HENRY II
(1154-89 AD)
Henry II was born in 1133, the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet , Count of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I . He grew up in Anjou, but visited England as early as 1142 to defend his mother's claim to the disputed throne of Stephen ; educated by famous scholars, he had a true love of reading and intellectual discussion. Geoffrey of Anjou died in September 1151, leaving Normandy and Anjou to Henry. Henry's continental possessions more than doubled when he married Eleanor of Aquitane, ex-wife of King Louis VII of France. After a succession agreement between Stephen and Matilda in 1153, he was crowned Henry II in October 1154. Eleanor bore Henry five sons and three daughters between 1153 and 1167; the relationship between Henry, Eleanor and their sons Henry, Richard and John proved to be tumultuous and treacherous. The empire ruled by Henry and his sons was considerably larger than the lone English island - the French Angevin positions extended from Normandy southward to the Pyrennes, covering the counties of Brittany, Maine, Poitou, Touraine and Gascony, as well as Anjou, Aquitane and Normandy. Henry was extremely energetic and traveled quickly and extensively within the borders of his kingdom.
Henry revitalized the English Exchequer, issuing receipts for tax payments and keeping written accounts on rolled parchment. He replaced incompetent sheriffs, expanding the authority of royal courts, which brought more funds into his coffers. A body of common law emerged to replace feudal and county courts, which varied from place to place. Jury trials were initiated to end the old Germanic customary trials by ordeal or battle. Henry's systematic approach to law provided a common basis for development of royal institutions throughout the entire realm.
The process of strengthening the royal courts, however, yielded an unexpected controversy. Church courts, instituted by William the Conqueror , became a safe haven for criminals of varying degree and ability, for one in fifty of the English population qualified as clerics. Henry wished to transfer such cases to the royal courts, as the only punishment open to the Church courts was demotion of the cleric. Thomas Beckett, Henry's close friend and chancellor since 1155, was named Archbishop of Canterbury in June 1162. In an attempt to discredit claims that he was too closely tied to the king, he vehemently opposed the weakening of Church courts. Henry drove Beckett into exile from 1164-1170. When the Archbishop returned to England, he greatly angered Henry over his opposition to the coronation of Prince Henry. Exasperated, Henry publicly announced a half-hearted desire to be rid off Beckett - four ambitious knights took the king at his word and murdered Beckett in his own cathedral on December 29, 1170. Henry is perhaps best remembered for Beckett's murder, but in fact, the realm was better off without the contentious Archbishop. Henry endured a rather limited storm of protest over the incident, but the real threat to his power came from within his family.
Henry's sons - Henry the Young King, Richard, Geoffrey and John - were never satisfied with any of their father's plans for dividing his lands and titles upon his death. The sons, at the encouragement (and sometimes the treatment) of their mother, rebelled against the king several times. Prince Henry, the only man ever to be crowned while his father still lived, wanted more than a royal title. Thus from 1193 to the end of his reign Henry was plagued by his rebellious sons, who always found a willing partner in Louis VII of France. The death of Henry the Young King in 1183 and Geoffrey in 1186, gave no respite from his children's rebellion - Richard, with the assistance of Louis VII, attacked and defeated Henry, forcing him to accept a humiliating peace on July 4, 1189.
Henry II died two days later, on July 6, 1189. A few quotes from historic manuscripts shed a unique light on Henry, Eleanor and their sons.
From Sir Winston Churchill Kt, 1675 : "Henry II Plantagenet, the very first of that name and race, and the very greatest King that England ever knew, but withal the most unfortunate ... his death being imputed to those only to whom himself had given life, his ungracious sons..."
From Sir Richard Baker, A Chronicle of the Kings of England : Concerning endowments of mind, he was of a spirit in the highest degree generous ... His custom was to be always in action; for which cause, if he had no real wars, he would have feigned ... To his children he was both indulgent and hard; for out of indulgence he caused his son henry to be crowned King in his own time; and out of hardness he caused his younger sons to rebel against him ... He married Eleanor, daughter of William Duke of Guienne, late wife of Lewis the Seventh of France. Some say King Lewis carried her into the Holy Land, where she carried herself not very holy, but led a licentious life; and, which is the worst kind of licentiousness, in carnal familiarity with a Turk." 13

135Plantagenet: The name is derived from the Latin planta (“sprig”) and genista (“broom plant”), in reference to the sprig that Geoffrey [Henry’s father] always wore in his cap.

