Illustration of an ancient Irish brooch. The year of 1171 did not bring Henry a huge amount of fun! Although the new year of 1171 was one that did not start at all well for Henry, it proved to be a time that was one of the most important of his reign. Beckett’s …
Twelve merry fun-filled Christmas nights? No! Four very well-armed, murderous knights! Some items of the knights hand luggage on their journey from Calais to Dover. The four knights who took it upon themselves to travel to Canterbury that fateful Christmas were:Richard Brito, William de Traci, Reginald fitzeUrse and Hugh of Morville. They were devoted to …
The King and his court come together to celebrate Christmas and New Year! But for Henry, later events would cause him to shed many a tear! It was Christmas 1170 and Henry was taking stock of the year. The twelve days of this feast would have been a truly sumptuous affair. He celebrated with …
In order to rebuild the fabric of the English nation! Henry needed to restructure the country’s administration! Henry was the sovereign of a sprawling empire which stretched from the Pyrenees in the south, to Cumbria in the north and later to the Shannon in the west. Nevertheless, his initial priorities lay in England. The king …
The Plantagenets. ‘From the devil they came and unto the devil they shall return!’ (A cleric commenting on the Plantagenets.) When Matilda married Geoffrey of Anjou in 1128, neither of them could have foreseen that their stormy union would produce a dynasty that would rule England for 331 years. The dominance of this family which …
The reign of King Stephen (1135-1154). The barons had made a solemn oath to Henry that they would recognise his daughter, Matilda as their sovereign monarch after his death. However once Henry was dead, they made it clear what they really thought about putting a woman on the throne. Matilda depicted in a stain glass window. …
Triumph. The Battle of Tinchbrai! Henry wins the day! Henry had bribed neighbouring princes to take his side and the tactic certainly paid off. It appears that the forces from Maine made a substantial contribution to his victory at Tinchbrai. Robert, the hero of Ascalon and who had been present at the capture of Jerusalem …
Henry being no fool! Takes measures to consolidate his rule! Henry I By marrying Edith or Matilda of Scotland as she became to be known, Henry had secured his northern borders. With a Scottish Queen in London, the Scots were unlikely to come leaping across the border to make a nuisance of themselves in England. …
Yes, if Rufus had had no offspring, younger brother, Henry more than made up for it. He would sire at least nineteen children with a variety of mistresses. Meanwhile, back to the Afternoon of August 2nd 1100. He left his brother’s body lying on the forest floor! He arrived in Winchester and walked through the …
King Billy’s Boys. You may well have heard of sibling rivalry in families, well this family were something else in this respect. The first recorded conflict appears to have begun when Robert (Bobby short legs) and William Jr (Rufus) were teenagers. An argument over a dice game led Rufus and Henry who were in an …