William The Conqueror King of England Thirty Generations At A Glance William The Conqueror Henry I "Beauclerc" King of England Geoffrey V "le Bon" Plantagenet Henry II "Plantagenet" King of England John "Lackland" King of England Henry III King of England Edward I "Longshanks" King of England Gilbert "the Red Earl" de Clare Despence (four generations) Wentworth four Constable Etherington (six generations)  Pope Sanford Wren (two generations) Riggin Trusty Molloy

William The Conqueror King of England 1066-1087 Matilda of Flanders Queen of England Born: Falaise, Normandy, Autumn 1028. Titles: King of England, Duke of Normandy and Count of Maine Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 25 December 1066. Ruled: December 1066-9 September 1087. Married: c 1053 (at Eu), Matilda (c1031-83), dau. Baldwin V of Flanders, IO children. Died: St Gervais, Rouen, 9 September 1087, aged 59. Buried: Abbey of St Stephen, Caen. William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard as he was known in his day (though out of his hearing), was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. The Normans were Vikings who had settled in northern France and had taken on the lifestyle of the French aristocracy, without losing that passion for conquest. William was descended from Ragnald, the ancestor of the Earls of Orkney. Many histories would have you believe that Britain's royal history began with William, although his claim on the English throne was tenuous. He maintained that Edward the Confessor had promised him the succession as far back as 1051 during a period when Edward's relationship with Earl Godwin was low and Edward was looking for support. The connections between the Saxon and Norman royal families extended back to Athelred the Unready who had married Emma the sister of William's grandfather, Richard 11 of Normandy. William was the son of Edward the Confessor's first cousin. Researchers have been unable to find any evidence of Edward's promise, at least amongst English documents, and its only provenance is amongst the Norman chronicles. William was later able to exact support for the claim from Harold Godwinson, earl of Wessex, who was at William's court in 1065, and the Bayeux Tapestry shows Harold offering fealty to William. Hence when Edward died in 1066 and Harold was crowned as king, William regarded him as a usurper and prepared to invade. William had already demonstrated his strength as a commander and soldier. His life was one of almost constant warfare as he carved out for himself a position as one of the most powerful and, when necessary, ruthless rulers of his day. He had succeeded to the duchy of Normandy in 1035 when just seven or eight years old. His father had died while on a pilgrimage when only 27. His mother, Herleva or Arletta, was Robert's mistress. She was the daughter of a local tanner and, legend says, Robert spied upon her while she washed clothes at the river. During William's minority there was much rivalry at the Norman court as the aristocracy struggled for power. Three of William's guardians were assassinated and the young duke knew he needed to assert his authority as soon as he was able. That opportunity came in 1047 when his cousin, Guy of Brionne, rebelled and claimed the duchy. Guy had considerable support and William needed the help of Henri I of France to win the day after a tightly fought battle. This gave William his authority but it also imprinted upon him a streak of ruthlessness which caused him to retaliate viciously against anyone who challenged him. William's authority increased when he married Matilda, the daughter of Baldwin V, count of Flanders, a powerful ruler whose acceptance of William as a suitable son-in-law showed that William had risen above the trials of his youth. William may also have seen in Matilda a further link with his claim on the throne of England, as she was seventh in line from Alfred the Great. The pope apparently opposed this marriage for some years on grounds of an earlier betrothal by Matilda, but it finally received his blessing in 1059. During the decade of the 1050s William continued to consolidate his power, even to the point of incurring the enmity of his former ally, Henri I of France. William succeeded in rebuffing all attempts to invade Normandy and by 1062 had himself invaded Maine, on almost the same pretext as he would invade England four years later - that Herbert, count of Maine, had promised William the county if he died without heirs. William became count of Maine in 1063. William's other conquests meant that he had support from the surrounding powers of Anjou and Brittany, whilst the new king of France, Philippe 1, was under the protection of William's father-in-law, Baldwin. This meant that when William prepared to invade England in September 1066 he was able to draw not only upon his own resources within Normandv, but upon those of his allies. Nevertheless, this did not make William's conquest of England a certainty. He was up against one of the most aggressive armies of Europe under the command of Harold Godwinson. Harold's misfortune was that he had to face two invasions within one month. Harold's men already weakened by defeating the army of Harold Hardraada of Norway at Stamford Bridge on 25 September, faced a quick march back to fight William who had landed at Pevensey on 28 September. William took advantage of Harold's absence to develop his defences near Hastings and by pillaging the local farmsteads and hamlets. By so doing William succeeded in drawing Harold toward him, whereas Harold's opportunity for success lay in drawing William away from his fleet and its supplies. The two armies met at Senlac Hill (now Battle), near Hastings, on 14 October 1066. Had Harold's army not been weakened he may well have won, but they were overpowered by William's cavalry. The Saxon army submitted after the death of Harold and his brothers. For the next two months William's army moved strategically around the Kentish coast taking a circular route to London and seeking the submission of the English en route. They burned Dover, and laid waste to much of Surrey. The English, in the meantime, had elected Edgar the Atheling as their new king, but he was only a boy of thirteen or fourteen, and unable to muster any forces to retaliate against William. The citizens of London prevented William crossing the Thames, so he sacked Southwark and moved west, crossing the Thames at Wallingford. Edgar submitted at Berkhamstead and the Normans then approached London from the north. Ludgate was opened to the invader by a collaborator and, in the Battle of Ludgate Hill, countless Londoners were slain. William was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 25 December 1066, the ceremony conducted by Ealdred, archbishop of York. Cries of support from the Normans present were interpreted as an English rebellion and the guards promptly attacked the Saxons and set fire to nearby houses. William himself had to quell the panic. His reign began with terror and would remain a reign of terror for twenty years. Although William was to style himself as king of England not all of England had accepted him as king. His dominion was primarily in the south, covering all of the old kingdoms of Wessex, Kent, Sussex and Essex, and stretching someway into Mercia. The powerful earls of Mercia and Northumbria, the brothers Edwin and Morcar, believed that William's design was only to conquer Wessex and accepted him as king within that domain, pleased that he had overthrown the Godwin family. They even hoped they would be accepted as kings in their territories. This short-sightedness sealed the fate of England, for had the brothers united their armies with those elsewhere in England and faced William before he became established, he might still have been defeated, but the old rivalries between Saxon families became their downfall and isolated rebellions were soon put down with the viciousness with which William became renowned. William remained in England for three months after his coronation, during which time he appointed a wide range of Norman officials, and despatched the army to plunder the churches in order to pay his army. When he returned to Normandy in late February 1067 he took with him the most likely candidates to lead any rebellion in England, Edgar the Atheling, Stigand, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the earls Edwin and Morcar. During his absence in Normandy, where William displayed the spoils of his conquest and made most of his fame, his half-brother Bishop Odo endeavoured to impose Norman rule in England, but with minimal success. An attempted invasion by Eustace, count of Bolougne, who was Edward the Confessor's brother-in-law, was soon repelled, but the general unrest in England, especially in the north and west, continued to grow. William returned in December 1067 and began his systematic conquest of England in earnest. He turned his attention first to the west, at Exeter, where Harold's mother had taken refuge. The town submitted after a siege of eighteen days. William was comparatively lenient to the townsfolk, though he exacted payment. He also ordered the building of a castle and established a Norman noble, Baldwin of Brionne, as the local custodian. This became Willam's approach over the next few years. As he advanced upon his conquests he would build a castle from which a Norman duke or earl would maintain the peace in that territory. Initially the castles were hasty constructions of wood upon a motte-and-bailey site. It was only later that he and his successors began the construction of massive stone castles at key sites. These castles became the image of Norman power created not to defend England but to dominate it. In total 78 castles were constructed by William's order, the most famous being the Tower of London. By March 1068 William felt sufficiently secure in the south to bring his wife, Matilda, over to England where she was crowned queen. She remained in England for a year, accompanying William on his tour of conquest. Their last son, the future Henry I was born at Selby in September 1068. She returned to Normandy in 1069 and remained there until her death in 1083. It was during 1068 that William faced his first major opposition. Earls Morcar and Edwin rebelled, and Edgar the Atheling took refuge with Malcolm III Of Scotland - Malcolm married Edgar's sister Margaret the following year. The Saxons sought the support of the Welsh though clearly were not acting with any coherent plan for William was soon able to quash the rebellion by advancing on Warwick. William continued north, establishing castles at Nottingham and York. His original plans to govern northern England through the Saxon aristocracy now changed, as he believed Edwin and Morcar had forfeited their rights. From then on William redistributed the lands of the Saxons amongst the Norman and French aristocracy. The native English were not simply conquered, they were dispossessed. William was hated and despised by the English, but any attempt to display this feeling was countered by ruthless retaliation. When William returned briefly to Normandy in early 1069, faced with a revolt in Maine, the English attacked the Normans at Durham, killing many of them. They moved on to besiege the castle at York, but by then William had returned and he not only defeated the English but sacked the city. The English resistance was far from over. Edgar the Atheling's followers joined forces with King Swein of Denmark. Swein had as much claim to the English throne as William, if not more. He was the nephew of Canute and maintained, like William, that Edward had named him as his successor. The English had learned to co-exist with the Danes. There had been Danish kings ruling parts of England for two centuries before Canute. The armies of Swein and Edgar, along with other northern rebels, recaptured York in September 1069. Again William marched on the north, this time destroying everything in his path. This harrying of the north was the most extreme example of despoiling and genocide that England has ever seen, and for which William was never forgiven by the English. He may have conquered them, but he never ruled them. William succeeded in buying off the Danish force and they retreated in late 1070, after briefly returning for a second attempt. Pockets of resistance remained throughout the north, the west and especially in the Fenland of East Anglia, where the Saxon thane Hereward the Wake, perhaps the best known of the Saxon rebels, maintained the most ordered resistance to William. Hereward was joined by Earl Morcar whose brother, Edwin, had been treacherously murdered by his own men. William brought all his forces to bear upon the Isle of Ely where Hereward made the last major Saxon stand against the Norman might. William's power proved irresistible. Hereward escaped, but Morcar was captured and imprisoned, and other rebels were tortured and mutilated before their release. The last to resist William was Edgar the Atheling who had fled back to the court of King Malcolm. In the summer of 1072 William marched into Scotland to demand that Malcolm cease aiding Edgar's insurrection. Malcolm agreed and, with the Peace of Abernethy, recognized William as his overlord. He also expelled Edgar from his court. Edgar, however, did not submit to William until 1074. By the end of 1072 William believed that his conquest of England was complete. Already he had replaced many of the Saxon officials with Normans, and these included the officials of the church. Probably his most significant appointment was of Lanfranc as archbishop of Canterbury. The Norman aristocracy were installed in lands across the length and breadth of England and their dominion established a feudal system in which all Saxons were increasingly treated as peasants. Although William had despoiled the land in order to subjugate the English, he had never intended to plunder it. Indeed, once he had established his authority he was keen for England to prosper so that he could benefit from the revenues. William returned to Normandy in 1072 and remained there for much of the next twelve years, needing to maintain his duchy against the opposition of the French and his former allies who were now fearful of his power. The administration of England was left in the hands of Richard Fitzgilbert and William de Warenne, two of William's most powerful barons. William did not return to England for any significant period until 1085, when he brought over a massive army to defend the island against a planned invasion under Canute IV of Denmark. Canute, however, was murdered before the invasion began. William's restless army caused considerable hardship to the Saxons during this period. In addition William had to raise the land taxes in order to pay his sizeable army and this caused further disgruntlement. The problems that William had in knowing who owned what land and what its value was, so that he could levy the taxes, led to him ordering a major survey of England. The record of this survey, carried out with remarkable accuracy and speed during 1086, became known as the Domesday Book, and though its purpose was for William to ensure he had control over his taxes in England, the result is a rare and indispensable historical document. William, however, made little use of the document himself. He returned to Normandy at the end of 1086 where he became preoccupied with a local rebellion. In July 1087 William besieged the town of Mantes. As his horse jumped over a ditch William received an injury from the pommel of his saddle which ripped into his stomach. The wound became poisoned leading to peritonitis. William was carried back to Rouen in considerable pain. He lingered on for five weeks, and died in September. His body was returned to Caen for burial but apparently the tomb was not big enough - the king was a tall man, at least five feet ten inches. As a result, as the attendants forced the body into the tomb, the already decaying and swollen body burst open, letting out an intense smell of putrefaction that caused most to flee the site. Only a hardy few completed the burial. William changed England irrevocably. His total domination had, within less than a generation, almost eradicated the Saxon aristocracy and imposed a feudal society run by a small handful of Normans. The language difficulties added further to the alienation, but perhaps the most significant difference was in the lifestyle. Although the Normans were descended from the Vikings, they no longer looked to the north as their ancestral home, unlike the Saxons whose inheritance was from northern Europe. The Normans had taken on the more sophisticated lifestyle of the French, which brought with it the power, grandeur and aloofness of an upper-class existence. William used England as his playground, establishing the New Forest in Hampshire for his hunting. He had no liking for the English or, for that matter, for England, seeing it only as a rich source of revenues. Although his harsh rule brought peace to England, where man was apparently able to travel without fear of crime, this was only because the English lived in much greater fear of revenge and retribution from their Norman overlords. It created a rift between the nobility and the common man which remained in Britain for centuries. William was devoted to his wife Matilda, and was much saddened at her death. They had ten children. The eldest, Robert, succeeded William as duke of Normandy and count of Maine even though he had been in open rebellion against his father in his latter years. The second son, Richard, died in his twenties in 1081 while hunting in the New Forest. Two other sons, William and Henry, Succeeded William as kings of England. Of his six daughters, Adela became the mother of the future king Stephen.

