William The Conqueror King of England Thirty Two Generations At A Glance William The Conqueror Henry I King of England Geoffrey Planntagenet Count of Anjou Henry II King of England John Lackland King of England Henry III King of England Edward I King of England Edward II King of England Edward III King of England John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancanster) Henry IV King of England Humphrey Plantagenet (Duke of Gloucester) Sir Henry Grey Knt (Earl of Tancarville) Sir Roger Kynaston Sir Richard Hanmer Puleston (four generations) Lewis (three generations) Taylor Jasper (six generations) Vaught 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 II 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

Edward II King of England  1307-1327 Isabelle of France Queen of England Born: Caernarvon Castle, 25 April 1284. Titles: King of England and Scotland, Lord of Ireland; Prince of Wales (from 1301), Duke of Aquitaine (from 1306). Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 25 February 1308. Ruled: 8 July 1307-25 January 1327 (abdicated). Married: 25 January 1308, at Boulogne Cathedral, Isabella (c1292-1358) dau. of Philippe IV, king of France: 4 children; Edward may also have had one illegitimate child. Died: (Murdered): Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, 21 September 1327, aged 43. Buried: Gloucester Cathedral. Edward II's reign was amongst the most despairing in history, cast into even greater notoriety because it was locked between the reigns of those two giants - his father, Edward I, and his son, Edward III. He was regarded as a weak king, not only through his lack of military ambition, but because of his total lack of interest in matters of state. He preferred gardening and basket-weaving to soldiery and government. Had he not been so easily influenced by his court favourites, he might have served better. The problem stemmed from his lonely childhood. Although he was the fourteenth of Edward's nineteen children, few of his brethren survived infancy and he never knew them. Of his elder sisters, three were married before Edward was six, while a fourth entered a nunnery around the time he was born. Only Elizabeth was close to Edward in age and would have been his closest childhood companion. Edward was already sixteen by the time his half-brother Thomas was born. Although his father was a devoted family man, his continued absence in his wars against Wales, Scotland and France left Edward to fend for himself, and the death of his mother when he was only six left him bereft. As so often happens with lonely children (especially child heirs) they welcome anyone who shows them friendship and do not recognize when that friendship may be false, seeking only fame or riches. His closest childhood friend was Piers Gaveston, a rather handsome but affected knight from Gascony. The two of them led extravagant lifestyles, finding enjoyment in the disruption of ceremony and the annoyance of members of court, whom Gaveston delighted in calling by rude nicknames. Their inseparability and manner of dress caused the old king to believe they may have shared a homosexual relationship and Gaveston was banished from court on several occasions, but after the king's death, young Edward called Piers back. To the horror of the court magnates, Piers was made the earl of Cornwall (a title usually reserved for the king's sons), he was married to Edward's niece, Margaret, and when Edward went to France to collect his bride, Isabella, he made Piers regent. Piers made all the arrangements for the coronation, tried to outshine all others present by his manner of dress and had the highest honour of carrying the king's crown. Gaveston disgraced himself at the celebrations by his outward display of affection for Edward, which distressed the young queen. Gaveston further incurred the wrath of the court by bungling the banqueting arrangements resulting in a poorly cooked and late meal. The barons prevailed upon Edward to banish Gaveston, which Edward did by making him regent of Ireland in 1308, but within a year Gaveston had returned. Gaveston continued to abuse the barons with his wit and sarcasm, but probably what annoyed the barons more was that despite his foppishness, Gaveston was a good knight. He often arranged tournaments, only to defeat anv knight who rode against him. One of these, the king's cousin, Thomas, earl of Lancaster, was incensed by this ignominy. Thomas was no man to upset. He was one of the most powerful in England, with vast estates and a huge private army. By nature he was vicious and haughty, caring only for himself He led the opposition against the king and in the parliament of 1310 forced the king to agree to a committee of twenty-eight barons, known as the Lords Ordainer, who in effect governed the country. They forced Edward to agree to Gaveston's permanent exile. Edward made him lord of Man, but Gaveston could not stay away and turned up at the king's Christmas celebrations, as arrogant and obnoxious as ever. A group of barons, led by Lancaster, arrested Gaveston and executed him in June 1312 on the grounds that he was an enemy of the state. The barons soon realised Gaveston's execution was a mistake as it polarised opinion in England. There were those who believed the Lords Ordainer had acted unlawfully. The leader of this opposition was Hugh le Despenser, a long-time supporter of the king and a friend of Gaveston's. He and his son (Hugh the Younger) inveigled their way into the king's favour. By 1313, Hugh the Younger had become the king's chamberlain and closest adviser. By this time Edward determined that he had to do something about Scotland. He had accompanied his father on several of his expeditions to Scotland in the early years of the century, and had been with his father on his final march north in 1307. The old king's last words had been to command young Edward to defeat the Scots. Edward had none of the military skills or leadership of his father and, though he tentatively crossed the border into Ayrshire, he rapidly retreated to the pleasures of the court, leaving Robert The Bruce to reclaim and rebuild Scotland. Edward led another brief foray to the Scottish borders in the autumn of 1310 and, meeting no opposition, regarded his expedition as a victory. However Robert merely bided his time and, on Edward's departure, returned to conquering castles and expelling the English. By the end of 1313 the only castle remaining in English hands was Stirling, which was under siege by Robert's brother. The governor of the castle, Sir Philip de Mowbray, declared that, if English reinforcements were not sent by 24 June 1314, he would surrender the castle to the Scots. Edward felt compelled to do something for the prestige of the English. On the eve of the appointed day he arrived at Stirling with one of the largest armies ever assembled in England. Although some estimates assigned it 100,000 men, it was probably closer to 20,000, but it still outnumbered the Scots two to one. Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Scots had spent months preparing for this battle and Bruce chose the site close to the Bannock Burn with precision. The English were forced into a course of action for which the Scots were ready, and almost from the outset the English infantry were thrown into chaos as they stumbled into prepared pits, whilst the cavalry were limited because of the surrounding bogland. The defeat was one of the worst ever to befall an English king. Edward fled from the battlefield, first trying to find shelter at Stirling Castle itself, probably one of the more extreme examples of stupidity from any English king, and then escaping by way of Dunbar back to London. Edward left Robert to his own devices, and though it was still another fourteen years before Scotland's independence was formally recognized, it was effective from the battle of Bannockburn. Edward's reputation was at its nadir. England was torn between two opposing factions. The country was governed by the Lords Ordainer under Thomas of Lancaster, whilst the king's party was increasingly controlled by Hugh le Despenser. Although no official civil war broke out, there was a total state of anarchy with opposing factions fighting their own private battles, whilst the Scots plundered the north of England with almost complete freedom. To add to the problems England was laid low by a dire famine. It was only due to the negotiations of Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, one of the more honourable and pragmatic nobles, that a form of reconciliation was made between the king and Lancaster in 1318. Had Edward seen fit to change his ways, matters might have improved, but Edward's conviction of his absolute authority only increased his intransigence. He listened only to his court favourites, the two Despensers, whom he showered in riches, and rebuffed his barons. Hugh the Younger had been created lord of Glamorgan and used the opportunity of further unrest amongst the dispossessed Welsh lords to establish an extensive domain in southern Wales. This development was opposed by Roger Mortimer, the most prominent of the marcher lords, who saw the Despensers' authority challenging his own in Wales. A confrontation in 1321 between Edward and Lancaster, supported by the Welsh marcher lords, caused Edward to temporarily agree to exiling the Despensers. This was more because Edward feared a rebellion among the Welsh being supported by a Celtic alliance with Scotland, and he needed to pacify the Welsh leaders. They hated Mortimer more than Despenser. It should not be forgotten that Edward had been invested as Prince of Wales in 1301 which, at that time, was not solely an honorific title. The Welsh took it seriously, as did Edward, and in the years before he became king he administered Welsh affairs and pronounced upon petitions far more effectively than he was ever able to do as king of England. Wales was specially his own, and the Welsh recognized this. In 1322, this allowed Edward, for once, to become his own man and act with uncharacteristic resolution. He led an army against Roger Mortimer, whom he captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in January 1322. He then led an army against Thomas of Lancaster, who was defeated at Boroughbridge, captured and beheaded at Pontefract in March 1322. Flushed with success Edward continued north and laid waste to Scotland, his army reaching as far as Edinburgh before his luck ran out. He then retreated with all haste, pursued by a Scottish army, losing his baggage and plunder en route, but escaping with his life and a degree of dignity. Edward discovered further treachery along the Scottish borders where his warden of the Marches, Andrew Hartcla, had been conspiring with the Scots to allow them inroads to Cumberland. Hartcla was executed, and Edward agreed a truce with Scotland in May 1323. The years 1321 to 1323 were the most decisive of Edward's life and showed his abilities when he put his mind to it. But he soon relapsed. The Despensers were recalled and they continued to create significant domains for themselves, especially in Wales, where they were allied with Rhys ap Gruffydd, who became sheriff of Carmarthen and was a strong supporter of the royal cause in Wales. The Despensers now caused the enmity of Edward's queen, Isabella. It seems that after the death of Lancaster, Isabella grew distant from Edward. It is difficult to say how close they ever were, since Edward had insulted Isabella at their coronation by his show of affection for Gaveston, but she had borne the king four children. The last, Joan, had been born in July 132 1. Isabella now began openly to confront the king, spurred on almost certainly by Roger Mortimer, with whom Isabella became more closely acquainted at the Tower of London. The Despensers contrived with Edward to have Isabella deprived of her estates in 1324, but they underestimated her cunning. Relations with France were once again hostile and Isabella requested that she visit the king of France, her brother, to aid negotiations. Edward agreed. No sooner was Isabella in France than she was joined by Roger Mortimer, who lived with her openly as her ]over. When her young son Edward arrived in France to pay homage for the lands of Ponthieu and Aquitaine, of which he was made respectively count and duke in September 1325, Isabella refused to allow him to return to England, in defiance of Edward's authority. She and Roger now raised an army to depose Edward and establish her son on the throne. The French king, Charles IV, with a remarkable display of honour, would not allow Isabella to conduct these affairs in France, especially with her open adultery with Mortimer, and she was exiled to Hainault, where the count allowed her to recruit an army of mercenaries from the Low Countries. Isabella and Mortimer sailed for England, landing at Harwich on 24 September 1326. Edward showed little resistance, retreating to his stronghold in Wales. Over the next two months his supporters were captured and executed, including the Despensers, and the king was eventually taken at Pen-rhys in the Rhondda on 16 December. He was held captive at Kenilworth Castle, where he was well treated by his cousin, Henry, the new earl of Lancaster and brother of the executed Thomas. Isabella called a parliament on 20 January 1327 to seek the deposition of Edward, but the parliament had no authority without the king's presence. Edward refused until he was given the ultimatum that his son's inheritance might also be forfeit, at which point he capitulated and abdicated in favour of his son on 25 January. Edward was now transported to Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, where his rescue was attempted by Rhys ap Gruffydd. Isabella and Mortimer feared that Edward might yet make a resurgence, and so Mortimer arranged for Edward's death. He did not want it to appear that violence had been committed against the king. He was hoping it might appear as a natural death, or suicide. However, attempts to starve the king did not work, and in the end Edward was held down while a red hot poker was inserted into his bowels. There were some rumours, however, that another victim was found to serve as a body whilst Edward was smuggled out of England and spent his final years as a hermit in Lombardy. The idea of the former ostentatious monarch being able to live as a hermit, regardless of his situation, beggars belief, however. He was buried at Gloucester Cathedral where a beautiful alabaster effigy was raised above the tomb by his son. Edward's death roused considerable sympathy amongst his subjects, especially the Welsh, and his memory was venerated for many years. It was not until 1330 that his death was avenged. Roger Mortimer was tried and executed, and Queen Isabella was placed in confinement at Castle Rising in Norfolk. She lived on for thirty years after her husband's death, dying on 22 August 1358 and was buried at Greyfriars Church at Newgate in London. Though a strangely matched couple, Edward and Isabella produced one of England's greatest kings, Edward III. Isabella of France (1292-1358) Queen of England Queen to Edward II of England. She was known as Isabella the Fair, and later as the She-Wolf of France. Isabella was the daughter of King Philip IV of France (d.1314) and Joanna of Navarre. She was the sister of three French Kings: Louis X (d.1316), Philip V (d.1322), and Charles IV(d.1328). Her aunt Marguerite (her father's sister) was married to Edward I, King of England, and she had been promised as the bride of Edward's son - Edward II. She was married in Boulogne (1308) to King Edward II of England. Isabella then left France for her new life in England. When she landed at Dover she was met by Piers Gaveston, to whom Edward had entrusted the "care" of England. It was here that she first noticed the unnatural relations between Edward and Gaveston. Isabella immediately wrote to her father but there was really nothing he could do - she just had to put up with it. Edward increasingly antagonised the English nobles over his choice of "friends" and at such times Isabella acted as a mediator between Edward and the barons. Isabella also accompanied Edward when he went warring with Scotland - she was almost captured. Her near escape and her mediation skills made her extremely popular. Isabella very soon gave birth to a son, Edward III (1312) at Windsor; another son (1314) and a daughter (1316). However, Edward was becoming unpopular. Gaveston was banished to his native Guyenne in an attempt to free Edward from his grasp, but he was soon recalled. Edward by now had abandoned him, and Gaveston was tried and hanged. Replacing Gaveston were the Despensers (father and son) who were only after wealth and power. Isabella by now had had enough. It was during the civil war, while awaiting the birth of her child in the Tower of London that she encountered Roger Mortimer, Lord of Chirk and his nephew Roger Mortimer - both imprisoned in Tower under sentance of death. The older Roger died, but the death sentanced was postponed on younger Roger, who then escaped (aided by Isabella?) to France. Isabella's second brother Philip V was now King of France, her father and older brother had dies (1314 and 1316 respectively): he acted against Edward, confiscating Edward's French possessions. Isabella ostensibley went to France to act as a mediator between her brother and her husband. Once there, she requested that her 15yo son Edward be sent to France to do allegiance to her brother the King. When young Edward arrived in France Isabella announced that neither would be returning to England till Despensers were banished. Edward wrote letters, referring to Isabella's evil behaviour with Mortimer. On reading these letters the King of France refused to support support his sister - she had apparently convinced him she was an innocent victim in this matter. Isabella landed in England (1326) with her son, her lover Roger Mortimer, Lord William of Hainault (father of Philippa of Hainault, future wife of her son Edward) and almost 3000 men. Many flocked to her cause. Edward tried to escape, but was captured and sent to Kenilworth Castle. The Despensers were duly executed. Edward II was formally deposed and her son was acknowledge as Edward III. Mortimer and Isabella became Regents of England. Then followed the mysterious death of Edward II in Berkeley Castle. With her husband out of the way, Isabella arranged the marriage of Edward III to Philippa of Hainault. But by now her popularity waning - especially after the death of Edward. Edward III became of age and was now in command (1327). He had Mortimer arrested and hanged. Isabella's wealth was confiscated and her income limited, and she was confined to Castle Rising (Norfolk) - no visitors were permitted. Here at Castle Rising Isabella was to remain for 31 years. It was during this confimnment that she was said to have become derranged (lammenting the loss of the power that she once held). Here Isabella died. Her body taken to Grey Friars and buried beside Mortimer. Soon after Edward III ascended to the throne of England (1327), Charles IV, King of France died, leaving no direct heir. Edward III claimed throne of France through his mother Isabella (as dead King's sister) - and so began what is known as the Hundred Years' War.

Edward III King of England 1327-1377 Phillipa of Hainault Queen of England Born: Windsor Castle, 13 November 1312. Titles: King of England, Duke of Aquitaine (from 1325), Earl of Chester (from 1312), Count of Ponthieu and Montreuil (from 1325), Lord of Ireland, King of France (from 1340). Crowned: Westminster Abbey, I February 1327. Ruled: 25 January 1327-21 June 1377. Married: 24 January 1328, at York Minster, Philippa (1311-69) dau. of William V, Count of Hainault and Holland: 13 children. Edward also had at least three illegitimate children by his mistress Alice Perrers (c1348-1400). Died: Sheen Palace, Surrey, 21 June 1377, aged 64. Buried: Westminster Abbey. Edward III, was both a great king and a popular one. Although his reign was not as glorious as subsequent romancers and chroniclers liked to maintain, it was remarkable and one that England needed to restore its self-esteem and its position in Europe. The start of Edward's reign was less momentous. He had been raised to the throne following the forced abdication of his father. He was only fourteen and was in the manipulative hands of his mother, Isabella of France, and her paramour, Roger Mortimer. They had detained Edward in France the previous year when he had gone to pay homage to the French king Charles IV for his lands in Aquitaine and Ponthieu, and it was under Isabella's standard that Edward returned to England in September 1326 to be proclaimed "Keeper of the Realm". Edward remained under the control of Isabella and Mortimer, though there was some saving grace in that the head of the regency council was Henry of Lancaster, a cousin of Edward's father and a more moderate man than most. The murder of Edward's father at the instigation of Mortimer shocked the nation, but the young king was in no position to do much about it at the time. Despite his youth he had led an army into northern England in the summer of 1327 to counter the attacks made by the Scots on the borders. After a month trying to track down the enemy amongst the wild country, Edward was forced to admit defeat and he returned dejected to York. Negotiations were opened with the Scots resulting in the Treaty of Northampton in May 1328 where the independence of the Scots was recognized. Edward's sister Joan was betrothed to Robert The Bruce's infant son, David (II), and they were married that July at Berwick. Edward in the meantime had married his long-time betrothed, Philippa of Hainault, who had travelled to York for the wedding in January 1328. Their marriage was happy and fruitful, far more so than England's alliance with Scotland which was always threatened by the uneasy menage a trois between Scotland, England and France. That same year Charles IV of France died without an heir. Edward believed he had a more direct claim, through his mother, as grandson of Philippe IV of France and nephew of Charles IV. The French did not recognize inheritance through the female line and overturned Edward's claim in favour of Charles's cousin, Philippe de Valois. In any case there was no way that the French would be ruled by an English king, but that did not stop Edward's ambitions. He did not press his claim for the moment, but paid homage to the new king for his lands in France, and bided his time. In the meantime Edward took control of his own affairs. There was a rising tide of feeling against his mother, Isabella, and Mortimer, who were now living openly together. Mortimer was continuing to seek retribution against the supporters of Edward II, including the young king's uncle, Edmund, earl of Kent, who was executed in March 1330. Edward decided that enough was enough. With the support of Henry of Lancaster, Edward's men (including William de Montacute) seized Mortimer at Nottingham Castle, apparently dragging him from Isabella's embrace. He was tried and convicted, and was hanged, drawn and quartered at the new place of execution at Tyburn in London. He was the first of many thousands to be executed there over the next 450 years. On 20 October Edward assumed personal responsibility. He was to receive unanimous support from his barons. They recognized in him a quality that reminded them of the great days of Edward I. Edward used the facilities of the Parliament to ensure that the barons received a fair opportunity to contribute to debates, and he often took their advice. Whilst he remained superior, in the regal sense, he did not demean the barons. Clearly none of this would have worked had Edward not proved himself an able soldier and king. His first opportunity came against the long standing enemy, Scotland. Edward Balliol maintained his right to the throne of Scotland against the family of Bruce and Edward supported his claim. In August 1332 Edward overthrew David II. Even though David was Edward's brother-in-law, Edward continued to support Balliol, and Balliol recognized him as his overlord at Roxburgh on 23 November 1332. Consequently, when Balliol was himself overthrown a month later, Edward III responded, providing forces to support Balliol's endeavours to regain the throne. Edward's army won a crushing victory over the Scots at Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333. Here, for the first time, the strength of the English and Welsh longbowmen played their part in seriously weakening the Scots forces. Balliol was restored and a year later, in June 1334, gave to the English crown almost all of the border country between the Forth and the Tweed, which was immediately governed as part of England. The Scots however fought back. Balliol was deposed again, and although he soon regained the throne it became evident that Balliol could only rule with English support. When he was overthrown again in 1336, he gave up and David II was restored. Edward did not pursue rights to Scottish territory, because his attention shifted to France. France and Scotland had long been allies and Edward was only too aware that united the two could seriously damage England. Moreover the many Gascons living in England had a right of appeal in the courts to the French king, through Edward's fealty for his lands in Gascony. Edward recognized that these problems would be solved if his claim to the throne of France was upheld. He revived this claim in 1337 and declared his intentions to fight for it. This was the start of what became known as the Hundred Years' War. Supported by his barons, Edward crossed to Antwerp and invaded France in 1338. Philippe VI refused to fight, and the next eighteen months saw only minor and relatively unsuccessful skirmishes. However, in 1340 Edward won a major sea battle off the port of Sluys in Holland, and this emboldened him enough to declare himself king of France. He even challenged Philippe to decide the matter in single combat, but Philippe refused. For the next three years Edward was unable to make any advance, and the cost of maintaining his army and fleet became crippling. He reached a truce with Philippe in 1343, but that truce was conveniently broken in 1345. Now Edward's luck changed. His great general, Henry, earl of Derby, regained Gascony, and Edward followed up with a major invasion force. Landing in Normandy in July 1346, he harried his way through northern France with much pillaging and destruction, which galvanised Philippe into action. The two armies met at Crecy, near the Somme, on 26 August. Again it was the power of the longbow that gave the victory to Edward. His army moved on to Calais, to which he laid siege for several months until the citizens submitted, on the verge of starvation. Edward was prepared to sack and destroy the city but his queen, Philippa, who had accompanied him on the campaign, pleaded for their lives. While the siege was continuing Edward received excellent news from England. The Scots had sought to take advantage of Edward's absence by invading northern England, but their forces were routed by the archbishop of York at Neville's Cross in October 1346. David II was captured and taken as prisoner to England. A peace treaty was concluded in France and Edward returned to England. The next few years may be seen both as the zenith of Edward's reign but also some of the darkest days in Britain. Edward, triumphant in his victory over France, and with David of Scotland his prisoner, established a court par excellence at Windsor Castle. Edward operated his Court on the model of the Arthurian Round Table. Arthur was his hero, and many of the incidents later related by Thomas Malory in his Morte d’arthur have their counterparts in Edward's tournaments and chivalric quests. The world of Edward III was the world of Arthur. Edward planned to instigate an Order of the Round Table, which was eventually called the Most Noble Order of the Garter when he established it in 1348. It was the highest order of chivalry limited always to a select group of twenty-five or so knights. It was first bestowed upon Edward's eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince, and included among its illustrious ranks his second cousin, Henry, earl of Derby (later duke of Lancaster) (and grandfather of the future king Henry IV), and Roger Mortimer, the grandson of his mother's lover. These honours and the opportunity to prove themselves to the king resulted in a rare camaraderie between the king and his nobles, one which helped sustain the successes of the first half of Edward's reign. Edward called to his court the greatest knights from throughout Europe who would prove their valour and strength in his tournaments. It was a period of considerable glory and prestige for England. However it was darkened by the Black Death, the name given to the virulent bubonic plague that swept through Europe, reaching its height in the north in 1348, and which was believed to have killed a third of the population of Britain (or almost a million people). Over two hundred people a day died in London alone for over two years. Edward's thirteen-year old daughter Joan died of it in Bordeaux in September 1348, as did his infant son Thomas, but although others of the court succumbed, the plague left the royal family surprisingly unscathed. Nevertheless it devastated the English economy and reduced the manpower on which Edward could call, but this was the same throughout Europe. It was through the remarkable ability of Edward's officials that the finances and administration of England were sustained through this period. Philippe VI of France died in August 1350 and with the succession of his son, Jean II, hostilities broke out again with England. Jean, known as the Good, refused to acknowledge Edward's overlordship but likewise refused to fight until Edward's tactics of plunder and destruction drew the French out. A series of battles, of which the most decisive was at Poitiers in September 1356 under the command of the Black Prince, brought French government to the verge of anarchy. Jean II was taken captive to England. Unable to agree terms, Edward III invaded France in 1359, hoping at last to gain control. However, the continuance of the bubonic plague and a devastatingly severe winter weakened the English as much as the French and Edward was unable to strike the final blow. A treaty was nevertheless agreed at Bretigny in 1360. By this Edward's sovereignty was recognized over his former lands in France, primarily Aquitaine and Calais. In return Edward dropped his claim to the throne of France. The year 1360 remains the peak of Edward's reign as the remaining sixteen years were ones of slow and sad decline. The plague returned with increasing virulence in 1361. The French king Jean was never able to raise his ransom (set at half a million pounds) and died in London in 1364. His son, Charles V, ascended the French throne and encouraged the French subjects of the English in Aquitaine to rebel. Although Edward tried to negotiate with France relations worsened. The great triumphs of the Black Prince faded as his health failed, and were replaced by the ignominious defeats of his brother John of Gaunt. The war became protracted and costly and, when the French plundered and burnt Portsmouth in 1369, English opinion began to turn away from the king. This was further aggravated when Edward drew upon church revenues in order to finance the conflict. By 1374 Edward had lost much of Aquitaine, and the French regained control over most of the English territories except Calais and a coastral strip in southern Gascony, near Bayonne. Edward's health and spirit also failed. His wife, Philippa, died in August 1369 of an illness akin to dropsy. They had been married for forty years and by all accounts had remained very happy. Philippa had grown rather portly in her last years which added to her overall character as a friendly, homely, motherly woman whom the nation greatly loved. In her final years Edward had found himself drawn to Alice Perrers, one of his wife's chamber ladies, who became his mistress. Although she satisfied the old king's physical desires - in fact she bore him at least three children - she was also scheming and grasping and made his final years a misery. She was banished from the court in 1376. It was likely that she was the cause of the king contracting gonorrhoea. To add to the king's sadness, his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, who had turned against his father's policies, died in June 1376. The king's final year was spent in much loneliness and sadness aware that the administration about him was crumbling. He died of a stroke at Sheen Palace in June 1377. He was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II. Although his reign is remembered for its great days of glorious knighthood and conquest, it was this and the Black Death that drove the country into poverty and near ruin and was the basis for the collapse of the Plantagenet dynasty in the next generation. Edward III cannot be denied the epitaph of a great king, but like so many other great kings he bequeathed little to his successors. Philippa of Hainault Queen of England. Philippa was born (24/6/1311) at Valenciennes, Belgium, the daughter of Count Guillaume/William III de Avesnes of Hainault and Holland (d.1337) and Jeanne de Valois (d.1352. Her marriage to King Edward III of England was arranged by Edward's mother, Isabella of France (1326) - they were second cousins. She was married (24/1/1328) at York Minster and crowned two years later (c.1330). Philippa bore Edward twelve children: son Edward the Black Prince born at Woodstock (1330), Isabella, Joan/Joanna, William of Hatfield, Lionel of Antwerp Duke of Clarence, John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, Edmund of Langley Duke of York, Blanche, Mary, Margaret, William of Windsor, Thomas of Woodstock Duke of Gloucester. Philippa was a competant woman and was appointed Regent of England by her husband Edward when he was absent on the Continent. When the Scots invaded England as far south as Durham (1346), Philippa raised an army, winning the battle of Neville's Cross, and taking the Scottish King David II Bruce (d.1371) prisoner. Philippa was responsible for the introduction of weaving into England. She was the patron of poets and musicians. Philippa herself survived the Black Death (1348) - but her daughter Joanna, en route to marry the Castilian Prince Pedro the Cruel, was struck down and died (some say fortunately). It was during the reign of her husband Edward III that English became the "official" language (1363). Philippa died at Windsor (15/8/1369), Edward at her side. She was mourned by her devoted husband and buried at Westminster Abbey. Edward died 8 years later.

