Henry II
of England Henry II
of EnglandHenry succeeded his father as count of Anjou and duke of Normandy in 1151, and his cousin Stephen as king of England in 1154, after the civil war in which his mother Matilda had fought unsuccessfully for the English crown. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152 also brought that region under his power. In 1170, his eldest surviving son Henry (who died before his father in 1183) was crowned as joint king. His later years were plagued by rebellions of his sons, of whom Richard I (1189-1199) and John (1199-1216) were the next two kings. [See DNB 9, 452-463; Warren (1973)]
Date of Birth: 5 March 1133.
[Chr. S. Albini Andegav.; Chr. S. Serg. Andegav.; Chr. Rob. Tor. (month
only); R. Dic. i, 246 (month only)]
Place of Birth: Le Mans.
[Chr. S. Serg. Andegav., s.a.
1133 (which also places his baptism at the same place); Chr. Rob.
Tor., s.a. 1133; R. Dic. i, 246]
Date of Death: 6 July 1189.
[R. Dic. ii, 64; Ben. Pet. ii, 71]
Place of Death: Chinon.
[R. Dic. ii, 64; Ben. Pet. ii, 71]
Father:
Geoffrey V, d. 7 September 1151, count of Anjou, duke of Normandy.
[GND (Rob. Tor.) viii, 25 (v. 2, pp. 240-1)]
Mother:
Matilda of England, d. 10 September 1167, claimant to the
throne of England, daughter of Henry I, king of England.
GND (Rob. Tor.) viii, 25 (v. 2, pp. 240-1)]
Spouse:
m. 1152 [Chr. S.
Albini Andegav., s.a. 1152; Chr. Rob. Tor., s.a. 1151; R.
Dic., i, 293, s.a. 1151; The chronologies of both of the
chronicles of Robert de Torigni and Ralph de Diceto are a year
off at this point.] Eleanor of Aquitaine,
d. 1 April 1204 [Ann. Wav.], heiress of Aquitaine, daughter
of Guillaume X, count of Poitou and duke of
Aquitaine.
[See DNB 6, 593-6]
Children:
Most of Henry's children also have biographical sketches of their
own in DNB, as indicated below.
William, b. 17 August 1153 [Chr. Rob. Tor., s.a. 1152 [1153], the eighth day after
the feast of St. Laurence; R. Dic. (year only)], d. 1156 [Chr. Rob. Tor.], bur. at Reading at the feet of his great-grandfather
Henry I [Ann. Wav., s.a. 1156].
Henry, b. 28 February 1155 [Chr. Rob. Tor.; R. Dic. i, 301],
d. at Martel, 11 June 1183 [R. Dic. ii, 19;
Ben. Pet. i, 301; Ann. Tewks.], joint-king
of England, 1170-1183, m. Marguerite de France [R. Dic. i, 203; Rog. Hov. i, 218].
Crowned as joint-king in 1170, and
occasionally called Henry III (Henricus tertius) by his
contemporaries [e.g., Ben. Pet. i, 301], he never ruled alone
because of his premature death, and he is not generally included
in the list of kings (or assigned a Roman numeral) by modern
historians.
[See DNB 9, 546-7]
Matilda, b. 1156 [R.
Dic. i, 302], d. 13 July 1189 [R. Dic. ii, 65], m. 1167×1168 [Chr. Rob. Tor., s.a. 1168; R. Dic. i, 330, s.a. 1167] Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion),
duke of Saxony.
[See DNB 13, 58-9]
Richard I, b. 8 September 1157 [Chr. S. Albini Andegav., s.a. 1157; Chr. Rob.
Tor., s.a. 1157 (month only); R. Dic. i, 302 (year only)], d. 6 April 1199, bur. Fontrevault [R. Dic. ii, 166; Rog. Hov. iv, 84],
king of England, 1189-1199, m. 12 May 1191 [Rog.
Hov. iii, 110], Berengaria
of Navarre [R. Dic. ii, 86; Rog. Hov. iii,
110].
[See DNB 16, 1022-1031]
Geoffrey, b. 23 September 1158 [Chr. Rob. Tor.; R. Dic. i, 302 (year only)], d. 19 August 1186, bur. Paris [R.
Dic. ii, 41; Ben. Pet. i, 361 (year only)],
count of Brittany, m. Constance, heiress of
Brittany [R. Dic. i, 332; Rog. Hov. ii, 6].