Henry I King of England 1100-1135 Matilda Edith of Scotland Queen of England Born: Selby, Yorkshire, September 1068. Titles: King of England, Duke of Normandy (from 1106) and Lord of Domfront (from 1092). Crowned: Westminster, 6 August 1100. Ruled: 3 August 1100-1 December 1135. Married: (1) II November 1 100, Matilda (formerly Edith), dau. of Malcolm III of Scotland; 4 children; (2) 29 January 1121, Adeliza, dau. of Geoffrey VII, Count of Louvain; no children. Henry had at least 25 illegitimate children by eight or more other women. Died: St Denis-le-Fermont, near Rouen, I December 1135, aged 67. Buried: Reading Abbey. Henry Beauclerc was the fourth and youngest son of William the Conqueror, and possibly the most ambitious. Although he was less quarrelsome than his elder brothers Robert, who inherited the duchy of Normandy, and William, who became William II of England, he clearly had his eyes on ruling either England or Normandy or both as early as 1091. In that year, while Robert and William were fighting each other, Henry took control of several castles and made a bid for power. Realising that he had left his back unguarded William soon quelled his upstart brother, and did not take his eyes off him after that, keeping him always close at hand. William and Robert agreed that if either of them died childless, then the survivor would succeed. This effectively disinherited Henry who had long grudged the fact that he had not been able to inherit his mother's estates in England that she had bequeathed him upon her death in 1083. Instead his father believed that, as the youngest son, Henry would be destined for the church. As a result he had a good education, hence his nickname Beauclerc, meaning "fine scholar", since he was the first Norman king (and there had not been that many Saxon ones) who could read and write. Henry was not satisfied with his lot and it has been conjectured that it was he who masterminded the death of William 11, making it look like he was killed as the result of a hunting accident. If this is true then it’s timing was critical. In 1096 Robert of Normandy had joined the Crusade to the Holy Land and had pledged the duchy to William. By the summer of I 100 news reached England that Robert was returning, along with a new bride. Immediately upon the death of William a hastily convened council elected Henry as his successor. This despite the support that many barons had for Robert, who was on a crest of popularity following his victories in the Holy Land, even though his past record showed him as a weak ruler of Normandy. By the first week of September, when Robert had returned to Normandy, Henry had been elected and crowned. One of his first acts was to recall Anselm from his exile to the archbishopric of Canterbury, and with Anselm's support Henry's position was inviolable. He further cemented it by a political marriage to Edith, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and the niece of Edgar the Atheling, thus establishing alliances with the elder Saxon aristocracy and with the Scots. Robert raised a considerable army and invaded England in June 1101, cleverly misleading Henry whose army waited at Arundel while Robert landed at Portsmouth. It is possible that had Robert pressed home his advantage he could have defeated Henry's army. He might easily have captured Winchester, where the Treasury was held, but his army passed by that town. It stopped short of invading London, though this too was within his grasp. Instead the two armies met at Alton where Robert asked for negotiations. Clearly Robert lacked the opportunism that marked the success of his father and younger brother. Even worse, he was prepared to trust Henry. The result was that Henry agreed to pay Robert 3,000 marks annually and recognize him as the legal claimant to the throne in exchange for Henry remaining king while he lived. In the eyes of Henry and the barons possession was nine-tenths of the law, and Robert was the loser. A few years later, in 1106, Henry took control of the matter, invading Normandy and capturing his brother at Tinchebrai. Robert was brought to England and imprisoned for the rest of his life, which lasted another twenty-eight years: he was certainly over 80 when he died in II 34. Had he succeeded to the English throne in 1087, on the death of his father, he would have ruled for 47 years, one of the longest reigns of an adult monarch. However his weak nature suggests that he would have been overthrown by someone long before his death, and in all likelihood that would still have been his scheming brother Henry. Whilst Henry was endeavouring to regain Normandy he had troubles at home with the church. Although he had recalled Anselm as archbishop of Canterbury, the relations between the two rapidly deteriorated. Anselm had fallen out with William Rufus because the latter had refused to acknowledge the authority of Rome and Anselm's rights in the reorganization of the church. Anselm reminded Henry of the papal authority in appointing clergy, since the pope had decreed as far back as 1059 that lay investiture was unlawful in the eyes of the Church. Henry would have none of this, and with other matters more pressing refused to consider it. By 1103 Anselm found his position untenable and he again went into exile. The pope threatened to excommunicate Henry and, fearful of how this would undermine his authority as king, Henry recalled Anselm and sought to negotiate a compromise. The result was that in 1106 Henry accepted clerical authority in investiture on the understanding that the clergy still recognized secular authority over the lands owned by the church. In this way Henry kept his revenues (which Anselm had maintained belonged to the church and thus to Rome) and it meant he could still agree who had possession of the property. (It was this loophole that allowed HENRY II to challenge Thomas Becket sixty years later.) Nevertheless when Anselm died in 1109 Henry succeeded in keeping the see of Canterbury vacant for five years. Once Henry had secured the Dukedom of Normandy he had his hands full in keeping it. Since England was now relatively safe, he found he had to spend more time in Normandy. His queen Matilda officially served as regent during these absences, but increasingly the administration came under the capable control of Roger, bishop of Salisbury. Since Henry drew heavily upon the English revenues to finance his army in Normandy as well as his extensive building projects across England, Roger developed a system for controlling the exchequer. In effect he established the basis for what would evolve into the civil service. Although Henry would enter into battle if necessary, he sought to pave the way by treaty or diplomacy first, and in this he was admirably skilled. One such act was the marriage in January 1114 of his eldest daughter Adelaide (who adopted the name Matilda upon her marriage) to Heinrich V, Emperor of Germany, and she was crowned Empress on the same day. She was eleven years old; the Emperor was 32. Henry held Normandy against all opposition. His ultimate victory was the defeat of Louis VI of France in 1119. When peace was agreed with the pope's blessing, Henry was accepted unchallenged as duke of Normandy. Henry cemented this advance by marrying his eldest son William to Alice (who also changed her name to Matilda), the daughter of Fulk V, count of Anjou and Maine. William was only fifteen, Alice less than twelve. In 1120, as Henry's eldest son William came of age, he was made duke of Normandy, and stood in succession to the throne of England, even though Henry's eldest brother Robert and his son William were both still alive. In the summer of 1120 Henry could be proud of his achievements. Through his own marriage and those of his children he had alliances with the strongest neighbouring royal families of Europe; others he had dominated by conquest or treaty. He had reached a satisfactory arrangement with the papacy and all looked well for the future. And then everything fell about him. In November 1120 his two eldest legitimate sons William and Richard drowned when the White Ship foundered off Barfleur while sailing from Normandy to England. He was left without a male heir, although his eldest illegitimate son, Robert Fitzroy, earl of Gloucester, now turned an eye to the throne. Henry's first wife, Matilda had died in May 1118, an event over which Henry did not seem especially concerned. He arranged a quick marriage of convenience to Adeliza, daughter of Geoffrey VII, count of Louvain. That marriage was childless, although Henry had several more illegitimate children, and Adeliza bore seven children to her second husband, William d'Albini, earl of Arundel, after Henry's death. In 1125 Henry's daughter, Matilda, became a widow when the Emperor Heinrich died. She was twenty-three but had no children. In II 26, fearing he would have no further children, Henry made the barons swear an oath of fealty to Matilda as the heir-presumptive to the throne. The barons agreed, though the idea of being ruled by a queen was detested by them. The position was further aggravated when, in May 1127, Henry arranged a second marriage for Matilda, this time with Geoffrey of Anjou, who was then only fourteen. The Normans had little affection for the Angevins and did not like to consider that Geoffrey might become their King. They began to turn their allegiance to Henry's nephew, William, the son of Duke Robert, who was known as William Clito. At this time, April 1127, he was supported by the French king, who had just made him Count of Flanders. In January 1128 he married Giovanna, the daughter of the count of Burgundy. William was gradually rising in power and his right to the English throne was becoming increasingly recognized by the Norman aristocracy. Unfortunately William was wounded in a skirmish near St Omer in July 1128 and died five days later. The Barons now realised that there was little alternative but to Matilda becoming their queen, but they increasingly showed their opposition. Geoffrey, who became count of Anjou in 1129, recognized this and though he never seems to have considered himself having any claim on the throne of England, he did consider the Duchy of Normandy and asked Henry if he would give him custody of the castles along the French coast. Henry refused, with the result that the relationship between Henry and Geoffrey deteriorated rapidly. It had not been helped by Matilda deciding she could not abide Geoffrey and deserting him to return to England. Henry, still with an eye on Matilda producing a grandson, sought to reconcile the two with some degree of success. Nevertheless, by 1135 Henry and Geoffrey were openly at war. Henry sailed to Normandy but soon after his arrival he became ill, apparently after eating some lampreys. The result was ptomaine poisoning and six days later Henry died. Despite having declared Matilda his heir, neither she nor the barons took up that position, and the throne was claimed by Henry's nephew, Stephen. Henry was a highly capable king. Although he was frequently involved in warfare, either direct or diplomatic, most of this was over his lands in Normandy. For all of his long reign, after the first year, he maintained peace throughout England, though it was a peace at the cost of exacting taxes needed to maintain his army. This led to him establishing the crown exchequer, the basis of the future Treasury. With his many campaigns and international affairs, Henry had little time for any-thing other than pleasures of the flesh, although he did establish a royal menagerie at his manor at Woodstock, near Oxford, which is regarded as the first English zoo. It is ironic that, despite having fathered at least twenty-nine children, he was only able to leave one legitimate heir to the throne, and she was not seriously considered by Henry's barons until it became convenient to do so. For all of Henry's schemes and plans during his thirty-five year reign, the longest of any king of England since Athelred II, it all came to nought. Perhaps he schemed too much, for his efforts in his final years to find a successor meant that he found one too many, and within four years of his death, England was plunged into civil war.

