House of Plantagenet
Armorial of Plantagenet |
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| Country | Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Lordship of Ireland, Principality of Wales |
|---|---|
| Ancestral house | Angevins |
| Titles |
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| Founder | Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou |
| Final sovereign | Richard III of England |
| Founding | 1126 |
| Cadet branches | |
The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ plan-taj-ə-nət), a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the County of Anjou through marriage during the 11th century. The dynasty accumulated several other holdings, building the Angevin Empire that at its peak stretched from the Pyrenees to Ireland and the border with Scotland.
In total fifteen Plantagenet monarchs, including those belonging to cadet branches, ruled England from 1154 until 1485. The senior branch ruled from Henry II of England until the deposition of Richard II of England in 1399. After that a junior branch, the House of Lancaster, ruled for some fifty years before clashing over control of England with another branch, the House of York, in a civil war known as the Wars of the Roses. After three ruling Lancastrian monarchs the crown passed to three Yorkist monarchs, the last of whom, Richard III, was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The legitimate male line went extinct with the execution of Richard's nephew, Edward, Earl of Warwick in 1499. However an illegitimate scion, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle, was active at the court of Henry VIII of England. Several illegitimate lines persist, including the Dukes of Beaufort.
A distinctive English culture and art emerged during the Plantagenet era, encouraged by some of the monarchs who were patrons of the "father of English poetry", Geoffrey Chaucer. The Gothic architecture style was popular during the time, with buildings such as Westminster Abbey and York Minster remodelled in that style. There were also lasting developments in the social sector, such as John of England's sealing of the Magna Carta. This was influential in the development of constitutional law. Political institutions such as the Parliament of England and the Model Parliament originate from the Plantagenet period, as do educational institutions including the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
The eventful political climate of the day saw the Hundred Years' War, where the Plantagenets battled with the House of Valois for control of the Kingdom of France, and the War of the Roses. Some of the Plantagenet kings were renowned as warriors: Henry V of England left his mark with a famous victory against larger numbers at the Battle of Agincourt, and Richard I of England had earlier distinguished himself in the Third Crusade; he was later romanticised as an iconic figure in English folklore.
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Origins
Etymology
The name Plantagenet has origins as a nickname of Geoffrey V of Anjou[1] derived from the name of a shrub, the common broom, known in Latin as the Planta genista. It is claimed the nickname arose because Geoffrey of Anjou wore a sprig of the common broom in his hat. The significance has been said to relate to its golden flower[1] and contemporary belief in its vegetative soul.[1] Since the 15th century, Plantagenet has been applied retrospectively as a surname for the descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou. There is barely[1] any contemporary evidence for the name before the mid fifteenth century, and the house itself used no surname until the legitimist claimant Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, father of both Edward IV and Richard III, assumed the name about 1448.[1]
Background
The Plantagenets are also called Angevins in reference to their progenitors' positions as Counts of Anjou, once an autonomous county in northern France. The male line descends from a Count of Gâtinais who married an heiress to the county. Her Anjou ancestors derived from an obscure 9th-century nobleman, Ingelger.[2] It is due to this lineage that the Plantagenets are sometimes referred to as the First House of Anjou. One of the more notable counts was Fulk, a crusader who became King of Jerusalem. Fulk's son Geoffrey Plantagenet gave his name to the dynasty[note 1] and Fulk's grandson Henry was the first of the family to rule England.[3]
Henry claimed the English throne through his mother, the Empress Matilda, who had been named as heir by her father Henry I of England.[4] Matilda's brother William Adelin died in the wreck of the White Ship, leaving Matilda to be her father's only surviving legitimate child.[4] After Henry's death in 1135 Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois had enough support from the Anglo-Norman nobility to have himself crowned instead.[5] Matilda gained support from her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and a tightly-fought civil war known as The Anarchy ensued.[6] The balance swayed both ways during the war; Matilda gained control at one point and carried the title "Lady of the English" but when Stephen besieged her in Oxford Castle she escaped and fled to Anjou.[7] Unrest and instability continued throughout Stephen's reign. Geoffrey managed to place the Duchy of Normandy under Angevin control in 1141 but did not show interest in campaigning across the English Channel.[8]
The Devil's Brood
Popular legends surrounding the Angevins suggested that they had corrupt or demonic origins. While the chronicler Gerald of Wales is the key contemporaneous source for these stories, which often borrowed elements of the wider Melusine legend. For example, Gerald wrote in his De instructione principis of "a certain countess of Anjou" who rarely attended mass and one day flew away, never to be seen again.[9] A similar story was attached to Eleanor of Aquitaine in the thirteenth century romance Richard Coeur-de-lion.[10] Gerald also presents a list of sins committed by Geoffrey V and Henry II as further evidence of their "corrupt" origins.[9]
