The House of Plantagenet



The longest running dynasty in English history, running from 1154 to 1485.

For much of this period, the King of England was also Duke of Normandy and ruled several other places—the first three Kings didn't speak English at all, and the first four identified themselves as French, or at least Angevin, first.

The Wars of the Roses kicked off towards the end of this, so monarchs changed back and forth a bit.

Fifteen male monarchs here:

The Angevins (1154 ― 1216)

Henry II Curtmantle (1154–89) (Henri Court-mantel)



It has been said that his father, Geoffrey V of Anjou, gave the Plantagenets their name from the broom-plant he wore on his chest, the Latin name of which was Planta Genista. This story, however, cannot be dated back beyond the 15th century. (Neither can members of his family using "Plantagenet" as a last name; the first was Richard, Duke of York; pretender to the throne and father of Edward IV and Richard III).

Stabilized England after the chaos of the Civil War between his mother Matilda and her cousin King Stephen (Matilda was the designated heir but, you know, she was a chick, plus married to Anjou, whose house was the traditional enemy of the House of Normandy, leading to the Civil War for all but 5 years of Stephen's disputed reign). Thanks to a combination of inheritance, marriage, conquest and treaties, ruled what would be later called the Angevin Empire (named for Anjou in western France), which comprised England, parts of Wales and Ireland, and the western half of modern France, stretching in all from the Scottish Border to the Spanish Border. It was less of a unified empire, and more of a collection of territories which happened to have the same overlord (though he still paid homage to the King of France for the French territories, it was pretty much lip service), but still damn impressive.

Famous today for three things:

1. Founded the concept of the Common Law, a legal system where the law is usually determined by court decisions, and the foundation for the legal systems of the UK, the United States and Commonwealth countries such as Canada.

2. After a dispute over who should be the High King of Ireland, he took advantage of a Papal Edict of 1158 ― issued by the only English Pope, Adrian IV (born Nicholas Breakspeare (No, really)) ― that gave overlordship of Ireland to the King of England to establish an English zone of control (The Pale) around Dublin, which had repercussions for centuries to come.

3. The most (in)famous thing was that he got into a savage argument with the original Turbulent Priest, his one time friend Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, over whether the Church was subordinate to secular authority. His expression of frustration was construed to be a Royal Command: a Rhetorical Request Blunder. Four knights made haste to Canterbury and brutally murdered Becket. The murder of an archbishop at the altar of his own cathedral on orders from the King was considered the worst crime in Christendom for a long time, and clouded Henry's reputation in history. It was something Henry appeared to truly show regret and remorse for and he was publicly whipped as penance by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral. (Becket, on the other hand, got made into a saint and had a great film made about him in which he was played by Richard Burton).

Had many mistresses (notably Rosamund Clifford and Princess Alice of France), and therefore illegitimate children, but also had five legitimate adult sons. William died when only two years old, Henry the Young King died from dysentery, and Geoffrey of Brittany was trampled by a horse. When his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine had had enough of his infidelity, she manipulated her surviving sons into rebellion against him, which was successful.

Henry the Young King (1170–83) (Henri le jeune roy)

Son of Henry II, appointed co-regent with his father, following the French tradition. Because he predeceased his father, is not counted as Henry III, and it's often forgotten that he was ever King at all, inasmuch as, though he reigned, he never ruled, unlike his brother…

Richard I Cœur-de-Lion (1189–99)

Richard I is better known as the Lionheart. Basically, he spent most of his reign abroad ― he was only in England for 6 months of his 10-year reign ― most famously leading the Third Crusade against Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin.

A small-scale pogrom kicked off around his coronation and he was forced to order the Jews of England to be left alone. An account of the massacre used the word holocaustum to describe it.

Spent a massive amount of money on the Crusade, sold titles, raised taxes, etc.. Having managed to annoy Leopold V, Archduke of Austria, he was spotted in a village near Vienna eating roast chicken while dressed as a peasant, so was captured and held prisoner from 1192 to 1194. Cue one literal king's ransom (the sum was 2-3 times the annual income of the English crown). Richard spent most of the rest of his reign fighting Philip II Augustus of France and doing quite well. In 1199, he got shot by a crossbow bolt, was badly treated, and died. He wanted to let the fellow (in some accounts a young boy) who shot him go, but Mercadier, the captain of Richard's mercenaries, flayed him alive as soon as Richard had died, perhaps at the command of Richard's sister. Charming.

Once shared a bed with Philip while he was a prince, leading to speculation that it was that sort of bed sharing, but it was more likely entirely non-sexual and just a political thing. Men shared beds more commonly in those days, and some places do still.

While Richard I was away, Prince John, his brother, seized control of England from the regents the King had left in charge. This plays a key part in the Robin Hood mythos, with Robin Hood fighting along with his band of outlaws to keep England safe from the corrupt rule of John until Richard's return. (In the early ballads, however, it's one of the Edwards' reigns that is the setting.)

Historians differ wildly over Richard's quality. There is a statue of him, by Marochetti, outside the Palace of Westminster.

Had no legitimate heirs, so the throne went to...

