Henry II of England: Matilda’s son
Queen Matilda of England
When William the Conqueror died in 1087 AD, he left the throne of England to his sons William II and then Henry, and in 1035 Henry left it to his daughter Matilda, the widow of Henry V of Germany.
William the Conqueror 1066
Henry V of Germany
All our medieval Europe articles
Delilah treacherously cuts off Samson’s hair while he sleeps. Carved into a backgammon piece made of walrus ivory. England, 1130s AD. This was when Matilda was fighting to rule England, so maybe it was a sexist commentary?
The two Theophanos and Agnes had just ruled Germany and the Roman Empire, and Matilda of Canossa was ruling Italy, after all.
Who was Theophano?
Matilda of Canossa
The rebellion of Stephen of Blois
But when Henry died in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois fought Matilda for power. Like Anna Comnena in Byzantium about the same time, Matilda fought Stephen for years, but she couldn’t defeat him.
Anna Comnena
Eleanor of Aquitaine (Cloisters Museum, New York City)
This dress of imported silk belonged to Matilda.
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
When Stephen died, in 1154, Matilda’s son Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine took over England (and Normandy, and Aquitaine which belonged to Eleanor, so altogether it was about half of modern France as well).
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Philip Augustus of France
With the help of his mother Matilda, Henry was a strong king. While Matilda ran Normandy, Henry organized England, as well as fighting against the French, and later against Eleanor, who led a rebellion against Henry to try to get control of Aquitaine for herself.
The murder of Thomas a Becket
In Henry’s arguments with the Church about whether the Church or the king was to be more powerful, Matilda tried to keep the peace. But after Matilda died in 1167, when she was 65 years old, the fighting got worse. In 1170, Henry’s men murdered Thomas a Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, in his own church.
What is an archbishop?
What is a saint?
Prince Henry
Richard the Lionhearted
Henry and Eleanor had four sons: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John. Henry, the oldest, died (of dysentery) before his father, and so when Henry died Richard became king of England. One of his first acts was to encourage violence against Jewish citizens in England. Richard went on the Third Crusade, which was not very successful.
The Third Crusade
Jews in medieval Europe
Richard the Lionhearted
While he was away, Richard left his youngest brother John in charge of England (because Geoffrey had also died, possibly in a tournament). John had to collect a lot of tax money from the English people to pay for the Crusade.
The Saladin Tax
Saladin and the Ayyubids
Monks and monasteries
The Holy Roman Empire
And then the Holy Roman Emperor captured Richard the Lionhearted in Germany! He held Richard hostage. So John and Eleanor had to raise a huge amount of ransom money with more taxes, largely from taxing monasteries. That’s how John became very unpopular, at least with the land-owners and church officials who were paying the taxes.
Robin Hood stories
Prince John on a coin
In the Robin Hood stories, King John is the bad king who oppresses the poor and chases Robin Hood, and King Richard is the good king who comes back from his travels and pardons Robin Hood. Robin Hood probably never really existed. And the taxes really fell not on the poor but on richer people who had money. But the kings were real.
When Richard died in 1199 AD at 42 of a gangrenous wound, he didn’t have any kids, so his brother John became king after him.
Learn by doing: hold a tournament
More about King John and the Magna Carta
Bibliography and further reading about Richard the Lionhearted:
