Rating the Monarchs of Britain: Now Disc. George III

Back to WtC for a moment, the feudal system he implemented to keep the nobles in line (essentially a giant tree with him at the top and people below having to pay rents to the next level up) still has a profound effect on Property Law in the US.

 

Oh, the Norman Conquest had very long-lasting effects. We come to another such turning-point under Henry VIII.

 

Next: Henry I 'Beauclerc'

Description: None

Born: 1068 at Selby in Yorkshire (he was thus born in England, unlike his brothers). Named for his uncle, Henry I, King of France. As a younger son, he was destined for a bishropic, and received a better education than normal. The notion of a religious life was abandoned, perhaps because of his overactive libido.

Death: 1135

Ruled: 1100-1135

Father: William I 'the Conquerer'

Mother: Matilda of Flanders

Wife: (1) Matilda of Scotland (daughter of Malcolm Canmore of Scotland and St. Margaret, a great-granddaughter of Ethelred the Unready.

Children: 2 sons, 2 daughters

Wife: (2) Adeliza of Louvain

Children: None

Henry's Illegitimate Children: 25 by numerous different women

Successors: his daughter, the Empress Matilda/his nephew, Stephen of Blois

Sources: The Roman de Rou

Reputation: Tough and ruthless, but extremely competent

The Situation: When William II was 'accidently' killed in a hunting accident in New Forest, Henry, who was in the hunting party, hied back to London in record time, presented himself to the Witan as William's successor. He pointed out that he was born in England to a King of England, and invited them to appoint him King. He also seized the Treasury. The Witan saw the point, especially as they knew Robert was an idiot, and away on a Crusade besides. Henry was proclaimed King.

Robert arrived home to discover Henry established on the throne of England. "In the following year, 1101, Robert Curthose, Henry's eldest brother, attempted to seize the crown by invading England. In the Treaty of Alton, Robert agreed to recognise his brother Henry as King of England and return peacefully to Normandy, upon receipt of an annual sum of 2000 silver marks, which Henry proceeded to pay." Now this *proves* Robert was an idiot. Henry was not a man for half the loaf if he could have it all, and Robert should have known better. Robert was also incompetent as an administrator (and as a general, if not as a field commander) and Normandy was crime-ridden; its barons then appealed to Henry.

"On the morning of 28 September 1106, exactly 40 years after William had made his way to England, the decisive battle between his two surviving sons, Robert Curthose and Henry Beauclerc, took place in the small village of Tinchebray. This combat was totally unexpected and unprepared. Henry and his army were marching south from Barfleur on their way to Domfront and Robert was marching with his army from Falaise on their way to Mortain. They met at the crossroads at Tinchebray and the running battle which ensued was spread out over several kilometres. The site where most of the fighting took place is the village playing field today. Towards evening Robert tried to retreat but was captured by Henry's men at a place three kilometres (just under two miles) north of Tinchebray where a farm named "Prise" (taken) stands today on the D22 road. The tombstones of three knights are nearby on the same road." Robert was imprisoned for the rest of his life (he died at 84). Henry was content to rule Normandy; he never styled himself as Duke.

Achievements & Legacy: "Henry's reign is noted for its political opportunism. His succession was confirmed while his brother Robert was away on the First Crusade and the beginning of his reign was occupied by wars with Robert for control of England and Normandy. He successfully reunited the two realms again after their separation on his father's death in 1087. Upon his succession he granted the baronage a Charter of Liberties, which formed a basis for subsequent challenges to rights of kings and presaged Magna Carta, which subjected the King to law.

The rest of Henry's reign was filled with judicial and financial reforms. He established the biannual Exchequer to reform the treasury. He used itinerant officials to curb abuses of power at the local and regional level, garnering the praise of the people. The differences between the English and Norman populations began to break

 

Europe is in the thick of the high middle ages during Henry I's reign. We're in a warm climate period with the population rapidly expanding, agricultural and other technological innovations, as well as the foundation and rise of city-states like the republic of Genoa. Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, German king, and the last monarch of the Salian dynasty dies during Henry I's reign in 1125. The kingdom of Jerusalem was established the year before Henry I's coronation after the first crusade. Tripoli, the last of the crusader states, was founded in 1109.

 

Both the Crusades and the Holy Roman Emperor affect Henry's reign, as we've seen and shall see.