Elâeonore of Aquitaine
Other sources say she died 26 Jun 1202 and that she was born Chateau de
Belin. Burke thinks she died 1162. Countess of Saintonge, Angoumois, Limousin, Auvergne, Bordeaux, Agen.
Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine was an intelligent and emancipated woman living in the dark middle ages. Although it is a conventional rule that all ladies of high rank should be described as beautiful, all sources agree that Eleanor of Aquitaine really was beautiful. In addition, she was the richest heiress of France and became successively Queen of France and England.
Eleanor was a granddaughter of William IX of Aquitaine (1070-1127), who was one of the first and most famous troubadours. He was a cheerful man and an ardent lover of women, who joined the First Crusade. Later he "abducted" the wife of the viscount of Châtellerault, Dangereuse, and although he could not marry her, Dangereuse managed to have her daughter Aenor married to his eldest son William X (1099-1137) in 1121. They had two daughters, Eleanor and Petronilla, and a son, William Aigret. Eleanor resembled both William IX and Dangereuse; she possessed the same intelligence, gaiety, restlessness and will power. The court of William IX was the centre of western European culture: the ducal family was entertained by jongleurs, storytellers and troubadours. Unlike most of her contemporaries, male and especially female, Eleanor was carefully educated and she was an excellent student. Eleanor's happy childhood ended with the subsequent deaths of her mother, her little brother and - in 1137 - her father.
The orphaned Eleanor was the richest heiress in France thus a marriage was arranged for her to its King, Louis VII (1121-1180). Louis had been brought up for an office in the church, but he had become heir to the French throne after the death of his elder brother. He was a weak, dull, grave and pious man and he and the lively Eleanor were ill matched. Louis never understood his young wife, but he appears to have adored her with a passionate admiration. It wasn't until 1145 that a daughter, Marie, was born. Meanwhile, Eleanor was eager to govern her own duchy, since she knew the troublesome Aquitainians better than anyone. However, Louis' councillor, the Abbot Sugar, resented her influence in governmental matters.
When Louis went on the Second Crusade to Palestine, Eleanor raised a company of women to join her and thus she accompanied her husband to the Holy Land. In Antioch Eleanor was warmly received by her uncle Raymond, who reminded her of her happy childhood in Poitiers. Eleanor and Raymond were of the opinion that Jerusalem could best be secured by driving back the Turks in the north, but Louis VII rejected the plan and a quarrel followed. Quietly Louis began preparations for his departure and after dark Eleanor was forcibly conducted from Antioch. Soon the crusade became a complete failure and even Louis' brother Robert quickly rushed home. On their way back to France, Louis and Eleanor visited the pope to plead for a divorce. Instead, the pope tried to reconcile them and induced them to sleep in the same bed again.
Back in France their marriage was worse than ever and Eleanor was horrified to realise that she was pregnant. After the birth of a second daughter in 1150 and the death of Louis' chief minister, Eleanor was no longer the only one who wanted a divorce. She finally got it in 1152. She was still the richest heiress of France and on her way from Paris to Poitiers she had to outwit two would-be seducers. By then Eleanor had fallen in love with duke Henry Plantagenet of Normandy (1133-1189), who was her junior by eleven years. Their marriage, barely 8 weeks after her divorce, made Henry master of most of today's France. With Eleanor's support Henry became King of England too in 1154.
Although Eleanor's first marriage had resulted in only two daughters born in fifteen year, Eleanor bore Henry five sons and three daughters. As the children grew up and Henry openly took mistresses, the couple grew apart. Eleanor was 44 years old, when she gave birth to their youngest son, John Lackland. By then she had discovered the existence of Rosamund Clifford, the most famous of Henry's mistresses. Later Henry arranged a fiancee for his homosexual son Richard Lionheart. She was a daughter of Louis VII and his second wife. While she was educated at the English court, her fiancee ignored her and his father, Henry, seduced her.
In 1169 Henry sent Eleanor to Aquitaine to restore order as its duchess. Once more the ducal palace at Poitiers became the centre of all that was civilised and refined. Troubadours, musicians and scholars were welcomed at Poitiers. There, in 1170 Eleanor reconciled with her first born daughter Marie of France, countess of Champagne. Marie's protégé, Chrétien de Troyes, composed, at Marie's suggestion, the romance of Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. In addition, Marie had a "code of love" written down in thirty-one articles. They described feminist ideas far beyond the 12th century cult of chivalry. In addition, Eleanor sponsored the "courts of love" in which men having problems with the code of love could bring their questions before a tribunal of ladies for judgement. At Christmas 1172 Henry summoned his wife and sons to his court. When in 1173 their sons revolted against their father, Eleanor backed them and was subsequently imprisoned by Henry until his death in 1189.
By then three of their sons had already died and Henry's successor was Eleanor's favourite son, Richard I Lionheart (1157-1199), who appreciated his mother's advice. When he went on crusade, Eleanor became regent. Although Richard was a homosexual, he was supposed to provide England with heirs, so Eleanor escorted his bride-to-be to Sicily. When Richard was killed in 1199, he was succeeded by his youngest brother, John Lackland (1166-1216). Eleanor returned to Aquitaine and retired in the abbey of Fontevraud. She remained busy and active and personally arranged a the marriage of her Castilian granddaughter to the grandson of Louis VII. Thus she lived to be about 82, an extraordinary age in the middle ages.

134See The House of Clifford for more details of Rosamund's liason with Henry.
Weir attributes the mother of these children to "Ikenai", which is also discussed by Clifford. (Chapter 5).

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3Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – c. 1176), often called "The Fair Rosamund" or the "Rose of the World", was famed for her beauty and was a mistress of King Henry II of England, famous in English folklore.
Rosamund was the daughter of the marcher lord Walter de Clifford and his wife Margaret Isobel de Tosny (referred to as "de Toeni" on the Page of her husband, Walter de Clifford). Walter was originally known as Walter Fitz Richard, but his name was gradually changed to that of his major holding, first as steward, then as lord. This was Clifford Castleon the River Wye.
Rosamund had two sisters, Amice and Lucy. Amice married Osbern fitz Hugh of Richard's Castle and Lucy Hugh de Say of Stokesay. She also had three brothers, Walter II de Clifford, Richard and Gilbert.
Rosamund probably first met the King when he passed by Clifford Castle in 1163 during one of his campaigns in Wales against Rhys ap Gruffydd.
Her name, Rosamund, may have been influenced by the Latin phrase rosa mundi, which means "rose of the world.”

Possible children
Historians are divided over whether or not Rosamund's relationship with the King produced children. The question is complicated by the difficulty of separating the facts of Rosamund's life from the profusion of legends surrounding it. Many historians have concluded that Rosamund most likely bore Henry a single child but cannot identify it or even provide a specific date of birth. Some modern writers, including Alison Weir, are of the opinion that Rosamund had no children; but whether this means she never gave birth or merely that none of her children survived remains unclear.
Legend has attributed to Rosamund two of King Henry's favourite illegitimate sons: Geoffrey Plantagenet (1151–1212), Archbishop of York, and William Longespee (17 August before 1180–1226), Earl of Salisbury. Her maternity in these two cases was only claimed centuries later. Neither was Rosamund's son. Henry and Rosamund met about 1163, and their relationship lasted until 1176. Geoffrey and Rosamund would therefore have been about the same age. Further, Geoffrey is directly attested as son of an otherwise unknown Ykenai, presumably another mistress of Henry. William Longespée's maternity was a mystery for many years but the truth was discovered when charters issued by him were found to contain references to "Comitissa Ida, mater mea" (my mother, Countess Ida) (Bradenstoke Cartulary, 1979). She was Ida de Toeny, Countess of Norfolk.

