Person Page - 157

     Joan was born circa 1272.¹ She was the daughter of Edward I King of England and Eleanor of Castile. She married Sir Gilbert de Clare "The Red" circa 30 April 1290 at in Westminster Abbey London, England.¹ Joan died on 23 April 1307.¹

     Edward was the oldest surviving son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Edward married Eleanor of Castille in 1254 to whom he had sixteen children, seven of which survived to adulthood, before her death. As part of a peace settlement, Edward married Margaret, sister of Philip IV of France, with whom he had another three children.

Edward expanded the Parliament to include both Lords and Commons. Discovering that revenues from feudal claims were inadequate, Edward found that calling a national Parliament was a good form of revenue gaining. Edward expanded the courts including the King's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer, and the Chancery Court, and established Conservators of the Peace.

Unification of the Island was Edward's main goal. He made steps toward this with a campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd of Wales. Llwelyn died in 1282, and in 1301, Edward's eldest son, Edward II was named Prince of Wales, the title held by all male heirs to the throne to this day. When Margaret, Maid of Norway, died in 1290, there was no clear successor to the crown of Scotland. Edward was asked to arbitrate between thirteen different claims to the throne.

His first choice, John Baliol, was unpopular; his second, William Wallace rebelled against England until his capture and execution in 1305. Robert Bruce seized the Scottish throne in 1306 and remained a thorn in the side of Edward II. Edward I died on his way to another Scottish campaign in 1307.

     Edward is buried in a plain stone tomb in Westminster Abbey. He wished to be buried without a lid on his coffin so that his troops could still see him as they left for battle.



[Prev/Next]
[FAQ][WebBoard]
[Monarchs][Timeline][Time Machine] was born 17 or 18 June 1239.^1,2 He was the son of Henry III King of England and (?) Eleanor of Provence. He married Eleanor of Castile on 18 October 1254. He was crowned Emperor on 19 August 1274 by (an unknown value). He married Marguerite of France on 8 September 1299. died 7 or 8 July 1307 at Burgh-on-the-Sands, England.

     Eleanor of Castile was the daughter of Fernando III "The Saint" King of Castile and Joan de Dammartin. She married Edward I King of England on 18 October 1254. died on 28 November 1290 at Grantham, England.^1,2

     was born on 1 October 1207 at Winchester, England.^1,2 He was the son of John I King of England and Isabella of Angoulême. He was crowned Emperor on 28 October 1216 at Gloucester by (an unknown value). He married (?) Eleanor of Provence on 14 January 1237 at Canterbury, County Kent, England.^1,2 His body was interred in November 1272 at Westminster Abbey. died on 16 November 1272 at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, at age 65.^1,2

     (?) was born in 1217 or 1223 at Aix-en Provence.^1,3,4 She was the daughter of Raymond Berenger V Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. She married Henry III King of England on 14 January 1237 at Canterbury, County Kent, England.^1,2 (?) died on 24 June 1291 at Amesbury, Wiltshire.^1,2

     John was on the list of those who had plotted against his father, Henry I, but was not successful in plotting against his brother, Richard. Richard gave him lands in Normandy and England, but these were not enough. While Richard was imprisoned, John unsuccessfully rebelled several times. Upon Richard's return, he was reprimanded and kept out of trouble for the last five years of his brother's reign and earned the succession to the throne.

John was respected as successor in England, but in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine Arthur, son of Geoffrey of Brittany, was recognized as sovereign. John persuaded Philip II to oust the twelve-year-old Arthur and became Lord of the Angevin Empire. He then annulled his marriage to Isabella of Gloucester, whom Richard had betrothed to him, and, in an effort to unite the two halves of his empire, married Isabella of Angouleme. Unfortunately, John's bride's former fiance appealed to Philip II, and Philip declared all of John's recent acquisitions forfeit.

     John captured Arthur shortly after his possessions were forfeited. Arthur disappeared and the murder has never been proven.