Geoffrey Planntagenet Count of Anjou Empress Maud Matilda of Germany Geoffrey Planntagenet Count of Anjou born 24 Aug 1113 Anjou, France. Death 7 Sep 1151 Chateru Eure-et-Loire, France. Empress Maud of Germany aka Maud Matilda born 1104 England. Death 10 Sep 1167 France. Son Henry Plantagenet, II, King of England.

Henry II King of England  1154-1189 Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen of France Queen of England Born: Le Mans, Maine, 5 March 1133. Titles: King of England, Duke of Normandy (from 1151), Duke of Aquitaine (from 1152), Count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine (from 1151). Crowned: Westminster, 19 December 1154. Ruled: 25 October 1154-6 July 1189. Married: 18 May 1 152, at Bordeaux Cathedral, Gascony, Eleanor (c1122-1204), dau. of William X, duke of Aquitaine, and divorcee of Louis VII, king of France: 8 children. Henry had at least 12 illegitimate children by five or more other women. Died: Chinon Castle, Anjou, 6 July 1189, aged 56. Buried: Fontevrault Abbey, France. Henry Fitzempress or Curtmantle was the eldest son of the empress Matilda, who had briefly claimed the kingdom of England in 1141 during the extended civil war. His father was Geoffrey, count of Anjou, who became duke of Normandy in 1144. Geoffrey was frequently known as Plantagenet because of the sprig of broom he would wear in his cap, and this soubriquet subsequently became the surname of his descendants and the title of the royal house of England. Its official name, though, was the house of Anjou and it would dominate England for over three hundred and thirty years. It gave England some of its most powerful kings, including the first Angevin, Henry II. Henry first attempted to continue his mother's war against Stephen after she had returned to Normandy in 1148, but Henry was a young squire of fifteen without sufficient resources to maintain such an effort. The next five years would see a significant change in him. When his father died in 1151 he inherited the duchy of Normandy as well as becoming count of Maine and Anjou. Eight months later he married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was at least ten years his senior, the former wife of Louis VII of France whom Louis had divorced, ostensibly on grounds of consanguinity, but really because she had provided no male heir. This marriage infuriated Louis VII, especially when he had recognize the claim of Henry as duke of Aquitaine. Although Henry paid homage to Louis for his lands in France, he now effectively controlled more territory than the King himself. Louis sent forces against Henry as a show of power but Henry was able to contain them. In fact he felt sufficiently in control to accompany a small force to England in January 1153 in an effort to depose Stephen. In this he was unsuccessful, but Stephen was no longer disposed to fight, and most of the hostilities were between Henry and Stephen's son Eustace. In August 1153 Eustace died and this paved the way for Henry's succession which was sealed under the Treaty of Wallingford that November. By its terms Stephen continued to rule for as long as he lived but Henry was his undisputed successor. When Stephen died in October 1154, Henry succeeded to a considerable territory, subsequently called the Angevin Empire, though not known as that in Henry's day. At its peak it stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, and would include overlordship of Ireland. The energy with which Henry set about establishing his authority over his territories was awesome. This was helped by the papal bull issued in 1155 by the new Pope Adrian IV (the only English pope - Nicholas Breakspeare), which decreed that Henry had authority over the whole of Britain, including Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In the space of two years (1155-7) Henry had destroyed many of the castles established by barons during the civil war, and which he referred to as "dens of thieves"; he had negotiated terms with Malcolm IV of Scotland, whereby Cumbria and Northumberland returned to English rule; and he had invaded Wales and brought the Welsh princes to heel. This last enterprise nearly cost him his life, however, when he was ambushed by the heir of Gwynedd, Cynan ab Owain. Henry's strength of character, his papal authority, and the immense resources upon which he could draw made him an impossible man to challenge, and by 1158 he had restored an order to England and its subservient kingdoms which it had not known to such a degree for many lifetimes. Wales would continue to be a thorn in his side for much of his reign, but he never considered it as much of a problem compared to other priorities. Subsequent campaigns of 1167 and 1177 served to remind successive Welsh rulers of his authority. From 1158 to 1163 Henry was back in France. In July 1158 his brother, Geoffrey, had died. Geoffrey in 1150 had been made count of Nantes, one half of the duchy of Brittany, and on Geoffrey's death Henry sought to gain control. He was foiled by the speed with which the exiled duke, Conan IV, reclaimed his lands. Conan had been confirmed as earl of Richmond by Henry in 1156, and Conan was forced to acknowledge Henry's overlordship in Brittany. In 1166 Henry arranged a marriage between his son Geoffrey and Conan's daughter Constance, and thereafter Conan handed over the administration of Brittany to Henry to direct on behalf of the children. Henry's main thrust during 1159 and 1160 was against Toulouse, which he regarded as part of his wife's territory in Aquitaine. The French king, Louis VII, came to the defence of his brother-in- law, the count of Toulouse, and Henry had to withdraw rather than fight his French overlord. Toulouse and Aquitaine remained in dispute between Henry and Louis for the rest of their reigns. The most notorious aspect of Henry's reign was his relationship with Thomas Becket. Becket was a personal friend of Henry's. Born in London, the son of a wealthy merchant, he was well educated and had trained as a knight before his father's misfortunes turned him to become a clerk, entering the household of Theobald, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 1142. He became an expert at canonical jurisprudence, and was appointed archdeacon of Canterbury in 1154 and chancellor of England in 1155. He fought alongside Henry in Toulouse and became wealthy. His election as the next archbishop of Canterbury in May 1162 came as a surprise to many, and was not universally accepted amongst other churchmen because of Becket's background and worldliness. It was probably this that caused Becket to change so radically in character in order to prove his devotion to the church. Henry, who thought he had an ally within the church who would help him in ecclesiatical disputes which had so plagued past kings, found he had an unpredictable opponent. Henry's short temper did not allow this to last for long and matters came to a head over the issue of clergy who broke the law. Henry maintained at a council held in October 1163 that these "criminous clerks" should be unfrocked and tried in a lay court. Becket maintained that they would be tried by ecclesiastical courts. Henry appealed to the new pope (Alexander III), who requested that Becket be more conciliatory. Henry now presented Becket with a series of terms, known as the Constitutions of Clarendon, which was where the council was held in January 1164. Becket argued tenaciously but eventually submitted. Henry believed he had succeeded but, soon after, Becket repented his change of heart and began lobbying the bishops. Henry was furious. He summoned him on various charges, including a debt of 44,000 marks (about £30,000) as owing since his days as chancellor. Becket was found guilty and his estates forfeited. He fled to France where he spent two years at the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny in Burgundy before the pope gave due attention to his cause. Becket pleaded personally before him in Rome, and Alexander restored him to the see of Canterbury. But Becket could still not return to England. He remained in France where he wrote letters of exhortation to the bishops, threatening excommunication unless they heeded his words. In the meantime Henry had more pressing matters in hand. The pope's support and the Clarendon verdict had allowed Henry to start breaking down the old feudal system in England by ensuring that local baronial courts were subordinate to a strong central court. He re-established the jury system and introduced a new code of laws. By a series of dynastic marriages Henry was establishing himself as one of the most powerful men in Europe. Already in 1160 he had arranged a marriage between his eldest surviving son, Henry, and Margaret, the daughter of Louis VII of France. Margaret was only two and Henry five, and Louis had not expected a confirmed marriage for many years after the betrothal agreement. But Henry had offered his support to the new pope, Alexander III, in 1160, whose succession was disputed, and in repayment, Alexander carried out the marriage. In February 1168 his eldest daughter Matilda was married to Heinrich the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, whilst his youngest daughters were betrothed to the kings of Castile and Sicily. Henry's dispute with Becket returned to haunt him in 1170. In that year Henry determined to have his eldest son formally crowned as king of England, which effectively elevated Henry himself into an imperial role. He needed the support of Becket and the pope in this, and begrudgingly accepted a reconciliation with Becket. However before this was fully resolved, Henry went ahead and had his son crowned (see Henry the young king) by the archbishop of York. Becket condemned this when he returned to England later that year. Becket was welcomed by the general populace as a hero: their champion against baronial oppression. Henry could not understand why Becket was always so quarrelsome. It was during one such moment of frustration that Henry uttered his notorious words: "Is there none will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four knights, hearing these words and determined to prove themselves, immediately left Henry's court in Normandy, arriving at Canterbury on 29 December 1170 where they slew Becket within the cathedral. Although the murder shocked Christendom, it had not been at Henry's direct bidding. The knights each did their penance. Henry donned sackcloth, and apologised to the pope, but he soon weathered the storm. Everyone realised that Becket was best out of the way, though he was rapidly canonized in 1173. Henry's attention turned to Ireland. He already believed he had ostensible authority over the country but plans for an earlier invasion in 1155 had been shelved. However in 1170 Richard Fitzgilbert, the earl of Pembroke, known as Richard Strongbow, had invaded Ireland at the request of the dispossessed king of Leinster, Diarmaid MacMurchada. Diarmaid had earlier appealed to Henry who had offered him his support, but gave him no direct help. Strongbow's forces however soon captured Waterford and Dublin. Strongbow married Diarmaid's daughter. Henry II became suspicious of Strongbow's intentions and brought his own army into Ireland in 1171. Henry's forces were too powerful for the Irish. They nicknamed them the gaill glassa, or "grey foreigners", from their armour which had not been seen before in Ireland. Henry soon established authority over eastern Ireland, especially the kingdoms of Leinster and Meath, whose rulers acknowledged his overlordship in the Treaty of Windsor in October II75. Hugh de Lacy was made the first lord of Meath and remained as Henry's viceroy in Ireland, though his later aspirations to the kingship led to his assassination. Henry's youngest son, John, was styled king of Ireland from 1177, though this was no more than an honorific as the hereditary kings of Ireland still ruled. John later adopted the more appropriate title lord of Ireland. John's title was part of a settlement in a dispute between Henry and his children that rocked his final years. The "Young King" Henry was not satisfied with his authority in name only and wanted more. Although he was crowned a second time in August 1172, when he was created not only king of England but duke of Normandy and count of Anjou, he was still unsatisfied. His actions stirred Richard and Geoffrey into rebellion in 1173, which brought with it opportunists from elsewhere in the realm, including William the Lyon of Scotland. William had long had designs on Northumberland and Cumbria which he believed were his inheritance. He invaded northern England in 1173 but was captured and taken prisoner to Henry in Normandy and forced to pay homage. The sons were supported by their mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, from whom Henry had drifted apart by the late 1160s. The problem intensified after 1180 when Louis VII was succeeded by Philippe II, a far less scrupulous monarch who was keen to shatter the Angevin Empire and agreed to help Henry's sons against their father. Henry's world which he had so painstakingly created was now in danger of collapsing. In June 1183 the "Young King" Henry died. Henry's third son, Geoffrey, was killed in an accident at a tournament in Paris in August 1186. Although this might have simplified the battle between Henry and his sons, it focused the attention on the rivalry between Richard, the eldest surviving heir and Eleanor's favourite, and John, the youngest and Henry's favourite. Henry had spent most of these latter years in France, visiting England only for official duties. It was in France that he faced the army of Richard and King Philippe, with whom was also his favourite son John. This broke Henry's spirit. He was already ill and prematurely aged. He no longer had the energy to fight and agreed terms with Philippe at Colombieres on 4 July 1189. Two days later he died as the result of a massive haemorrhage, cursing his sons to the last. He was only 56 years of age. His widow, Eleanor, would live for a further fifteen years, dying at the remarkable age of 82, the oldest of any English queen consort until the twentieth century. She still continued to exert an influence over her scheming children, of whom Richard now inherited the throne of England. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of France, Queen of England Eleanor was born (c.1122) at Bordeaux. She was the daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou (d.1137). She spent much of her youth in Aquitaine, becoming an educated young woman. It was here that she learned what became the beginnings of the "courtly love" through the songs and such from her troubador father. After the death of her father, Eleanor became heiress to the vast Duchy of Aquitaine. Eleanor also came to the attention of a great number of men eager to become her husband (and mostly likely attain her wealth). This problem was solved when she was married (her first of two) to King Louis VII of France(1137). By Louis Eleanor had two daughters, including Margaret of France. Tiring quickly of Louis' rather over-pious lifestyle, she was greatly enthused when the Crusades were announced. She gathered about her her own army from Aquitaine, and with her ladies, Sibylla Countess of Flanders, Mamille of Roucy, Florine of Bourgogne, Faydide of Toulouse, Eleanor accompanied Louis on the Crusade (c.1147/1148). After a debacle on the battlefied in which she was involved with her part of the cruasder army, she was rather glad to reach Antioch where her uncle Raymond of Poitiers was Prince. Eleanor met the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus, and was welcomed by Queen Melisende of Jerusalem. The crusade was a failure (Louis of course blamed Eleanor) and she was sent home in disgrace. Eleanor and Louis were divorced soon after their arrival back in France. Eleanor met and fell in love with Henry FitzEmpress - Henry Plantagenet (12 years her junior). Her marriage to Louis, all over bar the shouting, was annulled - they were fourth cousins (1152). After two attempted abductions, one by Henry's younger brother Geoffrey and one by the brothers Lusignan, Eleanor married (2) Henry at Bordeaux, six weeks after her divorce was granted - she was already five months pregnant (18/5/1152). Marriage to Eleanor made Henry Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Lord of Aquitaine. After the devastating English civil war and the death of King Stephen, Henry was made King of England (1154). Eleanor's first son by Henry, William, was born in Normandy and brought to England. Eleanor was then crowned at Westminster Abbey. Eleanor was never popular with the English as she considered a foreigner. Tragedy followed - her son William died (he was buried near his greatgrandfather Henry I). More children followed: daughter Matilda, sons Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, John, daughters Eleanor, Joanna: Matilda to marry French prince, Richard to princess Alys of France, Joanna to King of Sicily, Geoffrey betrother to Constance of Brittany, Eleanor to the King of Castile. Eleanor supervised the education of her children and saw to their advantageous marriages. Her son Henry was crowned the "Young King" in father's lifetime. Eleanor regarded Richard (her favourite and perhaps the most like her of all her children) as her heir in Aquitaine and he was made Duke. Eleanor encouraged her sons to rebel against their father, as she was, by now, fed up with Henry's infidelities. Her conspiracy against Henry was discovered and she was confined to "house arrest" at Winchester (1173 - 1189) when aged 67. Following the death of Young King Henry (c.1183), and of King Henry II (1189), Richard became King of England. Eleanor was relased from her imprisonment and became trusted advisor to Richard. It was Eleanor who negotiated with Navarre for marriage between Princess Berengaria and Richard. Eleanor conducted bride-to-be to Sicily, but was unable to follow Richard on Third Crusade, and so returned to England to govern in Richard absence - son John was behaving rather treacherously. When Richard was taken prisoner returning from the crusade, Eleanor organised the raising of his ransom, and saw Richard freed and recrowned. Eleanor outlived Richard by five years. She took no part of the government of England under her son King John, but retired to Aquitaine. From her homeland, Eleanor arranged the marriage of granddaughter Blanche of Castile to the grandson of Louis VII (1200). Eleanor died (1/4/1204) at Fontervault Abbey, which she had continously patronised, and was subsequently buried there.

