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King Henry II Curtmantle Of England [Parents] 1, 2, 3 was born 4, 5 5 Mar 1133 in Le Mans, Maine, Anjou, France. He died 6, 7 6 Jul 1189 in Chinon Castle, France from Blood poisoning from an anal fistula and grief at his son, John's treachery and was buried 10 Jul 1189 in Fontevrault Abbey, Maine-Et-Loire, France. Henry married Countess Rohese DE CLARE of Lincoln on mistress.
Henry 1154/1189. He. He was adopted 10 25 Dec 1153 in Westminster Abbe, Westminster, Middlesex, England. He 1164.
Other marriages:
, Eleanor of Aquitaine
, Rosamunde de Clifford
, Alice
, Ykenai
, Avice de Stafford
, Nesta
, Unknown
, Alys of France
King of England
In appearance, he had a lionlike face and cropped red hair; "his countenance was one upon which a man might gaze a thousand times, yet still feel drawn to return to gaze upon again." He was "of middle height, reddish, freckled complexion, with a large round head, grey eyes which glowed fiercely and gew bloodshot in anger, a fiery countenance and a harsh, cracked voice." His bull-like neck "was somewhat thrust forward from his shoulders, his chest was broad and square, his arms stong and powerful. His frame was stocky with a pronounced tendency to corpulence, which he tempered by exercise." Throughout his life he was obsessed with keeping his weight down, through rigorous diets, fasting, or punishing sporting activity. "In agility of limb he was seocnd to none, failing in no feat which anyone else could perform."
Constitutions of Clarendon - Henry II insisted they merely restated the laws and customs of his grandfather Henry I's time
Henry II was the first Plantagenet King of England (1154-1189, Duke of Normandy (1150-1189) and Count of Anjou (1151-1189), son of Geoffrey Plantagenet & Matilda. By his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine he acquired her vast domains in southwest France. He restored order to an England ravaged by the civil wars of Stephen's reign. He subdued the barons, continued administrative reform and strenghtened royal justice. It was said that a virgin could walk from one end of the realm to the other with her bosom full of gold and suffer no harm, and that evil barons had vanished like phantoms. His judgements were reputed to be so just that anyone with a sound case was anxious to have it heard by him, while those with dubious cases would not come before him unless they were dragged into court. Another change was the gradual eplacement of trial by ordeal with trial by jury. During Henry II's reign, the foundations of English common law were laid down. His attempts to control the clergy led to conflict with Becket, and a compromise was reached after Becket's murder in 1170. Henry made three successful attacks against the Welsh (1157, 1163, 1165), and one against Ireland (1171). His last years were taken up with the revolt of his four sons.
Since the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine the wines of Bordeaux had been favored in England. Records of the Lorraine wine fleet during the reign of Henry II [1154-1189] show that Henry's chamberlain came aboard the ships and selected, by right of prisage, a ton of wine from vessels carrying more than 21 tons. The chamberlain also had the right to buy more wine for the royal household or troops, at a favorable price, before the cargo was turned over to the "lawful merchants of London."
Even after he became King, Henry II disdained the trappings of sovereignty. He did not need them anyway, for his very presence was enough to quell those who would have opposed him and reduce mighty lords to servility. He nevertheless remained the most affable of monarchs, although no one ever mistook his geniality for a want of sovereign authority. In a crisis Henry ususally stayed calem and decisive, and his sense of humour often served himwell. Once, after a storymy clash with the King, Hugh of Avalon, Bishop of Lincoln, approached him with trepidation as Henry sat on the ground in the forest with his courtiers in a circle. Since Henry had forbidden anyone to acknowledge Hugh's presence, no one rose to greet him, but Bishop Hugh, undaunted, eased an earl out of his place beside the King and sat down. There was a long, brooding silence, finally broken by Henry who, unable to do nothing, called for neddle and thread and began to stitch up (as was his habit) a leather bandage on an injured finger. Again, there was a heavy silence until Bishop Hugh casually remarked, "How like your cousins of Falaise you look" - a droll reference to William the Conqueror's mother, who had been a tanner's daughter from Falaise. At this, the King's anger fled from him and he burst into laughter which sent him rolling on the ground. Many were amazed at the Bishop's temerity, others puzzled, until the King, recovering his composure, explained the gibe to them.
His favorite oath was "By the eyes of God" which was considered blasphemous in the extreme. He was eloquent in argument, had a sharp wit, and particularly enjoyed a joke at someone else's expense. Henry's temper was truly spectacular, and needed little provocation. His normally benign expression would suddenly change dramatically as his face became empurpled with fury. When in a rage, he would often throw himself on the ground, roll yelling on the floor, or grind his teeth on the rushes. On one occasion, he fell screaming with anger out of bed, gouged the stuffing out of his mattress, and crammed it into his mouth. When angry he could be vindictive. When Ralph d'Albini flung a stone at the King at Bedford Castle - a gross insult - the King merely confiscated one of his estates.
For a man of his time, Henry could be surprisingly tolerant. Unlike other Chrisitian rulers, he refused to persecute the Jews, and he offered asylum to Albigensian heretics who had fled from persecution in the south of France. Yet, like most people of his time, he regarded homosexuality as an offence against God, and authorized the torture of some Templars who had been arrested on suspicion of that and other unnatrual practices; they confessed and were severely punished. The was the first time that torture was used under royal warrant in England.
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