According to Gerald these legends were not always discouraged by the Angevins. Richard I was said to have often remarked of his family that they "come of the devil, and to the devil they would go."[9] A similar statement is attributed to St Bernard regarding Henry II.[11] Henry II's sons reportedly defended their frequent infighting by saying "Do not deprive us of our heritage; we cannot help acting like devils."[11] The legends surrounding the Angevins grew into English folklore[12] and led some historians to give them the epithet "The Devil's Brood".[13]
Chronology
Rise of Henry II and his sons
Matilda's son, the future King Henry II of England, became a skilled military tactician and arrived in England to pursue his family claim to the throne.[14] By his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine the Duchy of Aquitaine had become part of the Plantagenets' vast land holdings in the emerging Angevin Empire. After arriving in England, Henry came to an agreement with Stephen and in November 1153 they signed the Treaty of Wallingford recognising Henry as heir to Stephen's throne.[15] Scholars regard Henry's reign as energetic with effective government.[16] Henry overhauled the English judicial system, restoring royal authority to replace the manipulated feudal law of barons who had undermined Stephen's reign.[16] The system and reforms put in place by Henry restored law and order to create a self-standing system which used competent government clerks and sheriffs. It could operate smoothly with common law prevailing even if the king was absent or less skilled monarchs reigned.[16]
When in 1166 Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, was chased out of his lands by Tiernan O'Rourke on behalf of Rory O'Connor, High King of Ireland, he asked Henry for help.[17] Henry allowed MacMurrough enough soldiers to constitute a Norman invasion of Ireland, restoring MacMurrough to Leinster and inserting Henry's son John as Lord of Ireland.[17] Henry also recovered Northumberland and Cumbria, which had been taken from England during the reigns of Malcolm II and David I of Scotland.[18] Henry's first son, William, died at age two. His second son, also named Henry, was crowned coregent at the age of fifteen and was known thereafter as Henry the Young King. The coronation was performed by the Archbishop of York.[19] This angered Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a former close friend of Henry. Knights killed Becket after Henry asked, "Who would rid me of this turbulent priest?"[20] The Pope thereupon excommunicated the King. Henry regretted his friend's death and exhibited a penance in public: walking barefoot into Canterbury Cathedral and there allowing monks to scourge him. His excommunication was rescinded.[21]
In his will Henry envisaged a situation similar to a federal monarchy for the Plantagenet Empire.[22] He planned that his four sons would inherit different parts: England, Normandy and Anjou for the younger Henry, Aquitaine for Richard, Brittany for Geoffrey and Ireland for John. Each would preside over a separate monarchy.[22] Under the leadership of his son Henry the Young King, who wanted more power during Henry II's lifetime, his wife and sons rebelled in the Revolt of 1173–1174.[22] The rebels drew support from the king of France, Henry's cousin the king of Scotland, and English barons.[22] Despite being attacked on various different fronts, Henry II and his loyalists fought a defensive campaign that humiliated all their enemies.[22] Led by Ranulf de Glanvill, Henry's men captured William I of Scotland at the Battle of Alnwick, but allowed him to swear fealty to Henry at York Castle.[22] Henry the Young King instigated another rebellion against his father in 1183 but during this he died of dysentery.[22]
Richard the Lionheart, as Henry II's third son would later be known, became monarch in 1189. Richard did not focus on local governance as his father did and rarely spent time in England.[23] Rather, he built up a reputation as a great military leader and warrior for his efforts in the Third Crusade, achieving considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart Saladin.[23] For a time Richard was Lord of Cyprus but sold the island in 1192 to Guy of Lusignan, whose wife was Richard's second cousin. Since his death Richard has been romanticised in English folklore. His name remains synonymous with bravery and courage.[24]
His brother John of England, nicknamed Lackland (because he was the fifth son and there had originally been no lands left for him to inherit) succeeded the throne in 1199 and eventually inherited the entirety of his family's holdings. Geoffrey would have been next in line but had died in 1186. His son Arthur, formerly Richard's designated heir, inherited Anjou. On Arthur's behalf Philip II of France clashed with John to control the Plantagenet territories in the European mainlands and even supported Arthur's claim to the English crown. However, John had Arthur captured and killed. Also captured was Eleanor, sister of Arthur, who lacked baronial support and spent the rest of her life in prison. The Norman and Angevin lords rebelled against Plantagenet rule and John lost much of the continent to the House of Capet, a process solidified by defeat at the Battle of Bouvines.[25] John also had to deal with rebellion in England and was forced by barons to place his seal upon the Magna Carta in 1215 to limit his power. That is regarded as an early first step in the evolution of modern democracy.[26] As John failed to abide by this document signed under duress, the First Barons' War broke out with the barons inviting an invasion by Prince Louis, son of King Philip II of France and also a grandson-in-law of Henry II. The barons switched their allegiance back to the Plantagenets when John died in 1216 and his son Henry III succeeded him.[27] and the next year the French withdrew.