John Lackland King of England  1199-1216 Isabella of Agouleme Queen of England Born: Beaumont Palace, Oxford, 24 December 1167 Titles: King of England, Lord of Ireland (from 1177), Count of Mortain (from 1189) and Duke of Normandy (1199-1203). Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 27 may 1199. Ruled: 6 April 1199-18 October 1216. Married: (1) 29 August 1189, at Marlborough Castle, Isabella (c] 1175-1217)dau. of William, earl of Gloucester; divorced 1199. no children; (2) 24 August 1200, at Bordeaux Cathedral, Isabella (c] 187-1246), dau. of Aymer Taillefer, count of Angouleme: 5 children. John also had at least twelve illegitimate children. Died: Newark Castle, 18 October 1216, aged 48. Buried: Worcester Cathedral. John Lackland was the youngest and favourite son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. His mother was forty-five when he was born and she had already given birth to nine children. As the youngest child John had no immediate inheritance, Henry's patrimony having already been divided amongst his other children. John thus earned the nickname Lackland. When Henry's eldest surviving son, Henry (the young king), died in 1183, Henry hoped that Richard, who had now become the heir to the English throne, would transfer Aquitaine to John. Richard had no such intention. The conflict that followed, as brother fought brother and sons fought father, was an ignominious end to Henry's reign and revealed that John was as much a turncoat as the rest. It was john's treachery that hastened Henry's death. After Henry's conquest of eastern Ireland in 1175, John was invested with the honorary title of lord of Ireland, though it carried no authority or land. In 1185 John was despatched to Ireland to conclude the conquest, but instead he alienated the native kings by ridiculing their dress and appearance, and angered his soldiers by spending their pay. John was clearly a spoiled child, but he did not waste his childhood. He had a good education and took a special interest in law and administration. He was the youngest male child by some eight years and there is little doubt that his elder brothers continued to treat him as a child. He did not get on with them particularly well and followed his own solitary pursuits. He became extremely petulant, but also shrewd, finding ways of achieving his own ends. His brothers, and others who knew him closely, found they could not trust him. When Richard left for the Crusades in 1190, he granted John sufficient territory in France in the hope it would keep him out of mischief, and ordered him not to set foot in England. But John's passion for power ruled his head and the moment Richard left, John determined to overthrow William Longchamp, whom Richard had left in charge. Richard heard of john's activities and sent Walter of Coutances to assist Longchamp. John was forced to retire to his estates but then paid homage to Philippe II of France, who had returned (ahead of Richard) from the Crusade in 1191. When Richard eventually returned to England in March 1194, John lost many of his lands in Normandy but Richard soon forgave him. Nevertheless with Richard close at hand, winning back his lands in France, John was not able to make more trouble. In fact he assisted Richard in his wars and Richard appointed him his heir. When Richard died in 1199 John was accepted as king in England, but not by the Angevin territories in France, who preferred his nephew Arthur of Brittany. Arthur, and his sister Eleanor, were the children of john's elder brother Geoffrey, and had stronger claims, on the principle of primogeniture, to the throne than John did. john's subsequent actions did not help the situation. Little over a year after his coronation he divorced his wife and married Isabella of Angouleme. Their marriage was tempestuous - both highly-sexed and strong-willed, they were well matched but the marriage was also the cause of John's downfall. She was already betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, who complained to Philippe of France. He summoned John to answer the case but John refused, enabling Philippe to confiscate all of john's lands in France. In the ensuing conflict, which broke out in the spring of 1202, John defended his lands admirably, including a mercy dash to save his besieged mother. Unfortunately John made a singular error of judgement in capturing and imprisoning Arthur and his sister. Arthur was never heard of again, but by Easter 1203 there were strong rumours that his mutilated body had been seen in the river Seine. Blame attached itself to John, with many believing he had killed Arthur in a fit of rage. Arthur's fate unsettled the barons in Brittany, Normandy and Anjou, and their distrust of John increased. John found it difficult to defend his lands. He escaped to England in December 1203, leaving his Norman subjects to their fate. He succeeded in negotiating a truce for two years thus enabling him to hold on to most of Poitou, but by 1206 he was forced to surrender all of his territories north of the Loire. John needed resources to re-establish an army to regain his French lands and though this was the main focus of his energies for the next few years he did not neglect the administration of England. It is unfortunate that John is remembered as a harsh king because to his subjects he was exceedingly fair, ensuring that the law was properly administered. In fact he was probably too fair, since he often angered his barons with his judgements against them in favour of their tenants. He further alienated the barons by levying severe taxes and strengthening the forest laws to increase his income. The most hated tax was scutage. This was levied on those barons who declined military service, which became increasingly common amongst those who had no lands in France and thus had no desire to fight abroad. Moreover many were less and less inclined to want to fight for John, and scutage became seen as an onerous punishment for their disloyalty. John did not seem to worry about annoying his barons. He had a good sense of humour and delighted in anything that ridiculed or deflated pomposity. This angered his barons even more, though john's common subjects found it a redeeming feature. John's delight at challenging authority went a step too far, however, with the pope. In 1207 John rejected the new archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, and refused to accept the pope's injunction that Langton be re-installed. As a result in 1208 England was placed under an interdict that stopped all church services, and then John was excommunicated. This did not worry John because he used the opportunity to confiscate church revenues which provided much needed funds for his military endeavours. In the period 1208 to 1211 John undertook several successful campaigns throughout Britain, which bought him time with his restless nobles. Campaigns in Scotland, Ireland and Wales during these years brought the rebellious lords and vassals to order and demonstrated that John did possess military skills. In fact john's defeat Of Llywelyn the Great in 1211 was perhaps his single most effective victory. He was able to exact severe tribute from these vassals to add to his growing treasury. John planned a further campaign in 1212 but by then other priorities took over. A rumoured murder plot, a threatened rebellion by his barons, a planned invasion by Philippe of France, and the threat of deposition by the pope made John reconsider his position. This was where he demonstrated his cunning. His negotiations with Pope Innocent III lifted the interdict on the basis that John would hold his lands as a fiefdom of the papacy. Innocent thereafter supported John in his actions against his barons, and even against Philippe. John now had the finances and the papal support he needed. He had to capitalise on this by regaining his lands in France. His campaign, which began in July 1213, was initially successful. He routed the French fleet and won a number of battles. However, the following year, whilst campaigning in Poitou, John's allies were defeated at Bouvines in Flanders, which weakened john's position. He was forced to agree a peace treaty with France. In the eyes of the barons this was seen as a defeat. Their patience snapped. They rebelled openly and civil war broke out in May 1215. The hostilities were brief as John was betrayed and London fell within a month. John met the rebels at Runnymede on 15 June 1215, where he was forced to sign a charter, agreeing to restore many of the rights that the church and barons believed they had lost, not just during John's reign but that of Henry 11. This later became known as the Great Charter or Magna Carta. It was not so very earth-shattering at the time, but it rapidly became the symbol of the success of the barons over their oppressive king. John soon denounced the charter as having been signed under duress and was supported in his actions by the pope. Civil war again broke out and this time the rebel barons declared Louis, the son of Philippe of France, as their king. Louis was able to land at Sandwich in May 1216 and advance on London unopposed. John was forced to retreat. Although he retained much of the West Country, the rest of England was opposed to him. While campaigning in the Fens, he crossed the Wash heading towards Lincoln but misjudged the tides. His treasures and crown jewels were lost, and it must have seemed like his kingdom was lost with them. He soon caught a fever, not helped by his over-eating, which led to dysentery, and he died a few days later aged only forty-eight. There was some suggestion that he might have been poisoned. He was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry Ill. Queen Isabella retired to her estates in France where she married the son of her original lover, Hugh de Lusignan, and lived a further thirty years. History has judged John rather more harshly than he deserves. He was a man who believed the world owed him something and created enemies by refusing to take authority seriously. But there were many who remained intensely loyal to him, otherwise there could not have been a civil war, and he certainly cared for England and the English more than his brothers or his father. It was from him, and not from his brothers, that two of England's greatest kings, Edward I and Edward III, were directly descended. Isabella of Angouleme (1186/1188 -1246) Queen of England Wife and Queen of King John of England. Isabella was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme (a vassal of first King Richard and then King John of England) and Alice de Courtenay. At the tender age of 14, Isabella was betrothed to Hugh "le Brun" de Lusignan. But things took a different turn. In England, King John dissolved his own marriage (1199) to Isabella of Gloucester and Isabella's own betrothal was broken. Isabella was married John, King of England (24/8/1200) at Bordeaux (becoming his second wife). She was crowned in England. Isabella was the mother of sons Henry III King of England, Richard Earl of Cornwall and daughters Joanna (betrothed to Hugh "le Brun" de Lusignan) and Isabella. Isabella accompanied John wherever he went during his troubled reign (a slight understatement don't you think). Isabella was at Gloucester when news of John's death reached her (1216) - her 9yo son Henry was proclaimed King of England and crowned. Isabella did not participate in her son's regency - she left for Angouleme and married the still unwed Hugh "le Brun" de Lusignan, Count de la Marche (1216). The English refused, however, to pay her the revenues due her as Queen Mother and demanded the young Princess Joanna back as a proposed bride for the Scottish King. Isabella bore Hugh de Lusignan five sons and four daughters (prior to Sept. 1244). On the French political front, Isabella was said to be the instigator in plot to poison King Louis IX of France. Not waiting to see the outcome, Isabella fled to the Abbey of Fontervault, where she took refuge. Isabella died two years later, and by her own request, was buried in an open cemetary at Fontervault. Hugh de Lusignan died three years later on crusade in the Holy Land. Isabella's son King Henry III of England moved her body inside the church to lie alongside Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard I.