John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancanster) Blanche of Lancaster John of Gaunt Duke of Lancanster born 24 Jun 1340 Ghent, England. Married Blanche of Lancaster 19 Mar 1358/1359. Blanche of Lancaster born Berkshire, England. Son Henry IV King of England. Born: Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, 3 April 1366, (or 1367). John of Gaunt (1340-1399) Born: March 1340 at St. Bavon Abbey, Ghent, Flanders,Earl of Richmond, Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lincoln, Earl of Leicester, Duke of Lancaster, King of Castile & Leon. Died: 3rd February 1399 at Leicester Castle, Leicestershire This prince, the fourth son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, was born at Ghent (or Gaunt) in Flanders, in 1340. In his infancy, he was created Earl of Richmond and, by that title, admitted into the Order of the Garter upon the death of Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, one of the original knights. In 1359, at Reading Abbey (Berks), he married Blanche, the younger of the two daughters and co-heirs of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and upon the death of his father-in-law, in 1361, he was advanced to that Dukedom. He held also, in right of his wife, the Earldoms of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester, and the high office of Steward of England. Blanche, dying in 1369, the ambition of the Duke - who had taken an active part in the war carried on by the his brother, Black Prince, for the restoration of Peter, King of Castile & Leon - induced him to direct his views towards Constance, the elder of the two daughters of that monarch, then lately slain by his illegitimate brother, Henry of Transtamare, his successor under the title of Henry II. In 1372, the Duke married this princess and thus assumed the regal style of those kingdoms. These titular honours were ascribed to him in the writs of summons to Parliament from that year until 1386, when, by an arrangement with King John I of Castile & Leon, the son and successor of Henry, Catherine, the only daughter of the Duke of Lancaster by Constance, was betrothed to Henry, Prince of Asturias, his heir-apparent, and the crown settled upon the issue of that alliance. Although John of Gaunt had been engaged in warlike enterprises from his earliest years, yet his martial achievements did not increase the lustre of British glory or secure for himself the character of a great commander. In three expeditions into France, in 1369, 1370 and 1373, he gained no laurels and the peculiar misfortunes which attended the last, when a considerable number of his followers perished amongst the mountains of Auvergne, rendered him very unpopular on his return to England in July 1374. All Guienne and Gascony, with the exception of the towns of Bordeaux and Bayonne, had fallen from their allegiance and a suspension of hostilities was negotiated at Bruges, by the Duke and others, with the Duke of Anjou, before the expiration of that year. After the death of the Black Prince, in 1376, the Duke of Lancaster acquired a marked ascendency in the councils of the infirm monarch, his father. His administration of public affairs is said, furthermore, to have been stained by several acts of violence. On the 16th June 1386, "at the palace of John of Gaunt, King of Castile & Leon, in the convent of the Friars Carmelites, at Plymouth" (where he was then sojourning prior to his embarkation for Spain), he gave his remarkable testimony in favour of the right of Sir Richard Scrope to the arms borne by him in the celebrated controversy between Scrope and Sir Robert Grosvenor. John continued to govern the Kingdom during the minority of his nephew, Richard II , by whom, in 1389, he was created Duke of Aquitaine. His power increasing, he proffered, in open parliament, a claim to the succession for his son, Henry Bolingbroke (later King Henry IV , as son to Blanche, great-grandaughter of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, whom, he pretended, had been elder brother to King Edward I , but set aside on account of his deformity. The weakness of this pretension, which, if established, would have been fatal to the reigning monarch, was opposed, without difficulty, by Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, who, as son and heir of Philippa, the daughter and heir of his elder brother, Lionel , Duke of Clarence, had, by the laws of the empire, an indisputably prior right and was, accordingly, declared the presumptive heir to the crown. The Duchess Constance dying in 1394, John espoused, in 1396, Catherine, daughter of Sir Paine Roet, Guienne King of Arms, and widow of Sir Hugh Swynford, a knight of Lincolnshire. This lady had been of the household of the Duchess Blanche and charged with the education of the ladies Philippa and Elizabeth during their minority. On the 3rd February 1399, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, died at the Bishop of Ely's Palace in Holborn. Conforming to his will, dated 3rd February 1398, his body was interred before the high altar of Old St. Paul's Cathedral, near the remains of Blanche, his first consort. By his first consort, Blanche of Lancaster, he had issue: 1. Henry, Duke of Hereford & Lancaster and Earl of Derby, afterwards King Henry IV. 2. Philippa, married to John I, King of Portugal. Seven kings pf her issue governed that country. 3. Elizabeth, married, firstly, to John Holland, Duke of Exeter, and, secondly, Sir John Cornwall Lord Fanhope. By his second consort, Constance of Castile, John of Gaunt had an only daughter, Catherine, wife of Henry, Prince of Asturias, afterwards Henry III, King of Castile & Leon. The descendants of this alliance were on the throne of Spain until King Charles II, who died in 1700. His issue, before his marriage to his third consort, Catherine Swynford, were legitimated by Act of Parliament, 9th February 1397. They were all surnamed "De Beaufort," having been born at Beaufort Castle in France, which had devolved to the Huse of Lancaster by the marriage of Blanche of Artois with Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. When John of Gaunt legitimized his Beaufort children after he married their mother, they were supposed to be barred from the succession. They were: 1. John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset and Marquis of Dorset, KG 2. Henry Beaufort , Bishop of Lincoln, afterwards of Winchester, and, at length, Cardinal and Chancellor of England 3. Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, KG 4. Joan Beaufort, married, firstly, to Sir Robert Ferrers of Worn and Oversley; and, secondly, to Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Her grandsons included Richard, Earl of Warwick 'the Kingmaker,' Kings Edward IV and Richard III .

