1718265

Alias:<ALIA> Empress Maud or Matilda of /Germany/
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 19, Ed. 1, Tree #1362, Date of Import: Apr 26, 1999]
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #2553, Date of Import: Jun 20, 1997]
PLANTAGENET, HOUSE OF. Also called the Angevin Dynasty, the House of
Plantagenet ruled England from 1154 to 1485. The reign of the House of
Plantagenet ended in the final battle of the Wars of the Roses, fought
between the Lancaster and York families. The victor, Henry Tudor, became
Henry VII and officially ended the Plantagenet reign with the founding of
the House of Tudor.
The Plantagenet royal dynasty provided 14 kings descended from Geoffrey,
5th count of Anjou, and the empress Matilda, daughter of the English king
Henry I. Plantagenet was not a hereditary surname and seems to have
originated as a nickname for Count Geoffrey. The name is believed to
refer either to the sprig of broom (Latin genista) that he wore in his
hat or to his practice of planting broom to improve his hunting covers.
Historians differ on the naming of kings as Plantagenet, with some giving
the name to Count Geoffrey's descendants beginning with Edward I. Richard
Plantagenet, or Richard, 3rd duke of York, was the first to use the
surname officially when he claimed the throne in 1460. The Plantagenet
line became extinct when its legitimate male heir, Edward, earl of
Warwick, was executed in 1499.
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Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright c 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 21,
Ed. 1, Tree #1116, Date of Import: May 3, 1999]
In 1138 Matilda was crowned not Queen, but "Lady of England". Her
cousin, Stephen of Blois, was King since 1135. Stephen died 1153 and
Matilda's son, Henry II, succedded him. Matilda was married both to
King Henry V and Geoffrey of Anjou.