Three Edwards and claim to Capet
The English Justinian
Henry III became king at just nine years old and nobles such as William Marshal and Hubert de Burgh dominated the early years of his reign.[28] Henry made unsuccessful attempts to regain Plantagenet land in northern France.[29] He handed out various honours to foreigners related to his wife, Eleanor of Provence, which aggravated the local nobility.[30] The Provisions of Oxford were imposed on the king by barons led by Simon de Montfort, setting up a council of fifteen nobles to help govern the country. Henry reasserted himself and the Second Barons' War began. At the Battle of Lewes, de Montfort captured Henry's son Prince Edward and assumed a role as de facto ruler of the nation until royalists won the war at the Battle of Evesham.[31] It was during this period that the Parliament of England originated. Henry was passionate about aesthetics and had many of England's buildings such as Westminster Abbey and York Minster re-built in the Gothic style.[29] The reign of Edward I, nicknamed Longshanks due to his tall height, saw much legislative activity and improvements in the administration of the judiciary that would last almost unchanged for centuries.[32] Due to this he is sometimes called "The English Justinian", a reference to the Byzantine Emperor.[32]
Edward clashed with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who directly ruled the Kingdom of Gwynedd while other parts of the Principality of Wales were English-controlled Marcher Lordships existing since Norman times.[33] Llywelyn refused to pay homage or attend Edward's coronation; thus in 1277 the two men went to war.[33] Edward was quickly victorious and the Treaty of Aberconwy was issued. Llywelyn and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd broke the treaty and continued to attack. Edward was again victorious but this time the Principality of Wales was seized and Edward's son, also named Edward, was crowned Prince of Wales.[33]
After Edward's brother-in-law Alexander III of Scotland died leaving Margaret, Maid of Norway, as his sole heir, her marriage to Edward, Prince of Wales was proposed to foster an alliance that would make Scotland a Plantagenet holding within the next generation.[34] The death of seven-year-old Margaret on the voyage from her native Norway to Scotland opened the way to various competitors for the Scottish throne.[35] Edward was asked to arbitrate and chose the hereditarily-superior John Balliol while claiming for himself the role of feudal overlord.[36] Balliol later betrayed Edward by setting up the Auld Alliance with France and the Wars of Scotland began.[37] Edward's effective campaign led to the capture of the Stone of Scone coronation stone and the defeat of William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk.[38] Edward died at Burgh by Sands on the way to fight Robert I of Scotland, never having solidified his claim to Scotland.[38]
Edward I's son and successor Edward II of England was the polar opposite of his warrior statesman father.[39] Edward II's reign was largely unpopular for several reasons; he was regarded as a poor general and lost out in Scotland to Robert I at the Battle of Bannockburn.[40] He also angered nobility by giving large sums of money and gifts to favourites such as Piers Gaveston.[39] This annoyed the barons to the extent that they rallied around Edward's cousin Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and had Gaveston murdered.[40] Another favourite and rumoured homosexual lover of the king, Hugh Despenser, was further cause of conflict. Edward defeated his cousin Thomas at the resulting Battle of Boroughbridge and had him executed in 1322.[40]
Edward's downfall came when his wife Isabella of France and her baronial lover Roger Mortimer set out to depose the king with the help of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, brother of the executed Earl Thomas.[40] In defeat Edward agreed to abdicate the throne in favour of his and Isabella's son, Edward III of England. Edward II was subsequently moved to Berkeley Castle as a prisoner where he is believed to have remained for five months before being murdered on 11 October 1327.[40] After four years of court control by his mother and her lover, the eighteen-year-old Edward III staged a revolt and had Mortimer executed. He overturned the Treaty of Northampton and supported Edward Balliol's claim to Scotland against king David II of the House of Bruce.[41] The Plantagenet-backed campaign was a success for Balliol, resulting in David's capture at the Battle of Neville's Cross; he spent some time in the Tower of London before signing the Treaty of Berwick and paying a large ransom for his release. David's invasion into northern England had been under the terms of the Auld Alliance with the House of Valois of France.[41]
Hundred Years' War begins
The right of succession to the House of Capet fell into dispute when the three sons of Philip IV of France all died without having produced male issue aside from John, son of Louis X, who lived for only five days (a sister of John was ignored in the resulting disputes).[42] Edward III of England, as son of Philip IV's daughter and sole remaining child, Isabella of France, claimed the French throne.[42] However Philip VI of the House of Valois, a more distantly related Capetian cadet branch, invoked Salic law to deny the right of inheritance to the French throne to pass to or through any female, and was crowned King of France.[42]