 

Next: Stephen I

Description: None

Born: 1096/7 at Blois, France

Death: 1154

Ruled: 1135-1154

Father: Stephen of Blois

Mother: Adela of England, dau. of William the Conquerer and Matilda of Flanders

Wife: Matilda of Boulogne (daughter of Mary, sister of St. Margaret, a great-granddaughter of Ethelred the Unready.)

Children: 3 sons, 2 daughters

Stephen's illegitimate Children: 5 by 3 different women

Successors: his cousin, Matilda in 1141; and her son, Henry of Anjou in 1154

Sources: The Peterborough Chronicle

The Situation: When Henry died, there were four claimants to the throne: his legitimate daughter, the Empress Matilda (favoured by Henry I); his eldest illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester; his nephew, Theobald of Blois, and Theobald's younger brother, Stephen of Blois.
Stephen had sworn to support the Empress to Henry; he promptly went back on it upon Henry's death. Of course, Henry would have done the same damn thing. Eventually, with the support of the Pope, Stephen was chosen.

His Reign: "By 1139, Stephen had lost a lot of support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of Empress Matilda at several locations including the Battle of Beverston Castle and the Battle of Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln where Stephen faced the powerful Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (the Empress' illegitimate half-brother) and Ranulph, Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers, Stephen fought bravely but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and brought before his cousin Matilda. He was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people from London and the barons. Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her half-brother the Earl of Gloucester, she was obliged to trade Stephen for him, and Stephen was restored to the throne in November the same year."

Achievements & Legacy: "An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent reign:-

"In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept".

The monastic author said, of The Anarchy, "this and more we suffered nineteen winters for our sins."

I'm inclined to the latter portrait; and two stories illustrate Stephen's essential good-nature. In one story, he had taken a small boy hostage for his father's good behaviour. He was besieged by the child's father, and threatened to hang the child from the battlements. The child's father said go ahead, he could get other sons. Stephen simply could not do it. [the child grew up to be William Marshall, and would return the favour to the monarchy in spades]. Then in 1147, the future Henry II invaded England, and suffered some great reverses. He appealed to his uncle, Robert of Gloucester, who refused to help him. Then he appealed to Stephen, who--typically--did help him, and saw him safely out of the country.

Reputation: A man who did not have the coarse fiber of a successful medieval king.

Irony: All English Kings from Richard II on are descended from Stephen, because Philippa, the Queen of Edward III, was a descendant of Stephen.

Rating: 3/10

 

An important example of the Norman Gothic style in England, Durham Cathedral, was completed by the beginning of Stephen I's reign. On the continent, the west front of the church of St. Denis, the first great example of Gothic architecture in the high middle ages, was completed in 1140. The construction of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris began only 9 years after Stephen I's death.

 

Durham Cathedral: [image=http://www.freefoto.com/images/1008/06/1008_06_5---Durham-Cathedral_web.jpg]

[image=http://www.noelkingsley.com/blog/durham-Cathedral_Inside.jpg]

Very beautiful, as you see. I love Gothic, though French Gothic is best, IMO.

 

Next: The Empress Matilda

Description: None

Born: 1102

Death: 1167

Ruled: February-November, 1141

Father: Henry I

Mother: Matilda of Scotland

Husband: (1) Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

Child: 1 son (died young)

Husband: (2) Geoffrey of Anjou

Children: 3 sons

Successors: her cousin, Stephen of Blois

Sources: the Peterborough Chronicle

The Situation: "On the death of her father, Henry I, in 1135, Matilda expected to succeed to the throne of England, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois, a nephew of Henry I, usurped the throne with the support of most of the barons, breaking the oath he had previously made to defend her rights. The civil war which followed was bitter and prolonged, with neither side gaining the ascendancy for long, but it was not until 1139 that Matilda could command the military strength necessary to challenge Stephen within his own realm. Stephen's wife, the Countess of Boulogne who was also named Matilda, was the Empress's maternal cousin. During the war, Matilda's most loyal and capable supporter was her illegitimate half-brother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester.

Matilda's greatest triumph came in April 1141, when her forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln. He was made a prisoner and effectively deposed.

