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142-668: The first permanent structures were built between 1110 and 1119. The area where the Abbey is located was then part of what is sometimes referred to as the Angevin Empire . The king of England, Henry II , his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine , and their son, King Richard the Lionheart , were all buried here at the end of the 12th century. It was seized and disestablished as a monastery during the French Revolution . The Abbey

284-609: A dynastic conflict , the war inspired French and English nationalism. The broader introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, and artillery became important. The war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the Western Roman Empire and helped change their role in warfare . Civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, and bandit free-companies of mercenaries reduced

426-607: A vassal of the King of France . As a result, the crown of England was held by a succession of nobles who already owned lands in France, which put them among the most influential subjects of the French king, as they could now draw upon the economic power of England to enforce their interests in the mainland. To the kings of France, this threatened their royal authority, and so they would constantly try to undermine English rule in France, while

568-553: A diplomatic mission to be recognized Duchess of Normandy and replace Stephen. Geoffrey followed at the head of his army and quickly captured several fortresses in southern Normandy. It was then that a noble in Anjou, Robert II of Sablé , rebelled, forcing Geoffrey to withdraw and prevent an attack on his rear. When Geoffrey returned to Normandy in September 1136, the region had become plagued with internal, baronial infighting. Stephen

710-510: A flanking movement with his horsemen, cutting off the French retreat and successfully capturing King John and many of his nobles. With John held hostage, his son the Dauphin (later to become Charles V ) assumed the powers of the king as regent . After the Battle of Poitiers, many French nobles and mercenaries rampaged, and chaos ruled. A contemporary report recounted: ... all went ill with

852-613: A former abbey). Political prisoners were subjected to the harshest conditions. Under the Vichy Government , some French Resistance prisoners were shot there. In 1963 it was given to the French Ministry of Culture , and a major restoration was undertaken. In 1975 the Centre culturel de l'Ouest was formed to preserve the abbey and promote it as a cultural venue. The complex was opened to the public in 1985. Restoration of

994-718: A large naval fleet off Marseilles as part of an ambitious plan for a crusade to the Holy Land . However, the plan was abandoned and the fleet, including elements of the Scottish navy, moved to the English Channel off Normandy in 1336, threatening England. To deal with this crisis, Edward proposed that the English raise two armies, one to deal with the Scots "at a suitable time" and the other to proceed at once to Gascony. At

1136-401: A monastery of canons regular at La Roë , of which he was the first abbot . In that same year Pope Urban II summoned him to Angers and appointed him an apostolic missionary, authorizing him to preach anywhere. His preaching drew large crowds of devoted followers, both men and women, even lepers. As a result, many men wished to embrace the religious life, and he sent these to his abbey. When

1278-428: A prison in 1804. The prison was planned to hold 1,000 prisoners and the former abbey required major changes, including new barracks in addition to the transformation of monastic buildings into dormitories, workshops, and common areas. Prisoners—men, women and children—began arriving in 1814. Eventually it held some 2,000 prisoners, earning the prison the reputation of being the "toughest in France after Clairvaux " (also

1420-541: A revolt in Anjou while Stephen attacked Angevin loyalists in England. Several Anglo-Norman nobles switched allegiance, sensing an impending disaster. Henry was about to sail for England to pursue his claim when his lands were attacked. He first reached Anjou and compelled Geoffrey to surrender. He then took the decision to sail for England in January 1153 to meet Stephen. Luckily enough, Louis fell ill and had to retire from

1562-535: A separate line there. As far as historians know, there was no contemporary term for the region under Angevin control; however, descriptions such as "our kingdom and everything subject to our rule whatever it may be" were used. The term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in her 1887 publication England under the Angevin Kings . In France, the term espace Plantagenet (French for "Plantagenet area")

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1704-408: A son, Conan , from her previous marriage to the late Alan de Bretagne . Conan had been too young to succeed his grandfather in 1148, but he became Henry II's perfect candidate to become Duke of Brittany on Bertha's death, as his English holdings as Earl of Richmond meant he would be easier to control. In Nantes, possibly due to Hoël's recognition of his sister and brother-in-law's suzerainty over

1846-488: A trail of filth behind them". Stephen finally arrived in Normandy in 1137 and restored order but had lost much credibility in the eyes of his main supporter, Robert of Gloucester and so Robert changed sides and supported Geoffrey and his half-sister Matilda instead. Geoffrey took Caen and Argentan without resistance, but now had to defend Robert's possessions in England against Stephen. In 1139, Robert and Matilda crossed

1988-572: A treaty was signed between France and Scotland during the reign of Philip the Fair , known as the Auld Alliance. Charles IV formally renewed the treaty in 1326, promising Scotland that France would support the Scots if England invaded their country. Similarly, France would have Scotland's support if its own kingdom were attacked. Edward could not succeed in his plans for Scotland if the Scots could count on French support. Philip VI had assembled

2130-776: A vassal of Louis. She left Beaugency for Poitiers , narrowly escaping an ambush by Henry's brother Geoffrey on route, and there, eight weeks later, she married Henry. Thus Henry became duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and count of Poitou. Louis responded with a furious attack on Normandy. In Anjou, Henry had refused to give the county to his brother, and thus a coalition of Henry's enemies was formed by Louis VII: Stephen of England and his son Eustace IV of Boulogne (married to Louis' sister ); Henry I, Count of Champagne (betrothed to Louis' daughter ), Robert of Dreux (Louis' brother) and Henry's brother, Geoffrey. In July 1152, Capetian troops attacked Aquitaine while Louis, Eustace, Henry of Champagne, and Robert attacked Normandy. Geoffrey raised

2272-522: A year whilst Richard was abroad. Between 1194 and 1198, revenue averaged £25,000. Under Richard's successor John , income fluctuated between £22,000 and £25,000 from 1199 to 1203. In order to fund for the reconquest of France, English income increased to £50,000 in 1210 but then rose to over £83,000 in 1211 before falling back down to £50,000 in 1212. Revenue then fell down to below £26,000 in 1214, and then further to £18,500 in 1215. The first three years of Henry III 's reign brought in £8,000 on average due to

2414-550: Is also buried here. Jean Genet described the experiences of a thirty-year-old prisoner at Fontevraud in his semi-autobiographical novel, Miracle de la rose , although there is no evidence that Genet was ever imprisoned there himself. La Cage aux Rossignols ( A Cage of Nightingales ), a French film released in 1945, was filmed at the abbey. Angevin Empire The term Angevin Empire ( / ˈ æ n dʒ ɪ v ɪ n / ; French : Empire Plantagenêt ) describes

2556-511: Is because England and Normandy were home to more officials to collect taxes and, unlike Aquitaine, local lords were unable to mint their own coins, allowing the Angevin kings to control the economy from their administrative base of Chinon . Chinon's importance was shown by Richard's seizure of Chinon first when he rebelled against his father in 1187, and then when John immediately rushed to Chinon after his brother's death. Money raised in England

2698-848: Is no evidence that the Duke of Brittany, Eudes II , had recognised the Norman overlordship. Two vital frontier castles, Moulins-la-Marche and Bonmoulins , had never been taken back by Geoffrey Plantagenet and were in the hands of Robert of Dreux . Count Thierry of Flanders had joined the alliance formed by Louis VII in 1153. Further south, the Count of Blois acquired Amboise . From Henry II's perspective, these territorial issues needed solving. King Henry II showed himself to be an audacious and daring king as well as being active and mobile; Roger of Howden stated that Henry travelled across his dominions so fast that Louis VII once exclaimed that "The king of England

2840-568: Is no remaining corporal presence of Henry, Eleanor, Richard, or the others on the site. Their remains were possibly destroyed during the French Revolution. The bodies of the French monarchs were likewise removed from the Basilica of St Denis in 1793 by order of the French government. Henriette Louise de Bourbon , granddaughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan , grew up here. Princess Thérèse of France , daughter of Louis XV,

2982-525: Is now in Ireland, now in England, now in Normandy, he seems rather to fly than to go by horse or ship." Henry was often more present in France than in England; Ralph de Diceto , Dean of St Paul's , said with irony: There is nothing left to send to bring the king back to England but the Tower of London . Henry II bought Vernon and Neuf-Marché back from Louis VII in 1154. This new strategy now regulated

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3124-620: Is situated in the Loire Valley , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , between Chalonnes-sur-Loire and Sully-sur-Loire within the Loire-Anjou-Touraine French regional natural park ( Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine ). The complex of monastic buildings served as a prison from 1804 to 1963. Since 1975, it has hosted a cultural centre, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest. Robert of Arbrissel had served as

3266-531: Is sometimes used to describe the fiefdoms the Plantagenets had acquired. The adoption of the Angevin Empire label marked a re-evaluation of the times, considering that both English and French influence spread throughout the dominion in the half-century during which the union lasted. The term Angevin itself is the demonym for the residents of Anjou and its historic capital, Angers ; the Plantagenets were descended from Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou , hence

3408-761: The Angevin kings of England brought them into conflict with the kings of France of the House of Capet , to whom they also owed feudal homage for their French possessions, bringing in a period of rivalry between the dynasties . Despite the extent of Angevin rule, Henry's son John was defeated in the Anglo-French War (1213–1214) by Philip II of France following the Battle of Bouvines . John lost control of most of his continental possessions , apart from Guyenne and Gascony in southern Aquitaine . This defeat set

3550-529: The Archbishop of Dol , despite attempts by the Archbishop of Tours , Engelbald, to subsume Dol into his archdiocese. Hundred Years War Kingdom of England The Hundred Years' War ( French : Guerre de Cent Ans ; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages . It emerged from feudal disputes over

3692-578: The Archpriest of the Diocese of Rennes , carrying out the reformist agenda of its bishop. When the bishop died in 1095, Robert was driven out of the diocese due to the hostility of the local clergy. He then became a hermit in the forest of Craon , where he practiced a life of severe penance, together with a number of other men who went on to found major monastic institutions. His eloquence and asceticism attracted many followers, for whom in 1096 he founded

3834-546: The Catholic Church in France was declared to be the property of the nation . On 17 August 1792, a Revolutionary decree ordered evacuation of all monasteries, to be completed by 1 October 1792. At that time, there were still some 200 nuns and a small community of monks in residence at Fontevraud. The last abbess, Julie Sophie Charlotte de Pardaillan d'Antin, is said to have died in poverty in Paris in 1797. The abbey became

3976-547: The County of Berry but these were not completely fulfilled, and the county was lost completely by the time of the accession of John in 1199. The frontiers of the empire were sometimes well known and therefore easy to mark, such as the dykes constructed between the royal demesne of the king of France and the Duchy of Normandy. In other places these borders were not so clear, particularly the eastern border of Aquitaine, where there

4118-457: The Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England . The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe , fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which

4260-628: The Duchy of Brittany set off the War of the Breton Succession , in which Edward backed John of Montfort and Philip backed Charles of Blois. Action for the next few years focused on a back-and-forth struggle in Brittany. The city of Vannes in Brittany changed hands several times, while further campaigns in Gascony met with mixed success for both sides. The English-backed Montfort finally took

4402-741: The Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the monarchs of England (later Britain ) styling themselves as sovereigns of France until 1802 . The root causes of

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4544-475: The English monarchs would struggle to protect and expand their lands. This clash of interests was the root cause of much of the conflict between the French and English monarchies throughout the medieval era. The Anglo-Norman dynasty that had ruled England since the Norman conquest of 1066 was brought to an end when Henry , the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda , and great-grandson of William

4686-616: The Kingdom of England , the Lordship of Ireland which was considered illegitimate since Henry II broke the treaty of Windsor , the duchies of Normandy (which included the Channel Islands ), Gascony and Aquitaine , as well as of the counties of Anjou , Poitou, Maine , Touraine, Saintonge , La Marche , Périgord , Limousin , Nantes and Quercy . While the duchies and counties were held with various levels of vassalage to

4828-478: The Low Countries . His supporters could claim that they were loyal to the "true" King of France and did not rebel against Philip. In February 1340, Edward returned to England to try to raise more funds and also deal with political difficulties. Relations with Flanders were also tied to the English wool trade since Flanders' principal cities relied heavily on textile production, and England supplied much of

