The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England

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It ushered in much more; it ushered in the devil’s brood. It ushered in the best of kings and the worst of kings. It ushered in the Plantagenets. Reputedly descended from a daughter of Satan, they were set to become England’s longest reigning dynasty. There is a story worth telling. It’s a story told with enthusiasm, insight and panache by Dan Jones in the recently published The Plantagenets: the Kings Who Made England. The Plantagenets By Dan Jones tells the story of the first eight Plantagenet monarchs that ruled England between 1154 and 1399, beginning with Henry I and ending at the fall of Richard II. Each monarch in turn has his story told; which wars he fought in, the land he gained and lost, who he married and who his children were. Boy, it's those table manners that will get you, every time. From this joyous union came the aforesaid Henry II, who with Eleanor of Aquitaine spawned first Richard I, aka the Lionheart, who it turns out wasn't gay after all, who spent a cumulative one year of his eleven-year reign in England, and who was killed at the siege of Châlus-Chabrol by a defender wielding a crossbow and carrying a frying pan as a shield (I just eat this stuff up with a spoon). The Plantagenets played a defining part in shaping the nation of England, and Dan Jones tells their fascinating story with wit, verve, and vivid insight. This is exhilarating history—a fresh and gloriously compelling portrait of a brilliant, brutal, and bloody-minded dynasty.”

The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made

Richard II found himself under siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived. Vengeful magnates strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and defenseless. Richard would never forget his humiliation, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.A cynic and a pragmatist, that was our Henry, but there was evidently no wearing of a hair shirt or walking barefoot to the shrine. Jones also proves absolutely my theory that everything in history is personal. Geoffry of Anjou was As far as I could tell, every Plantagenet story has a fitting twist to the tale. For example, take the story of Stephen and Matilda (well, Empress Matilda. Confusingly, there are at least four important Matildas in the full story). When Henry I realized he had no male heir, he chose his daughter Matilda as his successor. After all, she was already an empress and an experienced administrator, even if she did have the undeniable character flaw of being female. Henry I, sensing storms ahead, made all his barons swear fealty to his daughter Matilda--twice. Even so, as soon as he died, Cousin Stephen stepped in, and, being male, promptly swayed the lords to his banner. After a decades-long civil war, Matilda retreated to France--and sent over her son, Henry II, who had the sterling qualifications of not only being the rightful heir, but also of being male. After a few brief and decisive victories, Stephen was forced to take the humiliating course of naming Henry II as heir over his own children. He died knowing his attempt at dynasty had failed, and that Matilda's long game had paid out. Jones writes, “During 245 years of turbulent rule, the Plantagenets had forged England in their own image.” Yep, and once again history proves to be more interesting that any fantasy we could muster. This is wild stuff, and it is true! The text’s Epilogue is a great summation of Mr. Jones’ premise, mainly that the Plantagenet dynasty made and shaped what we know as England. After reading this, it’s hard to argue the point. The author and I can at least agree on one thing: we both admire Edward III, whom I described in a recent English Standard article as the real father of the English nation. Although his ambitions in France were fruitless his time saw great innovations in both military and parliamentary affairs. It was a time that saw the beginning of the end of the old England of humble peasants and hungry barons, never the twain to meet.

Favorite Historical novels of the Plantagenets (37 books) Favorite Historical novels of the Plantagenets (37 books)

A drunken outing, a ship sinks and a future kiing is dead leaving the country without a clear successor. The result? Twenty years of Civil War. This is how this well written well researched book begins. It then takes us through 250 years of Plntagenet rule. The good, not too much of that, the bad, alot of that, and the ugly. So glad I did not live in the Middle ages. I knew quite a bit of this history going in, but I have always had a fascination with Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen twice, the mother of two Kings, and the women that led her sons in a revolt against her husband. Of course she was imprisoned in various castles for many years, but eventually she once again became a politcal force. She lives into her seventies. The focus is very much on the politics and the personalities of power. When his kings are good they are very, very good and when they are bad they…have red hot pokers thrust into their bowels. Actually, the supposed gruesome death of Edward II is one of the myths that the author hits on the head with a hammer that might very well have been borrowed from Edward I, hitherto busy hammering the Scots. This was nothing more than a contractual basis for civil war. Stating that a king should govern according to the law and making sure that he did so were, it turned out, quite separate matters. These questions would lie at the heart of every major disagreement between king and country for centuries to come.The Jews of Angevin England: Documents and Records from Latin and Hebrew Sources, Printed and Manuscript Maybe Henry just didn't know there were other names for girls because Matilda was also the name of: his mother/one-time Queen of England, Matilda of Flanders; his first wife, Matilda of Scotland; and the daughter they had, who became Empress Matilda. After William's death (FYI, his wife was also named Matilda), Henry appointed his only other legitimate child (the aforementioned Empress Matilda) as his heir. However, her cousin and his wife, Matilda of Boulogne, took over leaving us with King Stephen (not to be confused with Stephen King).

The Plantagenet Prelude: (The Plantagenets: book I): the The Plantagenet Prelude: (The Plantagenets: book I): the

I guess the time for my proposed naming injunction has kind of come and gone, but, seriously, there are just too many Matildas to deal with. We've dealt with one Matilda FitzRoy (the one who drowned), so that's taken care of. However, Henry I had another illegitimate daughter named Matilda who also was a Matilda FitzRoy because “FitzRoy” just means “son of the king” (and I guess they didn't bother dealing with the gender thing for these two daughters).of the most beautiful and powerful men and women of England and Normandy board The White Ship to travel from Normandy to England. They are exuberantly drunk, and the crew of the ship is also three sheets to the wind. Out of all of these important people, there is one who is head and shoulders more important than the rest...William the Aetheling, named for his grandfather William the Conqueror. He is the heir apparent to the throne of England. Never enjoying military successes as his brother or father had, John found his form in the dynastic…