Determined to get his territory back, John levied high taxes on his nobles. This also came at the time of a conflict with Pope Innocent III. John refused to accept the papal appointment to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope punished John by placing England and Wales under an interdict and excommunicating John a year later. John, however, needed papal support to win his invasion of France. John made England a papal fief and invaded. In 1214, John lost the Battle of Bovines and the English barons had enough.

In 1215, the barons seized London and forced John to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymead. John had no intention of living up to the document, and the barons looked to Louis of France, Philip's son, for aid. Louis invaded England in 1216. John died that year in October with a nine-year old son as his successor.


[Prev/Next]
[FAQ][WebBoard]
[Monarchs][Timeline][Time Machine] was born on 24 December 1167 at Oxford, England.^1,2 He was the son of Henry II Plantagenet, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and Poitou. He married Isabella of Gloucester on 29 August 1189.³ He married Isabella of Angoulême on 24 August 1200.^1,2 died on 19 October 1216 at Newark Castle, Lincolnshire, at age 48.^1,2

     Isabella was born ca 1188/9.^1,2 She was the daughter of Count Aymer "Taillifer" deValence of Angoulême and Alice de Courtenay. She married John I King of England on 24 August 1200.^1,2 She married Hugh X de Lusignan Count of la Marche on 10 May 1220.² Isabella died on 31 May 1246 or 3 June 1246.²

     Called Curt Mantel.

Henry II was the first of three sons born to Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou on 4 March 1133. Raised in his father's dominion, he did not visit English shores until 1142. At that time England, split in a vicious civil war, was divided into areas controlled by Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, and those controlled by Stephen, grandson of William the Conqueror. The nine-year old Henry returned quickly to the safety of anjou.


In 1147, as a fourteen-year-old boy, Henry returned to England with a small band of mercenaries to take up his mother's cause in the civil war. The excursion was against his mother's wishes and better judgement. When Henry found himself out of money, Matilda refused to help him. So, with the brashness that would be Henry's trademark, he applied to his enemy, Stephen, for help; and with the characteristic lack of ruthlessness that would be Stephen's undoing, he gave Henry the money to pay off his mercenaries and go home. By 1151 Henry was lord of Normandy and anjou. The following year he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most desirable women in Europe. Eleanor was recently divorced from Louis VII of France, after fourteen years of marriage and failure to bear him son.


Midwinter of 1153, Henry crossed the Channel and surprised Stephen. The English barons were, by this time, convinced that the only way to end the bitter war was to have Stephen declare Henry as his successor. The death of Stephen's son, Eustace, brought the end of Stephen's resistance. The Treaty of Westminster left Stephen on the throne, but declared Henry his successor. When Stephen died, less than a year later, Henry ascended the throne unopposed. Now, with a kingdom that stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, he was the greatest prince in Europe. But his heart remained in anjou, the land of his father.


Throughout the first years of Henry's reign, his attention was divided between England and anjou. He first set out to destroy those lands and castles granted without royal license during Stephen's reign. He also reestablished overlordship of Scotland and Wales which was a relationship lost during Stephen's reign. His attention soon turned back to his homeland and an attempt to establish overlordship of Toulouse, a region included in his wife's inheritance. However, the most significant (and certainly most famous) story of Henry's reign began in 1162. That year Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury died. This very important clerical post was open for over a year, when in June, 1162, Henry appointed Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket at the time was Chancellor and well respected, but a very good friend to the King, maybe too much so, his critics claimed. He was also not known for his charity. A story told by William FitzStephen, a friend and biographer of Becket, illustrates not only Becket's friendship with Henry, but his reputation as less that charitable:
One day they were riding together through the streets of London. It was a hard winter and the king noticed an old man coming towards them, poor and clad in a thin ragged coat. 'Do you see that man?' said the king. 'Yes, I see him', replied Becket. 'How poor his is, how frail, and how scantily clad!' said the king. 'Would it not be an act of charity to give him a thick warm coat?' 'It would indeed; and right that you should attend to it my king.'