Her advantage lasted only a few months. When she marched on London, the city was ready to welcome her and support a coronation. However, she refused the citizens' request to have their taxes halved. On 24 June 1141, she found the gates of London shut and the civil war reignited. By November, Stephen was free, having been exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester, and a year later, the tables were turned when Matilda was besieged at Oxford but escaped to Wallingford, supposedly by fleeing across the snow-covered land in a white cape. In 1141 she had escaped Devizes in a similarly clever manner, by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial. In 1148, Matilda and Henry returned to Normandy, following the death of Robert of Gloucester, and the reconquest of that county by her husband. Upon their arrival, Geoffrey turned Normandy over to his son, and retired to his own county of Anjou."

So Matilda did rule Normandy, but not England.

Reputation: Arrogance was her downfall.

Irony: (1)Supposedly she was rejected because she was female, but that's not really the case. London was prepared to accept her, and she had the necessary loyal and able male lieutenant for fighting--her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester. But she wouldn't grant London lower taxes, and so they rejected her. There wasn't another Queen regnant until Mary I in 1453. Historians have said this is because Matilda was a failure, but there have been numerous male kings was were equally idiotic, and that hasn't prevented another male king, so yar boo sucks to *that* explanation.

(2) Because Henry II succeeded to the throne through his mother, the Salic Law was never enacted in England. In fact, it had fallen into disuse in France, when it was revived specifically to bar Joan of Navarre in 1316 and Edward III of England in 1328. As we shall see, this was to cause much trouble.

Rating: Her reign was so short, none is really possible.

 

At the very least, Matilda tees up the Plantagenet dynasty and gives birth to one of the greatest kings of England.

 

Unfortunately, she bequeathed her arrogance to him; but yes, Matilda was a co-founder of the Plantagenet dynasty. She was married to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, when she was 26 and he was 15.

 

Next: Henry II

Description: Several sources record Henry's appearance. They all agree that he was very strong, energetic and surpassed his peers athletically.

...he was strongly built, with a large, leonine head, freckle fiery face and red hair cut short. His eyes were grey and we are told that his voice was harsh and cracked, possibly because of the amount of open-air exercise he took. He would walk or ride until his attendants and courtiers were worn out and his feet and legs were covered with blistered and sores... He would perform all athletic feats.

John Harvey (Modern)

...the lord king has been red-haired so far, except that the coming of old age and grey hair has altered that colour somewhat. His height is medium, so that neither does he appear great among the small, nor yet does he seem small among the great... curved legs, a horseman's shins, broad chest, and a boxer's arms all announce him as a man strong, agile and bold... he never sits, unless riding a horse or eating... In a single day, if necessary, he can run through four or five day-marches and, thus foiling the plots of his enemies, frequently mocks their plots with surprise sudden arrivals... Always are in his hands bow, sword, spear and arrow, unless he be in council or in books.

Peter of Blois (Contemporary)

A man of reddish, freckled complexion, with a large, round head, grey eyes that glowed fiercely and grew bloodshot in anger, a fiery countenance and a harsh, cracked voice. His neck was poked forward slightly from his shoulders, his chest was broad and square, his arms strong and powerful. His body was stocky, with a pronounced tendency toward fatness, due to nature rather than self-indulgence - which he tempered with exercise.

Gerald of Wales (Contemporary)

Born: 1133

Death: 1189

Ruled: 1154-89

Father: Geoffrey of Anjou

Mother: Empress Matilda

Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Children: 5, possibly 6 sons, 3 daughters

Illegitimate children: 15

Successor: His third son, Richard

Sources: Peter of Blois, Gerald of Wales

The Situation: With the death of his son and heir, Eustace, Stephen agreed to make Henry, son of Matilda, his heir, and he kept his promise this time.

Character: "Like his grandfather, Henry I of England, Henry II had an outstanding knowledge of the law. A talented linguist and excellent Latin speaker, he would sit on councils in person whenever possible. His interest in the economy was reflected in his own frugal lifestyle. He dressed casually except when tradition dictated otherwise and ate a sparing diet.[9]

He was modest and mixed with all classes easily. "He does not take upon himself to think high thoughts, his tongue never swells with elated language; he does not magnify himself as more than man."[10] His generosity was well-known and he employed a Templar to distribute one tenth of all the food bought to the royal court amongst his poorest subjects.

