Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy by Alison Weir Page B
Authors: Alison Weir
Tags: General, Historical, History, Biography & Autobiography, Reference, Non-Fiction, Royalty, Genealogy & Heraldry
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nunnery of St Austrebert, near Montreuil, France, where she died and was buried in 1182.
King Stephen also had the following illegitimate issue :
By Dameta, a gentlewoman of Normandy:
1 Gervaise, Abbot of Westminster ( c .1115/20–1160).
2 Almaric; he is called a brother of Gervaise in charters.
3 Ralph; he is called a brother of Gervaise in charters.
By unknown mothers:
4 William; he is mentioned only in 17th- and 19th-century genealogies.
5 Sybilla ( d.c. 1141); she married Hervey le Breton of Léon, Earl of Wiltshire ( d .1168).
KING STEPHEN
He died on 25 October, 1154, in a monastery at Dover, Kent, and wasburied in Faversham Abbey, Kent. His tomb was destroyed during the Reformation.
He was succeeded by his second cousin Henry, son of the Empress Matilda.
CHAPTER THREE
The Angevin or Plantagenet Kings of England
When, in 1120, the White Ship sank off Barfleur in Normandy, Henry I lost to the sea, not only four of his children, but also both his legitimate heirs. His second marriage in 1121 produced no issue, and when he died in 1135, his only surviving child was a girl, the Empress Matilda, then wedded to her second husband, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. Matilda was in Anjou when her father died, and the crown of England was seized by Stephen of Blois, her cousin, in defiance of the oath of allegiance that he and other magnates had taken to Matilda as Henry’s successor. Matilda triumphed only briefly over Stephen, in 1141, when the crown came tantalisingly within her reach, but she alienated by her hauteur and overbearing manner many of her supporters, and eventually had to retire from the conflict. Yet she continued to promote the cause of her son Henry as heir to England, and in 1153, when faced by an invading army led by that young, determined and very capable man, Stephen had to bow to public opinion and name him his successor. Thus came about the Treaty of Wallingford, which passed over the claims of Eustace and William, Stephen’s sons, and recognised that of Henry of Anjou, who succeeded without hindrance to the throne of England the following year, Eustace having died some months previously, which most thought was very fortunate.
Thus was established the Angevin or Plantagenet dynasty. The name ‘Plantagenet’ comes from the sprig of broom flower (Latin: planta genista ) that Henry’s father Geoffrey was accustomed to wearing in his hat. That name, however, was not formally adopted by the dynasty until the 15th century, when Richard, Duke of York, was the first to use it as a surname to emphasise his claim to the throneduring the Wars of the Roses.
The Plantagenets were a dynamic race, one of the most energetic and brilliant families of rulers the world has known. Reputedly descended from a witch, Melusine, who married an early Count of Anjou then vanished in a puff of smoke when he forced her to attend Mass – a tale the Angevin Kings were fond of relating – they ruled England for over 300 years, and for more than 200 of those years the crown passed, usually peacefully, from father to son. What occurred to break this pattern will be related in the next chapter.
Henry II
----
F ATHER : Geoffrey
Surnamed Plantagenet after the broom flower he wore in his hat, he was the son of Fulk V, Count of Anjou, by Aremburga, daughter of Hélias I, Count of Maine; his sisters were married to a grandson of William I and the son of Henry I. Geoffrey was born on 24 August, 1113, and married the Empress Matilda on 3 April, 22 May or 17 June, 1128, at Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou. He succeeded his father as Count of Anjou in 1129, and was proclaimed Duke of Normandy on 19 January, 1144, after conquering the duchy. He died on 7 September, 1151, at Château du Loire, France, and was buried in Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou.
Geoffrey had the following illegitimate issue :
By Adelaide of Angers:
1 Hamelin, who adopted the surname ‘de Warenne’ upon marriage, Earl of Surrey (1129?–1202); he
King Stephen also had the following illegitimate issue :
By Dameta, a gentlewoman of Normandy:
1 Gervaise, Abbot of Westminster ( c .1115/20–1160).
2 Almaric; he is called a brother of Gervaise in charters.
3 Ralph; he is called a brother of Gervaise in charters.
By unknown mothers:
4 William; he is mentioned only in 17th- and 19th-century genealogies.
5 Sybilla ( d.c. 1141); she married Hervey le Breton of Léon, Earl of Wiltshire ( d .1168).
KING STEPHEN
He died on 25 October, 1154, in a monastery at Dover, Kent, and wasburied in Faversham Abbey, Kent. His tomb was destroyed during the Reformation.
He was succeeded by his second cousin Henry, son of the Empress Matilda.
CHAPTER THREE
The Angevin or Plantagenet Kings of England
When, in 1120, the White Ship sank off Barfleur in Normandy, Henry I lost to the sea, not only four of his children, but also both his legitimate heirs. His second marriage in 1121 produced no issue, and when he died in 1135, his only surviving child was a girl, the Empress Matilda, then wedded to her second husband, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. Matilda was in Anjou when her father died, and the crown of England was seized by Stephen of Blois, her cousin, in defiance of the oath of allegiance that he and other magnates had taken to Matilda as Henry’s successor. Matilda triumphed only briefly over Stephen, in 1141, when the crown came tantalisingly within her reach, but she alienated by her hauteur and overbearing manner many of her supporters, and eventually had to retire from the conflict. Yet she continued to promote the cause of her son Henry as heir to England, and in 1153, when faced by an invading army led by that young, determined and very capable man, Stephen had to bow to public opinion and name him his successor. Thus came about the Treaty of Wallingford, which passed over the claims of Eustace and William, Stephen’s sons, and recognised that of Henry of Anjou, who succeeded without hindrance to the throne of England the following year, Eustace having died some months previously, which most thought was very fortunate.
Thus was established the Angevin or Plantagenet dynasty. The name ‘Plantagenet’ comes from the sprig of broom flower (Latin: planta genista ) that Henry’s father Geoffrey was accustomed to wearing in his hat. That name, however, was not formally adopted by the dynasty until the 15th century, when Richard, Duke of York, was the first to use it as a surname to emphasise his claim to the throneduring the Wars of the Roses.
The Plantagenets were a dynamic race, one of the most energetic and brilliant families of rulers the world has known. Reputedly descended from a witch, Melusine, who married an early Count of Anjou then vanished in a puff of smoke when he forced her to attend Mass – a tale the Angevin Kings were fond of relating – they ruled England for over 300 years, and for more than 200 of those years the crown passed, usually peacefully, from father to son. What occurred to break this pattern will be related in the next chapter.
Henry II
----
F ATHER : Geoffrey
Surnamed Plantagenet after the broom flower he wore in his hat, he was the son of Fulk V, Count of Anjou, by Aremburga, daughter of Hélias I, Count of Maine; his sisters were married to a grandson of William I and the son of Henry I. Geoffrey was born on 24 August, 1113, and married the Empress Matilda on 3 April, 22 May or 17 June, 1128, at Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou. He succeeded his father as Count of Anjou in 1129, and was proclaimed Duke of Normandy on 19 January, 1144, after conquering the duchy. He died on 7 September, 1151, at Château du Loire, France, and was buried in Le Mans Cathedral, Anjou.
Geoffrey had the following illegitimate issue :
By Adelaide of Angers:
1 Hamelin, who adopted the surname ‘de Warenne’ upon marriage, Earl of Surrey (1129?–1202); he
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