[See DNB 7, 1015-7]
Eleanor, b. 1161×1162 [Chr. Rob. Tor. (1161); R. Dic. i, 306 (1162)], m. Alphonso VIII, king of Castille [R. Dic. i, 334 (1169); Ben. Pet. i, 39 (1177)].
son, died young.
Lewis (2002) would place an additional son
either here or between Geoffrey and Eleanor, based on a statement
of Ralph of Diceto that there were six sons, two of whom died
young [R. Dic. ii, 17, 269]. Although Ralph is generally a
trustworthy authority, this son is not confirmed by any other
source.
Joan, b. October 1165 [Chr. Rob. Tor. (month only); R. Dic. i, 317 (year
only)], d. September 1199 [Rog. Hov. iv, 96 (month only)], m
(1) 13 Feb 1177 [Ben. Pet. i, 158; Chr.
Rob. Tor. (year only)] William,
king of Sicily ; (2)
1196 Raymond VI, count of Toulouse [Rog. Hov. iv, 13].
[See DNB 10, 823-5]
John, b. 1166 (or, less likely, 1167),
perhaps on or about 27 December 1166 [Chr.
Rob. Tor. (year only, 1167); R. Dic. i, 325 (year only, 1166);
see comments below], d. Newark, 19 October
1216, bur. Worcester [Ann. Wav.], king of England, 1199-1216, m. (1) 1189 [R. Dic. ii, 72; Rog. Hov. iii, 6]
Isabella of Gloucester, div. 1199 [R. Dic. ii, 166-7], m. (2) 1200 Isabella
of Angoulême [R. Dic. ii, 170; Rog. Hov.
iv, 119].
[See DNB 10, 839-854]
With regard to the birthdate of John, there have been
disagreements as to the exact date and year, because of
discrepancies in the sources. This was recently discussed in
detail in Lewis (2002), where the conclusion was reached that
1166 was more likely than 1167. A statement in the early
thirteenth century that John received that name because he was
born about the time of the feast of St. John (27 December) would,
if true, indicate that date as a plausible date of birth [Ex
chronico anonymi canonici, ut videtur, Laudensis, RHF 13,
678-9]. However, that source only indicates a birth on about that
date ("circa festum S. Johannis natus fuit"),
not on it.
Illegitimate children:
In addition to Ykenai, Ida, and Ralph Bloet's wife, another well
known mistress of Henry II who is worth mentioning is Rosamond
Clifford, who was falsely stated by many sources to be the mother
of Geoffrey and William, although modern scholarship shows that
neither of them was her son. Despite her fame, no child is known
to have come from the relationship. See DNB 4, 531-3 for a
biographical sketch of Rosamond Clifford. Henry had three well
documented sons, Geoffrey, William, and Morgan, plus a daughter
Matilda with late, but reasonable, documentation. Some less
certain cases, plus some falsely attributed bastards, are
discussed in the Commentary section.
by Ykenai/Hikenai:
Walter Map [pp. 479, 495, with two different spellings],
an enemy of Geoffrey's, is the only known source for the name of
Geoffrey's mother, and refers to Geoffrey's mother as a
prostitute ( publica, meretrix), suggesting
that Geoffrey was really a son of one of her other lovers.
However, Geoffrey's status as a son of Henry does not seem to
have been doubted by his contemporaries, and Walter's statement
seems to be no more than malicious gossip.
Geoffrey, d. 1212 [Ann.
Wav.], bishop of Lincoln, 1173-1182 [R. Dic. i, 368 (s.a. 1173); ii, 10 (s.a. 1182)], archbishop of York 1189-1212 [R.
Dic. ii, 78 (s.a. 1189)]. [Geoffrey's status as an illegitimate son of Henry II
is proven by numerous contemporary sources, e.g., R. Dic. ii, 10,
78; Rog. Hov. ii, 58, etc.]
[See DNB 7, 1018-24]
by Ida, wife of Roger
Bigod, earl of Norfolk:
While it had been known for some time that the mother of William
was a "countess" Ida, her identity was only recently
proven. As one of two known contemporary English countesses named
Ida, the wife of Roger Bigod had already been a prime candidate
[see Reed (2002), which was going to press just as the crucial
discovery was made]. Convincing proof of her identity as the wife
of Roger Bigod was only recently discovered by Raymond W. Phair,
who announced his discovery in the soc.genealogy.medieval
newsgroup on 3 July 2002, and then published it in The
American Genealogist [Phair (2002)], citing a list of
prisoners after the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, in which Ralph
Bigod was called a brother of the earl of Salisbury. The
parentage of Ida remains unknown, but see Reed (2002) for the
possibility that she might have been a daughter of Roger de Toeni
and Ida of Hainault.