Henry IV King of England 1399-1413 Mary of Humphrey de Bohun Born: Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, 3 April 1366, (or 1367). Titles: King of England, Earl of Derby (from 1377), Earl of Northampton and Hereford (from 1384), Duke of Hereford (from 1397), Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester and Earl of Lincoln (from 1399). Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 13 October 1399. Ruled: 30 September 1399-20 March 1413. Married: (1) before 10 February 1381, at Arundel, Sussex, Mary (c1369-94), dau. of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford: 6 children: 1. Henry V, King of England (m. Catherine of France) 2. Thomas, Duke of Clarence (m. Margaret de Holland) 3. John, Duke of Bedford (m. Anne of Burgundy) 4. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, K.G. 5. Blanche (m. Louis, Duke of Bavaria) 6. Philippa (m. Eric, King of Denmark) Married: (2) 3 April 1402 (by proxy) at Eltham Palace, Kent, Joan (c1370-1437), dau. of Charles II, King of Navarre, and widow of John de Montfort, Duke of Brittany: no children. Died: Westminster Abbey, 20 March 1413, aged 45. Buried: Canterbury Cathedral. Henry Bolingbroke was the first king of the House of Lancaster, but he was still a Plantagenet. Both he and Richard II, whose throne he usurped, were grandsons of Edward III. Henry's father was John of Gaunt, who had been the premier lord in England after the death of Edward III in 1377. Henry had been born at Bolingbroke Castle and was often called Henry Bolingbroke. His mother (whom he scarcely knew, as she died of the Black Death when he was three) was Blanche, the daughter of Henry, duke of Lancaster, and great-great-grandaughter of Henry III. Bolingbroke was initially induced by his uncle, Thomas, duke of Gloucester, to oppose Richard's court favourites and he became one of the Lords Appellant, who effectively governed the country during the late 1380s. However he stepped down from this role a year later in 1389 and in subsequent years appeared as a supporter of the king. In 1390 Henry embarked on the first of his adventures, joining the Teutonic Knights on an expedition to Lithuania in the war over the Polish succession. Two years later Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, though his greater triumph was the grand journey he took through the courts of Europe on both the outward and return trips, where he was treated regally and evidently held in high esteem. At this time of his life Henry was still comparatively handsome, although he was rather short. He had inherited the Plantagenet red hair which, when he grew a beard, gave him a rather fiery appearance. In later life Henry developed a very severe form of eczema, to the extent that many believed he was suffering from leprosy, something he could have caught in his early travels. It is quite possible that the malady was stress-connected considering the difficult life Henry later led as king. Henry was a good man for the king to have on his side, but Richard II did not seem to appreciate this. In 1398 Richard delighted in banishing Henry into exile on the grounds of past treasonable acts. The banishment was originally for ten years. In February 1399 Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Lancaster. King Richard chose to deprive Henry of his estates and extend the sentence to life. Henry invaded England in July and within six weeks Richard submitted to him. Henry succeeded in convincing Parliament of his eligibility to the throne (Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, had a prior claim, but he was only seven years old). Nevertheless it was an uneasy succession. For all that nearly everyone welcomed Henry over Richard, those who had supported Richard became concerned for their own lives and estates. Within months of his succession Henry found his life threatened in a rebellion organized by the earls of Kent, Salisbury and Huntingdon. Henry's retribution upon the earls and their supporters was swift and violent. It is likely that in its aftermath Henry also ordered the murder of the king who was starved to death, though the guilt of this continued to haunt Henry for the rest of his life. Within a few months Henry faced a further revolt, this time in Wales, where Owain Glyn Dwr was declared prince in September 1400. Although the initial revolt was swiftly put down by Henry, Owain was not caught and several years of guerilla warfare followed. Support for Owain grew, not only amongst the Welsh, but amongst the English barons who had their own axes to grind. Key amongst these were the marcher lords, the Mortimers, who believed that their heir, Edmund, was the rightful king of England. This heir's uncle, also called Edmund, was won over to the Welsh cause and married Glyn Dwr's daughter. Owain also found support from Henry Percy, the son of the earl of Northumberland. Young Percy, better known as Hotspur, was a vain and intolerant individual who never believed he had received just recognition for his border successes against the Scots. Moreover his wife was Mortimer's sister. In 1403 Hotspur threw in his lot with Glyn Dwr and Mortimer. Henry reacted quickly, before Hotspur and Mortimer could combine forces, and confronted Hotspur at the battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403. Hotspur was killed and his uncle, the earl of Worcester, was captured and executed. Hotspur's father, Henry, earl of Northumberland, was spared, but he continued to plot against the king. By 1405 it became evident that Mortimer and Percy were planning to overthrow Henry and share England between them. Both Thomas Mowbray, the Earl Marshal of England, and Richard Scrope, archbishop of York, became involved in the plot. The rebel army was defeated and this time Henry showed no mercy, though there was a great outcry when the archbishop was executed. Although the earl of Northumberland escaped to Scotland, he died in February 1408. Soon after Edmund Mortimer died during the siege of Harlech and the Welsh rebellion faded away. At last by 1408 Henry felt reasonably safe. Two years earlier he had taken James I of Scotland captive when the young heir to the throne was being sent to France for safety. James remained at the court of the English king for the next seventeen years and, with him as hostage, England's relationship with Scotland remained stable. More over threats from France diminished as the French became riven by its own civil war. Unfortunately for Henry his physical constitution gave way and for several years, between 1406 and 1409, there were concerns for his life. In addition to the stress of keeping his throne amid widespread opposition, Henry had struggled to sustain the administration and finance of England. Henry placed considerable demands upon his treasury, and Parliament often argued against him. Henry remained moderate throughout, careful to avoid a confrontation that might cost him his throne. He relied increasingly on his council to help him run his government. However, it became evident that his illness was taking its toll and that Henry was finding it difficult to govern. By 1409 his son, Prince Henry, was made chancellor in place of the king's favoured Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Arundel returned in 1411 amidst a quarrel between the King and his council, in which it seems it had been proposed that Henry abdicate in favour of his son. Henry refused. Rumours abounded that Prince Henry was going to take the throne by force, but that never happened. He had little time to wait. Henry's strange wasting disease took his life in March 1413, two weeks before his forty-sixth birthday. The valiant knight of twenty years earlier had been worn out by the stress of government and ill health. Nevertheless he had established a united kingdom, and passed on the throne to his son, Henry V, who would become one of England's best-known kings. Henry had desired that he be buried at Canterbury Cathedral rather than Westminster Abbey. There is a story that while a ship bore his coffin down the Thames a storm erupted and the king's body was washed overboard. The sailors later substituted another body. When Henry's tomb at Canterbury was opened in 1832, the simplicity of the remains suggested that the story may have been true. Son: Humphrey Plantagenet Earl of Gloucester born 1391 Glouchester, England.