Henry III King of England  1216-1272 Eleanor Berenger Queen of England  The Plantagenet Kings Most of the Plantagenet kings had to struggle against their nobles who wanted more power. Henry III's reign saw the first ever Parliament in 1265 - the forerunner of today's House of Lords (there was no House of Commons until much later). Henry's son, Edward I, a fine soldier, brought Wales under the English crown. He tried to conquer Scotland, too, but failed, as did his son Edward II. In Edward III's reign, a plague called the Black Death (1348-1350) killed one-third of the British people. Richard II, grandson of Edward III, was forced off his throne by his cousin Henry of Lancaster (Henry IV). The Plantagenet dynasty lasted from 1216 to 1399. Born: Winchester Castle, I October 1207. Titles: King of England, Duke of Normandy (until 1259) and Aquitaine. Crowned: Gloucester, 28 October 1216, again at Westminster, 17 May 1220. Ruled: 18 October 1216-16 November 1272. Married: 14 January 1236, at Canterbury Cathedral, Eleanor (cl223-1291), dau. of Raymond Berenger, count of Provence: 9 children. Died: Westminster, 16 November 1272, aged 65. Buried: Westminster Abbey. Henry inherited the English throne at a difficult time. He was only nine years old. His father, John, had died suddenly leaving an England riven by civil war, with London and the south-east controlled by Louis, the son of the French king. Louis had been invited to become the English king because of the dissatisfaction of the barons with John's inept and autocratic government. In fact John had not been as bad as the barons liked to insist, but with his death the main cause of the strife passed. It did not take long for the appointed regent, William Marshal, and the justiciar, Hubert de Burgh, to defeat the rebel barons and to bribe Louis into departing. Young Henry had been crowned in a rather makeshift ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral, where the royal family had fled. Because John had lost the crown jewels in the Wash during his Lincoln campaign, Henry was crowned with his mother's own bracelet or torque. Henry was fortunate in having William Marshal as his regent. William was probably the most respected man in England. He was a brave and valiant knight, the epitome of chivalry, and had loyally served Henry II, Richard and John. He vowed to carry the young king head-high on his shoulders rather than submit to French domination. By the time Marshal died in 1219, he had restored law and order to the kingdom. Young Henry was crowned again, this time with new regalia, at Westminster Abbey in May 1220. He was still only twelve, and would not assume authority for another seven years. With the passing of Marshal, Henry became the pawn of two men whose self aggrandisement and poor advice would cause Henry's long reign to be regarded as weak and ineffectual. These men were Hubert de Burgh and Peter des Roches. De Burgh, who became regent after 1219, was an extremely able and talented soldier, and had served under both Richard and John. He continued the struggle against the barons and foiled the plot to capture Henry in 1223. However, de Burgh's actions in France were less successful, with Aquitaine being lost in 1224, though Gascony, the southern part of Aquitaine, was regained the following year. Henry assumed direct rule in 1227, although Hubert de Burgh remained the chief justiciar until 1232. By then he and Henry had fallen out because Henry needed money to continue his campaigns to recover his territories in France and the royal treasury was almost empty. Henry accused the justiciar of using the money for his own endeavours and de Burgh was imprisoned. The main architect of de Burgh's fall was his rival, Peter des Roches, the bishop of Winchester who, along with Stephen Segrave, now become the equivalent of prime ministers in England. Des Roches was from Poitou, which was no longer in English hands, thus the barons became unsettled when des Roches filled most of the offices of his state with his fellow Poitevins. England was coming under foreign rule. Edmund Rich, the archbishop of Canterbury, along with William Marshal's son, Richard (who had been declared a traitor because of his opposition to des Roches's government) led a delegation of barons to entreat Henry to expell the Poitevins. Henry capitulated in 1234. He not only expelled the Poitevins, but dismissed Roches and Segrave and took full government, into his own hands. Henry had come to realise that he ignored the authority and power of his barons at his peril. Even though Henry had reaffirmed the terms of the Magna Carta, he did not particularly abide by them. He was essentially thoughtless in his views of the barons, and rather than follow their counsel he began to fill his court with others, mostly from France. This process was accelerated after Henry's marriage to Eleanor, the daughter of Raymond Berenger, count of Provence, in January 1236 and the marriage of Eleanor's sister, Margaret, to Louis IX, the king of France. Although this further angered the English barons it had a remarkable effect upon English culture. France was at this time at the height of literary and architectural art. French literature, especially the chansons and romances des gestes, spilled over into England, and the many chivalric romances, including those which built the stories of king ARTHUR and his knights, came into their final form during Henry's reign. It also saw a massive increase in the building and restoration of churches, castles and other religious houses in the Gothic art form. Many of our great historic castles date in their existing form from this period. This includes Westminster Abbey which was sumptuously restored and improved for the coronation of Eleanor of Provence in 1236. The seeds of discontent that grew between Henry and his barons were now firmly sown and regularly watered. Not only did Henry fail to recognize the rights and privileges of the barons, turning instead to his own court favourites for their counsel and advice and showering them with honours, but he continued to place onerous tax obligations upon his barons, including the infamous scutage. The barons might have tolerated the latter had the money gone toward successful military campaigns, but this did not happen. Although Henry was not a good soldier, having lost most of his lands in France, he was a good negotiator. He established a strong alliance with Scotland in 1237 under the Treaty of York, which more or less established the existing boundary between England and Scotland; whilst the Treaty of Woodstock in 1247 established a similar arrangement with the Welsh princes. The reduction in border skirmishes meant that the marcher lords and northern barons could turn their attentions again to matters of state, and they did not like what they saw. In 1250 Henry took the Cross, determined to undertake a Crusade. This may have been a diversionary tactic to raise the spirit of his nobles. It did not work, however, because Henry never did embark upon his Crusade. Instead, influenced by the pope, he used the money raised for the Crusade to support the pope in his battle against Manfred, the usurping king of Sicily. In return the pope nominated Henry's young son, Edmund (known as Crouchback because of his deformity), as the king of Sicily, in 1254. The enterprise was, however, doomed and the pope eventually deprived Edmund of the title and bestowed it upon Charles of Anjou, Henry's brother-in-law, in 1266. In the meantime Henry had concluded the Treaty of Paris in 1259 with Louis IX of France, whereby he renounced his rights in Normandy, Maine and Anjou, but retained Gascony as a fiefdom subject to Louis. As with his father, Henry was perceived by the barons as an inept king who taxed them to the hilt, ignored their counsel, and wasted resources on unsuccessful foreign campaigns. The Sicilian campaign was the final straw. Opposition to Henry was voiced first by the Marshal of England, Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk, at the Council of Westminster in 1258, which was followed rapidly by what became called the Mad Parliament at Oxford. There Henry was forced to acknowledge a new charter known as the Provisions of Oxford, where he grudgingly agreed that the barons were allowed to select one half of the King's council, instead of the King having absolute discretion. Amongst these barons was Simon de Montfort, Henry's brother-in-law, with whom Henry's relationship had soured over the years. Simon was almost as high-handed and authoritarian as Henry, having caused an uprising in Gascony during his governorship. In 1260, when Henry returned from concluding the Treaty of Paris, he denounced de Montfort and overturned the Provisions of Oxford, obtaining papal support for his actions. The events of fifty years earlier repeated themselves and England slid into the abyss of civil war. Arbitration over the application of the provisions was made by Louis of France, who found in favour of the king in 1264. Hostilities broke out in April. The baronial army was supported by the Welsh princes under Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd. Henry's supporters were initially successful, capturing Simon de Montfort's son (also called Simon) at Northampton in April 1264, but the elder de Montfort fought back and, in the Battle of Lewes on 14 May, defeated and captured Henry. The king was forced to call a parliament at which he acknowledged the barons' demands. During the course of the next year the barons, under de Montfort, succeeded in gaining the king's assent to most of their proposals. However, in July 1265, Henry’s son, Edward (later Edward I), escaped from custody and raised an army against de Montfort. At the ensuing battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265, de Montfort and his supporters were savagely defeated and Henry returned to power. He now overturned all of the acts forced upon him by the barons in the previous year and decreed grievous punishments against the barons and others who had sided with the revolution. Having exacted his revenge Henry became more conciliatory, granting certain privileges to the barons under the Treaty of Marlborough in 1267, and also recognizing Llywelyn as Prince of Wales under the Treaty of Montgomery that same year. Henry retained his executive role and it would not be true to say that he granted the first parliament as we know it today. Nevertheless, the concessions of his final years went some way toward establishing a council of peers. Now aged sixty, Henry began to suffer from approaching senility. He left much of the government to his son Edward and devoted his time to his pursuit of the arts, including completing the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey, which remains the greatest legacy of his day. He was apparently grief-stricken at the death of his brother Richard in April 1272, and dementia overcame him. He died seven months later. He had been king for a remarkable fifty-six years, the longest reign of any English monarch up to that time, although ten of those years were in his minority. Despite that length of reign, Henry III is rather a forgotten king. More people are more likely to recognize the name Simon de Montfort and know of his rebellion than to know anything about Henry III. This serves to demonstrate the weakness of Henry's character and his inability to govern strongly, but he was not au bad. He believed in his absolute right to rule, and was unsympathetic to his barons, but he was pious, loving (a devoted family man) and preferred to seek peace wherever possible rather than wage war. Although that may have damned him in the eyes of his barons, it encouraged a remarkable flowering of art and culture in England, which was his true legacy. Under his son, Edward I, the power of England grew to dominate the whole of Britain.