John (1199-1216) (Jean Sans Terre)



Fourth son of Henry II. Known as "Lackland"� (since being the fourth son, he didn't get any land to inherit at first and then when he did, he lost all the French territories) and "Soft-sword" (for supposedly being a poor general).

Gets a reputation for being evil, though some revisionist historians think he was reasonably good, but unscrupulous, and with an eye for the ladies. Fathered a lot of illegitimate kids, mostly with the surname FitzRoy (son of King).

As mentioned, plays a key role in the Robin Hood mythos, sometimes as the Big Bad to the Sheriff of Nottingham's Dragon.

John has been blamed for losing France. Traditionally historians hold a rather mixed view of this; several centuries of nationalism in both England and France have led many to regard the Angevin Empire as something of an aberration and its demise as inevitable, or even welcome. Regardless, from a purely dynastic and personal point of view it is difficult to see it as anything other than a disaster. Anjou and Normandy were richer and more populated than most of England and their loss fatally undermined his reign.

You either like him or hate him. The barons who hated him got him to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter) in 1215, which Pope Innocent III annulled. This caused the Barons to invite Prince Louis of France to invade England. John then died of dysentery while on campaign (though the legend persisted that he had been poisoned by a monk), and the Barons lost their appetites for French rule, so they reissued Magna Carta in the name of his nine-year-old son. Magna Carta was hugely significant as the first document forced onto a king by his subjects, to limit his powers and enshrine certain rights and liberties of the people. Though its specific clauses have been almost all repealed over the centuries, it remains one of the symbolic foundation stones of the unwritten British constitution and an important part of the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world.

He is the only English King to have been named John, and will probably remain so.

The Plantagenets (1216-1399)

Henry III (1216–72) Chafed under the restrictions of Magna Carta, and desperately wanted to recapture the lands his father lost. His political machinations backfired horribly, and for the first half of the 1200's he was essentially a puppet king, while the country was ruled by parliament. This lasted until his son Edward made a daring escape from being held hostage, and won an important battle in which the parliamentary leader Simon de Monfort was cut to pieces. Later half of his reign was rather stable, and he managed to make England economically strong again after the chaos of King John's reign. Often an overlooked monarch due to his rather mild and quietly eccentric nature, he kept a large zoo in the Tower of London.

Edward I Longshanks (1272-1307)



As established during his father's reign, a talented general. Also the first King truly raised as an Englishman since 1066. Didn't care too much for the French territories, and was far more interested in re-establishing Roman Britannia. Successfully conquered and annexed Wales, and started the tradition of the heir to the throne being named the Prince of Wales. Controlled large parts of Scotland around the end of the 13th Century, becoming known as "The Hammer of the Scots". Was not as evil as you see in Braveheart (Dante thought well of him), but when re-crowned on the Scottish stone of Scone (pronounced skoon), is reported to have said "A man does a good thing when he rids himself of a turd." The stone was kept in Westminster Abbey until recently. Expelled all Jews from England; Jews were not allowed to return for over 350 years.

When his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile died in 1294, he established 12 stone crosses along the route her body took to be buried in Westminster Abbey, which why it's called "Charing Cross" (although the notion that "Charing" comes from French chère reine = "dear queen" is a myth).

Died on his way north to handle the latest round of fighting with Scotland, leaving the throne to his son...

Edward II (1307–27) Every bit as physically tall and powerful as his father, but didn't care for war. Scotland eventually kicked him out in 1314. Spent much time indulging his passions of sailing, and granting favours and titles on his favourites. Highly unpopular, he was murdered (supposedly by having a red-hot poker applied as an enema, though most historians think it was the less dramatic method of smothering with a pillow) by order of his wife Isabelle (the "She-Wolf of France") and her lover, who planned to rule though her fourteen-year-old son...

Edward III (1327–77)



Didn't take to being controlled very well. As soon as he was of age he seized power in his own right, executed his father's murderers and exiled his mother. Much more like his grandfather in both physical prowess and military talent. Oversaw the start of the Hundred Years War, and had several noticeable victories against France and Scotland, such as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, before the Black Death put everything on hold. He never quite regained the initiative after that, and eventually signed a truce in 1367, leaving England better off than when they started. Spent a lot of his time after that trying to prevent the mass social changes unleashed by the plague, but ultimately failed.

His son, Edward the Black Prince, was dashing, courageous, a great general and highly popular, but died of dysentery two years before his father, so the throne went to his son...

Richard II (1377-1399)

Ten years old at his succession, he showed what he could do at the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, where he defused the immediate threat to London while the leader, Wat Tyler, was butchered shortly behind them, and ultimately ordered the remaining rebels to surrender, which they did. This went to his head, however, and he started the tradition of addressing the King as "Majesty" and "Highness". Like his great-grandfather, didn't care for the war with France, and was much more interested in art and architecture. A group of nobles (the "Merciless Parliament") had some of his favorites executed for abusing his youth, and he repaid them in kindness ten years later, including having his uncle smothered.

The final straw came with the banishment for life of his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, and the seizing of his valuable Lancastrian land. The other nobles rallied against him, and under the pressure, Richard folded. Like his great-grandfather he met a nasty end, being starved to death, and the nobles proclaimed his exiled cousin the new King...

The House of Lancaster (1399-1461, 1470-1471)

Henry IV (1399-1413) In his youth was probably the best jouster in England (an opportunity to prove it against his only serious rival was interrupted by the king), and fought in a crusade. He made a rather sharp contrast with his egotistical (and childless) cousin, the king. Considered by many (including himself) to be Richard's obvious and legitimate heir, but never recognised as such by the king. Eventually lost patience and seized the throne after the king exiled him and took his estate.

Thereafter, according to accounts, Angsted about stealing the crown a fair bit. was rather poorly, and it was up to his son to put down a rebellion intended to put a descendant of an elder son of Edward III on the throne. The crown instead went to Bolingbroke's son...

Henry V (1413–22) Had Richard II's body buried in Westminster, to try and assuage bad feelings caused by his father's seizing of the Crown. Then proceeded to effectively put down a Welsh rebellion, before turning his attention to resuming the Hundred Years War, his most famous activity. Parliament made the transition from writing their documentation in French to English under his rule.

Besides being William Shakespeare's "Prince Hal", is best known for winning the Battle of Agincourt, which in many ways was a rerun of Crécy 70 years earlier. Pretty much conquered most of Northern and Central France, and a treaty proclaimed him heir to the French Throne, making him the single most successful king in France since Henry II. Unfortunately struck down by dysentery two months before the French King died, so both crowns went to his nine-month old son...

Henry VI (1422–61, 1470–71) Pretty much controlled by everyone around him, including his wife. His regents handled the emergence of Joan of Arc and the concept of France as a unified nation pretty badly, and the previous King of France's son was restored to the throne in 1431. Though saintly in character, generally considered weak-willed, and mentally ill in his later years. After the Hundred Years war ended in 1453 with England only holding Calais, the nobles descended from the second and fourth sons of Edward III, who had been given land in and title of York, started the rebellion known as the Wars of the Roses. They seized the throne in 1461. Henry got it back in 1470, but not for long, and according to legend had his skull smashed in while in prison, returning the throne to...

The House of York (1461-1470, 1471-1485)

Edward IV (1461–70, 1471–83) At 6'4", the tallest Monarch in English History. During his first reign, was pretty much a puppet for his cousin Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick ("the Kingmaker"). Warwick resented the growing power Edward's wife and her family had over him, and led an army against him, allowing Henry VI to reclaim the throne in the process. In a repeat of Henry IV, Edward landed on the coast and gathered support for his cause. Warwick and Henry's son were killed in battle, and Henry was quietly disposed of, leaving the cause of Lancaster to be championed by an obscure nobleman with only a tenuous claim to the throne, Henry Tudor.

During his second reign, he had some military success against France (acquiring lots of money) and Scotland (acquiring some territory), but his health failed due to a sedentary lifestyle and he died in 1483. Edward had had his unreliable brother George drowned in a barrel of wine, leaving his favourite and youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as protector of his son...

Edward V (1483) Had the job two months, but was never crowned. His uncle had him imprisoned and had Edward IV's marriage invalidated, making him illegitimate and disqualified for the throne. Disappeared from the Tower of London, along with his younger brother. May or may not have been murdered by...

Richard III (1483–85)

Thanks to Sir Thomas More and William Shakespeare, the poster boy for Historical Villain Upgrade; thanks to Sir George Buck, the poster boy for revisionist history. Was almost certainly not badly deformed, nor probably irredeemably evil. Definitely seized the throne, but there's no direct evidence he was involved in the princes' disappearance. The perception that he did, though, was enough to make him very unpopular among some people. Some people hypothesize he took the crown only because of a genuine belief that a boy-king would leave England vulnerable (as was shown by previous boy-kings) and that an adult should rule in his own right to keep England secure; he may also have acted purely in self-defense, believing that the young Edward V would be strongly influenced by his ambitious mother, who detested Richard and had been deeply involved in the condemnation and execution of Richard's brother, the Duke of Clarence.

Richard's main achievement in his reign was improving conditions in Northern England, where he was pretty popular, too. In fact, he generally improved conditions for the lower orders and was loved for it by some, while said actions antagonised the nobility. He was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the last English king to die in battle, and was succeeded by Henry Tudor as Henry VII, who beat him with foreign support (he was a Lancastrian, though several others had better claims). Through marriage, Henry VII united York and Lancaster into The House of Tudor. The last Plantagenet claimant to the throne was executed in 1499.

Depictions in fiction

 * The Lion in Winter about Henry II and Eleanor's power games.
 * Becket
 * Kingdom of Heaven set during the 3rd Crusade. Richard I makes an appearance.
 * The traditional setting for the Robin Hood mythos.
 * King John by William Shakespeare.
 * Braveheart
 * Edward II the play by Christopher Marlowe.
 * A Knight's Tale is set during the reign of Edward III.
 * Richard II, the play by William Shakespeare.
 * Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2, also by Shakespeare.
 * Henry V also by Shakespeare.
 * Henry VI Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 also by Shakespeare.
 * Richard III also by Shakespeare.