Humphrey Plantagenet Eleanor Cobham Humphrey Plantagenet Duke of Gloucester born 1390 Glouchester, England. Eleanor Cobham born Sterborough Castle,Kent,England. Daughter Antigone Plantagenet born 1428 Gouchester, England. Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, b. September 1390; d. February 23, 1446/47, Bury St. Edmunds; m. (1)Countess Jacqueline of Holland, 1422; m. (2)Eleanor De Cobham, Bef. 1431; d. July 7, 1452, Beaumaris Castle. 1391–1447, English nobleman; youngest son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun. He was well educated and had a great interest in humanist scholarship. After the accession of his eldest brother as Henry V, Humphrey was created (1414) duke of Gloucester and earl of Cambridge. He served in Henry’s French campaigns and was wounded at the battle of Agincourt (1415). In 1420–21 he remained in England as regent during Henry’s absence. When Henry was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI ,Gloucester claimed the regency. However, the 1422 Parliament disregarded this claim, which was based on Henry V’s will, and made Gloucester’s older brother, John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford , protector of the realm. Since Bedford was occupied in France, Gloucester was given the title of protector during his absences, but he had to share his authority with a council of magnates. !!!!! Gloucester’s ensuing struggle for power against his uncle, Henry Beaufort , forced Bedford to return from France several times to reconcile them. Gloucester married (c.1422) Jacqueline of Hainaut but abandoned (1425) her after their disastrous military expedition to Hainaut. A papal decree of 1428 invalidated that marriage and permitted him to marry his mistress, Eleanor Cobham, but he was severely criticized. Henry was crowned king of England in 1429 and king of France in 1431, and Beaufort’s ascendancy henceforth increased. After the death of Bedford in 1435, Gloucester became heir presumptive, but his influence with the young king waned as he advocated continuing the unsuccessful war in France. When Eleanor, Gloucester’s wife, was imprisoned in 1441 for sorcery against the king, Gloucester’s political importance was practically ended. In 1447, William de la Pole, 4th earl of Suffolk (see under Pole, family), who had succeeded Beaufort as the king’s chief adviser, had Gloucester arrested for treason. The duke fell sick and died in custody. He was known as “Good Duke Humphrey,” probably because of his patronage of scholars and men of letters. He corresponded with the leaders of the new Italian humanism, had translations made from the Greek classics, and collected a considerable library. His gift of books to Oxford Univ. formed the nucleus later restored and developed by Sir Thomas Bodley into the Bodleian Library. However, in matters of state he lacked determination, flitting from one project to another and following through with none. Unable to appear decisive, he thus antagonized all by his assertions of power. Humphrey, the youngest son of King Henry IV, was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother King Henry V, who honoured him for his bravery at Agincourt. His ! imprudent marriage in 1422 to Jaqueline of Bavaria cast doubts on his loyalty but this was never believed at St Albans Abbey, Humphrey’s favourite place of worship. Appointed ‘Protector of the Kingdom by the King, he enforced his wife’s property claims abroad and then lost interest in her. The marriage was annulled and he married Eleanor Cobham, an enigmatic beauty with some of the dubious qualities of Lady Macbeth.  A fine scholar but a poor statesman, Humphrey quarrelled incessantly with Bishop Beaufort, a pillar of the Lancastrian establishment. His fruitless attempt to pre-vent the young King Henry VI from marrying Margaret of Anjou was seen by some to be merely selfish, as Humphrey was then heir to the throne. He rightly feared the cunning French princess, and this was not forgotten by the common people. But his power was diminished in 144 I by grave domestic troubles when his wife was ‘discovered to be engaging in black magic’ and imprisoned for life, and although Humphrey was not implicated, the scandal dealt a death blow to his political career. In 1447 he was summoned by the King to attend a parliament at Bury St Edmunds, where he suddenly died. His corpse was taken to St Albans to be laid in a vault installed by his friend Abbot John of Wheathampstead. There was much talk that his convenient death had been contrived, but no legal accusation was made. (Right) Gloucester Cathedral Humphrey was a handsome man of great and restless energy, hot tempered and impulsive, yet at the same time a man who was much loved and admired by his close friends and the common people, who called him "The Good Duke Humphrey". This title was not given for moral virtues but for his generosity to scholars. It is fortunate that the only royal monument in the Abbey commemorates this complex and interesting man.

Sir Henry Grey Antigone Plantagenet Sir Henry Grey Knt., Earl of Tancarville in Normandy, was born about 1418 (aged one and a half and more at his father's death). He was married after 3 Jan. 1434/5 to Antigone of Gloucester, base-born daughter of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (son of King Henry IV and Mary de Bohun/brother to Henry V) born October 3, 1390 and died February23, 1446/47 in Bury St. Edmund/Regent of England 1420-21 Antigone was born before 1428. Sir Henry Grey died on 13 Jan. 1449/50. Antigone was married for the second time to Jean D'Amancier , Seigneur d'Amancier. Sir Henry Grey (DeGrey) of Kettering, Norfolk, son of John De Gray and Joan Charlton. John DeGrey son of Sir Thomas Grey (d 1402) of Heaton, Northumberland and Jane Mowbray, daughter of John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Other siblings of Sir Henry Grey: Sir John De Grey, Lord of Powys and Earl of Tankerville who married Joan Charlton daughter and Heiress of Ed Charlton, Sir Thomas Grey married Alice Neville. He was beheaded (See Shakespeare Henry V) Grey the Bishop of London, Maud who married Sir Robert Ogle The Grey family Goswould Hall, Thrandeston Suffolk were descended from Walter De Bowyer, a Norman Knight who was granted the land from William the Conqueror. Tombstones of descendants may be found in Thrandeston Church yard.on the North side of the church at the chancel end. The earliest of these, with several dates from 1697, 1706, etc. have now disappeared Sir Henry Grey (Earl of Tankerville) Knight of Berwick and Chillingham born Glouchester, England. Antigone Plantagenet born 1428 Glouchester, England. Daughter Elizabeth Grey born Glouchester, England.

Sir Roger Kynaston Elizabeth Grey Sir Roger Kynaston born England. Lineally descended from Bleddyn ap Cynfn, King of Powys, by inheritance and of North Wales and Soouth Wales. Elizabeth Grey born Tankerville, England. Married Sir Roger Kynaston 1465. Daughter Margaret Kynaston born about 1480 England. Sir Roger Kynaston (married Elizabeth Grey) was the guardian of the Grey estates. Contemporary and Correspondent of Henry VIII There’s a letter somewhere from Henry VIII to Kynaston – asking Kynaston for his aide in one of Henry’s campaigns) Henry was a voluminous writer, evidently, not only to his several wives but also to others. Roger Kynaston, Knight., of Middle, Co. Salop, Constable of Harlech Castle, Sheriff of Shropshire, son of Gruffudd ap John Kynaston, of Stokes, Co. Salop, by Margred Ferch John Hord, of Walford, Co. Salop. He was born about 1430, and had been married previously to another Elizabeth, widow of "Richard Lord Strange of Knockin" (died 1450), and daughter of "Lord Cobham, of Sterborough", and had one son Thomas. His first wife died in 1453. Roger and Elizabeth Grey had two sons and six daughters. Sir Roger Kynaston died in 1495/6 Elizabeth Grey, was born about 1440. She had at least two brothers: Richard and Humphrey. (Richard was born at Pontesbury on 5 Nov. 1436 In 1455 Richard was summoned to Parliament, from which time he can be considered 1st Lord Grey of Powis (as a peerage title). Richard's wife Margaret was a daughter of the Eleanor Holand. The "Lord of Powys" business was a feudal, territorial Lordship and not a Peerage title. Same with the *comte* de Tancarville (which is in Normandy).) Elizabeth was married for the first time to ________ ________. She was married for the second time in 1465 to Roger Kynaston, Knt., of Middle, co. Salop, Constable of Harlech Castle, Sheriff of Shropshire, son of Gruffudd ap John Kynaston, of Stokes, co. Salop, by Margred ferch John Hord, of Walford, co. Salop. He was born about 1430, and had been married previously to another Elizabeth, widow of "Richard Lord Strange of Knockin" (died 1450), and daughter of "Lord Cobham, of Sterborough", and had one son Thomas. His first wife died in 1453. Roger and Elizabeth had two sons and six daughters. Sir Roger Kynaston died in 1495/6. His widow died in Shropshire after 1501.