Edward I King of England  1272-1307 Eleanor of Castile Queen of England Born: Palace of Westminster, 17 June 1239. Title: King of England, Wales (from 1284), Man (from 1290), Scotland (from 1296), Lord of Ireland, Duke of Gascony (from 1254), Earl of Chester (from 1254). Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 19 August 1274. Ruled: 16 November 1272-7 July 1307. Married:(1) October 1254, at Las Huelgas, Castile, Eleanor (1241-90), dau. of Ferdinand III, king of Castile: 16 children; (2) 10 September 1299, at Canterbury Cathedral, Margaret (cl279-1318) dau. of Philippe III, king of France: 3 children. Edward is reputed to have had one illegitimate child, although the claim is suspect. Died: Burgh-on-Sands, Carlisle, 7 July 1307, aged 68. Buried: Westminster Abbey. Edward I Longshanks is certainly the greatest of the Plantagenet kings of England and one of the most important of all English kings. The soubriquets applied to him give some indication of his abilities: "the Lawgiver", "the Hammer of the Scots", "the Father of the Mother of Parliaments' , the English Justinian", let alone his personal nickname of Longshanks, which was not derogatory. Edward was a tall man, healthy, strong and immensely powerful, a born soldier. He was the eldest son of Henry in and Eleanor of Provence, born when his father had already reigned for over twenty years. Thanks to his father's long reign, Edward was able to ascend to the throne in the flower of his manhood. Thankfully he had also matured, for his youth, whilst spent as part of a loving family, was also tempestuous. In 1254, when only fifteen, he was married to Eleanor of Castile. Eleanor was herself barely thirteen and was known as the infanta of Castile. To English ears this sounded more like Elephant and Castle and gave rise to the name of many inns and taverns, and through them the district in south London. It was a political marriage in order to protect the southern borders of Gascony, England's last possession in France. The governorship of Gascony had been in the hands of Simon de Montfort whose autocratic rule had caused considerable unrest. Edward was invested as duke of Gascony at the time of his marriage, and acknowledged his fealty to the French king, the sainted Louis IX. However, Edward's command of Gascony does not seem to have been any less turbulent than De Montfort's. It appears Edward ruled with a strong hand and was not averse to severe retribution if any of his subjects challenged his authority. At the same time (1254) Edward had been invested with lands in Wales and Ireland, and his first experience of warfare came in the uprisings in Wales when in 1256 the Welsh, under the leadership Of Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd, rebelled against the English imposition of a system of county administration. Peace was rapidly concluded because Henry III was facing his own internal problems in the rebellion of the barons. Edward initially sided with Simon de Montfort in producing the Provisions of Westminster in 1259, but later supported his father in the war that broke out in 1264. It was Edward who captured the younger Simon de Montfort at Northampton, but it was also Edward's youthful rashness that led to his capture alongside his father at the battle of Lewes later that year. Edward succeeded in escaping his custody a year later and in August 1265 routed and killed the elder De Montfort at the battle of Evesham. Henry's retribution on the disaffected barons was severe and those who were disinherited fought back from a stronghold at Ely in 1267. It was Edward who overpowered the barons, and it was his military skill and show of strength that helped bring a peace to England by 1269. Edward was now thirty and, in 1270, set out on a long-awaited Crusade to the Holy Land. Although his escapades were not entirely glorious, there was much derring-do suitable for later retellings in adventure stories. Edward succeeded in relieving Acre from one of its many sieges by the troops of the sultan of Egypt, and won a victory at Haifa, but he was also wounded by a poisoned dagger wielded by an Assassin. Had he died English history would have been significantly different, and there would certainly have been a succession crisis with no adult heir. Edward recovered, however; this was later said to be thanks to his wife who sucked the poison from the wound. He was in Sicily on his way home when, in November 1272, he learned of his father's death. It is an indication of how confident Edward was in his English regents that he did not hurry home. Instead he travelled triumphantly through Italy as a Crusader hero and new king, and on through France to pay homage to the new French king, Philippe 111. He eventually returned to England on 2 August 1274, with his coronation held seventeen days later. The coronation was a momentous occasion, but a small cloud over it would cast a long shadow. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the prince of Wales, failed to attend to pay homage. Edward commanded him to attend his court on two later occasions and even travelled to Chester in 1276 to make it easier. When Llywelyn rebuffed him for a third time, Edward acted with lightning effect. He declared Llywelyn a rebel and thus anyone supporting him would be a traitor. When Edward brought his forces into Powys opposition immediately crumbled, and Edward was able to penetrate into Gwynedd and force Llywelyn into submission. Under the Treaty of Aberconwy in November 1277, Llywelyn retained the now hollow title of prince of Wales, and held authority over only Gwynedd, west of the Conway, and was forced to share that with his brother. Llywelyn, though humiliated, endeavoured to remain respectful of Edward to the extent that in October 1278 Edward allowed the long promised marriage between Llywelyn, and his cousin, Eleanor, the daughter of Simon de Montfort. This arrangement had been made in 1265, when Eleanor was only thirteen. Unfortunately Eleanor died in childbirth four years later, just at the time that actions by Llywelyn's brother Dafydd caused a further rebellion in Wales and Llywelyn, possibly against his will, was forced back into the limelight. Edward, believing he had previously treated Llywelyn with surprising leniency, was furious. Although the Welsh offered more resistance than in 1278, Edward was able to call upon much greater resources than the Welsh. Victory was almost certain to be Edward's, but it was made more complete when Llywelyn was killed in a skirmish in December 1282. His renegade brother held out for a further four months but was arrested in April 1283 and executed for treason six months later. Edward was no longer prepared to tolerate the perpetual hostility from the Welsh. On 19 March 1284 the Statute of Wales was enacted, bringing Wales under the direct government of England. Wales now held the status of a colony of the Crown, and justice was administered by three sheriffs. Edward also set up a series of new lordships, some of which were granted to the dispossessed Welsh princes, but others to Edward's own barons. In June 1284 Edward celebrated his conquest of Wales by holding an Arthurian Round Table court at Nefyn. The festivities were so well attended that the floor of the court gave way under the strain. One of the legends attached to this period is that Edward promised he would grant them a prince who had been born on their own soil, and promptly presented to them his young son, Edward, who had been born in April 1284. Edward was not officially invested as prince of Wales until February 1301. The Welsh exploits were but one chapter of Edward's early reign, though a significant one. Much of his energy was directed toward a survey of England and a reformation of feudal jurisdictions in the country’s legal system. Soon after his coronation he despatched commissioners throughout his kingdom to establish who held what authority over what land and whether there had been any abuse of power. Hitherto barons holding lands in fief from the king had often administered the king's laws within their territories, but many abused this privilege. In many cases barons claimed this had been their right since time immemorial, because they were unable to produce charters granting them such authority. Edward recognized that authority granted in the time of Henry II (his great grandfather) was early enough to qualify as time immemorial, particularly given the unstable years of Stephen and Matilda’s civil war, but anything more recent had to be supported by written evidence. With this established Edward was able to put the collection of taxes and other revenues on a much firmer footing, and he was also enabled to reconstruct his authority and that of his barons in a more clearly codified set of laws. Edward needed clarity over his revenues to enable him to finance his extensive military campaigns. This time, however, he determined to appease the barons by gaining their assent to his tax collection. The combination of tax and legislative reforms in consultation with his peers was what brought about the evolution of government by Parliament. A Great Council had met since the time of John, but it did not have the representative element of a formal Parliament. With his Statute of Westminster in 1275 Edward inaugurated reforms which led, over the next twenty years, to the establishment of a formal parliament. During this process Edward was quick to punish those who had abused their authority. In this way Edward endeared himself to the commoners of England, who saw him as their saviour. The one group to which Edward did not endear himself was the Jews. In 1278 he had passed an enactment which allowed all Jews in England to be arrested on the grounds of coinclipping. Some 280 of them were hanged. The Jews had been one of the main alternative sources of income in England, but the Crusades had brought a reaction against them. While barons and royalty were keen to borrow their money, they had no desire to repay it and even introduced laws to stop the Jews claiming land in forfeit for non-payment. By Edward's reign the Jews were themselves becoming impoverished and the rising tide of nationalism in England increased the public antipathy to them. In 1290 Edward expelled all of the Jews from England, over sixteen thousand of them, on the grounds of usury. Thereafter the merchants became royal creditors, especially those from Venice and Lombardy in Italy. Edward had long set his eyes on the conquest of Scotland. An opportunity arose in 1290 when Margaret, the infant queen of Scotland (and Edward's great-niece) died. Edward had previously agreed with Alexander III that the young queen would marry his son and heir Edward (later Edward II) which he hoped would lead to the union of England and Scotland. Margaret's death scuppered that plan, but Edward was now consulted by the Scottish magnates to adjudicate over the succession. In 1292, Edward eventually nominated John Balliol, a fair decision, but also a weaker choice than the other primary candidate, Robert The Bruce, and one whom Edward could more easily dominate. Nevertheless over the next few years the Scots grew tired of John as a spineless pawn of Edward and incited him into rebellion in 1295. This came as a result of a difficult set of circumstances which now plagued Edward. In 1294 the French king Philippe IV had taken possession of Gascony. Edward had summoned a parliament to approve the collection of taxes for his campaign against France, but there was considerable resentment, especially north of the border where the Scots were expected to pay a tax for a war against the French, whom they regarded as their ally. At that same time, in October 1294, the Welsh took advantage of the French diversion to rebel, with Madog ap Llywelyn declaring himself prince of Wales. Edward was now facing rebellion on three fronts. It is evidence of his mastery of the situation that he was able to resolve all three in quick succession. From December 1294 to March 1295 he led his armies into Wales, defeated all opposition and slaughtered the main ringleaders. Back in England Edward summoned the first Model Parliament, which consisted of representatives of all three estates: the church, the barons and the shires and burghs. With the agreement of this parliament he was able to raise further revenues and enact plans for his campaigns in Scotland and France. Edward took his forces north, sacked and plundered Berwick in March 1296 and defeated John Balliol at Dunbar on 27 April. John surrendered two months later and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Edward proudly seized the symbol of Scottish kingship, the Stone of Scone, which he brought south to Westminster, where it would remain for seven hundred years. Edward now believed he had conquered Scotland and left three magnates in authority. He needed to turn his attention to France. Parliament was less keen to raise further revenues for a French campaign, but regardless Edward sailed for France in 1297 and, through the intervention of the pope, was able to make a truce with France whereby he also regained control of Gascony. Thus in the space of two years Edward had held his possessions on two fronts and extended them on a third. The Scottish advance, however, was more chequered than Edward had anticipated. His three administrators proved unequal to their task and the tyrannical oppression of one of them, William Ormsby, had stirred the Scots back into revolt under William Wallace. Edward now led a further army north, defeating Wallace at Falkirk on 22 July 1298. Over the next few years Edward sought the total subjugation of the Scots. His many campaigns, which culminated in the capture and execution of Wallace in August 1305, seemed to deliver Scotland firmly into his hands. And yet, even as he was in the process of confirming a constitution for Scotland another rebellion erupted, this time under Robert Bruce. Despite his age and increasing infirmity, Edward prepared for a further campaign. He marched north and was in sight of Scotland when he died of dysentery at Burgh-on-Sands near Carlisle in July 1307. Edward believed he had conquered the Scots and thus must have died disappointed at not seeing his vision complete. Nevertheless, unlike any ruler before him (and most since), he had the skill, strength and authority to undertake the task and failed ultimately only by his underestimation of the strength of the Scottish spirit. Edward's first wife, Eleanor, had died in 1290 of a fever near Grantham while she was travelling north to meet Edward in Scotland. Edward had been devoted to her and was sorely grieved at her death. As her body was conveyed back to London, he established crosses at the sites where her body rested each night. There were originally twelve of these, of which the best known were at Waltham and Charing Cross. Eleanor had borne Edward sixteen children, the most from one legitimate union to any king of England. However few of these survived infancy and only four of them outlived Edward. Three of these were daughters, but the fourth was Eleanor's youngest son Edward. King Edward had remarried in 1299, this time to Margaret the sister of Philippe IV of France. It was another political marriage yet, although Edward was sixty and Margaret scarcely twenty, the match seemed to work, and Margaret bore Edward three more children. Although Edward failed to conquer Scotland, his conquest of Wales has left its mark on Britain ever since, though possibly his most lasting legacy was the firm establishment of Parliament. Follow this link to see the Welsh Castles of Edward I

