Eleanor of england plantagenet

In accordance with the will of her late spouse, Eleanor became regent of Castile during the minority of her son, in which her daughter acted as her advisor. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Queen of Castile and Toledo from to For eleanor of england plantagenet people with similar names, see Eleanor of England disambiguation and Eleanor of Castile disambiguation.

Early life and family [ edit ]. Queenship [ edit ]. Regent [ edit ]. Children [ edit ]. Later depictions [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain. Salem House. ISBN Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms. English nobles raised private armies, engaged in private feuds and openly defied Henry VI.

The rivalry between the House of Plantagenet's two cadet branches of York and Lancaster brought about the Wars of the Rosesa decades-long fight for the English succession. The Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid some of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance and the advent of early modern Britain.

In the 15th century, near the end of the dynastic line, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of Yorkadopted Plantagenet as his family name. One of many popular theories suggests the blossom of the common brooma bright yellow "gold" flowering plant, called genista in medieval Latinas the source of the nickname. It is uncertain why Richard of York chose this specific name, although during the Wars of the Roses — it emphasised Richard's status as Geoffrey's patrilineal descendant.

The retrospective usage of the name for all of Geoffrey's male-line descendants was popular during the subsequent Tudor dynastyperhaps encouraged by the further legitimacy it gave to Richard's great-grandson, Henry VIII. Angevin is French for "of Anjou ". Noble houses were regularly denominated by a territory or place of birth, eg. Many historians identify the Angevins as a distinct English royal house.

As a noun, it refers to any native of Anjou or an Angevin ruler, and specifically to other counts and dukes of Anjouincluding the ancestors of the three kings who formed the English royal house; their cousins, who held the crown of Jerusalem ; and to unrelated members of the French royal family who were later granted the titles and formed different dynasties, such as the Capetian House of Anjou and the Valois House of Anjou.

The term " Angevin Empire " was coined by Kate Norgate in There was no known contemporary collective name for all of the territories under the rule of the Angevin Kings of England. This led to circumlocutions such as "our kingdom and everything subject to our rule whatever it may be" or "the whole of the kingdom which had belonged to his father".

The "Empire" portion of "Angevin Empire" has been controversial, especially as these territories were not subject to any unified laws or systems of governance, and each retained its own laws, traditions, and feudal relationships. Ina convention of historians concluded that there had not been an Angevin state, and therefore no "Angevin Empire", but that the term espace Plantagenet French for "Plantagenet area" was acceptable.

Inthe couple inherited the title via cognatic kinship from an Angevin family that was descended from a noble named Ingelgerwhose recorded history dates from During the 10th and 11th centuries, power struggles occurred between rulers in northern and western France, including those of Anjou, NormandyBrittanyPoitouBlois and Maineand the kings of France.

As a eleanor of england plantagenet of this marriage, Geoffrey's son Henry II inherited the English throne as well as Norman and Angevin titles, thus marking the beginning of the Angevin and Plantagenet dynasties. The marriage was the third attempt of Geoffrey's father, Fulk V, Count of Anjouto build a political alliance with Normandy. Henry I had the marriage annulled to avoid strengthening William's rival claim to Normandy.

Finally Fulk achieved his goal through the marriage of Geoffrey and Matilda. Fulk then passed his titles to Geoffrey and became King of Jerusalem. When Henry II was born inhis maternal grandfather, Henry I, was reportedly delighted, saying that the boy was "the heir to the kingdom". The birth reduced the risk that the King's realm would pass to his son-in-law's family, which was possible if the marriage of Matilda and Geoffrey ended childless.

The birth of a second son, also named Geoffreyincreased the likelihood of partible inheritance following French custom, in which Henry would receive the English maternal inheritance and Geoffrey the Angevin paternal inheritance. This would separate the realms of England and Anjou. In order to secure an orderly succession, Geoffrey and Matilda sought more power from Henry I, but quarrelled with him after the king refused to give them power that might be used against him.

When he died in Decemberthe couple were in Anjou, allowing Matilda's cousin Stephen to seize the crown of England. Stephen's contested accession initiated the widespread civil unrest later called the Anarchy.