Philip confiscated the Duchy of Aquitaine from Edward III for "disobedience" and Edward decided to pursue his claim to the entire Kingdom of France with force; thus began the Hundred Years' War between the Plantagenets and Valois. The Hundred Years' War took place over three periods in time. The Plantagenets were particularly successful in the first of these, the Edwardian War, 1337–1360, their victories in battles at Crécy and Poitiers leading to the Treaty of Brétigny.[43]
In spite of having to deal with the Black Death during his reign,[44] Edward was able to make vital developments in legislature and government. In England his reign developed a strong sense of national identity due partly to the ongoing wars. He founded the chivalric Order of the Garter which essentially saw nationalisation of the aristocracy.[44] His later years were less successful in comparison, with political problems at home and renewed problems with Valois. The death of Valois' John II in English captivity during 1364 instigated the rise of Charles V of France with his capable allies,[45] and the second period of the Hundred Years' War known as the Caroline War broke out. In this the Plantagenets were led by Edward's sons Edward, the Black Prince and John of Gaunt.[44] The Black Prince died in 1376 of an illness which may have been cancer, and Edward III himself died of a stroke the following year, having suffered an illness caused by an abscess.[44]
Upon the deaths of his father Edward the Black Prince and grandfather Edward III, 10-year-old Richard II of England succeeded to the throne.[46] The Parliamentary House of Commons feared the political decisions Richard's uncle John of Gaunt might exercise were he to be made regent, and so they created an environment in which a series of councils could control politics.
The continuing Hundred Years' War with Valois was an expensive venture and a poll tax covering 60% of the population was levied three times to finance it.[47] The 1381 tax cost one shilling for each person over 15 and proved particularly unpopular. This was one of the main reasons behind the Great Rising of 1381.[48] In spite of being only fourteen at the time, Richard showed considerable statesmanship qualities in riding out on horseback to meet with the rebel leaders.[49]
Due to the king's dependence on a small number of courtiers, governance was taken over by a group known as the Lords Appellant in 1389.[50] Richard regained control the same year and after eight years of relative harmony decided to take revenge on the appellants, executing some and exiling others.[50] After John of Gaunt died the king disinherited his son, Henry of Bolingbroke, who had previously been exiled. Henry invaded England in June 1399 with a small force that quickly grew in numbers.[51] Meeting little resistance he deposed Richard to have himself crowned Henry IV of England. Richard died in captivity early the next year; he was probably murdered.[51]
Dynastic dispute
Lancastrians crowned, rebellion
Though as a Plantagenet in the male line Henry was more senior by agnatic primogeniture, according to cognatic primogeniture Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March had been the actual heir presumptive to Richard II by virtue of his descent from his grandmother Philippa, the only child of Lionel, Duke of Clarence.[52] Edmund and his brother Roger were just children when Henry took the throne and though he kept them in custody he treated them honourably despite the threat of rebellion they could eventually pose.[52]
Henry IV had to deal with rebellions in Wales under Owain Glyndŵr and in England. A falling out between the king and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland resulted in the Percy Rebellion and the Battle of Bramham Moor.[53] Henry's wife Joanna of Navarre was accused of practising necromancy (and convicted of witchcraft in 1419, during Henry V's reign). This exacerbated the declining support for the Lancastrians.[53] The Archbishop of York, Richard le Scrope, was executed after another rebellion, further diminishing support, and many saw it as a punishment from God when Henry was later struck down with leprosy and epilepsy.[54] Henry was so ill during his last two years as king that his son and heir Henry of Monmouth took up the majority of royal responsibilities.[53]
Henry V of England was a soldier from age 14 and a commander at the Battle of Shrewsbury at age 16. He crushed the Southampton Plot in 1415[53] and proved to be the warrior-statesman archetype of his ancestors.[55] Henry desired the ancestral Plantagenet lands of the Duchy of Normandy and County of Anjou, earlier confiscated by Valois.[55] He first attempted this diplomatically by suggesting that he and Charles VI of France's daughter Catherine of Valois should marry. The rejection of this proposal began the third part of the Hundred Years War, the Lancastrian War (1415–1429). Two political purposes lay behind this war for Henry, to gain land and to unite his cousins under a common cause in the hopes of dissuading further rebellion at home.[55] Henry presented himself as a chaste and pious king, which was a relief to the masses after his father's reign. At the Battle of Agincourt Henry led his vastly outnumbered men to a famous victory. The Plantagenets allied with the Duchy of Burgundy despite Duke Philip the Good being of a Valois cadet branch. The Plantagenets took back Normandy as well as Picardy and much of the Île-de-France.[55] A settlement was reached with the Treaty of Troyes in which it was agreed that not only would Catherine marry Henry but Charles VI would pass over his own son to name Henry the heir to the French crown.[55] Henry died of dysentery in 1422 at Bois de Vincennes, two months before he was to be crowned King of France.[56]
