The first Angevin kings

The first Angevin kings
Introduction: during the period of the norman and plantagenet (descendants of the house of anjoue)
kings of England was comprehensively involved in continental affairs. Concretely, these kings tried by
marriage and force (fighting wars) to consolidate and increase their kingdoms and their lands in France.
They even claimed the French throne.
Henry II
→ He is on the fourth line of the family tree.
► Indications about those who was on the throne between him: Rufus the Red (William the Second).
►Why Rufus the Red?
Because he’s remembered as someone very angry. As a king, he employed all the power to secure wealth.
He never married, and as a consequence he has no children, which means no ere. He died in 1100 while
hunting, he was struck in the eye by an arrow. We don’t really know whether is was an accident or
whether he was murdered by his brother who wanted the throne (Henry I). Henry I was nicked name
Henry Beaucler, because he had the reputation to be a fine scholar. He reined for 35 years, and again he
focused on expanding royal. During his reign, and especially in the final years of his reign, he was at war
with France, which had attacked Normandy. He raised his nephew Stephen (the son of his sister), and
liked him very much and passed the throne on to him. Stephen 1135. His problem is that he failed to
keep law and order, there were rebellions against the king. One of them joined by his cousin
Mathilda(Henry I’s daughter, who wanted the throne) and civil war ensued (followed). A compromise
was reached, Stephen would rule until his death and then the throne will pass on Mathilda’s son.
Mathilda’s son was Henry II.
Henry II 1154-1189, England ruled over half of France. He was the first king in the house of Plantagenet.
His father was Geoffrey Anjou (originally French), he inherited vast lands from his father in the Western
France (Anjou and the mane region). He was also the son of William the Conquer’s grand-daughter. That
wasn’t all, he married Eleanor of Aquitaine. As his husband, he held Aquitaine and Gascony: he had a
great part of France from all his relatives. All in all, he reigned over Brittany (Bretagne), Mane (le Maine),
Poitou, Anjou, la Tourelle, Gascony, Normandy, Aquitaine, and of course England. His territory was a vast
one. He was a warrior king. He was determined to maintain his rights in all his lands. He had the
reputation of being never still (always on the move, and very effective). He was keen to dominate the
church and to extend his power. In this field, he’s remembered for the murder of Thomas Beckett, the
arch bishop who defended the rights and privileges of the Church. Thomas Beckett at first had been the
king best friend, secretary and chancellor (minister des finances), but of course friendship wasn’t taken
into account. Nevertheless, we can say that Henry II improved government, created a capable
bureaucracy and again strengthened his position. At the end of his reign, there were succession
problems, which were really frequent.

Richard I & John Lackland (Jean Sans Terre)
→ As you can see, Henry II died in 1189 and was succeeded (succéda) by his son Richard I (Richard the
Lion Heart). He was skillful warrior and a great military leader. He was mainly interested in the crusades
to recover Jerusalem and he was also interested in maintaining his French position against the French
king. He was most interested in battle and France that he was in England. He remains on the throne for
10 years, but he only spend 6 months of his reign in England. He was wounded on the battlefield and
because he had no ere he was succeeded by his brother John, John Lackland (first, because he was the
youngest son, he had no land, and secondly he lost Normandy).
→ John Lackland is one of the most unpopular kings of England.
► Why?
He wasn’t a good military leader and because his reign was characterized by failure. England descended
into a crisis).
→ Failure n°1: He lost Normandy to the French King Philip Augustus.
→ Failure n°2: He was forced by a group of nobles to sign a document by which he’ll agreed in writing to
a bade by formal procedure (suivre des procedures formelles : il a moins de pouvoir arbitraire). This
document is very famous: The Great Charter, Magna Carta 1215. This charter was an attempt to limit the
power of the king. This was the first attempt to limit officially the power of the king. His power was
limited by law. It guaranteed the nobles liberties against arbitrary loyal actions. It is interpreted as the
first episode in the evolution of modern democracy and parliament. The word parliament comes from
the word “parler” and was used in England to describe the noble assembled by the king. If you look at it
further away, it was the turning point of England starting to distinguish itself from Europe and France. A
shirt in power, only the beginning of series of restrictions in the power of monarchy.
Conclusion :
“The English have benefited inestimable from the France connection” K. KUMAR.
French and English interests became synonymous because the Norman rulers of England never
distanced themselves from the French rules. Their successful invasions of England in 1066 brought
England into the mainstream of western European culture.
►How would the situation evolved? What kind of evolution do we expect?
Henry III was crowned at the age of 9. During his reign, the first seeds of English nationalism were
planted.
►Why?
→ The nobles held form (tenir bon) to the restrictions imposed on royal rights.
→ They protested against the king granting favors to foreigners. Most were French.