers. Henry's many innovations in civil and criminal procedure had a lasting effect upon English law and his expansion of the royal court system made royal justice available throughout England.

Building upon the earlier tradition of the inquest, Henry issued several assizes, or ordinances, that introduced the procedures that eventually developed into the grand jury. He also developed a number of writs to bring cases from the feudal courts of the barons into the royal courts. In addition, Henry sent itinerant justices on regular circuits through the kingdom to make royal justice more easily obtainable.

Henry's expansion of royal justice did, however, bring him into conflict with Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, who opposed the king's efforts to punish members of the clergy who had been convicted of crimes in ecclesiastical courts and removed from their clerical status. Becket was murdered in 1170 by some of the king's men, though apparently not at his command, and Henry thereafter gave up his efforts to punish members of the clergy. Henry died July 6, 1189, near Tours, France.

Henry II
By the Grace of God, King of the English and Duke of the Normans and Aquitanians and Count of the Angevins and Lord of Ireland
Reign	25 October 1154-6 July 1189
Coronation	19 December 1154
Born	5 March 1133(1133--)
	Le Mans, France
Died	6 July 1189 (aged 56)
	Chinon, France
Buried	Fontevraud Abbey, Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, France
Predecessor	Stephen
Successor	Richard I
Consort	Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124-1204)
Issue	William, Count of Poitiers (1153-1156) Henry the Young King (1155-1183) Richard I (1157-1199) Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany (1158–1186) Matilda, Duchess of Saxony (1156–1189) Leonora of England (1161-1214) Joan of England (1165–1199) John (1167-1216) Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (illeg., c. 1152-1226) William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (illeg., c. 1176-1226)
Royal House	Plantagenet
Father	Geoffrey of Anjou (1113-1151)
Mother	Empress Matilda (c. 1102-1167)

Henry II of England (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as King of England (1154–1189), Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry was also the first of the Plantagenet & Angevin dynasty.

Biography

Early life

Henry was born at Le Mans on 5 March 1133, the first day of the traditional year. ^[1] His father, Geoffrey Plantagenet, was Count of Anjou and Count of Maine. His mother, Empress Matilda, was a claimant to the English throne as William I's granddaughter. He spent his childhood with his parents in his father's land of Anjou. At the age of nine, Earl Robert of Gloucester took him to England where he received a year of education from Master Matthew at Bristol. He travelled again to England at the age of 16, to aid his mother's efforts in taking the English throne.

Marriage and children

On 18 May 1152, at Bordeaux Cathedral, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine. The future King was only 19 years old and the wedding was "without the pomp or ceremony that befitted their rank."^[2] This was partly due to the fact that only two months previously Eleanor had annulled her marriage to Louis VII of France. The strains of Henry's voracious empire building soured the relationship, as Eleanor disliked leaving her ancestral home. After she pushed her children into a rebellion against their father in 1173, Henry had her placed under house-arrest where she remained for fifteen years. ^[3]

Henry and Eleanor had eight children, William, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, John, Matilda, Eleanor, and Joan. William died in infancy, meaning their son Henry was crowned as joint regent when he came of age instead. However, because he was never King in his own right, he is known as "Henry the Young King", not Henry III. In theory, Henry would have inherited the throne from his father, Richard his mother's possessions, Geoffrey would have Brittany and John would be Lord of Ireland. However, fate would ultimately decide much differently.

It has been suggested that another son was born to the couple, Philip, by John Speed's 1611 book, History Of Great Britain. His sources no longer exist, but Philip would presumably have died in early infancy.^[4]

Henry also had illegitimate children. While they were not valid claimants, their Royal blood made them potential problems for Henry's legitimate successors.^[5] William de Longespee was one such child. He remained largely loyal and contented with the lands and wealth afforded to him as a bastard. Geoffrey, Bishop of Lincoln, Archbishop of York, on the other hand, was seen as a possible thorn in the side of Richard I of England.^[6] Geoffrey had been the only son to attend Henry II on his deathbed, after even the King's favourite, John Lackland, deserted him ^[7] . Richard forced him into the clergy at York, thus ending his secular ambitions.^[8]

Appearance

Several sources record Henry's appearance. They all agree that he was very strong, energetic and surpassed his peers athletically.