William "Longespee", b. ca.
1170 [See Reed (2002)],
d. 1226 [Rog. Wendover iv, 116-7], earl of Salisbury. [Rog. Hov.
iv, 13]; m. Ela, heiress
of Salisbury.
[See CP 11, 379; DNB 12, 115-118]
by the wife of Ralph
Bloet:
[Crouch (1990), 198-9, in an
account of the Bloet family, identifies Ralph's wife as Nest,
daughter of Iorwerth ab Owain, lord of Caerlon, but does not
identify which of numerous cited sources for the family provides
this specific information. (I have checked most of the sources
given by Crouch in this account, without finding confirmation of
this claim.)]
Morgan, d. 1216×7, provost of Beverley
1201-1216×7, bishop-elect of Durham in 1213.
Roger de Hoveden [iv, 174] states that he
was made provost by his brother archbishop Geoffrey in 1201, and
that it was said ("ut dicebatur") that he was
a son of king Henry. Hist. Dunelm. [pp. 31, 35] and Ann.
Dunelm. [s.a. 1213], evidently relying on a common source,
state that Morgan was a brother of king John [and also of
archbishop Geoffrey, Hist. Dunelm.], an illegitimate son
of king Henry by the wife of Ralph Bloet, a knight, who, elected
as bishop of Durham in 1213, would have been installed in that
office if he had been willing to name Ralph Bloet as his father,
but that he refused to disavow his relationship to the king.
Morgan was living in Feb.×March 1216, when the pope granted him
a dispensation [Cheney (1967), 177, #1067], and deceased by 6
November 1217, when Pope Honorius III wrote a letter to
Archbishop Walter Gray of York regarding the goods of the
recently deceased "M.", provost of Beverley [Reg. Gray
130].
by an unknown mistress:
Matilda, fl.1175-1198, abbess of
Barking, Essex.
Weir (1989), 63, lists Matilda as an
illegitimate daughter of Henry II, but without documentation.
Matilda should not be confused with her niece of the same name
(daughter of king John), who was also an abbess of Barking
(listed with a question mark by Weir [p. 72] under John's
bastards, also without documentation). These two Matilda's have
often been overlooked in listings of royal bastards. On 7
September 1998, John Carmi Parsons, in a list of some bastards of
John overlooked in Given-Wilson & Curtis (1984), pointed out in the soc.genealogy.medieval newsgroup that
VCH Essex 2, 120 and Monast. Angl. 1, 437, 441 named
abbess Matilda, daughter of king John, and on 14 January 2003,
Douglas Richardson pointed out in the same newsgroup that VCH
Essex 2, 120 and Monast. Angl. 1, 437, 441 name Henry
II's daughter abbess Matilda. VCH Essex 2, 120 cites Charter
Rolls for 7-8 Richard II [1383-5] as the source for abbess
Matilda, daughter of Henry, and that appears to be the earliest
clearly dateable source for the present Matilda (the sources
quoted in Monast. Angl. 1, 437, 441 both being later
lists). However, Henry's daughter abbess Matilda is mentioned in
a possibly earlier note of uncertain date, quoted in Monast.
Angl. 1, 442, which was written sometime after the abbess
Anne de Vere (fl. 1295), who is mentioned there. Although more
contemporary documentation would be desirable, there does not
appear to be any good reason to doubt these later sources
regarding the existence of these two abbess Matildas.
Supposed additional
illegitimate children:
The four bastards listed above are the only ones who can be
attributed to Henry with a reasonable degree of certainty.
Several other bastards have been attributed to him on various
occasions, with varying degrees of likelihood, as follows.
son [Ben. Pet. 1,
160; Rog. Hov. iii, 99] (or
daughter [Chr. Melsa i, 256, a
much later source]) by Alice
of France (controversial).