The nine-month-old baby Henry VI of England was crowned King of England on 31 August 1422 and king of France on 21 October the same year and was to actually reign, rather than simply claim to be king of France as had many Plantagenet monarchs during the Hundred Years' War.[57] As he was still a child, during the early years of his reign his kinsmen, John, Duke of Bedford, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and Henry Beaufort, were regents.[58] The rise of Joan of Arc and of the Valois claimant to France, Charles VII, sparked a continuation of the Lancastrian War. Between 1449 and 1453 the territories of Brittany, Normandy, and Gascony were lost, leaving the Plantagenets with only the Pale of Calais on Europe's mainland.[57]
In England the government became increasingly unpopular due to the losses, breakdown in law and order, and corruption. Henry had a mental breakdown in 1453 and while he was suffering this illness his cousin Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York was named regent and Protector of the Realm. Richard benefited from influential allies such as Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.[57] Richard had a legitimist claim to the throne as senior descendant of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, elder brother of Henry's great-grandfather John of Gaunt.[59] What separated Richard from past potential legitimists was that he united this claim with his Plantagenet paternal line through his grandfather Edmund, Duke of York, a younger brother of Lionel and John.[59] By the time Henry had regained his senses a movement in favour of Richard, known as the Yorkists, had emerged. Henry himself was trusting and not a man of war. He was more interested in his foundation projects of educational institutions such as Eton College.[60] However, Henry's wife Margaret of Anjou was more assertive, showing open enmity toward Richard. From these events a civil war for the English throne known as the Wars of the Roses began.[60]
Wars of the Roses, Yorkist rule
The first phase of conflict took place between 1455–1460. The Yorkists were victorious at the First Battle of St Albans and attempts were made to reconcile differences.[61] Margaret resisted attempts to have her son Edward of Westminster disinherited and Richard was forced to return to Ireland as a lieutenant.[62] Hostilities picked up again after the Duke of York returned and the war continued. At the Battle of Northampton Henry was found abandoned in a tent experiencing another mental breakdown.[63] The Act of Accord was agreed in which it was outlined that Henry would remain as monarch for his lifetime but Richard and his descendants would succeed him. The conflict continued because Margaret and the Lancastrian supporters found this unacceptable. Richard was slain at the Battle of Wakefield and his head set on display at Micklegate Bar, York.[64] His son Edmund, Earl of Rutland and Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury were captured and beheaded by the Lancastrians. Another son, Edward, Earl of March, took up the cause. Margaret formed an alliance with Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scots against the Yorkists and the Scottish army pillaged its way down to southern England.[65] London's gates remained closed to the Scottish army after hearing of the plundering and the capital city enthusiastically welcomed Edward when the Yorkists arrived. The people demanded that he be made king, which was quickly confirmed by the Parliament of England and he was unofficially crowned Edward IV of England at Westminster Abbey.[66] After a battle at Towton, Edward's official coronation in the capital city took place in June 1461.[67]
Edward was involved in governance far more directly than his predecessor.[68] Though he had helped Edward come to power and wished to influence him, Warwick the Kingmaker was deeply unhappy at the new king's marriage with Elizabeth Woodville.[69] Edward's family was also unhappy with this, leading his mother to declare him a bastard and his brother George, Duke of Clarence to revolt.[69] After a counter-rebellion, Edward defeated Warwick who eventually entered into a pact with the Lancastrians.[70] In late 1470, Warwick helped the Lancastrians depose the Yorkists and Henry VI returned briefly to the throne. Edward and his loyal brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, took refuge in Burgundy until the following year when they returned to England. George, Duke of Clarence, switched sides at the Battle of Barnet, leading to Warwick's death and Edward's restoration.[70] After his restoration, Edward returned some stability with heavy personal control in government.[68] He signed a peace treaty with France on favourable terms, tightened management of royal revenues, paid for the country's administration with Crown Estate profits, and patronised William Caxton who set up England's first printing press.[68] Edward's son was crowned Edward V of England at age 12. The protectorship of the young king and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury was entrusted to their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester,[71] who was suspicious of the influential Woodville faction who he blamed for the death of his brother George.[71]