“

...he was strongly built, with a large, leonine head, freckle fiery face and red hair cut short. His eyes were grey and we are told that his voice was harsh and cracked, possibly because of the amount of open-air exercise he took. He would walk or ride until his attendants and courtiers were worn out and his feet and legs were covered with blistered and sores...He would perform all athletic feats. John Harvey (Modern) ...the lord king has been red-haired so far, except that the coming of old age and grey hair has altered that colour somewhat. His height is medium, so that neither does he appear great among the small, nor yet does he seem small among the great... curved legs, a horseman's shins, broad chest, and a boxer's arms all announce him as a man strong, agile and bold... he never sits, unless riding a horse or eating... In a single day, if necessary, he can run through four or five day-marches and, thus foiling the plots of his enemies, frequently mocks their plots with surprise sudden arrivals... Always are in his hands bow, sword, spear and arrow, unless he be in council or in books.- Peter of Blois (Contemporary) A man of reddish, freckled complexion, with a large, round head, grey eyes that glowed fiercely and grew bloodshot in anger, a fiery countenance and a harsh, cracked voice. His neck was poked forward slightly from his shoulders, his chest was broad and square, his arms strong and powerful. His body was stocky, with a pronounced tendency toward fatness, due to nature rather than self-indulgence - which he tempered with exercise. Gerald of Wales (Contemporary)

”

English Royalty
House of Plantagenet
Armorial of Plantagenet
Henry II
William, Count of Poitiers
Henry, Count of Anjou
Richard I the Lionheart
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
John
Matilda, Duchess of Saxony
Leonora, Queen of Castile
Joan, Queen of Sicily

Character

Like his grandfather, Henry I of England, Henry II had an outstanding knowledge of the law. A talented linguist and excellent Latin speaker, he would sit on councils in person whenever possible.^[9] His interest in the economy was reflected in his own frugal lifestyle. He dressed casually except when tradition dictated otherwise and ate a sparing diet.^[10]

He was modest and mixed with all classes easily. "He does not take upon himself to think high thoughts, his tongue never swells with elated language; he does not magnify himself as more than man."^[11] His generosity was well-known and he employed a Templar to distribute one tenth of all the food bought to the royal court amongst his poorest subjects.

Henry also had a good sense of humour and was never upset at being the butt of the joke. Once while he sat sulking and occupying himself with needlework, a courtier suggested that he looked like a tanner's daughter. The King rocked with laughter and even explained the joke to those who did not immediately grasp it.^[12]

"His memory was exceptional: he never failed to recognize a man he had once seen, nor to remember anything which might be of use. More deeply learned than any King of his time in the western world". ^[13]

Building an empire

Henry's claims by blood and marriage

Henry II depicted in Cassell's History of England (1902)

Henry's father, Geoffrey Plantagenet, held rich lands as a vassal from Louis VII of France. Maine and Anjou were therefore Henry's by birthright, amongst other lands in Eastern France. ^[14]. By maternal claim, Normandy was also to be his. However, the most valuable inheritance Henry received from his mother was a claim to the English throne. Granddaughter of William I of England, Empress Matilda's line was most entitled to the crown, but because she was female her cousin became Stephen I of England. Henry's efforts to restore the royalty line to his own family line would create a dynasty spanning three centuries and thirteen Kings.

Henry's marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine placed him firmly in the ascendancy ^[15]. His plentiful lands were added to his new wife's possessions, giving him control of Aquitaine and Gascony. The riches of the markets and vineyards in these regions, combined with Henry's already plentiful holdings, made Henry the most powerful vassal in France.