Eleanor of england plantagenet: Eleanor Of Provence was the queen

Count Geoffrey had little interest in England. Instead he commenced a ten-year war for the duchy of Normandy, but it became clear that to bring this conflict to a successful conclusion, Stephen would need to be challenged in England. InMatilda and her half-brother, Robertinvaded England. InStephen was captured at the Battle of Lincoln and later exchanged for Robert, who had also been captured.

Geoffrey continued the conquest of Normandy and, intransferred the duchy to Henry while retaining the primary role in the duchy's government. Of Henry's siblings, William and Geoffrey died unmarried and childless, but the tempestuous marriage of Henry and Eleanor, who already had two daughters Marie and Alix through her first marriage to King Louis, produced eight children in thirteen years: [ 20 ].

Henry also had illegitimate children with several mistresses, possibly as many as twelve. Henry reasserted and extended previous suzerainties to secure possession of his inherited realm. Becket's defiance as Archbishop alienated the king and his counsellors. Henry and Becket had repeated disputes over issues such as church tenures, the marriage of Henry's brother, and taxation.

Henry reacted by getting Becket and other English bishops to recognise sixteen ancient customs in writing for the first time in the Constitutions of Clarendongoverning relations between the king, his courts and the church. When Becket tried to leave the country without permission, Henry tried to ruin him by filing legal cases relating to Becket's previous tenure as chancellor.

Becket fled and remained in exile for five years. Relations later improved, and Becket returned, but they declined again when Henry's son was crowned as coregent by the Archbishop of Yorkwhich Becket perceived as a challenge to his authority. Becket later excommunicated those who had offended him. When he received this news, Henry said: "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born clerk.

Henry was widely considered complicit in Becket's death throughout Christian Europe. This made Henry a pariah; in penance, he walked barefoot into Canterbury Cathedral, where he was severely whipped by monks. FromHenry claimed that Pope Adrian IV had given him authorisation to reform the Irish church by assuming control of Ireland, but Professor Anne Duggan's research indicates that the Laudabiliter is a falsification of an existing letter and that was not in fact Adrian's intention.

Eleanor of england plantagenet: She served as Regent

Henry did not personally act on this untilby which time William was already dead. He invaded Ireland to assert his authority over knights who had accrued autonomous power after they recruited soldiers in England and Wales and colonised Ireland with his permission. Henry later gave Ireland to his youngest son, John. This angered Henry's eighteen-year-old son, Henry the Young Kingwho believed that those were his.

A rebellion by Henry II's wife and three eldest sons ensued. Louis VII of France supported the rebellion. William the Lionking of the Scots, and others joined the revolt. After eighteen months, Henry subdued the rebels. In Le Mans inHenry II gathered his children to plan a partible inheritance : his eldest surviving son, Henry, would inherit England, Normandy and Anjou; Richard his mother's favourite would inherit the Duchy of Aquitaine; Geoffrey would inherit Brittany; and John would inherit Ireland.

This resulted in further conflict. The younger Henry rebelled again, but died of dysentery. Geoffrey died in after an accident in a tournament. InRichard and Philip II of France reasserted their various claims, exploiting the aging Henry's failing health. Henry was forced to accept humiliating peace terms, including naming Richard his sole heir.

The old King died two days later, defeated and miserable. French and English contemporary moralists viewed this fate as retribution for the murder of Becket; [ 32 ] even his favourite legitimate son, John, had rebelled although the constantly loyal illegitimate son Geoffrey remained with Henry until the end. Following Richard's coronation, he quickly put the kingdom's affairs in order and departed on a Crusade for the Middle East.

Opinion of Richard has fluctuated. He was respected for his military leadership and courtly manners. He rejected and humiliated the sister of the king of France. He deposed the king of Cyprus and later sold the island. On the Third Crusadehe made an enemy of Leopold V, Duke of Austriaby showing disrespect to his banners as well as refusing to share the spoils of war.

He was rumoured to have arranged the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat. His ruthlessness was demonstrated by his massacre of 2, prisoners in Acre. According to Steven Runciman Richard was "a bad son, a bad husband and a bad king". Returning from the crusade with a small band of followers, Richard was captured by Leopold and was passed to Emperor Henry VI.

