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[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.
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Plantagenet, surname, originally nickname, of the English royal house of
Anjou or the Angevin dynasty, founded by Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou
(1113-51), husband of Matilda (1102-67), daughter of King Henry I of
England. The name is derived from the Latin planta ("sprig") and genista
("broom plant"), in reference to the sprig that Geoffrey always wore in
his cap. Reigning from 1154 to 1485, the Plantagenet kings, in the main
line of descent, were Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I,
Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II; through the house of Lancaster,
Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI; and through the house of York, Edward
IV, Edward V, and Richard III.
"Plantagenet," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 Microsoft
Corporation. Copyright (c) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation