|
|
The Plantagenets were a family of
rulers of Britain. They ruled Britain for almost three
centuries, from 1154 to 1485. Kings Richard I, II and III, Henry
II and Edward I were all Plantagenet rulers. The word
Plantagenet means, “sprig of broom” in Latin. The family got the
name Plantagenet because the first of the family always wore a
sprig of broom.
King Henry
The Plantagenet line began with Count Geoffrey of Anjou, who was
the father of King Henry II. His son, King Henry II was a very
powerful ruler, who conquered parts of France and Ireland. King
Henry II became infamous for murdering the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Thomas Becket, while he was offering prayers in the
cathedral. But this did not seem to have affected Henry in any
way and he continued both adding to his list of conquests as
well as introducing reforms. He was the first to create a jury
system in Britain.
|
|
King Henry II
|
|
|
The Magna Carta
Two Plantagenet brothers, Richard I and John were frequently
fighting with each other. While Richard was a courageous ruler (he
was nicknamed “Lionheart”), John seemed to have been quite the
opposite. Since John’s father had left him no land, he was referred
to as “Lackland” by the citizens. John occupied the throne after
Richard. His weakness gave many an opportunity to twist him around
and he was forced to sign the foundation of democratic liberty,
the Magna Carta in the year 1215. This allowed the clergy and the
nobles to participate actively in government activities.
Prince of Wales
King Edward I, who ascended the throne about hundred years later, is
said to have been one of the greatest of the Plantagenet rulers. He
conquered Wales and he later gave his newborn son the title of
“Prince of Wales”. Since then the eldest son of all the sovereigns
of England have been conferred this title. King Edward I helped in
creating a Parliament. He occupied Scotland in 1296 and tried to
bring it under his control. He suppressed every revolt there for ten
years. But try as he might, he never could bring Scotland under his
control, since Scotland was being helped by France, England’s sworn
enemy.
The 100 years war
It was during the reign of King Edward III that the Hundred Years’
War began in 1337, with Edward wanting to ascend the throne of
France. The war reached a climax during the reign of King Henry V,
who managed to seize the throne. However, Henry V died soon after
and soon the French took back the throne to crown Charles VII.
Wars of the Roses
A few years after the end of the hundred years’ war, a civil war
broke between the houses of York and Lancaster over the issue of the
throne of England. It was felt that the ruling king Henry VI was not
fully fit to handle the reins and his cousin Edward, the Duke of
York deposed him and declared himself the ruler. The Duke called
himself King Edward IV. Henry’s supporters were outraged and a war
ensued; it ended only with the death of Edward.
The end
After the death of the Duke of York (Edward IV), one of his sons was
to succeed him. However, both he and his brother were killed by
their uncle who wanted the throne for himself. The brother of Edward
IV ascended the throne as Richard III. However, Edward’s son-in-law,
Henry Tudor defeated him in a battle and took on the mantle of
ruling the kingdom. Henry was crowned Henry VII and he was the first
Tudor king. With his ascent to the throne came the end of the
Plantagenet reign in the year 1485. |
