Biographies: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine

• Henry II - Eleanor of Aquitane

Henry II, Curtmantle
Reign: 1154-1189
Birth: 25 March 1133, Le Mans
Death: 6 July 1189, Chinon
Burial: Fontevrault (Fontevraud) Abbey
Father: Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou
Mother: Matilda
Marriage: 18 May 1152, Bordeaux, France - Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine
Children:
William
Henry the Young King, King of England d.1183
Matilda (Maud)
Richard I Coeur de Lion, King of England
Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany
Eleanor
Joan
John Lackland, King of England

NOTES: The first of the Angevin kings, Henry II became not only King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou and Maine, but also Lord of Brittany, Aquitaine, Poitou, and Guienne (all of western France from Normandy to Gascony and the Pyrenees). His restoration of order in England was swift. Firstly he had hundreds of unlicensed castles built in Stephen's reign demolished. Then instead of military service he demanded money from the barons, which enabled him to hire mercenaries responsible to himself alone. To keep order at home he raised a militia composed of all freemen, and prescribed how they were to be armed.

Of lasting importance were Henry's legal reforms. He transformed the Curia Regis into a regular court of trained officials and lawyers, dismissing most of the feudal sheriffs and replacing them with these men. Others were made into a special court of justice, the King's Bench, and most important of all, he sent out travelling judges - Justices in Eyre - who carried a 'common law' into every Shire Court of the country. A national system of law and local government and a civil service were beginning to take shape. He also established some order in Ireland, invaded for the first time and was recognised, at least in name, as its King.

In one thing Henry II failed. His Archbishop, Thomas Becket, opposed his attempt to bring clergy who had been convicted of crime in the church courts before the king's court for sentencing. He also wished to ensure the peaceful transition of his eldest son Henry (the young king, who died before Henry himself) by having him crowned in his own lifetime. The ceremony was eventually performed by the Archbishop of York. As a result of this quarrel four knights, apparently overhearing Henry's lament to be rid of his troublesome archbishop, murdered Becket in his cathedral. Becket quickly became a martyr, then a saint, while Henry was humiliated and made to do a public penance and submit to the Pope.

Over the years Henry's family life became fraught with problems and he fell out with his wife. In addition his sons, ambitious for their inheritance, rebelled in various combinations often at the urging of Eleanor. Overall however, Henry II was one of England's most successful kings and it is to his credit we owe the fact that the English are governed by English Common Law rather than by Roman. Henry died on 6th July 1189 in Chinon and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey.

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine
Birth: c.1122, Bordeaux
Death: 1 April 1204, Fontevraud
Burial: Fontevrault (Fontevraud) Abbey
Father: Duke William X of Aquitaine
Mother: Aenor de Châtellerault
Marriage: (1) 1137 - Louis VII the Younger, King of France
Children:
Margaret of France
Alix of France
Marriage: (2) 18 May 1152, Bordeaux, France - Henry II, King of England
William
Henry the Young King, King of England d.1183
Matilda (Maud)
Richard I Coeur de Lion, King of England
Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany
Eleanor
Joan
John Lackland, King of England

NOTES: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England, Queen of France, Duchess of Aquitaine, Countess of Poitiers was one of the most powerful women of her time. After the annulment of her marriage to the French King Louis VII, Eleanor had the audacity to marry Henry of Anjou, some 11 years her junior, in 1152. Over the next thirteen years she bore Henry five sons and three daughters. In their later years Henry and Eleanor fell out with each other, and Eleanor supported their sons in the various plots and rebellions against their father. Eventually Henry confined Eleanor from 1173 to 1183. From 1185 onwards Eleanor became more active in the ruling of Aquitaine. Eleanor died in April 1204 and is buried in Fontevrault Abbey.