Henry, Eleanor, Their Parents and Children

Having watched a documentary about the six wives of Henry VIII and the children he had with them, I was deeply intrigued by the dynastic history of medieval England. Recently I watched further videos on YouTube about Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and found their stories, and those of their parents and children, equally fascinating, if not more so, than that of Henry VIII of England, his six wives and their children. There are too many interesting details, rumored or historical, available on the internet, and I'll cover only a few of them in this blog. It all started with the The White Ship disaster, a devastating accident in which a vessel transporting many nobles, including William Adelin, the heir to the English throne, sank in the English Channel during a trip from France to England on 25 November 1120. Only one (a butcher from Rouen) of approximately 300 people aboard survived.

Then, the reigning King of England Henry I sought to be succeeded, instead, by his daughter, known as Empress Matilda (because she had previously been married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor who died in 1125), yet the majority of the nobility did not support it because there was no precedent of a female monarch in England yet. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne, with many rebellions ensuing, as well as an invasion from France led by Matilda in 1139, resulting in The Anarchy—a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, with a widespread breakdown in law and order. 

Before the death of Henry I of England, Matilda was already married to her second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. Geoffrey was said to get his nickname (Plantagenet) because he used to wear cytisus scoparius (a broom plant) on his hat. This nickname, however, would outlive Geoffrey and be known as the name of the dynasty for the next three centuries--the Plantagenet Dynasty, or better known as the House of Plantagenet. Geoffrey was only 15 when he married Matilda, then 25, a marriage arranged by her father, King Henry I.

In 1133, their son Henry was born in Maine (northern France). Henry ascended to the English throne as Henry II in 1154, ending the 18-year Anarchy. During his 35-year reign, he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine), an area collectively called the Angevin Empire. He also held power over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.

Henry II's wife was Eleanor of Aquitaine (Duchess of Aquitaine), nine years his senior. Before marrying Henry, the future King of England, Eleanor was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 (as the wife of King Louis VII). She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. In addition, she had ten children with King Henry II. These children all survived to adulthood, which was rare in medieval times. Through the marriages of her children, Eleanor’s descendants included royalty in England, France, Denmark, Castile, and Sicily, among other kingdoms, earning her the posthumous nickname: Grandmother of Europe.

During the reign of King Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine (as regent of Richard I), and their two sons Richard and John, the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet was called Angevin Empire, ruling an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wales.

Richard, the third of five sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born in 1157. His two elder brothers died early so he ascended to the English throne as Richard I after King Henry II died. Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart for his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade, achieving several victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin. During his reign (1189–1199), he spent most of his time outside England, campaigning in foreign lands, with his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, acting as regent in his absence.

John, the youngest of ten children born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born in 1166. He was nicknamed John Lackland due to his lack of an inheritance, as most lands had already been allocated to his elder brothers. However, his elder brother, King Richard I, had no legitimate children and named John as his heir. Thus, John succeeded Richard as John I, King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. During his reign, John lost the Duchy of Normandy along with most of his other French territories to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire. The subsequent baronial revolt at the end of John's reign forced him to agree to the Magna Carta, a document considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms") is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John I to make peace between the unpopular king (himself) and a group of rebel barons (land owners) who demanded that the King confirm the Charter of Liberties. It promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, and oversight by a council of 25 barons. Though both sides failed to uphold their commitments, which led to the First Barons' War, the sealing of Magna Carta was considered an important step in the development of English constitution.

Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I of England, and John I of England were the family that ruled the Angevin Empire. While the empire collapsed at the end of John I's reign, the House of Plantagenet would become the longest-reigning dynasty and continued ruling England through its main line, as well as its cadet branches, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, until the death of King Richard III in 1485, ushering in the Tudor period. I first encountered the Plantagenet family tree long ago but did not fully understand it. Now, I have gained a deeper understanding of English dynastic history."