King Richard I appears to have accused his
father of having a son by Alice, but there is significant
disagreement regarding the truth of that allegation. Richard
certainly disliked his father enough to accuse him of such a
thing, and clearly wanted to have some excuse for getting out of
his promised marriage with Alice, but it is still possible that
the story is true. Warren (1973), 611 argues against the story,
pointing out the important fact that it has no support in the
French chronicles. Gillingham (1999) 5, 82, 142 is inclined to
accept it. Many are noncommittal (e.g., Kate Norgate, in her
biographical sketch of Henry II in DNB 9, 461). If the child did
in fact exist, then a son (as stated by contemporaries) would be
more likely than a daughter. Weir (1989), 63, with no
documentation, indicates four illegitimate children by Alice, one
daughter and three of unknown gender.
? child
(existence uncertain) by Alice of Porhoët, daughter of Eudon de Porhoët.
John of Salisbury stated that Eudon de Porhoët accused
Henry of impregnating his daughter (ca. 1168), who had been in
Henry's custody [Mater. Hist. Becket, 6: 455-6]. Sheppard (1964)
argued that this child may have been William Longespee, earl of
Salisbury, before it was known that William's mother was named
Ida. The child (if there was a live birth) does not appear to be
the same as any of Henry's known bastards.
Richard (extremely doubtful), fl. 6
Richard I [1194-5]
Sheppard (1964) gives Henry a possible
illegitimate son Richard, based on a Pipe Roll for 6 Richard I
[1194-5] mentioning a "Richard the King's son" (as
quoted by Sheppard). [Pipe Roll Society 14 (1891), 16]
In addition to alternate possibilities mentioned by Sheppard,
such as being a son of Richard I (in whose reign the record
occurs) or some other king, it must be noted (as pointed out in
postings to soc.genealogy.medieval by "History Writer"
and "Nichol" on 16 Jan. 2003) that the actual reading
is in abbreviated form Ric' fil' Reg' (with apostrophes
for the more elaborate abbreviation symbols printed there) could
be read as Richard son of Reginald, or that it might be a
misreading of the Ric' fil' Rog' earlier in the same
record. Thus, the evidence for such an illegitimate son is less
than convincing.
Peter (falsely attributed),
dean-elect of York (1193) [Rog. Hov. iii,
221], archdeacon of the West Riding (1194) [Rog. Hov. iii, 273], archdeacon
of Lincoln (1195) [Rog. Hov. iii, 287].
Roger of Hoveden refers to Peter as a
brother of archbishop Geoffrey in each of the above three
references. Since Roger, a contemporary, makes no mention of
Peter being a son of Henry II, we can be reasonably certain that
Peter was a brother of Geoffrey through his mother only. (In the
case of Morgan already mentioned above, when Roger called him the
brother of Geoffrey, he also mentioned the alleged connection to
Henry II.) The suggestion that he was a bastard of Henry was
advanced in Sheppard (1964), 365-6, n. 9 (with clear indications
of uncertainty), and again in Sheppard (1965), 97 (referring to
the previous article, but without the indication of doubt), but
no good reasons were advanced for making Peter a son of Henry.
Hugh of Wells (falsely attributed), d. 1235, bishop of Lincoln.
[Weir (1989), 63, with a question mark]
There seems to be no good reason for including him among Henry's
illegitimate children. See Hugh's biographical entry in DNB 10,
168, where Hugh is called a son of Edward of Wells and brother of
bishop Josceline of Bath and Wells.
Ann. Dunelm. = Annales Dunelmenses, in Frank Barlow, ed., "Durham Annals and Documents of the Thirteenth Century", Surtees Society 155 (1945), 1-84.
Ann. Monast. = Henry Richard Luard, ed., Annales Monastici, 5 vols. (Rolls Series 86, 1864). Contains the Annals of Bermondsey, Burton, Dunstable, Margam, Oseney, Tewkesbury, Waverly, Winchester, Worcester, and Wykes.
Ann. Tewks. = Annales de Theoksberia (Annals of Tewkesbury, 1066-1263), in Ann. Monast. (Rolls Series 86), i, 43-180.
Ann. Wav. = Annales Monasterii de Waverleia (Annals of Waverly, 1-1291), in Ann. Monast. (Rolls Series 86), ii, 129-411.
Ben. Pet. = William Stubbs, ed., Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbas (The Chronicle attributed to Benedict of Peterborough), 2 vols. (Rolls Series 49, 1867).
Cheney (1967) = C. R. Cheney and Mary G. Cheney, The Letters of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) concerning England and Wales (Oxford, 1967).