4970-649: The Normans , had conquered England in the 11th century. Meanwhile, in the rest of France, the Poitevin Ramnulfids had become Dukes of Aquitaine and of Gascony , and the Count of Blois , Stephen , the father of the next king of England, Stephen , became the Count of Champagne . France was being split between only a few noble families. In 1106, Henry I of England had defeated his brother Robert Curthose and angered Robert's son, William Clito , who

5112-689: The University of Paris assemblies decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded from consideration. Therefore, excluding Edward, the nearest heir through the male line was Charles IV's first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois , and it was decided that he should take the throne. He was crowned Philip VI in 1328. In 1340, the Avignon papacy confirmed that, under Salic law , males would not be able to inherit through their mothers. Eventually, Edward III reluctantly recognized Philip VI and paid him homage for

5254-423: The War of Saint-Sardos (1324), the English king's holdings on the continent, as Duke of Aquitaine , were limited roughly to provinces in Gascony. The dispute over Guyenne is even more important than the dynastic question in explaining the outbreak of the war. Guyenne posed a significant problem to the kings of France and England: Edward III was a vassal of Philip VI of France because of his French possessions and

5396-605: The king of France , the Plantagenets held various levels of control over the Duchies of Brittany and Cornwall , the Welsh princedoms , the county of Toulouse , and the Kingdom of Scotland , although those regions were not formal parts of the empire. Auvergne was also in the empire for part of the reigns of Henry II and Richard I , in their capacity as dukes of Aquitaine. Henry II and Richard I pushed further claims over

5538-415: The seneschal of Anjou , and other seneschals governed. They were based at Tours , Chinon , Baugé , Beaufort , Brissac , Angers , Saumur , Loudun , Loches , Langeais and Montbazon . However, the constituent counties, such as Maine , were often administered by the officials of the local lords, rather than their Angevin suzerains. Maine was at first largely self-ruling and lacked administration until

5680-555: The throne of England . There had been only one occurrence of a medieval European queen regnant before, Urraca of León and Castile , and it was not an encouraging precedent; nevertheless, in January 1127 the Anglo-Normans barons and prelates recognized Matilda as heiress to the throne in an oath. On 17 June 1128, the wedding between Matilda and Geoffrey was celebrated in Le Mans . In order to secure Matilda's succession to

5822-466: The 14th century. A canonical visitation of fifty of the priories of the Order in 1460 showed most of them to be barely occupied, if not abandoned. Due to financial pressures the youngest four of the six daughters of Louis XV were sent to the abbey to be raised. Each was brought up at the abbey until the age of 15. The Order was dispersed during the French Revolution . In November 1789, all property of

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5964-683: The Angevin kings made efforts to improve administration by installing new officials, such as the seneschal of Le Mans. These reforms came too late for the Angevins however, and only the Capetians saw the beneficial effects of this reform after they annexed the area. Aquitaine differed in the level of administration in its different constituent regions. Gascony was a very loosely administered region. Officials were stationed mostly in Entre-Deux-Mers , Bayonne , Dax , but some were found on

6106-521: The Angevins during John's rule as he attempted to consolidate his power. Officials could be stationed in Poitou , however, due to a large concentration of castles compared to the rest of Aquitaine. Normandy was the most consistently administered state within the continental Angevin Empire. Under Angevin rule , ducal government was regularised and strengthened, with the Seneschal of Normandy becoming

6248-708: The Burgundians and her subsequent execution (1431), a series of crushing French victories concluded the siege, favoring the Valois dynasty. Notably, Patay (1429), Formigny (1450), and Castillon (1453) proved decisive in ending the war. England permanently lost most of its continental possessions, with only the Pale of Calais remaining under its control on the continent until the Siege of Calais (1558). Local conflicts in neighbouring areas, which were contemporarily related to

6390-502: The Burgundians raised the prospects of an ultimate English triumph and persuaded the English to continue the war over many decades. A variety of factors prevented this, however. Notable influences include the deaths of both Henry and Charles in 1422, the emergence of Joan of Arc (which boosted French morale), and the loss of Burgundy as an ally (concluding the French civil war). The Siege of Orléans (1429) made English aspirations for conquest all but infeasible. Despite Joan's capture by

6532-462: The Conqueror , became the first of the Angevin kings of England in 1154 as Henry II. The Angevin kings ruled over what was later known as the Angevin Empire , which included more French territory than that under the kings of France . The Angevins still owed homage to the French king for these territories. From the 11th century, the Angevins had autonomy within their French domains, neutralizing

6674-587: The French delayed the return of the lands, which helped Philip VI. On 6 June 1329, Edward III finally paid homage to the King of France. However, at the ceremony, Philip VI had it recorded that the homage was not due to the fiefs detached from the duchy of Guyenne by Charles IV (especially Agen). For Edward, the homage did not imply the renunciation of his claim to the extorted lands. In the 11th century, Gascony in southwest France had been incorporated into Aquitaine (also known as Guyenne or Guienne ) and formed with it

6816-490: The French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis left behind a young daughter, Joan II of Navarre , and a son, John I of France , although he only lived for five days. However, Joan's paternity was in question, as her mother, Margaret of Burgundy , was accused of being an adulterer in the Tour de Nesle affair . Given the situation, Philip, Count of Poitiers and brother of Louis X, positioned himself to take

6958-852: The French. A conference was held at Brétigny that resulted in the Treaty of Brétigny (8 May 1360). The treaty was ratified at Calais in October. In return for increased lands in Aquitaine, Edward renounced Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Maine and consented to reduce King John's ransom by a million crowns. Edward also abandoned his claim to the crown of France. The French king, John II , was held captive in England for four years. The Treaty of Brétigny set his ransom at 3 million crowns and allowed for hostages to be held in lieu of John. The hostages included two of his sons, several princes and nobles, four inhabitants of Paris, and two citizens from each of