Sir Richard Hanmer Margaret Kynaston Sir Richard Hanmer born Hanmer, Flint, Wales, England. Margaret Kynaston born England. Daughter Ermine Hanmer born about 1480 England.

Sir Edward Puleston (Knight of Emral) Ermine Hanmer Sir Edward Puleston born about 1480 Emra, England. Ermine Hanmer born about 1480 England. Son Roger Puleston born about 1505 England. Hon Sir Edward Puleston (Knight of Emral) who married Ermine Hanmer, daughter of Richard Hanmer Esq and Margaret Kynaston, daughter of Hon Sir Roger Kynaston. The son of Sir Edward Puleston and Lady Puleston was Roger Puleston of Emral. He married Anna Grosvenor, daughter of Richard Grosvenor, Eaton, Co Chester. The latter is the ancestor of the present Marquess and Duke of Westminster and of the Hon Earl Grosvenor.

Roger Puleston Anna Grosvenor Roger Puleston born about 1505 England. Anna Grosvenor born about 1505 England. She was the daughter of Richard Grosvenor, Eaton, Co Chester. Son Richard Puleston born about 1525 England.

Richard Puleston Alice Lewis Richard Puleston born about 1525 England. Alice Lewis born about 1525 England. Son Sir. John Puleston born about 1545 Bersham, England.

Sir John Puleston Elizabeth Woolrich Sir John Puleston born about 1545 Bersham, England. Sir John Puleston ,Kent, of Bersham Constable of the Castle of Carnarvon. Knight of Emral, Justice of Court of Common Pleas. Elizabeth Woolrich born about 1540 Salop, England. Daughter Margaret Puleston born about 1565 Newport, Monmouth, England.

William Lewis Margaret Puleston William Lewis born about 1560 Newport, Monmouth, England. Margaret Puleston born about 1565 Newport, Monmouth, England. Son John Lewis, born 1594 Monmouthshire, England. "William Lewis, Esq., Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of Anglesey and member of Parliament. He married first Margaret daughter of Sir John Puleston, Knight of Bersham, Constable of Carnaravon, Wales. Children by this first wife were 1. Hugh Lewis of Presafed, who married Margaret, daughter of William Wynne ap John ap Rees. 2. Richard Lewis, M. A. (Oxford University?) 3. John Lewis, of whom below and eight daughters. Secondly, and after her death, he married Ellen, sister of John ap Edward, High Sheriff of Anglesey in 1613 and who, on her husbands's death married Harry Mostyn, Esq. of Calcote, County Flint. By this second marriage, there were William Lewis and Robert Lewis, Burke's Dictionary, 1857, 18t

John Lewis Liddea Warner John Lewis, born 1595 Monmouthshire, England. Liddea Warner born 1605 Monmouthshire, England. Son Edward Lewis, born Abt. 1636 Monmouthshire, England. John Lewis, (William2 Lewis, Hugh1 Lewis) born Abt. 1595 in Wales; died 21 Aug, 1657 in VA. . He was the son of William Lewis and Margaret Puleston. He married Lydia.abt 1630 in Wales Lydia, born Abt. 1605. Came to America between 1640 and 1657.

Edward Lewis Mary Morgan Edward Lewis, born Abt. 1642 Monmouthshire,England. Mary Morgan, born Abt 1638 Monmouthshire, England. Daughter Elizabeth Lewis, born 3 Mar 1673 North Farnham, Rappahannock,Virginia. Edward Lewis b. ca 1642, d. before June 1, 1698 when admin. of his estate was granted in Richmond Co (formed from Old Rappahannock Co.), VA. His wife was named Mary. He seems to possibly be the Edward Lewis who sailed in Aug.1635, on the "Globe of London", listed as age 21.(p.39.vol.V).

Simon Taylor Elizabeth Lewis  Simon Taylor, born 17 Jul 1668 North Farnham,Rappahannock,Virginia. Elizabeth Lewis, born 3 Mar 1673 North Farnham, Rappahannock,Virginia. Daughter Sarah Ann Taylor, born 28 Sep 1692 North Farnham, Rappahannock Co.,Va. Elizabeth was born on 8 Mar 1674 in Farnham Parish, Rappahannock, Virginia, christened on 8 Mar 1674 in Farnham Parish, Rappahannock, Virginia, and died on 7 Oct 1727 in Farnham, Richmond, Virginia, at age 53. She was married to Simon Taylor in 1691 in North Farnhan,Old Rappahannock, VA,. Children of Elizabeth Lewis and Simon Taylor: Sarah Ann Taylor b. September 28, 1692, North Farnham Parish, Richmond Co., VA; d.October 07, 1777, Richmond Co., VA, Richard Taylor, b. Abt. 1695, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock, VA; d. January 23,1716, Richmond Co., VA, Simon Taylor, b. 1699, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock, VA; d. February 02, 1718, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock, VA, John Taylor, b. 1703, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock Co., VA; d. February 28, 1740,North Farnham, Richmond Co., VA, William Taylor, b. 1708, Richmond Co., VA; d. Richmond Co., VA, Septimus Taylor, b. 1710, Richmond Co., VA; d. Bef. August 1764, Richmond Co., VA, Thomas Taylor, b. 1714, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock, VA; d. January 09, 1730, Richmond Co., VA, George Taylor, b. 1720, North Farnham, Old Rappahannock, VA; d. October 25, 1749,Richmond Co., VA. Simon Taylor(1) was born in 1670.He died on 28 Aug 1738. Simon Taylor was born in 1669 in Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, died on 10 Jan 1729 in Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, at age 60, and was buried on 11 Jan 1729. Simon Taylor: In will/of Simon Taylor Richmond Parish of North Farnham dated 18 Aug 1728 Richmond Co., VA he mentions his sons:John, George, Wm, Thomas, Septimus, dt Sarah Jasper, g/dt Elizabeth Jasper---per will bk5 pg 126-127, photostat C8277 VA Lib - a copy of this has even more. This abstract is from "Southern Taylor Families" by Casey Parents: Richard Taylor and Sarah Taylor. Richard Taylor was born about 1621 in Old Rappahannock, Virginia and died in 1679 in Farnham, Rappahannock, Virginia, about age 58. Richard married Sarah Cornett in 1661. Sarah was born about 1645 in Virginia and died in Farnham, Rappahannock, Virginia. Sarah Taylor was born on 28 Sep 1692. Parents: Simon Taylor and Elizabeth Lewis. One of Sarah’s brothers is John Taylor was born in 1703 in Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia and died on 28 Feb 1740 in Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, at age 37

Thomas Jasper  Sarah Ann Taylor (2nd wife) Thomas Jasper, the son of Richard and Sarah Jasper, was born 2 Oct 1689 in Richmond, Virginia and died there in 1748. His will is found in Will Book 5, page 562 in Richmond County, Virginia dated 1 Jan 1747. He married 1. Ann Lewis abt 1700 in VA; 2. Sarah Ann Taylor, abt 1711 in VA; and 3. Elizabeth Hammond, abt 1734. The children of Thomas and Ann Lewis Jasper are: Thomas Jasper, b. 1705, Mary Jasper, b. 1707 , The children of Thomas and Sarah Taylor Jasper are: Elizabeth Jasper, b. 22 May 1712, Ann Jasper, b. 5 Dec 1714, Richard Taylor Jasper, b. 21 Apr 1717, Simon Jasper, b. 13 Jan 1719/20, Jasper, John Abraham (also known as Andrew?) Sex: Male born: 1722 in Augusta, County, Virginia died: October 1799 in Union County, South Carolina. Sarah Jasper, b. 21 Feb 1723 The children of Thomas and Elizabeth Hammond Jasper are: Thomas Jasper, b. 14 Apr 1735, William Jasper, b. 16 Sep 1737, Daniel Jasper, b. 30 Oct 1739, Ann Jasper, b. 14 Dec 1742, Betty Jasper, b. 3 Nov 1745

