General Notes

King 1154 -1189

pg 3,103 & 104, "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists" by Frederick Lewis Weiss, 6th Edition

pg li, Burkes'e "Peerage etc", 1970 edition

Sir Winston Churchill, "A History of the English Speaking Peoples - The
Birth of Britain", Vol. 1 at pgs 199-225. Henry II became king in 1154 and
reigned until his death in 1189. For a more detailed account of King Henry's
reign see chapter 12 of Sir  Winston's book (above). He conquered Normandy in
September 1106

FitzEmpress, Henry II Curtmantle, King of England : Henry II was King ofEngland from 1135-1154. His titles included Duke of Normandy, Count ofBrittany, Count of Anjou, Duke of Aquitaine. He ruled an empire thatstretched from the Tweed to the
Pyrenees. In spite of frequent hostitilties with the French King his own
family and rebellious Barons (culminating in the great revolt of 1173-74)and
his quarrel with Thomas Becket, Henry maintained control over hispossessions
until shortly before his death. His judicial and administrative reformswhich
increased Royal control and influence at the expense of the Barons were of
great constitutional importance. Introduced trial by Jury. During his 35year rule he created the Angevin empire which covered much of France andthe British Isles. His success made him one of the most powerful rulersof medieval English kings and European monarchs. "The Encyclopedia of theMiddle Ages" Norman F. Cantor, General Editor.

Henry II was born at Le Mans in 1133. He was the eldest son of theEmpress Matilda, daughter of Henry I, by her second marriage to Geoffreythe Fair of Anjou. His parents' marriage was tempestous, and both partieswere glad when politics brought a separation, with Matilda going toEngland to fight King Stephen, and Geoffrey of Normandy to win a heritagefor young Henry. He first came to England at the age of nine when his mother made herdramatic escape from Oxford where she was besieged by Stephen, across theice and snow, dressed all in white, to welcome him at Wallingford. Hisnext visit, when he was fourteen, showed his character: he recruited asmall army of mercenaries to cross over and fight Stephen in England, butfailed so miserably in the execution of his plans that he ended upborrowing money from Stephen to get back home. A third expedition, twoyears later, was almost as great a failure. Henry was not a soldier, hiswere skills of administration and diplomacy; warfare bored and sometimesfrightened him. For the meanwhile he now concentrated on Normandy, ofwhich his father had made him joint ruler. In 1151, the year of hisfather's death, he went to Paris to do homage to Louis VII for his duchy.There he met Queen Eleanor, and she fell in love with him. Henry was by no means averse. To steal a king's wife does a great deal for the ego of a young duke; he was as lusty as she, and late in their lives he was still ardently wenching with 'the fair Rosamund' Clifford,and less salubrious girls with names like 'Bellebelle'; finally, she would bring with her the rich Duchy of Aquitaine, which she held in he rown right. With this territory added to those he hoped to inherit and win, his boundaries would be Scotland in the north, and the Pyrenees inthe south.

Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & NobleBooks, New York, 1995