7100-575: The Good), who had outflanked him near Poitiers but refused to surrender himself as the price of their acceptance. This led to the Battle of Poitiers (19 September 1356) where the Black Prince's army routed the French. During the battle, the Gascon noble Jean de Grailly , captal de Buch led a mounted unit that was concealed in a forest. The French advance was contained, at which point de Grailly led

7242-419: The King's hands because Edward III was in breach of his obligations as a vassal and had sheltered the King's "mortal enemy" Robert d'Artois . Edward responded to the confiscation of Aquitaine by challenging Philip's right to the French throne. When Charles IV died, Edward claimed the succession of the French throne through the right of his mother, Isabella (Charles IV's sister), daughter of Philip IV. His claim

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7384-600: The Plantagenet-Capetian relationship. Louis VII had been unsuccessful in his attempt to break Henry II down. Because of the Angevin control of England in 1154, it was pointless to object to the superiority of the overall Angevin forces over the Capetian ones. However, Henry II refused to back down despite Louis' apparent change of policy until the Norman Vexin was entirely recovered. Thomas Becket , then

7526-453: The Plantagenets never claimed any sort of imperial title as implied by the term Angevin Empire . However, even if the Plantagenets themselves did not claim an imperial title, some chroniclers, often working for Henry II himself, did use the term empire to describe this assemblage of lands. The highest title was "king of England"; the other titles of dukes and counts of different areas held in France were completely and totally independent from

7668-515: The War of Saint-Sardos, Charles of Valois , father of Philip VI, invaded Aquitaine on behalf of Charles IV and conquered the duchy after a local insurrection, which the French believed had been incited by Edward II of England . Charles IV grudgingly agreed to return this territory in 1325. Edward II had to compromise to recover his duchy: he sent his son, the future Edward III , to pay homage. The King of France agreed to restore Guyenne, minus Agen , but

7810-425: The Wise and the leadership of Bertrand du Guesclin , the French had reconquered most of the lands ceded to King Edward in the Treaty of Brétigny (signed in 1360), leaving the English with only a few cities on the continent. In the following decades, the weakening of royal authority, combined with the devastation caused by the Black Death of 1347–1351 (which killed nearly half of France and 20–33% of England ) and

7952-515: The abbey church according to the earlier restoration under the architect Lucien Magne was completed in 2006. The order was revived by Mme Rose in 1806 as one for women only and following a modified rule. The abbey was originally the site of the graves of King Henry II of England , his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine , their son King Richard I of England , their daughter Joan , their grandson Raymond VII of Toulouse , and Isabella of Angoulême , wife of Henry and Eleanor's son King John . However, there

8094-474: The annual income of England was £10,500, or around half what the revenue had been under Henry I . This was due in part to The Anarchy and King Stephen 's loose rule resulting in the reduction of royal authority. As time went on, royal authority improved and the revenue consequently went up to an average of £22,000 a year. Due to the preparation for the Third Crusade , revenue then increased to over £31,000 in 1190 under Richard . The number fell again to £11,000

8236-463: The canons of that house objected to the influx of candidates of lower social states, he resigned his office and left the community. Around 1100 Robert and his followers settled in a valley called Fons Ebraldi where he established a monastic community. Initially the men and women lived together in the same house, in an ancient ascetic practice called Syneisaktism . This practice had been widely condemned by Church authorities, however, and under pressure

8378-434: The channel and arrived in England while Geoffrey kept the pressure on Normandy. Stephen was captured in February 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln , which prompted the collapse of his authority in both England and Normandy. Geoffrey now controlled almost all of Normandy, but no longer had the support of Aquitaine now that William X had been succeeded by his daughter, Eleanor , who had married Louis VII of France in 1137. Louis

8520-409: The city for five weeks, but the defences held and there was no coronation. Edward moved on to Paris, but retreated after a few skirmishes in the suburbs. Next was the town of Chartres . Disaster struck in a freak hailstorm on the encamped army, causing over 1,000 English deaths – the so-called Black Monday at Easter 1360. This devastated Edward's army and forced him to negotiate when approached by

8662-476: The community soon segregated according to gender, with the monks living in small priories where they lived in community in service to the nuns and under their rule. Sometime before 1106, Fulk IV, Count of Anjou gave a significant property gift to the abbey. They were recognized as a religious community in 1106, both by the Bishop of Angers and by Pope Paschal II . Robert, who soon resumed his life of itinerant preaching, appointed Hersende of Champagne to lead

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8804-468: The community. In the early years the Plantagenets were great benefactors of the abbey and while Isabella d'Anjou was the abbess , King Henry II 's widow, Eleanor of Aquitaine , made the abbey her place of residence. Abbess Louise de Bourbon left her crest on many of the alterations to the abbey building which she made during her term of office. With the passing of the Plantagenet dynasty, Fontevrault and her dependencies began to fall upon hard times. At

8946-445: The community. Later her assistant, Petronilla of Chemillé , was elected as the first abbess in 1115. Robert wrote a brief Rule of Life for the community, based upon the Rule of St. Benedict . Unlike the other monastic orders characterized by double monasteries , the monks and nuns of the Order of Fontevrault followed the same Rule. In his Rule, Robert dealt with four principal points: silence, good works, food and clothing, encouraging

9088-401: The conflict can be traced to the crisis of 14th-century Europe . The outbreak of war was motivated by a gradual rise in tension between the kings of France and England over territory; the official pretext was the interruption of the direct male line of the Capetian dynasty . Tensions between the French and English crowns had gone back centuries to the origins of the English royal family, which

9230-588: The conflict while Henry's defences held against his enemies. After seven months of battles and politics, Henry failed to get rid of Stephen but then Stephen's son, Eustace, died in dubious circumstances, "struck by the wrath of god." Stephen gave up the struggle by ratifying the Treaty of Winchester , making Henry his heir on condition that the landed possessions of his family were guaranteed in England and France—the same terms Matilda had previously refused after her victory at Lincoln. Henry became King Henry II of England upon Stephen's death on 25 October 1154. Subsequently,

9372-453: The conflict, subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers . The term "Hundred Years' War" was adopted by later historians as a historiographical periodisation to encompass dynastically related conflicts, constructing the longest military conflict in European history . The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces:

9514-399: The construction of the castles of Chinon , Loches and Loudun exemplify. Fulk IV married his son and namesake, called " Fulk the Younger " (who would later become King of Jerusalem ), to Ermengarde , heiress of the province of Maine, thus unifying it with Anjou through personal union . While the dynasty of the Angevins was successfully consolidating their power in France, their rivals,

9656-401: The continental domains that the Angevin kings ruled were governed by a seneschal at the top of the hierarchical system, with lesser government officials such as baillis , vicomtes , and prévôts . However, all counties and duchies would differ to an extent. Greater Anjou is a modern term to describe the area consisting of Anjou , Maine, Touraine, Vendôme , and Saintonge . Here, prévôts,

9798-442: The county, the citizens rose up against Hoël in 1156 and installed Henry II's brother Geoffrey in Hoël's place as count, at Henry II's suggestion. In September, this was followed up with a successful invasion of the duchy by Conan against his stepfather, Eudo, ending in Conan's accession as Duke of Brittany, albeit with Nantes remaining under direct Angevin control. However by 1158, Geoffrey had died and Conan seized Nantes. Nantes

9940-581: The crossings destroyed. He moved further south, worryingly close to Paris until he found the crossing at Poissy. This had only been partially destroyed, so the carpenters within his army were able to fix it. He then continued to Flanders until he reached the river Somme. The army crossed at a tidal ford at Blanchetaque, stranding Philip's army. Edward, assisted by this head start, continued on his way to Flanders once more until, finding himself unable to outmaneuver Philip, Edward positioned his forces for battle, and Philip's army attacked. The Battle of Crécy of 1346

10082-452: The crown, advancing the stance that women should be ineligible to succeed to the French throne. He won over his adversaries through his political sagacity and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V . When he died in 1322, leaving only daughters behind, the crown passed to his younger brother, Charles IV . Charles IV died in 1328, leaving behind his young daughter and pregnant wife, Joan of Évreux . He decreed that he would become king if

10224-459: The current Chancellor of England, was sent as ambassador to Paris in the summer of 1158 to lead negotiations. He displayed all the wealth the Angevins could provide and, according to William Fitzstephen , a clerk and companion of Becket, a Frenchman exclaimed "If the Chancellor of England travels in such splendor, what must the king be?" Louis VII's daughter, Margaret , who was still a baby,

10366-530: The duchy but not until 1364. In July 1346, Edward mounted a major invasion across the channel, landing on Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula at St Vaast . The English army captured the city of Caen in just one day, surprising the French. Philip mustered a large army to oppose Edward, who chose to march northward toward the Low Countries, pillaging as he went. He reached the river Seine to find most of

10508-404: The duchy free of French suzerainty . The French rejected this argument, so in 1329, the 17-year-old Edward III paid homage to Philip VI. Tradition demanded that vassals approach their liege unarmed, with heads bare. Edward protested by attending the ceremony wearing his crown and sword. Even after this pledge of homage, the French continued to pressure the English administration. Gascony was not

10650-517: The duchy of Aquitaine and Gascony in 1329. He made concessions in Guyenne but reserved the right to reclaim territories arbitrarily confiscated. After that, he expected to be left undisturbed while he made war on Scotland . Tensions between the French and English monarchies can be traced back to the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, in which the English throne was seized by the Duke of Normandy ,

10792-611: The earlier years of his reign, Henry II claimed further lands and worked on the creation of a ring of vassal states as buffers, especially around England and Normandy. The most obvious areas to expand, where large claims were held, were Scotland , Wales , Brittany, and, as an ally rather than a new dominion, Flanders . King David I of Scotland had taken advantage of The Anarchy to seize Cumberland , Westmorland and Northumberland . In Wales, important leaders like Rhys of Deheubarth and Owain Gwynedd had emerged. In Brittany, there

10934-536: The end of the 12th century, the Abbess of Fontevrault, Matilda of Flanders (1189–1194), complained about the extreme poverty which the abbey was suffering. As a result, in 1247 the nuns were permitted to receive inheritances to provide income for their needs, contrary to monastic custom. The fragile economic basis of the Order was exacerbated by the devastation of the Hundred Years War , which lasted throughout

11076-567: The establishment of Norman customs and institutions that would last until the French Revolution . Stephen continued to claim Normandy , believing an alliance with Louis was possible. Louis VII had recognised Henry as duke of Normandy in August 1151 in exchange for concessions in the Norman Vexin , but remained angered by Henry and Geoffrey's treatment of Giraud II of Montreuil-Berlay following Giraud's failed rebellion against Angevin rule

11218-410: The fragility the civil war had brought to England. In Ireland, the revenue was fairly low at £2,000 for 1212; however, all other records did not survive. For Normandy, there were many fluctuations relative to the politics of the Duchy. The Norman revenues were only £6,750 in 1180, then they reached £25,000 a year in 1198, higher than in England. What was more impressive was that the Norman population

11360-529: The growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose, mainly whenever England was at war with Scotland , an ally of France . English holdings in France had varied in size, at some points dwarfing even the French royal domain ; by 1337, however, only Guyenne and Gascony were English. In 1328, Charles IV of France died without any sons or brothers, and a new principle, Salic law , disallowed female succession. Charles's closest male relative

11502-461: The issue. King John of England inherited the Angevin domains from his brother Richard I . However, Philip II of France acted decisively to exploit the weaknesses of John, both legally and militarily, and by 1204 had succeeded in taking control of much of the Angevin continental possessions . Following John's reign, the Battle of Bouvines (1214), the Saintonge War (1242), and finally

11644-494: The king and defend all of their lands at once. The power of the English earls had grown during the Anarchy between Matilda and Stephen, as she and he vied for support by granting earldoms to various barons, but this reversed beginning with Henry II, whose reign saw the number of earls halve from twenty-four to twelve. England instead saw a reliance on the exchequer to provide both financial and administrative control on behalf of