Chr. Melsa = Edward A. Bond, ed., Chronica Monasterii de Melsa (by Thomas de Burton, fl. 1399), 3 vols. (Rolls Series 43, 1866-8).
Chr. Rob. Tor. = L. C. Bethemann, ed., Roberti de Monte Chronica (a continuation by Robert de Torigni of the chronicle of Sigebert de Gembloux), MGH SS 6, 476-535.
Chr. S. Albini Andegav. = Chronicæ Sanct Albini Andegavensis, in Marchegay & Mabille, eds., Chroniques des Églises d'Anjou (Paris, 1869), 19-61.
Chr. S. Serg. Andegav. = Chronica Sancti Sergii Andegavensis, in Marchegay & Mabille, eds., Chroniques des Églises d'Anjou (Paris, 1869), 129-152.
CP = The Complete Peerage
Crouch (1990) = David Crouch, William Marshall - Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-1219 (London, New York, 1990). (Douglas Richardson, in a posting to soc.genealogy.medieval on 4 February 2003, pointed out that this source identified Morgan's mother.)
DNB = Dictionary of National Biography.
Gillingham (1999) = John Gillingham, Richard I (New Haven, 1999).
Given-Wilson & Curtis (1984) = Chris Given-Wilson and Alice Curtis, The Royal Bastards of Medieval England (London, Boston, Melbourne, Henley, 1984).
GND = Guillaume de Jumièges, Gesta Normannorum Ducum, as edited in Elisabeth van Houts, ed. & trans., The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni, 2 vols., (Oxford, 1992). Citation is by book and chapter of Guillaume's work, with the volume and page number of the edition by van Houts in parentheses. Unless otherwise stated, references are to Guillaume's work, and not to later additions by such authors as Orderic Vitalis and Robert de Torigni.
GND (Rob. Tor.) = Additions to GND by Robert de Torigni.
Hist. Dunelm. = J. Raine, ed., Historiæ Dunelmensis, (Surtees Soc. 9, 1839).
Lewis (2002) = Andrew W. Lewis, "The birth and childhood of King John: some revisions", in Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons, eds., Eleanor of Aquitaine Lord and Lady (New York, 2002), 159-175.
Mater. Hist. Becket = James Craigie Robertson (vols. 1-7) and J. Brigstocke Sheppard (vol. 7), eds., "Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury", 7 vols. (London, 1875-85).
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Monast. Angl. = William Dugdale, ed. (new ed. by Caley, Ellis, Bandniel), Monasticon Anglicanum (London, 1817-30).
Phair (2002) = Raymond W. Phair, "William Longespée, Ralph Bigod, and Countess Ida", TAG 77 (2002), 279-81.
R. Dic. = William Stubbs, ed., Radulfi de Diceto Decani Lundonensis Opera Historica - The Historical Works of Master Ralph de Diceto Dean of London, 2 vols. (Rolls Series 68, London 1876).
Reed (2002) = Paul C. Reed, "Countess Ida, mother of William Longesée, illegitimate son of Henry II", TAG 77 (2002), 137-49.
Reg. Gray = James Raine, ed., "The Register, or Rolls, of Walter Gray, Lord Archbishop of York", Surtees Soc. 56 (1872).
RHF = Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France.
Rog. Hov. = William Stubbs, ed., Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene, 5 vols. (Rolls Series 51, 1868). For an English translation, see Henry T. Riley, trans., The Annals of Roger de Hoveden, 2 vols. (London, 1853). Citations are from the edition of Stubbs.
Rog. Wendover = Henry G. Hewlett, ed., The Flowers of History of Roger de Wendover (Flores Historiarum), (Rolls Series 84, London, 1886-9).
Sheppard (1964) = Walter Lee Sheppard, "The Bastards of Henry II", The Genealogists' Magazine 14 (1964), 361-8. [I would like to thank Chris Phillips for providing me with a copy of this article.]
Sheppard (1965) = Walter Lee Sheppard, "Royal bye-blows - the illegitimate children of the English kings from William I to Edward III", The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 119 (1965), 94-102.
TAG = The American Genealogist.
VCH = Victoria County History of ...
Walter Map = M. R. James, ed. & trans., Walter Map - De Nugis Curialum - Courtiers' Trifles (Oxford, 1983).
Warren (1973) = W. L. Warren, Henry II (University of California Press, 1973).
Weir (1989) = Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families - The Complete Genealogy (London, 1989).
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
First Uploaded 27 June 2004.