Taking the English Throne

Realising his royal ambitions was far from straightforward for Henry. His mother had been pushing her claim for the crown for several years to no avail, finally retiring in 1147 ^[16]. It was 1147 when Henry had accompanied Matilda on an invasion of England, his first and her last. It soon failed due to lack of preparation ^[17], but it made him determined that England was his mother's right, and so his own. He returned to England again between 1149 and 1150. On 22nd May 1149 he was knighted by King David I of Scotland, his great uncle, at Carlisle ^[18]. Early in January 1153, just months after his wedding, he crossed the Channel one more time. His fleet was 36 ships strong, transporting a force of 3,000 footmen and 140 horses ^[19]. Sources dispute whether he landed at Dorset or Hampshire, but it is known he entered a small village church. It was 6th January and the locals were observing the Festival of the Three Kings. The correlation between the festivities and Henry's arrival was not lost on them. "Ecce advenit dominator Dominus, et regnum in manu ejus", they exclaimed as the introit for their feast, "Behold the Lord the ruler cometh, and the Kingdom in his hand" ^[20].

Henry worked fast and within the year he had secured his right to succession via the Treaty of Wallingford with Stephen I of England. He was now, for all intents and purposes, in control of England ^[21]. When Stephen died in October 1154, it was only a matter of time until Henry's treaty would come to fruition, and the quest that began with his mother would be over. On 19th December 1154 he was crowned in Westminster Abbey, "By The Grace Of God, Henry II, King Of England"^[22]. Henry Plantagenet, vassal of Louis VII, was now more powerful than the French King himself.

Lordship over Ireland

Shortly after his coronation, Henry sent an embassy to the newly elected Pope Adrian IV. Led by Bishop Arnold of Lisieux, the group of clerics requested authorisation for Henry to invade Ireland. Most historians agree that this was the papal bull Laudabiliter. It is possible Henry acted under the influence of a "Canterbury plot"; where English eccelicasts were set on dominating the Irish system as well ^[23]. However, Henry may have simply intended to secure Ireland as a lordship for his younger brother William.

Unfortunately William died soon after the plan was hatched and Ireland was ignored. It was not until 1166 that it came to the surface again. In that year, Dermot MacMurrough, a minor Irish Prince, was driven from his land of Leinster by the High King of Ireland. Dermot followed Henry to Aquitaine, seeking an audience. He asked the English king to help him reassert control; Henry agreed and made footmen, knights and nobles available for the cause. The most prominent of these was a Welsh Norman, Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed "Strongbow". In exchange for his loyalty, Dermot offered Earl Richard his daughter Aoife (Eve) in marriage and made him heir to the kingdom.

The Normans quickly restored Dermot to his traditional holdings, but it quickly became apparent that Henry had not offered aid purely out of kindness. In 1171, Henry arrived from France, declaring himself Lord of Ireland. All of the Normans, along with many Irish princes, took oaths of homage to Henry, and he left after six months. He never returned, but he later named his young son, the future King John of England, Lord of Ireland.

Dermot's appeal for outside help had made Henry Ireland's Lord, starting 800 years of English interference on the island. The change was so profound that Dermot is still remembered as a traitor of the highest order. In 1172, at the Synod of Cashel, Roman Catholicism was proclaimed as the only permitted religious practice in Ireland. Henry's ruthless expansion was showing no boundaries.

Consolidation in Scotland

In 1174, a rebellion spearheaded by his own sons was not Henry's biggest problem. An invasion force from Scotland, led by their King, William the Lion, was advancing from the North. To make matters worse, a Flemish armada was sailing for England, just days from landing. It seemed likely that the King's rapid growth was to be checked ^[24].

He saw his predicament as a sign from God, that his treatment of Thomas Becket would be rewarded with defeat. He immediately did penance at Canterbury ^[25] for the Archbishop's fate and events took a turn for the better.