11786-519: The king of France again. Flanders would provide Henry II with knights in exchange of an annual tribute in money, known as a "money-fief". In 1148, Conan III, Duke of Brittany , died, leaving behind two children. Although his son Hoël was the natural choice to succeed to the ducal throne, evidence suggests that Hoël was illegitimate and instead he was only recognised as Count of Nantes . Hoël's sister Bertha became Duchess of Brittany, ruling alongside her husband, Eudo of Porhoët . However Bertha had

11928-492: The kingdom and the State was undone. Thieves and robbers rose up everywhere in the land. The Nobles despised and hated all others and took no thought for usefulness and profit of lord and men. They subjected and despoiled the peasants and the men of the villages. In no wise did they defend their country from its enemies; rather did they trample it underfoot, robbing and pillaging the peasants' goods ... Edward invaded France, for

12070-513: The latter of which the term Angevin is derived). Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, acquiring the Duchy of Aquitaine , and inherited his mother Empress Matilda 's claim to the English throne , succeeding his rival Stephen in 1154. Although their title of highest rank came from the Kingdom of England , the Plantagenets held court primarily on the continent at Angers in Anjou, and at Chinon in Touraine. The influence and power of

12212-593: The loss of their continental landholdings, as well as the general shock at losing a war in which investment had been so significant, helped lead to the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). The economic consequences of the Hundred Years' War not only produced a decline in trade but also led to a high collection of taxes from both countries, which played a significant role in civil disorder. The question of female succession to

12354-630: The nobles previously loyal to Henry I against Matilda. In November, Henry was dying; Matilda was with her husband in Maine and Anjou while Stephen , brother of the Count of Blois and Champagne , who was Matilda's cousin and another contender for the English and Norman thrones, was in Boulogne . Stephen rushed to England upon the news of Henry's death and was crowned King of England in December 1135. Geoffrey first sent his wife Matilda alone to Normandy in

12496-468: The only part of Aquitaine that remained in his hands was the Duchy of Gascony. The term Gascony came to be used for the territory held by the Angevin ( Plantagenet ) kings of England in southwest France, although they still used the title Duke of Aquitaine. For the first 10 years of Edward III's reign, Gascony had been a significant friction point. The English argued that, as Charles IV had not acted properly towards his tenant, Edward should be able to hold

12638-433: The only sore point. One of Edward's influential advisers was Robert III of Artois . Robert was an exile from the French court, having fallen out with Philip VI over an inheritance claim. He urged Edward to start a war to reclaim France, and was able to provide extensive intelligence on the French court. France was an ally of the Kingdom of Scotland as English kings had tried to subjugate the country for some time. In 1295,

12780-428: The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and also on the river Garonne up to Agen . The rest of Gascony was not administered, despite being such a large area compared to other smaller, well-administered provinces. This difficulty when it came to administering the region wasn't new – it had been just as difficult for the previous Poitevin dukes to cement their authority over this area. A similar state of affairs

12922-588: The plague had passed and England was able to recover financially, King Edward's son and namesake, the Prince of Wales , later known as the Black Prince , led a Chevauchée from Gascony into France, during which he pillaged Avignonet , Castelnaudary , Carcassonne , and Narbonne . The next year during another Chevauchée he ravaged Auvergne , Limousin , and Berry but failed to take Bourges . He offered terms of peace to King John II of France (known as John

13064-424: The population drastically in France. But at the end of the war, the French had the upper hand due to their better supply, such as small hand-held cannons, weapons, etc. In England, political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. After the war, England was left insolvent, leaving the conquering French in complete control of all of France except Calais. The dissatisfaction of English nobles , resulting from

13206-492: The possessions held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England , half of France , and parts of Ireland and Wales , and had further influence over much of the remaining British Isles . It may be described as an early example of a composite monarchy . The empire was established by Henry II of England , who succeeded his father Geoffrey as Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou (from

13348-416: The pre-eminent figure in Norman government. The seneschals' administrative and judicial power peaked with William FitzRalph . Below them were the baillis, who held both executive, judicial and financial powers. These officials were introduced under Geoffrey of Anjou , replacing the weaker prévôts and vicomtes, in response to the unrest that followed Henry I 's death and Geoffrey's invasion. Ducal authority

13490-440: The province of Guyenne and Gascony (French: Guyenne-et-Gascogne ). The Angevin kings of England became dukes of Aquitaine after Henry II married the former Queen of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine , in 1152, from which point the lands were held in vassalage to the French crown. By the 13th century the terms Aquitaine , Guyenne and Gascony were virtually synonymous. At the beginning of Edward III's reign on 1 February 1327,

13632-610: The question was again raised of Henry's oath to cede Anjou to his brother Geoffrey. Henry received a dispensation from Pope Adrian IV under the pretext the oath had been forced upon him, and he proposed compensations to Geoffrey at Rouen in 1156. Geoffrey refused and returned to Anjou to rebel against his brother. Geoffrey may have had a strong claim, but his position was weak. Louis would not interfere since Henry paid homage to him for his continental possessions. Henry crushed Geoffrey's revolt, and Geoffrey had to be satisfied with an annual pension. The Angevin Empire had now been formed. In

13774-520: The raw material they needed. Edward III had commanded that his chancellor sit on the woolsack in council as a symbol of the pre-eminence of the wool trade. At the time there were about 110,000 sheep in Sussex alone. The great medieval English monasteries produced large wool surpluses sold to mainland Europe. Successive governments were able to make large amounts of money by taxing it. France's sea power led to economic disruptions for England, shrinking

13916-522: The royal principality of the king of France generated alone more incomes than all the Angevin Empire combined. The Counts of Anjou had been vying for power in northwestern France since the 10th century. The counts were recurrent enemies of the dukes of Normandy and of Brittany and often the French king . Fulk IV, Count of Anjou , claimed rule over Touraine, Maine and Nantes ; however, of these only Touraine proved to be effectively ruled, as

14058-574: The royal principality was more centralized under Louis VII and Philip II than it had been under Hugh Capet or Robert the Pious . The wealth of the Plantagenet kings was definitely regarded as bigger; Gerald of Wales commented on this wealth with these words: One may therefore ask how King Henry II and his sons, in spite of their many wars, possessed so much treasure. The reason is that as their fixed returns yielded less they took care to make up