In 1483 the Parliament of England issued a statute known as "Titulus Regius" declaring the children of Edward IV illegitimate and thus passing the crown to Richard III of England.[72] This was due to evidence presented by Ralph Shaa that Edward had entered contract to marry Lady Eleanor Talbot before he married Elizabeth Woodville, making his marriage to Elizabeth invalid and their issue bastards.[72] The two boys became the Princes in the Tower, the Tower of London being a royal residence at the time. Their ultimate fate is unknown and suspicion has fallen on Richard.[71] Richard had a strong power base in the North of England and founded the Council of the North to improve governance there.[73] He also founded the College of Arms office of heraldry.[74] The king's son and heir Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, died before him in 1484.[75] Henry Tudor, a Welshman who was grandson of the former Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and maternally descended from John of Gaunt took up leadership of the House of Lancaster and landed at Milford Haven in the Principality of Wales to invade with an army of foreign mercenaries.[75] The invasion culminated at the Battle of Bosworth Field. There Richard was betrayed when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Stanley refused to send in troops.[75] Side by side with his loyal commanders John, Duke of Norfolk and Sir William Catesby, Richard fought until the end and was killed in action.[75] The crown passed to the House of Tudor with the coronation of Henry VII of England beginning the Tudor era.[75]
Deposed house
In 1486 the new Tudor monarch Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, oldest daughter and heir of Edward IV.[76] The white and red roses were merged together to form the Tudor rose, intended to symbolise rapprochement and the consolidation of the Tudor dynasty.[76] In fact, the Wars of the Roses and Yorkist attempts at restoration would continue. The Battle of Stoke Field took place the following year. Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare in Ireland and John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln in England (a Yorkist by maternal bloodline) supported the claim of Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, under the guise of Lambert Simnel who was sent to Ireland by Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy and presented as the escaped prince.[77] As a paternal Plantagenet and son of George, Duke of Clarence, Edward had a strong claim to the throne but rumours abounded that he had died in the Tower of London. This Yorkist attempt failed with thin support outside of the Irish and Flemish, though Henry VII was merciful to young Simnel and gave him a job in the royal household.[78]
When Henry VII executed Edward, the Earl of Warwick in 1499, the House of Plantagenet went extinct in the legitimate male line. Margaret Pole, the Earl of Warwick's sister and last legitimate Plantagenet, was executed for treason by Henry VIII in 1541. Edward IV's illegitimate son Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle was a member of Henry VIII's court until he was arrested and charged with treason in 1540. He was cleared of the treason charges but just before he was to be released from the Tower of London in 1542 he suffered a heart attack and died.
Titles
Designation and details
–
| Title | Held | Designation and details |
|---|---|---|
| Count of Anjou | 870–1204 | ancestral family title, originating with Ingelger. Remained under direct control of the Plantagenets until Philip II of France captured the county and merged it with the House of Capet royal holdings. |
| Count of Maine | 1110–1203 | ancestral family title, inherited by the House of Anjou after the marriage of Ermengarde of Maine with Fulk V of Anjou. It was captured and merged into the House of Capet royal holdings. |
| King of Jerusalem | 1131–1143 | title held by the grandfather of Henry II of England named Fulk of Jerusalem. Ruled for a while by their cousins. The Plantagenets followed up their claim in the Third and Ninth Crusades but never regained it. |
| Duke of Normandy | 1144–1485 | also used Count of Mortain title. Due to be handed to the Plantagenets during The Anarchy but Geoffrey V of Anjou conquered it early. Mainland holdings lost to Valois in 1259, but title continued to be used in relation to Channel Islands. Eventually lost to House of Tudor. |
| Duke of Aquitaine | 1152–1422 | titles Duke of Gascony and Count of Poitiers also used. The Duchy became part of the Planagenet holdings after Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry II. Eventually lost to House of Valois. |