John Andrew (also listed as Abraham) Jasper  Mary Herndon John Andrew Jasper, the son of Thomas and Sarah Taylor Jasper, was born about 1722 in Augusta County, Virginia and died in October of 1799 in Union County, South Carolina. He married Mary Herndon about 1743 in Virginia. Their children are: Nicholas Jasper, b. abt 1744, John Jasper, b. abt 1746, Mary E. Jasper, b. abt 1748, Rachel Jasper, b. abt 1754, Elizabeth Jasper, b. abt 1755, William Jasper, b. abt 1757, Hannah Jasper, b. abt 1759, Nancy Jasper, b. abt 1763, Charity Jasper, b. 1 Feb 1765, Abraham Jasper, b. abt 1766, Lydda Jasper, b. abt 1769. Mary Herndon, born Union County, South Carolina, The Old Herndon Mansion was apparently still standing near Union County in the early 1900's. Children were born in Union County, S. C. and Amelia Co., Va. In Herndon genealogy notes is a reference to Sir William Herndon of the Crusades: Sir William Herndon, The Crusader, lived in Kent County, south of London, Cradle of Herndons. Lived there during the reign of Edward III. His land still bears the name of Herndon Hall and is celebrated in England. In 1673 to 1674 William Herndon bought large tracts of land in New Kent County, Virginia.

Nicholas Jasper  Elizabeth Wyatt Nicholas Jasper was born on 7 Jun 1752 in Georgetown SC. Elizabeth Wyatt (first wife). Nicholas was a patriot and served under General Marion and General William Richardson Davie in North Carolina and South Carolina. After the close of the Revolutionary War he settled in Pulaski County Kentucky, where he reared a large family of as brave and patriotic sons as were ever born to a Revolutionary Patriot. It is generally acknowledge he was very instrumental person in the founding of Pulaski County, Kentucky. After serving as a soldier, senior justice and sheriff of Pulaski County, he died on 14 May 1827 at the home of his son Thomas, at Fishing Creek and was buried in the family plot in the Sinking Creek Church graveyard. He was one of the noble pioneers of Kentucky. Children of Nicholas Jasper and Eliz Wyatt: Jasper, John Sex: Male born: February 05, 1768 in South Carolina died April 11, 1849 in Pulaski County, Kentucky (Buried in Sinking Creek Cemetery). Jasper, Elizabeth Sex: Female born: in South Carolina died March 07, 1816 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Jasper, Mary Sex: Female born April 02, 1777 in Pulaski County, Kentucky died September 24, 1838 in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky. Jasper, Achilles Sex: Male born 1779. Jasper, Thomas Sex: Male born: 1780 died July 1838. Jasper, Sarah Sex: Female born 1782. Jasper, Rachel Sex: Female born 1785 died August 09, 1810. Jasper, Nicholas, Jr. Sex: Male born Abt. 1786. Jasper, Abraham Sex: Male born February 06, 1789 in Union County, South Carolina died 1860 in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky married Elizabeth Baker. Jasper, Andrew Sex: Male born 1774 in Virginia died abt. 1858 in KeKalb County, Missouri. His brother was the Revolutionary war hero Sergeant William Jasper. His son Thomas Jasper represented Pulaski County in the Kentucky Legislature of 1833,34,34.

John Abraham Jasper Elizabeth Baker Abraham Jasper was born circa 1789 in South Carolina. Abraham married Elizabeth "Betsy" Baker on 19 Sep 1808 in Pulaski Co KY. Elizabeth was born in 1792 in Kentucky and died after 1860 in Pulaski Co KY. Children of Abraham Jasper & Elizabeth Baker. Ann Jasper, Andrew Jasper, Thomas Jasper, John Jasper, William Jasper, Gideon Jasper, Nancy Jasper, Mary "Polly"Jasper, Merrill Jasper, Terrell Jasper, Nicholas Jasper, Jacob Jasper, Elizabeth Jasper.

William Jasper  Nancy Ida Ford Hinds William Jasper and Nancy Ida Ford Hinds daughter of John Ford?(born before 1784/KY) Nancy was born Nov 17, 1815, KY and died Feb 2, 1894/probably, KY buried Jasper Cemetery, Pulaski Co., KY She married William Jasper on Jan 2, 1849 in Pulaski Co, KY. She had at least 5 children (ages 7-16) from previous marriage to Levi Hinds born before 1816 and died before 1849/Texas. James C. Hinds born about 1833/KY, John R. Hinds born about 1834/KY, Gearing Hinds born about 1836/KY, Matthew Hinds born about 1839/KY married Louisa Robinson Jan 28, 1858 in Pulaski Co, KY, Ezekiel Hinds born about 1842/KY. William and Nancy had the following children: Kissiah F. Jasper born May 13, 1850, Mintonville, Pulaski Co., KY died March 16, 1931, Caintown, Pulaski Co., KY buried in Chesterview Cemetery, Pulaski Co., KY. Married Gale E. Weddle on April 3, 1867 in Pulaski Co, KY at home of her father, William Jasper. She had many Weddle children. Thomas P. Jasper married Priscilla Malvina Huffaker on March 15/16, 1871. Thomas P. was born 1/7/1853 and died 7/6/1924 and is buried at Jasper cemetery in Pulaski County. Priscilla was born 6/1/1855 and died 4/16/1898 and is buried at Morgan cemetery in Pulaski County. After Priscilla Malvina died in 1898, Thomas P. married Elizabeth Dye 7/16/1902 and she is buried with him at Jasper cemetery in Pulaski County.

Thomas P. Jasper  Priscilla Malvina Huffaker's Thomas P. Jasper married Priscilla Malvina Huffaker on March 15/16, 1871. Thomas P. was born 1/7/1853 and died 7/6/1924 and is buried at Jasper cemetery in Pulaski County. Priscilla was born 6/1/1855 and died 4/16/1898 and is buried at Morgan cemetery in Pulaski County. The 1864-1886 Pulaski County Marriage book has listed: Thomas P. Jasper (18) and Priscilla Malvina Huffaker (16) 3/15/1871 first marriage for both at the home of Wm. Wilson. Their daughter, Elizabeth Katherine Jasper born1876 married William Marion Vaught was the daughter of Thomas P.Jasper and Priscilla Malvina Huffaker. The Vaught line continues here&ldots;

William Marion Vaught Elizabeth (Betty) Jasper  William Marion Vaught was born 1/27/1867 died 1/31/1960 buried in Shady Grove Cemetery. Married Elizabeth K. Jasper born 6/1/1875 and died 2/16/1960. They were married 3/8/1896 in Pulaski County. She was his second wife, he was married first to Hulda (or Hilda) E. Dick on 9/12/1886. We believe she died young, perhaps in childbirth as they had a daughter Louisa B. Vaught who was born Jan 1889. The children as we have them for William & Elizabeth are as follows: Martha A. Vaught born 12/18/1896 died 4/18/1964, James D. or P. Vaught born. 2/13/1898 died 4/15/1956, Bonnie F. Vaught born Apr,1899 married Walter Trusty grandmother of Daniel, Maureen, Thomas, Patricia, Margaret. Killas E. Vaught born. 6/28/1901 died 1/3/1956, Sallie B. Vaught born 6/8/1902 died 8/21/1972, John G. Vaught born 11/29/1903 died 8/7/1971, William Chester Vaught born 5/1/1905 died 8/21/1972, Charles V. Vaught born 10/9/1908 died 9/5/1924, Cyres Thomas Vaught born 12/27/1911 died 12/13/1997, Zella M. Vaught born 11/27/1915 (still alive) Jarvis Vaught born 4/18/1918 died. 11/9/1993.

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, OH/ November 30, 1908 died September 13, 1975. Marguerite Jean born May 26, 1918/Cincinnati, OH died January 17, 2000 pancreatic cancer.