HENRY II PLANTAGENET
By the Grace of God, King of the English
and Duke of the Normans and Aquitanians
and Count of the Angevins
| BIRTH: 5 May 1133 in Le Mans, Anjou, France DEATH: 6 Jul 1189 in Chinon Castle, Chinon, Indre-Et-Loire, France BURIAL: 8 Jul 1189 in Fontevrault Abbey, Fontrvrault, Maine-Et-Loire, France FATHER: Count Gottfried (Geoffrey) V "Le Bon" ap FOULQUES PLANTAGENET - 24 Aug 1113 in Anjou,France MOTHER: Matilda verch King Henry I BEAUCLERK -BIRTH: 5 Aug Abt 1102 in London, Middlesex, England
FIRST MARRIAGE: 18 May 1150 - WILLIAM, Eleanor of Aquitane (Queen of England) verch - in Bordeaux, Gironde, France CHILDREN:
1. HENRY II, William Plantagenet ap - 17 Aug 1152 in Le Mans, Sarthe, Anjou, France
2. HENRY II, Henry Plantagenet ap - 28 Mar 1155 in Bermandsey Palac, London, Middlesex, England
3. HENRY II, Matilda Plantagenet verch - 1156 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England
4. HENRY II, Richard I Plantagenet ap 13 Sep 1157 in Beaumont Palace, Oxford, Osfordshire, England
5. HENRY II, Geoffrey Plantagenet ap - 23 Sep 1158 in England
6. HENRY II, Philip Plantagenet ap - abt 1160 in England
7. HENRY II, Eleanor Plantagenet verch - 13 Oct 1162 in Domfront, Orne, France
8. HENRY II, Joanna Plantagenet verch - Oct 1164 in Angers, Maine-Et-Loire, France
9. HENRY II, John I 'Lackland' Plantagenet ap King of England - 24 Dec 1166 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
SECOND MARRIAGE: WALTER FITZPONTZ, Rosamond verch CHILDREN:
10. HENRY II, William 'Longespee'Plantagenet ap - Abt 1173 in England 11. HENRY II, Geoffrey Plantagenet ap - Abt 1159 in England 12. HENRY II, Peter Plantagenet ap - 1161 in England
THIRD MARRIAGE: 18 May 1153 - BALLIOL, Annabel
FOURTH MARRIAGE: 1158 - Alisa in Le Mans, Anjou, France CHILDREN: 13. HENRY II, Fitzempress Plantagenet verch ap - 1159 in Le Mans, Anjou, France (There were three other children also) FIFTH MARRIAGE: 1160 - Ykenai Or Hikenai of England - Le Mans, Anjou, France
SIXTH MARRIAGE: 1160 - BLOET, Nesta in Le Mans, Anjou, France CHILDREN: 14. HENRY II, Morgan Beverley Plantagenet ap 1161 in Le Mans, Anjou, France
SEVENTH MARRIAGE: 1167 - PORHOET, Alice in Le Mans, Anjou, France CHILDREN: 15. HENRY II, Matilda Plantagenet verch - 1170 in Le Mans, Anjou, France 16. HENRY II, Hugh Plantagenet ap - 1172 in Le Mans, Anjou, France 17. HENRY II, Richard Plantagenet ap - 1174 in Le Mans, Anjou, France
EIGHTH MARRIAGE: Ida of England CHILD: 18. HENRY II, William Plantagenet ap |
BIRTH: 1122 in Chateau De Belin, Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France
Henry was a descendant of Charlemagne & Alfred the Great and a great grandson of William The Conquerer.
Henry II's coat of arms were gules, a lion ramp or- (red background with a golden lion on hind legs).
Henry II was born in Le Mans, Anjou, France. Each year St. Julians Cathedral in Le Mans celebrates a feast in his honor.
Peter of Blois left a description of Henry II in 1177: "...the lord king has been red-haired so far, except that the coming of old age and gray hair has altered that color 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."
Gerald of Wales, described him: "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."
Henry II ruled as County of Anjoy, Duke of Normandy and as King of England from 1154 to 1189. He controlled parts of Wales, Scotland, eastern Ireland and western France at various times. He was the first of the Plantagenet Angevin Kings.
Henry II was known as 'Curt Mantle' because he wore short cloaks, 'Fitz Empress; and 'The Lion of Justice'.
Henry consolidated the country and had a reputation as one of the greatest medieval kings of England. He established courts in various parts of England and instituted the practice of granting magistrates power to hand down legal decisions on many civil matter in the name of the Crown. The first written legal textbook was produced which gave the basis of today's 'Common Law'. Trial by Jury became common.
Because of the improvements in the legal system the church courts began to not be used and the church apposed this through the voice of Thomas Becket whom Henry had appointed as archbishop. Thomas Becket kept up his disagreement with Henry and four of the King's knights assassinated Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 Dec 1170. Henry paid penance by sending money to the Crusader states in Palestine, which the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar would guard until Henry arrived to make use of it on pilgrimage or crusade. Henry delayed his crusade for many years and in the end never went at all, despite a visit to him by Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem in 1184 and being offered the crown of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Henry's first son, William, died at the age of two. He was buried at the feet of his Great Grandfather Henry I, King of ENgland. He had already been named Count of Poitiers.
Henry's third son, Richard the Lionheart had alliance with Philip II Augustus of France, attacked and defeated Henry on July 4, 1189.
King Henry died on 6 July 1189 at the Chateau Chinon. He is entombed in Fontevraud Abbey, near Chinon and Saumur in the Anjou Region of France. Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, who was Henry's illegitimate son was with him the whole time and was the only son who stood by Henry's deathbed.
The images above are in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. 'Wikipedia.com'
SOURCES: Barber, Richard. The Devil?s Crown: A History of Henry II and his sons. British Broadcasting Corporation 1978. London, England.
?Henry II: British Monarchs?. Britannia http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon26.html
'Who's Who in Medeival History and the Renaissance - About.com'
Meade, Marion. ?Eleanor of Aquitaine?. World Book ed. 2001
In 1170, Henry and Eleanor's fifteen-year-old son, Henry, was crowned king, but he never actually ruled and does not figure in the list of the monarchs of England.