Gilbert "the Red Earl" De Clare Joan "of Acre" Princess of England Richard de Clare's heir, Gilbert (1243-95) - Gilbert "the Red" as he was known after the fiery color of his hair was to become involved in the turbulent English politics of the 1260s. At the time of his father's death Gilbert was a minor, though he was given possession of the Gloucester estates in 1263. To begin with, Gilbert continued in good terms with his powerful neighbor, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. However, over the next few years a series of military and political events was to completely change this situation; the building of de Clare's masterpiece Caerphilly Castle, can be seen as the last and most dramatic episode in this story. The end of the Baronial revolt of the 1260s left Llywelyn ap Gruffydd as the only potential enemy of King Henry III. Prudently, Llywelyn decided to make peace, and by the Treaty of Montgomery (1267) he was recognized as "prince of Wales," and as the feudal lord of the other Welsh princes. Already in 1266 Gilbert de Clare had seized upland Senghennydd from the local ruler, Gruffydd ap Rhys, since King Henry III had given the earl authority to take over the lands of those Welshmen in Glamorgan who had supported Llywelyn. Consequently, on 11 April 1268, Gilbert's workmen began building at Caerphilly, only a few months after the Treaty of Montgomery had been sealed. The young earl was just 25 at the time, yet the scheme for the stronghold at Caerphilly was one of the most ambitious ever to have been conceived in the kingdom. During the summer of 1268, Llywelyn's forces invaded upper and northern Senghennydd. A truce was arranged by the king and the dispute dragged on for two years, until Llywelyn finally lost patience and burnt some of the fortifications at Caerphilly, on 13 October 1270. Gilbert de Clare recommenced building on 1 June, and Llywelyn prepared for outright war, but the crown intervened and Llywelyn reluctantly accepted the promise of future arbitration over the ownership of Caerphilly. This never materialized, and as Gilbert began to gain allies Llywelyn was forced back into Brecon, leaving de Clare to complete his massive building project at Caerphilly. By 1287 Gilbert de Clare had cleared the road to Brecon and had begun another castle on his new frontier at Morlais near Merthyr Tydfil. Here he came into conflict with Humphrey de Bohun (d.1298), the earl of Hereford, who disputed possession both of the land and the castle at Morlais. Earl Gilbert was to experience further difficulties just a few years later. In the autumn of 1294, the Welsh broke in revolt under Madog ap Llywelyn, mainly against the actions of new royal administrators in north and west Wales. The uprising quickly spread to Glamorgan, where it was led by Morgan ap Maredudd, a local Welsh ruler dispossessed by Earl Gilbert in 1270, and attacks were directed against the de Clare estates. Morlais Castle was captured, and half the town of Caerphilly was burnt - although the castle itself held out. Eventually the rebels surrendered, not to de Clare but to the king himself. Earl Gilbert died at the age of 52 in December 1295, and his estates were administered by his widow Joan "of Acre" Princess of England until her death in 1307. The young heir, another Gilbert, was killed at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. His untimely death meant the extinction of the de Clare male line, and the Gloucester inheritance was divided among three sisters. Children: Eleanore de Clare, Elizabeth de Clare, Margaret de Clare, Gilbert de Clare. Follow this link to see the Castle of the De Clares.

Hugh Le Despencer Eleanore de Clare Hugh Le Despencer was born on abt.1287 in Barton, Gloucestershire, England. He died on 24 Nov 1326 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England. He was beheaded with his father in 1326. He was buried after 15 Dec 1336 in Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. He married Eleanore de Clare after 14 Jun 1306 in Westminster, London, Middlesex, England. Eleanore de Clare was born in Oct 1292 in Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly, Glamorganshire, Wales. She died on 30 Jun 1337 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. She was buried in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Eleanor married William la Zouche after Hugh Le Despencer was beheaded. Children: Margaret,Edward, Isabel, Philip, Joan, Gilbert, Elizabeth and Hugh Le Despencer

Philip Le Despencer Joan (Margaret) De Cobham (Lestrange) Philip Le Despencer was born about 1313 in , Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England. He died on 23 Aug 1349in Camoys Manor, Toppesfield, Essex, England. He married Joan (Margaret) De Cobham about 1341. Joan (Margaret) De Cobham was born Abt 1316 in Cobham, Kent, England. She died Bef 13 May 1357. Children: Philip Le Despencer.

Philip Le Despencer Elizabeth Mrs Despencer Philip Le Despencer was born on 18 Oct 1342 in Gedney, Lincolnshire, England. He was christened on 18 Oct 1342 in Gedney, Lincolnshire, England. He died on 4 Aug 1401 in Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England. He married Elizabeth Mrs Despencer about 1363 in Camoy's Manor, Essex, England. Elizabeth was born about 1350 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. She died before 4 Aug 1401. She was buried in Abbey, Newhouse, Lincolnshire, England. Children: Philip Despencer

Philip Despencer Elizabeth Tiptoft Philip Despencer was born about 1365/1366 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. He died on 20 Jun 1424 in Spms England. He married Elizabeth Tiptoft. Elizabeth was born in 1370 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. She was christened in (1372). She died on 20 Apr 1478. She was buried in Grey Friars, Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Children: Margaret and Philip Despencer.