| King of England | 1154–1485 | title became part of the Plantagenet holdings after the Treaty of Wallingford. The title was inherited through Matilda, Lady of the English. Eventually lost to the House of Tudor. |
| Lord of Ireland | 1177–1485 | title was a Plantagenet holding since 1177, replacing the High Kings of Ireland title. Eventually lost to the Tudors; Henry VIII of England later raised the Lordship to a Monarchal title. |
| Duke of Brittany | 1181–1203 | title Count of Nantes also used. Became Plantagenet title after marriage of Constance, Duchess of Brittany and Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany. Strongly linked to Earl of Richmond title. |
| Lord of Cyprus | 1191–1192 | title was briefly held by Richard the Lionheart after his conquest of the island, he then sold the island to Guy of Lusignan who raised Cyprus from a Lordship into the Kingdom of Cyprus. |
| King of Sicily | 1254–1263 | titular claim rather than de facto. Pope Alexander IV had declared Sicily a papal possession and offered the crown to Henry III's son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. The next Pope reversed the offer and the Plantagenets never succeeded in taking the kingdom, but took the claim seriously. |
| King of Germany and King of the Romans |
1257–1272 | Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall was elected king in opposition to the claim of Alfonso X of Castile, and after extensive lobbying and bribery. He was crowned in 1257 at Aachen as King of Germany. As such, he could claim the title of King of the Romans as Emperor-elect. Since the Pope supported Alfonso, he never crowned Richard Emperor. Richard only made four brief visits to Germany, and his sons were not considered as possible successors. |
| Prince of Wales | 1301–1484 | Originally a fief of the Angevin Empire, it was given to the first born son of the King of England after the Aberffraw dynasty rebelled against their vassal. Eventually lost to the Tudors. |
| King of France | 1340–1485 | Mostly titular, rather than de facto. The Plantagenets claimed to be the senior continution of the House of Capet after the Direct Capetians line came to an end. During part of the Lancastrian period of rule there was a time when this was de facto rulership. |
Reigns of the Plantagenet monarchs of England
| Portrait | Name | From | Until | Relationship with predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry II of England (Curtmantle) |
19 December 1154 | 6 July 1189 | son of Empress Matilda, heir to the English throne but was usurped by his cousin, Stephen I of England. | |
| Henry the Young King | 14 June 1170 | 11 June 1183 | coregent at age 15 onwards with his father, Henry II of England. | |
| Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) |
3 September 1189 | 6 April 1199 | son of Henry II of England. | |
| John of England (John Lackland) |
27 May 1199 | 19 October 1216 | son of Henry II of England. Brother of issueless Richard I of England. | |
| Henry III of England | 28 October 1216 | 16 November 1272 | son of John of England. | |
| Edward I of England (Edward Longshanks) |
20 November 1272 | 7 July 1307 | son of Henry III of England. | |
| Edward II of England | 7 July 1307 | 25 January 1327 | son of Edward I of England. | |
| Edward III of England | 25 January 1327 | 21 June 1377 | son of Edward II of England. | |
| Richard II of England | 21 June 1377 | 29 September 1399 | son of Edward, the Black Prince and grandson of Edward III of England. |
House of Lancaster
| Portrait | Name | From | Until | Relationship with predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry IV of England (Henry Bolingbroke) |
30 September 1399 | 20 March 1413 | cousin of Richard II of England, whom he had murdered. Son of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and grandson of Edward III. | |
| Henry V of England | 20 March 1413 | 31 August 1422 | son of Henry IV of England. | |
| Henry VI of England | 31 August 1422 | 4 March 1461 | son of Henry V of England. | |
| 30 October 1470 | 11 April 1471 |
House of York
| Portrait | Name | From | Until | Relationship with predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward IV of England | 4 March 1461 | 30 October 1470 | cousin of Henry VI of England. Son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, common heir-general of Lionel of Antwerp and Edmund of Langley, both sons of Edward III | |
| 11 April 1471 | 9 April 1483 | |||
| Edward V of England | 9 April 1483 | 25 June 1483 | son of Edward IV of England. | |
| Richard III of England | 26 June 1483 | 22 August 1485 | uncle of Edward V of England. Son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. |
Timeline of monarchs
Family tree
- The family tree includes only male members of the House of Plantagenets who were born legitimate.
Notes
- ^ The younger half-brothers of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Baldwin and Amalric, would rule the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e John S Plant (2007), "The Tardy Adoption of the Plantagenet Surname", Nomina.
- ^ Vauchez 2000, p. 65.
- ^ Benjamin 1910, p. 288.
- ^ a b Hooper 1996, p. 50.
- ^ Lane Poole 1993, p. 132.
- ^ Lane Poole 1993, p. 134.
- ^ Bartlett 1999, p. 124.