But the world underestimated Thomas Becket. Fully aware of public opinion, Becket decided he would be a good Archbishop, perhaps even a great one. Some contemporaries claim he actually had a conversion. Whatever the reason, Becket went out of his way to oppose the King. It did not take Henry long to regret his decision. The issue that brought Henry and Becket to the brink of their destinies was and old one--what to do with a churchman that breaks the laws of England. Like many layman, Henry wanted criminous clerks defrocked and tried by a lay court. Becket, of course, felt clerics should be tried in ecclesiastical courts. At Clarendon, Henry presented the bishops of England, led by Archbishop Becket, with a statement of the King's customary rights over the church. Becket argued for two days, but finally, with the bishops in tow, gave in. No sooner was the ink dry, then Becket changed his mind. In desperation, Henry had Becket arrested on false charges, found guilty, and forced to forfeit all estates. In despair, Becket fled across the Channel.


For the next five years Becket remained in exile and Henry concentrated on other matters. He conquered Brittainy and overhauled the English legal system. (His reforms were revolutionary. The father of English common law, Henry made innovations manifest today in the form of localized and complex government.) But in 1170, Becket returned to England. Tales of his outrageous behavior and continued opposition to the King wasted no time in finding their way to Henry in Normandy. "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Henry allegedly shouted. True or not, Henry undoubtedly did mumble some words of frustration, and in response four of Henry's knights went looking for Becket. They found him at Canterbury Cathedral where Becket had gone to hear evening vespers. They first struck him with the flat of a sword. According to William FitzStephen, the warning, "Fly, you are a dead man," was shouted by one of the attackers, but Becket resisted and was brutally murdered.


By all contemporary accounts, Henry appears to have been horrified by the actions of his knights. A friend of the king, Arnulf, Bishop of Lisieux wrote the following:
The king burst into loud lamentations and exchanged his royal robes for sackcloth and ashes, behaving more like a friend than the sovereign of the dead man. At times he fell into a stupor, after which he would again utter groans and cries louder and more bitter than before. For three whole days he remained shut in his chamber and would neither take food nor admit anyone to comfort him, until it seemed from the excess of his grief that he had determined to contrive his own death.

While Henry mourned, the rest of Christiandom was outraged. Becket, canonized in record time, became a symbol of resistance against oppressive authority. Henry did penitence for his role in Becket's death, but he ordered the Bishop of London to declare in a sermon that he had not commanded Becket's death. After the storm died down it became apparent that despite the scandal, Henry was at the height of his power. The real threat would come from his family.


Henry was plagued with rebellious sons. Henry the Younger, the oldest son, was actually crowned successor in 1169, but wanted more than just a title. Richard and John felt left out all together, and spurred on by Eleanor, Henry's wife, launched one plot after another. However, the Young King Henry died in 1183, leaving Richard the oldest surviving son, poised for the succession. But Henry's preference for John was obvious. Richard, pushed to the point of open rebellion, joined with Philip II of France in an attempt to destroy the Angevin empire and Henry. In July, 1189, with his health failing, Henry accepted a humiliating peace. When given a list of names of those who had fought against him, he was shocked to find John's name among them. He turned his face away and according his his chroniclers said, "Enough; now let things go as they may; I care no more for myself or for the world ... Shame, shame on a conquered king." A month later Henry died.