The hostile armada dispersed in the English Channel and headed back for the continent. Henry had avoided a foreign invasion, but Scottish rebels were still raiding in the North. Henry sent his troops to meet the Scots at Alnwick, where the English scored a devastating victory. William was captured in the chaos, removing the figurehead for rebellion, and within months all the problem fortresses had been torn down. Scotland was now completely dominated by Henry, another fief in his Angevin Empire, that now stretched from the Solway Firth almost to the Mediterranean and from the Somme to the Pyrenees. By the end of this crisis, and his sons' revolt, the King was "left stronger than ever before" ^[26].

Domestic policy

Dominating nobles

During Stephen's reign, the barons in England had undermined Royal authority. Rebel castles were one problem, nobles avoiding military service was another. The new King immediately moved against the illegal fortresses that had sprung up during Stephen's reign, having them torn down.

To counter the problem of avoiding military service, Scutage became common. This tax, paid by Henry's barons instead of serving in his army, allowed the King to hire mercenaries. These hired troops were used to devastating effect by both Henry and his son Richard, and by 1159 the tax was central to the King's army and his authority over vassals.

Legal reform

Henry II's reign saw the establishment of Royal Magistrate courts. This allowed court officials to adjudicate on dispute with authority to the crown. This reduced the workload on Royal courts proper and allowed justice to be delivered with greater efficiency.

Henry also worked to make the legal system fairer. Trial by ordeal and Trial by combat were still common, even in the 12th century these methods were outdated. By the Assize of Clarendon, in 1166, Trial by Jury became the standard. Trial by Combat was still legal in England until 1819, but Henry's support of juries was a great contribution to the country's social history. The Assize of Northampton, in 1176, cemented the earlier agreements at Clarendon.

Religious policy

Strengthening royal control over the Church

In the great tradition of Norman Kings, Henry II was keen to dominate the Church like the state. At Clarendon Palace on January 30 1164, the King set out sixteen constitutions, aimed at reducing clerical independence and interference from Rome. Secular courts, increasingly under the King's influence, would also have jurisdiction over clerical trials and disputes. Henry's authority guaranteed him majority support, but the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury refused to ratify the proposals.

Henry was characteristically stubborn and on October 8 1164, he called the Archbishop, Thomas Becket, before the Royal Council. However, Becket had fled to France and was under the protection of Henry's rival, Louis VII of France.

The King continued doggedly in his pursuit of control over his clerics, to the point where his religious policy became detrimental to his subjects. By 1170, the Pope was considering excommunicating all of Britain. Only Henry's agreement that Becket could return to England without penalty prevented this fate.

Murder of Thomas Becket

"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?", or words to that effect, are ones that sparked the darkest event in Henry's religious wranglings. Bitter at Becket, his old friend, constantly thwarting his clerical constitutions, the King shouted in anger but most likely not with intent. However, four of Henry's knights, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy, and Richard le Breton overheard their King's cries and decided to act.

On December 29th 1170, they entered Canterbury Cathedral, finding Becket near the stairs to the crypt. They beat down the Archbishop, killing him with several blows. Whatever the rights and wrongs, it certainly tainted Henry's later reign. For the remaining 20 years of his rule, he would personally regret the death of a man who "in happier times...had been a friend" ^[27].

Just three years later, Becket had been canonized and was revered as a martyr against secular interference in God's church. Plantagenet historian John Harvey believes "The martyrdom of Thomas Becket was a martyrdom which he had repeatedly gone out of his way to seek...one cannot but feel sympathy towards Henry" ^[28]. Wherever the true intent and blame lies, it was yet another failure in Henry's religious policy, an arena which he seemed to lack adequate subtlety.

The Angevin Curse

Civil war and rebellion

“

It is the common fate of sons to be misunderstood by their fathers, and of fathers to be unloved of their sons, but it has been the particular bane of the English throne.[29]

”

The "Angevin Curse" is infamous amongst the Plantagenet rulers. Trying to divide numerous lands amongst numerous ambitious children resulted in many problems for Henry. The King's plan for an orderly transfer of power relied on Young Henry ruling and his younger brothers doing homage to him for land. However, Richard refused to be subordinate to his brother, because they had the same mother and father, and the same Royal blood in their veins ^[30].