Henry also had a good sense of humour and was never upset at being the butt of the joke. Once while he sat sulking and occupying himself with needlework, a courtier suggested that such behavior was to be expected from a descendant of the bastard son of a tanner's daughter (referring to his great-grandparents William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders). The king rocked with laughter and even explained the joke to those who did not immediately grasp it.[11]

"His memory was exceptional: he never failed to recognize a man he had once seen, nor to remember anything which might be of use. More deeply learned than any King of his time in the western world".[9]

In contrast, the king's temper has been written about. His actions against Thomas Becket are evidence of his blinding temper, along with his conflict with William I of Scotland."

Domestic policy: "During Stephen's reign, the barons in England had undermined Royal authority. Rebel castles were one problem, nobles avoiding military service was another. The new King immediately moved against the illegal fortresses that had sprung up during Stephen's reign, having them torn down

 

Excellent summary, and yes a pretty good king all round. The 2 biggest blemishes on his reign would arguably be the falling out with Thomas Becket (and the latter's eventual murder), plus the rebellions led by his own sons (!) towards the end of his reign (Plantagenets don't get along well it seems). His problems with the Papacy would foreshadow those of his son John in future years.

The standout IMHO would be his major improvements in regards to justice and his establishment of the jury system throughout England.

 

Henry's cross-channel campaign to end the revolt was an extraordinary undertaking, combining statesmanship, brute force and even carefully timed public relations (his penance for the death of Becket) in a whirlwind of activity.

Also, I think the Plantagenet dynasty was given a real boost by the deaths of two of Henry II's legitimate sons prior to his own death.

 

In what way?

 

Culling the herd, basically.

 

Oh, I see. But the Wars of the Roses weren't entirely because Edward III had five sons. But we'll get there.

 

Next: Richard I, aka 'the Lionheart' or 'Coeur de Lion"

Description: "He was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond, and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. He was apparently of above average height,[nb 3] but as his remains have been lost since at least the French Revolution, his exact height is unknown."

Born: 1157

Death: 1199

Ruled: 1189-99

Father: Henry II

Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Wife: Beregaria of Navarre

Children: None

Illegitimate children: 2

Successor: His younger brother, John

Sources:

The Situation: "Richard was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was given the duchy of Aquitaine, his mother?s inheritance, at age 11 and was enthroned as duke at Poitiers in 1172. Richard possessed precocious political and military ability, won fame for his knightly prowess, and quickly learned how to control the turbulent aristocracy of Poitou and Gascony. Like all of Henry II?s legitimate sons, he had little or no filial piety, foresight, or sense of responsibility. He joined his brothers in the great rebellion (1173?74) against their father, who invaded Aquitaine twice before Richard submitted and received pardon. Thereafter Richard was occupied with suppressing baronial revolts in his own duchy. His harshness infuriated the Gascons, who revolted in 1183 and called in the help of the ?Young King? Henry and his brother Geoffrey of Brittany in an effort to drive Richard from his duchy altogether. Alarmed at the threatened disintegration of his empire, Henry II brought the feudal host of his continental lands to Richard?s aid, but the younger Henry died suddenly (June 11, 1183) and the uprising collapsed."

"Richard was now heir to England and to Normandy and Anjou (which were regarded as inseparable), and his father wished him to yield Aquitaine to his youngest brother, John. But Richard, a true southerner, would not surrender the duchy in which he had grown up, and even appealed, against Henry II, to the young king of France, Philip II. In November 1188 he did homage to Philip for all the English holdings on French soil and in 1189 openly joined forces with Philip to drive Henry into abject submission. They chased him from Le Mans to Saumur, forced him to acknowledge Richard as his heir, and at last harried him to his death (July 6, 1189)."

Character: "Richard was a thoroughgoing Angevin, irresponsible and hot-tempered, possessed of tremendous energy, and capable of great cruelty. He was more accomplished than most of his family, a soldier of consummate ability, a skillful politician, and capable of inspiring loyal service. He was a lyric poet of considerable power and the hero of troubadours. The evidence that he was a homosexual seems persuasive but has been strongly challenged. Richard had no children by his Queen, with whom his relations seemed merely formal."

Reputation: "His knightly manner and his prowess in the Third Crusade (1189?92) made him a popular king in his own time as well as the hero of countless romantic legends. He has been viewed less kindly by more recent historians and scholars."