Other stories
Little is known about Rosamund, but she is discussed in books about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's queen. The legends concerning her life are many, but few hard facts are available. The story that she was poisoned by a jealous Eleanor is certainly untrue, and so is the tale that Henry constructed the hunting lodge at Woodstock for her and surrounded it with a garden that was a labyrinth ("Rosamund's Bower," which was pulled down when Blenheim Palace was built nearby). In the 'French Chronicle of London', she is, oddly enough, described as having been roasted by the wife of Henry III, Eleanor of Provence. During the Elizabethan era, stories claiming that she had been murdered by Eleanor of Aquitaine gained popularity; but the Ballad of Fair Rosamund by Thomas Deloney and the Complaint of Rosamund by Samuel Daniel (1592) are both purely fictional.
She is thought to have entered Henry's life around the time that Eleanor was pregnant with her final child, John who was born on 24 December 1166 at Oxford. Indeed, Eleanor is known to have given birth to John at Beaumont Palace rather than at Woodstock: because, it is speculated, having planned to give birth at Woodstock, she refused to do so upon finding Rosamund there.
Authorities differ over whether Rosamund stayed quietly in seclusion at Woodstock while Henry went back and forth between England and his continental possessions, or whether she travelled with him as a member of his household. If the former, the two of them could not have spent more than about a quarter of the time between 1166 and 1176 together (as historian Marion Meade puts it: "For all her subsequent fame, Rosamund must be one of the most neglected concubines in history"). Historians do seem to agree, however, that Rosamund was Eleanor's opposite in personality and that Henry and Rosamund appear to have shared a deep love.
Rosamund was also associated with the village of Frampton on Severn in Gloucestershire, another of her father Walter's holdings. Walter granted the mill at Frampton to Godstow Abbey for the good of the souls of Rosamund and his wife Margaret. The village green at Frampton became known as Rosamund's Green by the 17th century.

Death and thereafter
Henry's liaison with Rosamund became public knowledge in 1174; it ended when she retired to the nunnery at Godstow near Oxford in 1176, shortly before her death. Her death was remembered at Hereford Cathedral on 6 July, the same day as that of the king.
Henry and the Clifford family paid for her tomb at Godstow in the choir of the convent's church and for an endowment that would ensure care of the tomb by the nuns. It became a popular local shrine until 1191, two years after Henry's death. Hugh of Lincoln, Bishop of Lincoln, while visiting Godstow, noticed Rosamund's tomb right in front of the high altar. The tomb was laden with flowers and candles, demonstrating that the local people were still praying there. Unsurprisingly calling Rosamund a harlot, the bishop ordered her remains removed from the church: instead, she was to be buried outside the church 'with the rest, that the Christian religion may not grow into contempt, and that other women, warned by her example, may abstain from illicit and adulterous intercourse'. Her tomb was moved to the cemetery by the nuns' chapter house, where it could be visited until it was destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII of England. The remains of Godstow Priory still stand and are open to the public.
Paul Hentzner, a German traveler who visited England c.1599 records that her faded tombstone inscription read in part:
... Adorent, Utque tibi detur requies Rosamunda precamur.
"Let them adore ... and we pray that rest be given to you, Rosamund."
Followed by a rhyming epitaph:
Hic jacet in tumba Rosamundi non Rosamunda, Non redolet sed olet, quae redolere solet.
"Here in the tomb lies the rose of the world, not a pure rose; she who used to smell sweet, still smells--but not sweet."
Apollinaire was to use Rosamond as the central character in his poem Rosemonde, taken from the 1913 collection 'Alcools' (citation taken from Garnet Rees 1975 edition of Guillaume Apollinaire's Alcools; The Athlone Press; London)