Biographical information from The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, ed. Antonia Frasier , The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy, ed. John Cannon and Ralph Griffiths, and The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes, ed. Elizabeth Longford.


was born on 5 March 1133 at Le Mans, Anjou.^1,2 He was the son of Geoffrey V "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou and Matilda of England. He married Eleanor of Aquitaine and Poitou on 18 May 1152 at Bordeaux Cathedral.^1,2 died on 6 July 1189 at Chinon Castle, France, at age 56.^1,2

     was born in 1123.^1,2 She was the daughter of William VIII of Poitou and X of Aquitaine and Eleanor or Aenor de Chastellerault. She married Louis VII King of France 22/25 July 1137.² Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful and fascinating personalities of feudal Europe. At age 15 she married Louis VII, King of France, bringing into the union her vast possessions from the River Loire to the Pyrenees. Only a few years later, at age 19, she knelt in the cathedral of Vézelay before the celebrated Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux offering him thousands of her vassals for the Second Crusade. It was said that Queen Eleanor appeared at Vézelay dressed like an Amazon galloping through the crowds on a white horse, urging them to join the crusades.
While the church may have been pleased to receive her thousand fighting vassals, they were less happy when they learned that Eleanor, attended by 300 of her ladies, also planned to go to help "tend the wounded."
The presence of Eleanor, her ladies and wagons of female servants, was criticized by commentators throughout her adventure. Dressed in armor and carrying lances, the women never fought. And when they reached the city of Antioch, Eleanor found herself deep in a renewed friendship with Raymond, her uncle, who had been appointed prince of the city. Raymond, only a few years older than Eleanor, was far more interesting and handsome than Eleanor's husband, Louis. When Raymond decided that the best strategic objective of the Crusade would be to recapture Edessa, thus protecting the Western presence in the Holy Land, Eleanor sided with his view. Louis, however, was fixated on reaching Jerusalem, a less sound goal. Louis demanded that Eleanor follow him to Jerusalem. Eleanor, furious, announced to one and all that their marriage was not valid in the eyes of God, for they were related through some family connections to an extent prohibited by the Church. Wounded by her claim, Louis nonetheless forced Eleanor to honor her marriage vows and ride with him. The expedition did fail, and a defeated Eleanor and Louis returned to France in separate ships.
On her way home, while resting in Sicily, Eleanor was brought the news that her fair haired uncle had been killed in battle, and his head delivered to the Caliph of Baghdad. Although her marriage to Louis continued for a time, and she bore him two daughters, the relationship was over. In 1152 the marriage was annulled and her vast estates reverted to Eleanor's control. Within a year, at age thirty, she married twenty year old Henry who two years later became king of England.
In the papal bull for the next Crusade, it expressly forbade women of all sorts to join the expedition. All the Christian monarchs, including King Louis, agreed to this. But by this time Eleanor had problems of her own in her marriage to King Henry II of England. In a way Eleanor of Aquitaine's life had barely begun after she returned to France from her travels on the Second Crusade. She lived until her eighties, becoming one of the great political and wealthy powers of medieval Europe.
Eleanor was wealthy because she was heiress of the duchy of Aquitaine, one of the greatest fiefs in Europe. Aquitaine was like a separate nation with lands extending in southwestern France from the river Loire to the Pyrenees. Eleanor's court was a trend setter in the medieval world, known for its sophistication and luxury. Heavily influenced by the Spanish courts of the Moors, it gave patronage to poets and encouraged the art of the troubadours, some of whom were believed to be in love with the beautiful Eleanor. One story is that in her effort to shed her rough knights of their unruly ways, she made up a mock trial in which the court ladies sat on an elevated platform and judged the knights, who read poems of homage to women and acted out proper courting techniques. The men wore fancy clothes - flowing sleeves, pointed shoes - and wore their hair long.
During their adventures on the Second Crusade, it became apparent that her marriage with dour, severe King Louis VII of France was ill matched. The marriage was annulled on a technicality, and Eleanor left her two daughters by him to be raised in the French court. Within a short time Eleanor threw herself into a new marriage, a stormy one to Henry of Anjou, an up and coming prince eleven years younger than she. Their temperaments as well as their wealth in land were well matched; her new husband became Henry II king of England in 1154.
For the next thirteen years Eleanor constantly bore Henry children, five sons and three daughters. (William, Henry, Richard I "the Lionheart", Geoffrey, John "Lackland", Mathilda, Eleanor, and Joan). Richard and John became, in turn, kings of England. Henry was given the title "the young king" by his father, although father Henry still ruled. Through tough fighting and clever alliances, and with a parcel of children, Henry and Eleanor created an impressive empire. As well, Eleanor was an independent ruler in her own right since she had inherited the huge Duchy of Aquitaine and Poitiers from her father when she was 15.
However all was not well between Henry and Eleanor. When her older sons were of age, her estrangement from her husband grew. In 1173 she led her three of her sons in a rebellion against Henry, surprising him with this act of aggression so seemingly unusual for a woman. In her eyes it was justified. After two decades of child bearing, putting up with his infidelities, vehemently disagreeing with some of his decisions, and, worst of all, having to share her independence and power, Eleanor may have hoped that her prize would have been the right to rule Aquitaine with her beloved third son Richard, and without Henry. The rebellion was put down, however, and fifty-year-old Eleanor was imprisoned by Henry in various fortified buildings for the next fifteen years.
In 1189, Henry died. On the accession of her son Richard I to kingship, Eleanor's fortunes rose again. When Richard was fighting in the Holy Land she repeatedly intervened to defend his lands - even against her son John. When he was captured on his way home, she used her considerable influence to help raise the ransom and secure Richard's release. Her relentless work on behalf of her favorite son increased her fame as an extremely able politician.
Eleanor traveled constantly, even in her old age. Running from one end of Europe to another, she often risked her life in her efforts to maintain the loyalty of the English subjects, cement marriage alliances, and manage her army and estates. By this time she had many grandchildren. Possibly one of her wisest acts was to travel to Spain to chose and collect her thirteen year old grand daughter Blanche of Castile to become the bride of Louis VIII of France, the grandson of her first husband Louis VII! Blanche eventually proved a rival to Eleanor in political influence and success as queen of France. Eleanor also, when almost seventy, rode over the Pyrenees to collect her candidate to be Richard's wife, (Berengaria, the daughter of King Sancho the Wise of Navarre). She then traversed the Alps, traveling all the way down the Italian peninsula, to bring Berengaria to Sicily. Berengaria then travelled to Cyprus, where Richard married her at Limossol on May 12, 1191.
Eleanor died in 1204 at her favorite religious house, the abbey of Fontevrault, where she had retreated to find peace during various moments of her life. was divorced from Louis VII King of France in 1152. She married Henry II Plantagenet, King of England on 18 May 1152 at Bordeaux Cathedral.^1,2 died 3 or 31 MAR 1204.^1,2