14200-459: The royal throne, she and her new husband needed castles and supporters in both England and Normandy, but if they succeeded, there would be two authorities in England: the king and Matilda. Henry prevented the conflict by refusing to hand over any castles to Matilda as well as confiscating the lands of the nobles he suspected of supporting her. By 1135, major disputes between Henry I and Matilda drove

14342-409: The royal title, and not subject to any English royal law. Because of this, some historians, such as W. L. Warren , prefer the term commonwealth to empire , emphasising that the Angevin Empire was more of an assemblage of seven fully independent, sovereign states loosely bound to each other, only united in the person of the king of England. At its largest extent, the Angevin Empire consisted of

14484-437: The ruling monarch, saw power delegated to specially appointed subjects in different areas. Supported by what W. L. Warren called a "self-regulating administrative machine", these subjects had varied political and military powers. England was under the firmest control of all the lands in the Angevin Empire, due to the age of many of the offices that governed the country and the traditions and customs that were in place. England

14626-522: The ruling monarch. Wales obtained good terms provided it paid homage to the Plantagenets and recognised them as lords. However, it remained almost self-ruling. It supplied the Plantagenets with infantry and longbowmen . Ireland was ruled by the Lord of Ireland , who at first had great difficulty imposing his rule. Dublin and Leinster were Angevin strongholds, while Cork , Limerick and parts of eastern Ulster were taken by Anglo-Norman nobles. All

14768-502: The same time, ambassadors were to be sent to France with a proposed treaty for the French king. At the end of April 1337, Philip of France was invited to meet the delegation from England but refused. The arrière-ban , a call to arms, was proclaimed throughout France starting on 30 April 1337. Then, in May 1337, Philip met with his Great Council in Paris. It was agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into

14910-603: The scene for further conflicts between England and France, leading up to the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), in which the Plantagenet, for a time, would re-establish dominion over much of western, central and northern France, before losing their possessions again, this time permanently. The term Angevin Empire is a neologism defining the lands of the House of Plantagenet: Henry II and his sons Richard I and John . Another son, Geoffrey , ruled Brittany and established

15052-462: The significant economic crisis that followed, led to a period of civil unrest in both countries. These crises were resolved in England earlier than in France. The newly crowned Henry V of England seized the opportunity presented by the mental illness of Charles VI of France and the French civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians to revive the conflict. Overwhelming victories at Agincourt (1415) and Verneuil (1424), as well as an alliance with

15194-401: The sister of the dead Charles IV, but the question arose whether she could transmit a right to inherit that she did not possess. Moreover, the French nobility balked at the prospect of being ruled by an Englishman, especially one whose mother, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer , were widely suspected of having murdered the previous English king, Edward II . The French barons, prelates, and

15336-511: The term Empire . Some historians argue that the term should be reserved solely for the Holy Roman Empire , the only Western European political structure actually named an empire at that time, although Alfonso VII of León and Castile had taken the title "Emperor of all Spain" in 1135. Other historians argue that Henry II 's empire was neither powerful, centralised , nor large enough to be seriously called an empire. Furthermore,

15478-511: The term. The demonym, according to the Oxford English Dictionary , has been in use since 1511. The use of the term Empire has engendered controversy among some historians over whether the term is accurate for the actual state of affairs at the time. The area was a collection of the lands inherited and acquired by Henry, and so it is unclear whether these dominions shared any common identity and so should be labelled with

15620-434: The third and last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent and seize the throne. The Dauphin's strategy was that of non-engagement with the English army in the field. However, Edward wanted the crown and chose the cathedral city of Reims for his coronation (Reims was the traditional coronation city). However, the citizens of Reims built and reinforced the city's defences before Edward and his army arrived. Edward besieged

15762-564: The threat from Scotland. In France, Edward proceeded north unopposed and besieged the city of Calais on the English Channel, capturing it in 1347. This became an important strategic asset for the English, allowing them to keep troops safely in northern France. Calais would remain under English control, even after the end of the Hundred Years' War, until the successful French siege in 1558 . The Black Death , which had just arrived in Paris in 1348, ravaged Europe. In 1355, after

15904-481: The time of his accession, but much of Flanders' prosperity relied on English trade and England traded much of its wool via the Flemish port of Boulogne. Henry, therefore, was able to re-establish friendly relations to the extent that Thierry appointed Henry guardian of his eldest son and regent, Philip , when Thierry undertook his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1157. When William of Blois died without an heir in 1159,

16046-400: The titles of Count of Boulogne and Count of Mortain fell vacant. Henry II absorbed Mortain into his Duchy of Normandy, but granted Boulogne and William's sister, Mary , to Thierry's second son, Matthew . Through this marriage, and the 1163 renewal of a previous treaty between Henry I of England , and Robert II of Flanders , Henry II was assured of Flemish neutrality if war broke out with

16188-405: The total by extraordinary levies, relying more and more on these than on the ordinary sources of revenue. Petit Dutailli had commented that: "Richard maintained a superiority in resources which would have given him the opportunity, had he lived, to crush his rival." There is another interpretation, not widely followed and proven wrong, that the king of France could have raised a stronger income, that

16330-418: The unborn child were male. If not, Charles left the choice of his successor to the nobles. Joan gave birth to a girl, Blanche of France (later Duchess of Orleans). With Charles IV's death and Blanche's birth, the main male line of the House of Capet was rendered extinct. By proximity of blood , the nearest male relative of Charles IV was his nephew, Edward III of England . Edward was the son of Isabella ,

16472-446: The utmost in simplicity of life and dress. He directed that the abbess should never be chosen from among those who had been brought up at Fontevrault, but that she should be someone who had had experience of the world ( de conversis sororibus ). This latter injunction was observed only in the case of the first two abbesses and was canceled by Pope Innocent III in 1201. At the time of Robert's death in 1117, there were about 3,000 nuns in

16614-688: The war, including the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), the Castilian Civil War (1366–1369), the War of the Two Peters (1356–1369) in Aragon , and the 1383–1385 crisis in Portugal , were used by the parties to advance their agendas. By the war's end, feudal armies had mainly been replaced by professional troops, and aristocratic dominance had yielded to a democratization of the manpower and weapons of armies. Although primarily

