Norman, Angevin and Plantagenet Kings of England

LINK TO LIST OF ALL ENGLISH MONARCHS, AND THEIR TOMB LOCATIONS

The Norman and Plantagenet

Monarchs of England

and the Age of the Crusades

Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (1113 - 1151 (38)) liked to wear a sprig of broom in his hat. Broom is known as planta genesta in Latin, genêt in French - which was how come Geoffrey got known as Plantagenet. He married Henry I's daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V) in 1127. She was 11 years older than Geoffrey and an (ex) Empress), and was a bit grumpy about being fobbed off onto a mere count, albeit a bit of a stud.

Matilda was Henry's nominated successor, and went to the west of England to assemble forces to enforce the dead King's wishes, but she was opposed by her cousin Stephen who after several years of conflict managed to see her off back to Anjou.

Geoffrey and Matilda parented three kids, the oldest of whom succeeded where Matilda had failed, and became Henry II of England - the first of the Plantagenet Kings of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruler of over half of Western Europe (see below) and father of Kings Richard and John.

The dynasty (and some others the county spawned across Europe) is also known as Angevin (as are the citizens of Angers, its medieval capital).

When you come across a large area of Broom, enjoy its honey perfume and spare a thought for Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and the hat habit that bred one of the iconic dynastic names in medieval European history.

For this and many other genealogies of European Royal Houses by Ed Stephan, follow this link

The reason why John was nicknamed "Lackland" ("Sans Terre") was that the long reigned Henry, struggling to handle the landlust of his sons, organized initially to divide his huge domains amongst William, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey, leaving out little John - maybe on the basis that he was pencilled in for Ireland when his dad got round to conquering it, which he did not.

1066 - William I beats Saxon King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings and the Normans take over Saxon England

1100s and 1200s

The Age of the Crusades

LINK TO PARADOXPLACE INSIGHT PAGE ON THE CRUSADES

First Crusade - 1095

Pope Urban II 1042 - 1088 - 1099 (57)

Second Crusade - 1147

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux 1090 - 1153 (63)

Norman King Roger II of Sicily 1093 - 1113? - 1130 - 1154 (61)

Eleanor of Aquitaine c1122 - 1204 (82)

Murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral 29 December 1170

Third Crusade - 1189

Featuring Richard I 1157-1189-1199 (42) v Saladin 1137 - 1193 (56)

Ghengis Khan 1160 - 1227 (67)

Pope Innocent III 1161 - 1198 - 1216 (55)

Saint Francis of Assisi 1182 - 1226 (44)

Fourth Crusade - 1203

Venice loots and destroys Constantinople

Magna Carta - 1215

Fifth Crusade - 1213 / 1228

Emperor Frederick II ("Stupor Mundi")

1194 - 1215 - 1250 (56)

negotiates the return of Jerusalem

1291 - The End

Egyptian Mameluk armies close down the last of the crusader towns in the Levant, having previously sent the

Mongol Armies of Hulagu Khan packing

Space constraints make the full showing of large medieval families impossible!! Henry II and Eleanor, for example, had 3 daughters in addition to the 5 sons shown above.

Matilda (1156 - 1189 (33)) became a Bavarian Duchess. That's all about her.

Leonora (1162 – 1214 (52)), the most savvy of the three, was Queen Consort of Alfonso VIII of Castile. Leonora had around 11 children of whom 5 survived childhood to become a King, a Queen and 3 Queen Consorts. The Queen was Berenguela, who married (another) King Alfonso - this time number IX of León - thus eventually uniting the Kingdoms of Leon and Castile under their son King Ferdinando III ("The Saint"). Leonora's elegant sarcophagus is beside Alfonso's in the Cistercian Nunnery of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, which she founded in 1187. Berenguela's sarcophagus is nearby but Ferdinand's and that of his son Alfonso X have disappeared.

Joan 1165 - 1199 (36), the youngest and favourite sister of the awful King Richard I, became Queen Consort of William II's Sicily and owner inter alia of San Giovanni Rotondo (Padre Pio fans note), was a ring-in to the 3rd crusade and then married the nasty Raymond VI of Toulouse. She died after fleeing from her abusive hubby to the Abbey of Fontevraud and having to undergo a caesarean operation (pretty much a sentence of death for mothers in those days). Her surviving son Count Raymond VII was a leading figure in the Albigensian Crusade. More about Richard and Joan ....