     Geoffrey was born on 24 August 1113.^1,2 He was the son of Fulk V "The Young" Count of Anjou and Erembourg. Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy. He married Matilda of England on 3 April 1127.^1,2 Geoffrey died on 7 September 1151 at age 38.^1,2

     She married Henry V Emperor of Germany.² Matilda was born CA 1102 or 1104.^1,2 She was the daughter of Henry I King of England and Matilda of Scotland. She married Geoffrey V "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou on 3 April 1127.^1,2 Matilda died on 10 September 1167.^1,2

     He married Margaret de Clare on 1 November 1307.¹ Piers died.

     Of Bewsey, knighted 1485, Justice of the Peace 1486, Baron of Warrington. He married Margaret Delves.² Thomas was born in 1461 at Bewsey, in Warrington, England.² He was the son of Sir John Boteler Knight and Margaret Stanley. Thomas died on 27 April 1522.²

     Margaret Delves was the daughter of Sir John Delves Knight. Margaret died. She married Thomas Boteler Knight.¹

     He resided, at Doddington, England.

     Of Bewsey, Baron of Warrington, Knighted 1447, Knight of the Shire 1449, Member of Parliment 1449. John was born on 24 August 1429 at Bewsey, in Warrington, England.^2,1 He was the son of Sir John Boteler Knight and Isabel Harington. He married Margaret Stanley in 1460.² John died on 26 February 1463 at age 33.^1,2

     Of Dunham-on-the-Hill, co. Chester. She married Grey Lord of Codnor. Margaret was born circa 1432. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley Knight and Joan Goushill. She married William [Sir] Troutbeck , Knight in 1459. She married Sir John Boteler Knight in 1460.² Margaret died.