In 1173, Young Henry and Richard moved against their father and his succession plans, trying to secure the lands they were promised. The King's changing and revising of his inheritance nurtured jealousy in his offspring, resulting in the aggression ^[31]. While both Young Henry and Richard were relatively strong in France, they still lacked the manpower and experience to trouble their father unduly. The King crushed this first rebellion and was fair in his punishment, Richard for example, lost half of the revenue allowed to him as Count of Poitou^[32].

In 1182, the Plantagenet children's aggression turned inward. Young Henry, Richard and their brother Geoffrey all began fighting each other for their father's possessions on the continent. The aggression was exacerbated by French rebels and the French King, Philip Augustus ^[33]. This was the most serious threat to come from within the family yet, and the King faced the monastic tragedy of civil war. However, on 11th June 1183, Henry the Young King died. The uprising, which had been built around the Prince, quickly collapsed and the remaining brothers returned to the their individual lands ^[34]. Henry quickly occupied the rebel region of Angouleme to keep the peace ^[35].

The final battle between Henry's Princes came in 1184. Geoffrey of Brittany and John of Ireland, the youngest brothers, had been promised Aquitaine, which belonged to elder brother Richard^[36]. Geoffrey and John invaded, but Richard had been controlling an army for almost 10 years and was an accomplished military commander. Richard expelled his fickle brothers and they would never again face each other in combat, largely because Geoffrey died two years later, leaving only Richard and John.

Death and succession

The final thorn in Henry's side would be an alliance between his eldest son, Richard, and his greatest rival, Philip Augustus. John had become Henry's favourite son and Richard had begun to fear he was being written out of the King's inheritance^[37]. In summer 1189, Richard and Philip invaded Henry's heartland of power, Anjou. The unlikely allies took northwest Touraine, attacked Le Mans and overran Maine and Tours. Defeated, Henry II met his opponents and agreed to all their demands, including paying homage to Philip for all his French possessions.

Weak, ill, and deserted by all but an illegitimate son, Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, Henry died at Chinon on 6th July 1189. His legitimate children, chroniclers record him saying, were "the real bastards."^[38] His eldest remaining son, and conquerer, was crowned Richard I of England on 1st September 1189.

Ancestors

Henry II's ancestors in three generations

Henry II of England	Father: Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou	Paternal Grandfather: Fulk of Jerusalem	Paternal Great-grandfather: Fulk IV of Anjou
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Bertrade de Montfort
		Paternal Grandmother: Eremburge of La Flèche	Paternal Great-grandfather: Helias de Maine
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Maud de Chateau du Loire
	Mother: Empress Matilda	Maternal Grandfather: Henry I of England	Maternal Great-grandfather: William I of England
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Matilda of Flanders
		Maternal Grandmother: Matilda of Scotland	Maternal Great-grandfather: Malcolm III of Scotland
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Saint Margaret of Scotland

Notes

1. ^ pg47 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
2. ^ pg49 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
3. ^ pg51 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
4. ^ Weir, Alison, Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life, pgs. 154-155, Ballantine Books, 1999
5. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
6. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
7. ^ John Harvey - The Plantagenets
8. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
9. ^ pg40 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
10. ^ pg40 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
11. ^ Walter Map - Contemporary
12. ^ pg43 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
13. ^ pg40 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
14. ^ pg49 John Harvey - The Plantagenet
15. ^ pg49 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
16. ^ pg49 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
17. ^ pg49 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
18. ^ pg50 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
19. ^ pg48 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
20. ^ pg50 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
21. ^ pg50 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
22. ^ pg50 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
23. ^ Historian W.L. Warren
24. ^ pg47 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
25. ^ pg47 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
26. ^ John Harvey
27. ^ pg45 John Harvey - The Plantagenets
28. ^ pg45 The Plantagenets
29. ^ pg58 John Harvey - Richard I
30. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
31. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
32. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
33. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
34. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
35. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
36. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
37. ^ Ralph Turner/Richard Heiser - The Reign of Richard Lionheart
38. ^ Simon Schama's A History of Britain, Episode 3, 'Dynasty'