- ^ Grant 2005, p. 7.
- ^ a b c "Gerald of Wales, Instructione Principis". Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/geraldwales-dip1.html.
- ^ Meade 1991, p. viii
- ^ a b Warren 1978, p. 2
- ^ Kelly 1978, p. 170.
- ^ http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/currentstudents/history/undergradmodulesyear2/module-HS1713.html
- ^ Bartlett 1999, p. 91.
- ^ Ashley 2003, p. 73.
- ^ a b c "Henry II (1154–1189)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon26.html. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Downs 2004, p. 28.
- ^ Bartlett 1999, p. 79.
- ^ Barber 2003, p. 140.
- ^ Barber 2003, p. 144.
- ^ Barber 2003, p. 147.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Character and Legacy of Henry II: Henry and his sons". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/henryii_character_05.shtml. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Carlton 2003, p. 42.
- ^ "Saladin, Richard the Lionheart and the legacy of the Crusades". Channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/i-m/lionheart.html. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ Marshall 2006, p. 213.
- ^ Marshall 2006, p. 216.
- ^ Marshall 2006, p. 219,
- ^ Turner 2003, p. 81.
- ^ a b "Henry III (1216–1272 AD)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon29.html. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ Prestwich 2007, p. 93.
- ^ Prestwich 2007, p. 101.
- ^ a b Carter 1986, p. 71.
- ^ a b c "Edward I (r. 1272–1307)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page61.asp. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ Grant 1995, p. 89.
- ^ Grant 1995, p. 90.
- ^ Morris 1910, p. 127.
- ^ Morris 1910, p. 128.
- ^ a b Gardiner 2000, p. 275.
- ^ a b "Edward II (r.1307–1327)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page65.asp. Retrieved on 1 October 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Edward II (1307–27 AD)". Britannica.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon31.html. Retrieved on 1 October 2008.
- ^ a b Ashley 2003, p. 180.
- ^ a b c Fowler 1967, p. 208.
- ^ Rogers 1999, p. 384.
- ^ a b c d "Edward III (1327–1377 AD)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon32.html. Retrieved on 2 October 2008.
- ^ Waugh 1991, p. 18.
- ^ Waugh 1991, p. 19.
- ^ Hilton 1984, p. 132.
- ^ Hilton 1984, p. 37.
- ^ Aberth 2000, p. 139.
- ^ a b Saul 1997, p. 203.
- ^ a b "Richard II (1377–1399)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon33.html. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Edmund De Mortimer, 5th Earl of March and Ulster". Luminarium.org. http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/mortimer5earl.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2008..
- ^ a b c d "Henry IV (1399–1413 AD)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon34.html. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ Swanson 1995, p. 298.
- ^ a b c d e "Henry V (1413–1422 AD)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon35.html. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Henry V (r. 1413–1422)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page55.asp. Retrieved 27 September 2008..
- ^ a b c "Henry VI (1422–61, 1470–71 AD)". Britannia.com. http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon36.html. Retrieved 27 September 2008..
- ^ "Henry VI (r. 1422–1461 and 1470–1471)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page57.asp. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Crofton 2007, p. 112.
- ^ a b Crofton 2007, p. 111.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 25.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 31.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 38.
- ^ "Micklegate Bar". York.gov.uk. http://www.york.gov.uk/leisure/Local_history_and_heritage/city_walls/walls_history/04_12th-14th_century/micklegate_bar/. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 57.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 1.
- ^ Goodman 1981, p. 147.
- ^ a b c "Edward IV (r. 1461–1470 and 1471–1483)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page48.asp. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Edward IV (1442–1483)". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/edward_iv_king.shtml. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Edward IV". EnglishMonarchs.co.uk. http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_12.htm. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b c "Edward V (r. April–June 1483)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page49.asp. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Neville Figgis 1896, p. 373.
- ^ Horrox 1989, p. 292.
- ^ "The history of the Royal Heralds and the College of Arms". College of Arms. http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/About/01.htm. Retrieved on 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Richard III (r. 1483–1485)". Royal.gov.uk. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page50.asp. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ a b Hebditch 2003, p. 6.
- ^ Lawless 2008, p. 136.
- ^ Lawless 2008, p. 138.
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External links
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— Royal house —
House of Plantagenet
Cadet branch of the Angevins
Deposition: 1485
Dissolution: 1541
|
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| Preceded by House of Normandy |
Ruling House of England 1154–1485 |
Succeeded by House of Tudor |
| Preceded by House of Penthièvre |
Ruling House of Brittany 1181–1203 |
Succeeded by House of Thouars |
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