     William was born circa 1432 at Dunham-on-the-Hill, co. Chester, England. William died in 1459. He married Margaret Stanley in 1459.

     died. He married Margaret Stanley.

     Lord Stanley of Lathom and Knowsley, Member of Parliment 1432, Knight 1456, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Chamberlain of North Wales. He married Joan Goushill.^1,2 Thomas was born before 1405 at Lathom and Knowsley, England.^1,2 He was the son of John de Stanley and Isabel Harington. Thomas died between 11 February 1458 and 1459.^1,2

     She married Sir Thomas Stanley Knight.^1,2 Joan was born circa 1401. She was the daughter of Sir Robert Goushill and Elizabeth Fitz Alan. Joan died after 1459.^1,2

     Robert was born at Hoveringham, Notts., England. Of Hoveringham, Notts. Robert Goushill, Esq. of Hoveringham, Nottingham. Elizabeth was married to Rober without the king's licence, when herdower lands were ordered back into the king's hands. She was pardoned on 28 September 1401 and her lands were restored. Robert waas knighted and received control of her dower land. Sir Robert Goushill was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403 leaving two daughters and co-heiresses. He married Elizabeth Fitz Alan before 19 August 1401.^1,2 Robert died Slain 21 July 1403.

     Elizabeth was born circa 1375. She was the daughter of Sir Richard Fitz Alan Knight and Elizabeth de Bohun. She married William de Montagu before December 1378. She married Thomas de Mowbray in July 1384. She married Sir Robert Goushill before 19 August 1401.^1,2 She married Gerard Usflete on 18 April 1411. Elizabeth died in 1425.^1,2

     Beheaded 1397, 9th Earl of Arundel and 10th of Surrey. Richard was born in 1346.^1,2 He was the son of Sir Richard Fitz Alan "Copped Hat" and Eleanor (Alianor of Lancaster) Plantagenet. He married Elizabeth de Bohun circa 28 September 1359.¹ Richard died on 21 September 1397.^1,2

     Elizabeth was born.¹ Great-granddaughter of Edward I, King of England and Eleanor of Castile. She was the daughter of Sir William de Bohun Knight and Elizabeth de Badlesmere. She married Sir Richard Fitz Alan Knight circa 28 September 1359.¹ Elizabeth died on 3 April 1385.^1,2

     Earl of Arundel and Warrene. Richard was born circa 1313.^1,2 He was the son of Sir Edmund Fitz Alan and Alice de Warenne. He married Isabel le Despenser on 9 February 1321. He married Eleanor (Alianor of Lancaster) Plantagenet on 5 February 1345 at Ditton.^1,2 Richard died on 24 January 1376.^1,2

     Eleanor was born.^1,2 Her body was interred at Lewes, Sussex.³ She was the daughter of Henry Plantagenet and Maude de Chaworth. Great-granddaughter of King Henry III. She married Lord John de Beaumont before June 1337 at Arundel. She married Sir Richard Fitz Alan "Copped Hat" on 5 February 1345 at Ditton.^1,2 Eleanor died on 11 January 1372 at Arundel.^1,2

     Fought at Crecy, Earl of Northampton. William was born CA 1310 or 1312.^1,2 He was the son of Humphrey de Bohun VIII and Elizabeth Plantagenet. He married Elizabeth de Badlesmere in 1335.^1,2 William died in September 1360.^1,2

     Elizabeth was born in 1313.^1,2 She was the daughter of Bartholomew Badlesmere. She married Sir William de Bohun Knight in 1335.^1,2 Elizabeth died in 1356.¹

     Bartholomew died. Lord Badlesmere.