Roger Wentworth  Margaret (Margery) Despencer Roger Wentworth was born about 1395 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. He died on 24 Oct 1452 in Nettlested, Suffolk, England. He married Margaret (Margery) Despencer in Jun 1422/1423 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. Margaret (Margery) Despencer was born in 1397 in Nettlestead, Suffolk, England. She died on 20 Apr 1478. Children: Philip, Agnes, Henry, Elizabeth, Thomas and Margaret Wentworth.

Robert Constable Agnes Wentworth Robert Constable was born about 1430 in Flamborough, Yorkshire, England. He died on 23 May 1488 in Flamborough, Yorkshire, England. He married Agnes Wentworth on 2 Jan 1458 in Flamborough, Yorkshire, England. Agnes Wentworth was born about 1440 in Nettlested, Suffolk, England. She died on 20 Apr 1496 in Flamborough, Yorkshire, England. Children: Elizabeth, William, Robert, Margaret, Anne, Agnes, John, Philip, Richard, Marmaduke, Margery, Janet, Katherin, Roger and Dorothy Constable.

Randell Etherington Janet Constable Randell Etherington was born about 1466 in Holme, Yorkshire, England. He died on 29 Oct 1520. He married Janet Constable about 1494. Janet Constable was born about 1461 in Holme, Yorkshire, England. She died in 1540. Children: Richard and William Etherington.

William Etherington Elizabeth Southby William Etherington was born in 1497 in Of, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. He died in 1567. He married Elizabeth Southby about 1526 in Yorkshire, England. Elizabeth Southby was born about 1500 in Bishop Wilton, Yorkshire, England. Children: Eleanor, Thomas, Andrew, George, William and Randall Etherington.

Thomas Etherington Margaret Middlewood Thomas Etherington was born in 1527 in Of, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. He was christened in 1527. He married Margaret Middlewood about 1563 in Of, Ebberston, Yorkshire, England. Margaret was born about 1530 in Of, Ebberston, Yorkshire, England. Children: Christopher, Oliver, Richard and George Etherington.

Christopher Etherington Alice Mrs Etherington Christopher Etherington was born about 1567 in Of, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. He married Alice Mrs Etherington about 1591. Alice was born about 1571 in Of, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Children: Christopher, Andrew and Jane Etherington

Christopher Etherington Alice Ullstrom Christopher Etherington was born about 1592 in Of Ugglebarnby, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. He died in 1669. He married Alice Ullstrom in 1625 in Ugglebarnby, Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Alice Ullstrom was born about 1597 in Of Ugglebarnby, Whitby, Yorkshire, England Children: Christopher Edrington.

Christopher Edrington  Margaret Jennings Payne Christopher Edrington was born about 1630 in Rappahannock, Old Rappa County, Virginia. He died in 1681/1682 in , Westmoreland Co, Virginia. He married Margaret Jennings Payne on 16 Feb 1671 in, Old Rappa Co, Virginia. Margaret Jennings Payne was born about 1635/1640 in Rappahannock, Virginia, Or England. She died on 15 Feb 1684 in , Old Rappahannock, Va. Christopher Edrington named as a son of Margaret Edrington or Etherington (her name spelled both ways in the same documents) along with her Jennings children in her will. 15 Feb 1682/4 Mar 1684/5). He married Margaret Payne (Source: D.B. #6, 61-64.) Aft. April 30, 1670 in Old Rappahannock, VA (now Richmond Co.) (Source: D.B. #4, pgs. 155-157. A Christopher Edrington witnessed several deeds executed by Margaret Jennings, (relict & executrix of John Jennings, decd) to her various Jennings children. 30 Apr 1670). Children: Christopher Edrington

Christopher Edrington Mary Payton Christopher Edrington was born about 1672 in, Westmoreland Co., Virginia. He died on 21 Feb 1738 in, Stafford Co., Virginia. He married Mary Payton in 1698 in , King George, Va. Mary Payton was born about 1680 in , Old Rappa, Va.. She died on 5 Feb 1756 in , Westmoreland, Virginia. Children: Worden Pope.

Worden Pope  Hester Edrington Worden Pope was born in 1700 in Westmoreland Co., Virginia. He married Hester Edrington in 1734. Hester was born in 1716 in , Stafford Co., Va.. She died in , Prince William, Va. Their children: William H. Pope

William H. Pope  Penelope Edwards William H. Pope was born in 1740 in Westmoreland Co.,Virginia. He died in 1825 in Louisville, Jefferson Co.,Kentucky. He married Penelope Edwards in 1765. Penelope born 1744 in Westmoreland, Virginia. Death unknown. Children: Penelope Pope.

Richard Sanford  Penelope Pope Richard Sanford was born in 1711. He died in 1799. He married Penelope Pope born 12 Feb 1769 Prince William Co., Virginia. Children: Susannah Sanford.

Thomas Wren Susannah Sanford Thomas Wren was born in 1738 in King George Co., Virginia. He died in 1779. He married Susannah Sanford about 1765. Susannah SanfordD was born on 18 Nov 1745. She died on 23 May 1779. Children: Sanford Wren

Sanford Wren Eleaner Anna  Sanford Wren was born in 1770 in Virginia. He died on 27 Feb 1836 in Montgomery Co., Kentucky. He married Eleaner Anna born Abt 1790. Death unknown. Children: Anna Rose Wren.

John W. Riggin Anna Rose Wren John W. Riggin was born in 1821 in Kentucky. He died unknown. He married Anna Rose Wren born on 30 Mar 1821 in Montgomery, Kentucky. She died on 2 Feb 1888. Children: Caroline Belle Riggin.

Adam Trusty Caroline Belle Riggin Adam Trusty was born Jan 1845 in Casey Co, Ky. He died Died June 13, 1900 in Casey Co, Ky. He married Caroline Belle Riggin (daughter of John W. and Rose Wren ) The children of Adam & Caroline Riggin are as follows: Eva L. Trusty, Angie R. Trusty, born Oct 1877, Luettia Trusty Jan 1879, Ella May (Mae) Jul 1881, Fannie A. Trusty, Sep 1884, Samantha H. Trusty, Jun 1886, Walter V. Trusty Dec 1891 Casey Co, KY Adam Trusty Day Laborer b. Jan 1845 1844? Casey Co, KY Died June 13, 1900. Buried in Brown Cemetery. Physical description: 5’11” Fair Complexion Light Hair Blue Eyes. Served in the Union Army in the Civil War - Co. C, 8th Regiment KY Cavalry, Private - per his pension application (Pension Claim 681184) from the govt. He applied on 12/10/1888. He was an orderly for Colonel Shackford at Bowling Green, KY. Enlisted Civil War Army July 28, 1862 honorably discharged September 17, 1863. He was stationed at Clarksville, TN during the Civil War. He was ordered out on detail duty to carry a dispatch to Colonel Boone at Providence, TN the last of February, 1863?. He and his horse fell 15’ during a rain/pitch dark/into an ice house – he hurt his back and left hip in the fall – his leg was numb. Dr. Newell treated him at his mother’s home (Frances and Nathaniel’s) when he came home to recover after the fall into the ice house. His mother rubbed him with a mixture of turpentine and Hartshorn. Served in the same volunteer cavalry unit (Company C, 8th KY Cavalry) as great-grandfather Gary Williams: William Hardin S. Williams, during the Civil War. Apparently Adam died between 1890-1900, as Belle applied for a widow’s pension abt. Jul 1900. Enlisted: 21 Apr 1865 Mustered out: 17 Oct 1865, Lebanon, KY - Co. A, 1st KY State Cavalry Regiment. Married Caroline Belle Riggins b. Nov 1853 1845? IN (another record shows her born Nov 20, 1862-her gravestone read Nov 2_9?, 1852) d. Feb 8, 1915 pneumonia Married on October 11, 1876/ Hendricks Co., Danville, IN/lived in North Salem, IN Daughter of John W. Riggins born KY and Anna Rose Wren? Born IN? prob born KY Relative: Richard H. Riggen(sp?)1900 North Salem, IN Caroline is buried Bethel Ridge, KY. next to son Walter. Her husband Adam is buried next to his father Nathaniel in the Brown cemetery a few miles away. (They both have Civil War markers.)

Walter V. Trusty  Bonnie F. Vaught    We think Walter V. Trusty was born in 1891. We know he was born in KY/ his father was also born in KY/his mother was born in Kansas. He married Bonnie Vaught (daughter of William Marion Vaught and Elizabeth Catherine Jasper Vaught) in Somerset, (Pulaski County) KY, also born in KY, married her sometime around 1916-17. Marguerite Trusty Molloy’s notes show her born April 13, 1898 and dying Sept. 12, 1947. They moved to Cincinnati, OH. He may have had other relatives in Cincinnati. We think they may have been the Allie May Trusty line in Cincinnati, also others maybe in Akron and Canton, OH (we think). Walter was killed working for the Pennsylvania Railroad 1945 somewhere between Cincinnati and Louisville. When Walter and Bonnie divorced/the children went to the custody of Walter who supported them by working for the Pennsylvania Railroad (probably divorced mid to late 1920s, (he boarded then with relatives here in Cincinnati and in Akron, OH). In 1930 census the three children are listed as living in a boarding house in Stark County, Plain TWP, OH. Marguerite was 12, Bill was 10 and Tom was 6. We believe they also lived with relatives on his side - the Trusty/Debord/Merritt family in Cincinnati for some time after this, We think. Bonnie had another daughter subsequently that she named Bonnie, who was half-sister to Marguerite, Tom and Bill. This half-sister died in 2002 (cancer, We believe) in Canton where she lived most of her adult life, We believe. Her married name was Keller (Kellar?) and she had 4-5 children. A 1920 Cincinnati census shows a Walter V. Trusty who was 26 and a machinist for the RR. He was born KY, his father KY and his mother was born in Kansas. Bonnie was 19 (We think she may have been 21) and born KY as also were her parents in (William Marion and Elizabeth Jasper). Marguerite was 1 year and 7 months old at this time, so we assume the census was filled out in January, 1920, and she was born in OH. She was born in Cincinnati – Amelia Earhart shows as a midwife on her birth certificate! and there was a 16 year old niece living with them whose last name was DeBord born in KY . The children of Walter V & Bonnie F are as follows: Marguerite, Bill, Tom.

Daniel A. Molloy Marguerite J. Trusty  Daniel A. Molloy married Marguerite Jean (trusty) in 1941. Daniel born Cincinnati, Ohio November 30, 1908 died September 13, 1975. Marguerite Jean born May 26, 1918 Cincinnati, Ohio died January 17, 2000 pancreatic cancer.