Henry held Richard captive for eighteen months — while his mother raised the ransom, valued atmarks. After returning to England, Richard forgave John and re-established his authority in England. He left again in and battled Philip for five years, attempting to regain the lands seized during his captivity. When close to complete victory, he was injured by an arrow during a siege and died ten days later.

Richard's failure to provide an heir caused a succession crisis and conflict between supporters of the claim of his nephew, Arthurand John. John won a significant victory while preventing Arthur's forces from capturing his mother, seizing the entire rebel leadership at the Battle of Mirebeau and his sister Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany.

John disregarded his allies' opinions on the fate of the prisoners, many of them their neighbours and kinsmen. His son, King Henry III, maintained the claim to the Angevin territories until December when he formally surrendered them and in return was granted Gascony as duke of Aquitaine and a vassal of the king of France. John's reputation was further damaged by the rumour, described in the Margam annalsthat while drunk he himself had murdered Arthur, and if not true it is almost certain John ordered the killing.

Sir James Holt suggests this was the inevitable result of superior French resources. John Gillingham identifies diplomatic and military mismanagement and points out that Richard managed to hold the Angevin territory with comparable finances. ByJohn had re-established his authority in England and planned what Gillingham has called a grand strategy to recapture Normandy and Anjou.

He also brought his niece Eleanor of Brittany, aiming to establish her as Duchess of Brittany. The plan failed when John's allies were defeated at the Battle of Bouvines. Otto retreated and was soon overthrown, William was captured by the French and John agreed to a five-year truce. From then on John also gave up the claim to Brittany of Eleanor and had her confined for life.

All subsequent English monarchs were descendants of the Angevin line via John, who had five legitimate children with Isabella : [ 48 ]. John also had illegitimate children with several mistresses. Thereafter, support for Louis declined, and he renounced his claims in the Treaty of Lambeth after Marshal's victories at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in They both overran much of Henry's remaining continental lands, further eroding the Angevins' power on the continent.

In his political struggles, Henry perceived many similarities between himself and England's eleanor of england plantagenet saint, Edward the Confessor. During an assembly feudal prerogatives of the king were challenged by the barons, bishops and magnates who demanded that the king reissue Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest in exchange for support.

Henry declared that the charters were issued of his own "spontaneous and free will" and confirmed them with the royal seal, giving the new Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest of much more authority than any previous versions. Henry III had nine children: [ 57 ]. Henry was bankrupted by his military expenditure and general extravagance.

The pope offered Henry's brother Richard the Kingdom of Sicilybut the military cost of displacing the incumbent Emperor Frederick was prohibitive. Matthew Paris wrote that Richard stated: "You might as well say, 'I make you a present of the moon — step up to the sky and take it down'. The barons led by Henry's brother-in-law Simon de Montfort forced him to agree to the Provisions of Oxfordunder which his debts were paid in exchange for substantial reforms.

In France, with the Treaty of ParisHenry formally surrendered the territory of his Angevin ancestors to Louis IX of Francereceiving in return the title duke of Aquitaine and the territory of Gascony as a vassal of the French king. Disagreements between the barons and the king intensified. De Montfort assembled the Great Parliamentrecognized as the first Parliament because it was the first time the cities and boroughs had sent representatives.

Savage retribution was inflicted upon the rebels, and authority restored to Henry. Louis died before Edward's arrival, but Edward decided to continue. The result was disappointing; Edward's small force only enabled him to capture Acre and launch a handful of raids. After surviving an assassination attempt, Edward left for Sicily later in the year, never to participate in a eleanor of england plantagenet again.

When Henry III died, Edward acceded to the throne; the barons swore allegiance to him even though he did not return for two years. Edward and Eleanor had sixteen children; five daughters survived to adulthood, but only one son survived Edward: [ 64 ]. Edward and Margaret had two sons, who both lived to adulthood, and a daughter who died as a child: [ 65 ].

Evidence for Edward's involvement in legal reform is hard to find but his reign saw a major programme of legal change. Much of the drive and determination is likely to have come from the king and his experience of the baronial reform movement of the late s and early s. With the Statutes of MortmainEdward imposed his authority over the Church; the statutes prohibited land donation to the Church, asserted the rights of the Crown at the expense of traditional feudal privileges, promoted the uniform administration of justice, raised income and codified the legal system.

