Henry II

Anarchy in the Waste Land

Following the death of Henry I, England was plunged into a civil war that reduced the country to a charred ruin. With the barons split between rival claimants, the people suffered.

Was Thomas Becket a Saint or an Arrogant Troublemaker?

We ask four historians to consider the reputation of Henry II’s Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered 850 years ago this month.

The martyrdom of St Thomas Becket appears in a fourteenth-century stained glass interpretation, which is known as the Becket Window, in Christ Church, Oxford.

The Trouble with Thomas: The Controversies of St Thomas Becket

Becket continues to be an enduring figure of controversy in the public eye. Why was he considered a saint in the first place?

King Edward’s Vineyard: Aquitaine under the Plantagenet Crown

Anthony Dent describes how this rich French province remained a royal English vineyard for a good three centuries.

Gerald of Wales, Part II: 1188-1223

J.J.N. McGurk describes how Gerald’s later years were filled with his excellent books on Wales and his unsuccessful struggle for a bishopric.

Gerald of Wales, Part I: Early Life and Works

The son of a Norman Marcher lord and a Welsh princess, J.J.N. McGurk writes, ‘Giraldus Cambrensis’ was a brilliant recorder of British life in the twelfth century.

Thomas Becket, the Holy Blissful Martyr

Arthur Bryant relates how Becket’s death, at the hands of Henry II's servants, made this once worldly prelate a popular religious hero.

The Story of England: The King and the Archbishop

In the twelfth-century conflict between Church and State, Henry II found his most determined opponent in his formerly devoted servant, Thomas Becket, as Arthur Bryant continues his Story of England series.

The Legacy of Henry Plantagenet

Nicholas Vincent celebrates the founder of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henry of Anjou

Richard Cavendish marks the anniversary of a royal marriage, on May 18th, 1152.

Henry II (r. 1154-89)

The first Angevin monarch, he controlled extensive territories in France, and his empire became the foremost political power of western Europe. Henry ruled by itinerant government, displaying great military and administrative skills. He began the conquest of Ireland and consolidated royal power in England after Stephen's reign. His program of legal and administrative reforms included clarification of common law, establishing the Exchequer and developing an efficient civil service. He clashed with Thomas Becket in his unsuccessful attempt to impose the authority of royal courts over ecclesiastical ones (as he had done with feudal courts).