Henry II (1154-1189)

Called "Curtmantle". Also Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitain, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, he controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. He was the first of the House of Pantagenet.

The grandson of Henry I, he was the son of Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou. He married in 1152 Eleanor of Aquitaine, following the annulment of her marriage two months previously to Henry IIILouis VII of France. Their relationship was always stormy, and after she encouraged her children to rebel against their father in 1173 Henry had her put under house-arrest where she remained for sixteen years.

Shortly after his coronation Henry sent an embassy to the newly elected Pope Adrian IV. The group of clerics requested authorisation for Henry to invade Ireland, possibly intending to secure it for his younger brother William. William died soon after the plan was hatched however and Ireland was ignored until 1166. In that year, Diarmait Mac Murchada, a minor Irish Prince, was driven from his land of Leinster by the High King of Ireland. Diarmait followed Henry to Aquitaine, seeking an audience. He asked the English king to help him reassert control; Henry agreed and made footmen, knights and nobles available for the cause. The most prominent of these was a Welsh Norman, Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed "Strongbow". In exchange for his loyalty, Diarmait offered Earl Richard his daughter Aoife in marriage and made him heir to the kingdom.

The Normans restored Diarmait to his traditional holdings, but it quickly became apparent that Henry had not offered aid purely out of kindness. In 1171, Henry arrived from France, declaring himself Lord of Ireland. All of the Normans, along with many Irish princes, took oaths of homage to Henry, and he left after six months. He never returned, but he later named his young son, the future King John of England, Lord of Ireland.

In 1174, a rebellion spearheaded by his own sons was not Henry's biggest problem. An invasion force from Scotland, led by their King, William the Lion, was advancing from the North. To make matters worse, a Flemish armada was sailing for England, just days from landing. Henry saw his predicament as a sign from God, that his treatment of Thomas Becket would be rewarded with defeat. He immediately did penance at Canterbury for the Archbishop's murder and events took a turn for the better.

The hostile armada dispersed in the English Channel and headed back for the continent. Henry had avoided a foreign invasion, but Scottish rebels were still raiding in the North. Henry sent his troops to meet the Scots at Alnwick, where the English scored a devastating victory. William was captured in the chaos, removing the figurehead for rebellion, and within months all the problem fortresses had been torn down. Scotland was now completely dominated by Henry, another fief in his Angevin Empire, that now stretched from the Solway Firth almost to the Mediterranean and from the Somme to the Pyrenees. By the end of this crisis, and his sons' revolt, the King was "left stronger than ever before".

During his reign he tamed the barons who had grown used to undermining royal authority during Stephen's reign. Rebel and illegal castles and forts were torn down and in order to deal with barons ignoring military service the taxation known as Scutage was introduced - instead of doing service in person the barons paid the tax allowing Henry to hire mercenaries.

The Royal Magistrate courts were established in Henry's reign, allowing court officials under authority of the Crown to adjudicate on local disputes. The legal system was made fairer - trial by combat and trial by ordeal were common but outdated. The Assize of Clarendon, in 1166, introduced the notion of trial by jury.

The church in England was brought under firmer control of the Crown, but the murder of Thomas Becket led to the king being compelled to sign the Compromises of Avranches, removing almost all of jurisdiction of the secular courts over the clergy.

The final thorn in Henry's side was an alliance between his eldest son, Richard, and his greatest rival, Philip Augustus, King of France. John had become Henry's favourite son and Richard had begun to fear he was being written out of the King's inheritance. In summer 1189, Richard and Philip invaded Henry's heartland of power, Anjou. The unlikely allies took northwest Touraine, attacked Le Mans and overran Maine and Tours. Defeated, Henry II met his opponents and agreed to all their demands, including paying homage to Philip for all his French possessions.

Weak, ill, and deserted by all but an illegitimate son, Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, Henry died at Chinon on 6 July 1189. His legitimate children, chroniclers record him saying, were "the real bastards."

Henry II was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Richard.