On the screen: Played by Ian Hunter in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938); Anthony Hopkins in "The Lion in Winter"; Richard Harris in "Robin and Marian"; and Sean Connery in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991).

Irony: "While he spoke very little English[5] and spent very little time in his Kingdom, preferring to use it as a source of revenue to support his armies,[5] he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects.[6] He remains one of the very few Kings of England remembered by his epithet, not number, and is an enduring, iconic figure in England.[5]"

Stephen Runciaman: "He was a bad son, a bad husband, and a bad king, but a gallant and splendid soldier"

Yes, yes but. He was a splendid soldier, but England didn't benefit from it. A classic example of the popularity of success. Richard appeared to have disdain for England; no glory there; but the English loved him. "Stubbs, on the other hand, thought him ?a bad son, a bad husband, a selfish ruler, an

 

Don't forget:

[image=http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsS/16548-16142.gif]

Jean Luc Picard in Mel Brooks Reuses Old Gags.

 

One of the most well known english kings.

 

'Good' King Richard's PR man must have been a genius - I don't think there's any other monarch who has enjoyed such tremendous popularity but doesn't have the runs on the board (so to speak) to back it up. Walter Scott's Ivanhoe probably didn't hurt matters either.

The end result is that he was monarch for 10 years, of which only 6 months were spent in merry olde England. Kingdom was almost bankrupt by his death thanks to his crusading plus later wars against France, not to mention the massive ransom that had to be paid when Richard was captured by Leopold of Austria.

But hey, he helped lead the Third Crusade and kick Saracen butt, so the Church would definitely have been happy.

 

Yes, Richard's odyssey home from the Battle of Acre in the third crusade was one of the costliest voyages in history.

This little nondescript castle ruin:
[image=http://www.palmettodreamphoto.com/web-content/images/Architectural%20Photos/Austria%20Durnstein%20Castle%20Ruins%201.jpg]
is where Duke Leopold reportedly imprisoned Richard. As a result, Pope Celestine III excommunicated the duke ("duck, I says"), who then handed Richard over to holy roman emperor Henry VI. Henry held Richard in Germany for a few weeks, and collected 150,000 silver marks from the English, a sum large enough to fund Henry's conquest of Sicily, an acquisition which in turn made Henry, by a wide margin, the wealthiest and most powerful European monarch of his era. You go, Richard.

 

[shakes_head] I don't get it. But then, I don't get the historians that thinks Charles II was a good king, either.

Tonight we move on to John. The differences between him and Richard are negligible (mainly that Richard was a good general and John wasn't), but he is the quintessential Bad King of legend, and not for the reason you might think (he had plenty of genuine blots on his copybook.)

 

At least he had some fun during its reign.

 

Next: John I, aka 'Lackland' or 'Softsword"

Description: Short and thickset, with a drooping eyelid.

Born: 1166

Death: 1216

Ruled: 1199-1216

Father: Henry II

Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Wife: (1)Isabella of Gloucester (divorced)(1176-1216)

Children: None

Wife: (2)Isabella of Angouleme (1187-1246)

Children: 2 sons, 3 daughters

Illegitimate children: 15

Successor: His elder son, Henry

The Situation: John did conspire against Richard (and his other older brothers) and his father, but this was par for the course among the Angevins (remember the career of John's great-grandfather, Henry I, which probably included fraticide, and did include imprisonment of his elder brother for life). But it is notable that Richard declared John as his heir, even after this, and not Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's elder brother, Geoffrey.

Achievements: "Needing to supply a war across the English Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy. (The Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours constructed on the south coast at Sandwich, and most importantly, Hastings.) By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, since these achievements are ignored by the chroniclers and early historians."

"King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history: it began with defeats?he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne?and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to sign Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records?the Pipe Rolls. Tudor historiography was particularly interested in him, for his independence from the papacy (or lack of it) - this atmosphere produced not only Shakespeare's own King John but also its model The Troublesome Reign of King John and John Bale's Kynge Johan.

Winston Churchill summarised the legacy of John's reign: "When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[11] Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":

...talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted...His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him?and the energy with which some of them opposed him."

Character: Violent, untrustworthy and lecherous, but he did a helluva lot more for England than did Richard.

Reputation: The Bad King. "For a long time, schoolchildren have been told that King Joh