His military campaigns left him in heavy debt and when Philip IV of France confiscated the Duchy of Gascony inEdward needed funds to wage war in France. When Edward summoned a precedent-setting assembly in order to raise more taxes for military finance, he included lesser landowners and merchants. The resulting parliament included barons, clergy, knights, and burgesses for the first time.

On his accession, Edward I sought to organise his realm, enforcing his claims to primacy in the British Isles. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd claimed to rule North Wales "entirely separate from" England but Edward viewed him to be "a rebel and disturber of the peace". Edward's determination, military experience and skilful naval manoeuvres ended what was to him rebellion.

The invasion was executed by one of the largest armies ever assembled by an English king, comprising Anglo-Norman cavalry and Welsh archers and laying the foundation for future victories in France. Llywelyn was driven into the mountains, later dying in battle. Edward spent vast sums on his two Welsh campaigns with a large portion of it spent on a network of castles.

Edward asserted that the king of Scotland owed him feudal allegiance, and intended to unite the two nations by marrying his son Edward to Margaretthe sole heir of King Alexander III. By invitation of Scottish magnates, Edward I resolved the dispute, ruling in favour of John Balliolwho duly swore loyalty to him and became king. Edward insisted that he was Scotland's sovereign and possessed the right to hear appeals against Balliol's judgements, undermining Balliol's authority.

Balliol allied with France in ; Edward invaded Scotland the following year, deposing and exiling Balliol. Edward was less successful in Gascony, which was overrun by the French. With his resources depleting, Edward was forced to reconfirm the Charters, including Magna Carta, to obtain the necessary funds.

Eleanor of england plantagenet: Eleanor of England (also

Meanwhile, William Wallace rose in Balliol's name and recovered most of Scotland. Wallace was defeated at the Battle of Falkirkafter which Robert the Bruce rebelled and was crowned king of Scotland. Edward died eleanor of england plantagenet travelling to Scotland for another campaign. Eleanor D'Arborea c. Eleanor Cross. Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt Radio Program.

Eldridge, Florence — Eldridge, Craig. Eldridge, Colin Clifford. Eldridge, David Roy aka Little Jazz. Eldredge, Niles Eleanor of Montfort — Eleanor of Navarre — Eleanor of Normandy fl. Eleanor of Pfalz-Neuburg — Eleanor of Portugal — Eleanor of Provence c. Eleanor strove for many years to recover her lost property. The widowed Eleanor swore a holy oath of chastity in the presence of Edmund RichArchbishop of Canterbury.

Seven years later, she met Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. According to Matthew ParisSimon was attracted to Eleanor's beauty and elegance as well as her wealth and high birth. They fell in love and married secretly on 7 January at the King's chapel in Westminster Palace. Her brother King Henry later alleged that he only allowed the marriage because Simon had seduced Eleanor.

The marriage was controversial because of the oath Eleanor had sworn several years before to remain chaste. Because of this, Simon made a pilgrimage to Rome seeking papal approval for their union. Simon and Eleanor had seven children:. He tried to set up a reformed government, including the first parliament elected by citizens of the townsbut was unable to retain the support of the other barons.

Several switched sides to the royalist cause; especially after the escape of Prince Edward, future Edward I of Englandfrom Simon's custody. Montfort was defeated at the Battle of Evesham on 4 Augustwhere he was killed along with his son. Eleanor fled to exile in France where she became a nun at Montargis Abbeya nunnery founded by her deceased husband's sister Amicia, who remained there as abbess.

There she died on 13 Apriland was buried there. She was well treated by Henry, retained her incomes, and her proctors were allowed to pursue her litigation concerning the Leicester inheritance in the English courts; her will and testament were executed without hindrance. She would die giving birth to their only child, Gwenllian of Wales.

After the conquest of Wales, Gwenllian was imprisoned by Edward I of Englandher mother's first cousin, at Sempringham priory, where she died Eleanor is the main character in Virginia Henley 's historical romance The Dragon and the Jewelwhich tells of her life from just before her marriage to William Marshal to right before the Battle of Lewes in