References and further reading

• Robert Bartlett, England Under The Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225 (2000)
• Richard Barber, The Devil's Crown: A History of Henry II and His Sons (Conshohocken, PA, 1996)
• J. Boussard, Le government d'Henry II Plantagênêt (Paris, 1956)
• John D. Hosler Henry II: A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147–1189 (History of Warfare; 44). Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 90-04-15724-7).
• W.L. Warren, Henry II (London, 1973)
• John Harvey, "The Plantagenets"

External links

• http://www.tribalpages.com/tribes/royalancestralc Royal Medieval Genealogy
• Henry II Chronology
• Henry II of England at Genealogics
• Henry II Genealogy
• The Henry Project
• Medieval Sourcebook: Angevin England

Henry II of England House of Plantagenet Born: 1133 5 March Died: 1189 6 July
Regnal titles
Preceded by Stephen	King of England 1154 – 1189	Succeeded by Richard I
French nobility
Preceded by Stephen	Duke of Normandy 1150 – 1189	Succeeded by Richard I
Preceded by Geoffrey V	Count of Anjou 1151–1189 with Henry the Young King
	Count of Maine 1151 – 1189 with Henry the Young King
Preceded by Louis and Eleanor	Duke of Aquitaine 1152 – 1189 with Eleanor
	Count of Poitiers 1152 – 1189 with Eleanor	Succeeded by William
Preceded by Geoffrey V	Count of Mortain 1151 – 1153	Succeeded by William III
Direct ancestry
Fulk V of Anjou House of Anjou	Geoffrey V Count of Anjou	Henry II of England
Ermengarde of Maine House of Maine
Henry I of England House of Normandy	Matilda of England
Matilda of Scotland House of Dunkeld
Notes & References
1. Tompsett, Brian, Directory of Royal Genealogical Data (Hull, UK: University of Hull, 2005). 2. Ross, Kelley L., The Proceedings of the Friesian School (Los Angeles, US: Los Angeles Valley College, 2007).

Monarchs of England

Pre-conquest Alfred the Great • Edward the Elder • Athelstan the Glorious • Edmund the Magnificent • Edred • Edwy the Fair • Edgar the Peaceable • Edward the Martyr • Ethelred the Unready • Sweyn Forkbeard*† • Edmund Ironside • Canute the Great*† • Harold Harefoot • Harthacanute (Canute the Hardy)* • Edward the Confessor • Harold Godwinson • Edgar the Outlaw Post-conquest William I the Conqueror • William II Rufus • Henry I Beauclerc • Stephen • Matilda • Henry II • Richard I the Lionheart • John Lackland • Henry III • Edward I Longshanks • Edward II • Edward III • Richard II • Henry IV Bolingbroke • Henry V • Henry VI • Edward IV • Edward V • Richard III • Henry VII • Henry VIII‡ • Edward VI‡ • Lady Jane Grey‡ • Mary I‡ • Elizabeth I‡ • James I‡§ • Charles I‡§ • Interregnum • Charles II‡§ • James II‡§ • William III‡§¶ & Mary II‡§ • William III‡§¶ • Anne‡§ * also Monarch of Denmark • † also Monarch of Norway • ‡ also Monarch of Ireland • § also Monarch of Scotland • ¶ also Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel and Drenthe

Persondata
NAME	Henry II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Henry II of England
SHORT DESCRIPTION	King of England (1154–1189), first of the Plantagenet or Angevin Kings
DATE OF BIRTH	March 5, 1133
PLACE OF BIRTH	Le Mans
DATE OF DEATH	July 6, 1189
PLACE OF DEATH	Chinon

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