16756-586: The western world to such an extent that historians consider it to be one of the most fortunate and flourishing of the provinces of Gaul . Its fields are fertile, its vineyards productive and its forests teem with wild life. From the Pyrenees northwards the whole countryside is irrigated by the River Garonne and other streams, indeed it is from these life-giving waters that the province takes its name. The Capetian kings did not record such incomes, although

16898-486: The wool trade to Flanders and the wine trade from Gascony. On 22 June 1340, Edward and his fleet sailed from England and arrived off the Zwin estuary the next day. The French fleet assumed a defensive formation off the port of Sluis . The English fleet deceived the French into believing they were withdrawing. When the wind turned in the late afternoon, the English attacked with the wind and sun behind them. The French fleet

17040-502: The year before. This situation quickly began to shift when, in September, Geoffrey died and Henry inherited his position as Count of Anjou, with rule also over Touraine and Maine. Geoffrey had planned to leave Anjou to his younger son, Geoffrey , but this would have hampered Henry's ability to succeed in conquering England. Geoffrey instead asked his vassals to swear that his body would be left unburied until Henry promised to abide by his wishes. W. L. Warren suggested that this story

17182-624: Was Count of Flanders from 1127. Henry used his paternal inheritance to take the Duchy of Normandy and the Kingdom of England and then tried to establish an alliance with Anjou by marrying his only legitimate son, William , to Fulk the Younger's daughter, Matilda . However, William died in the White Ship disaster in 1120. As a result, Henry then married his own daughter Matilda to Geoffrey "Plantagenet" , Fulk's son and successor; however, Henry's subjects had to accept Matilda's inheritance to

17324-520: Was French ( Norman , and later, Angevin ) in origin through William the Conqueror , the Norman duke who became King of England in 1066. English monarchs had, therefore, historically held titles and lands within France , which made them vassals to the kings of France. The status of the English king's French fiefs was a significant source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. French monarchs systematically sought to check

17466-435: Was a complete disaster for the French, largely credited to the English longbowmen and the French king, who allowed his army to attack before it was ready. Philip appealed to his Scottish allies to help with a diversionary attack on England. King David II of Scotland responded by invading northern England, but his army was defeated, and he was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. This greatly reduced

17608-424: Was agreed that Gascony should be taken back into Philip's hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim for the French throne, this time by force of arms. In the early years of the war, the English, led by their king and his son Edward, the Black Prince , saw resounding successes, notably at Crécy (1346) and at Poitiers (1356), where King John II of France was taken prisoner. By 1378, under King Charles V

17750-473: Was almost destroyed in what became known as the Battle of Sluys . England dominated the English Channel for the rest of the war, preventing French invasions . At this point, Edward's funds ran out and the war probably would have ended were it not for the death of the Duke of Brittany in 1341 precipitating a succession dispute between the duke's half-brother John of Montfort and Charles of Blois , nephew of Philip VI. In 1341, this inheritance dispute over

17892-670: Was betrothed to Henry's heir, his eldest son, Henry the Young King with a dowry of the Norman Vexin. Henry II was given back the castles of Moulins-la-Marche and Bonmoulins. Theobald V, Count of Blois handed Amboise and Fréteval back to him. The counts of Flanders had long been powerful but capricious allies of the kings of France. Count Thierry had taken part in Louis VII's early assaults against Henry II, and Henry had expelled all Flemish mercenaries in England at

18034-522: Was considerably smaller than England's, an estimated 1.5 million as opposed to England's 3.5 million. This period has become known as the 'Norman Fiscal Revolution' due to this increase in revenue. For Aquitaine and Anjou, no records remain. However, it is not because these regions were poor; there were large vineyards , important cities and iron mines. For example, this is what English chronicler Ralph of Diceto wrote about Aquitaine: Aquitaine overflows with riches of many kinds, excelling other parts of

18176-489: Was considered invalidated by Edward's homage to Philip VI in 1329. Edward revived his claim and in 1340 formally assumed the title "King of France and the French Royal Arms". On 26 January 1340, Edward III formally received homage from Guy, half-brother of the Count of Flanders . The civic authorities of Ghent , Ypres , and Bruges proclaimed Edward King of France. Edward aimed to strengthen his alliances with

18318-601: Was divided in shires with sheriffs in each enforcing the common law . A justiciar was appointed by the king to stand in his absence when he was on the continent. As the kings of England were more often in France than England they used writs more frequently than the Anglo-Saxon kings, which actually proved beneficial to England. Under William I's rule, Anglo-Saxon nobles had been largely replaced by Anglo-Norman settlers whose lands were split between England and France. This made it much harder for them to revolt against

18460-562: Was especially important to Henry II as it sat at the mouth of the Loire , and threatened trade from Angers and Tours . Henry II responded to this seizure by mustering an army in Avranches , as well as threatening Conan's English estates. Conan submitted, ceding Nantes back to Henry II and in return was recognised as Duke. During Conan's rule, Henry II continued to intervene—he arranged Conan's marriage to Margaret of Scotland and appointed

18602-519: Was formally recognised by Louis VII. However, Geoffrey still didn't assist Matilda even as she was on the verge of defeat. Further rebellion occurred in Anjou, including Geoffrey's younger brother, Helie , demanding Maine. It was during this period of Angevin unrest that Geoffrey dropped the title of duke of Normandy and formally invested his son Henry as duke in 1150, though both Geoffrey and Matilda would continue to dominate Norman affairs. The following six decades of Angevin rule over Normandy would see

18744-431: Was found in the eastern provinces of Périgord and Limousin , where there was not much of a royal administrative system and practically no officials were stationed. Indeed, there were lords that ruled these regions as if they were "sovereign princes" and they had extra powers, such as the ability to mint their own coins, something English lords had been unable to do for decades. The Lusignans , for example, became rivals to

18886-714: Was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death , and several years of truces . The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages . During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the dominant kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. Chivalry , which reached its height during

19028-683: Was his nephew Edward III of England , whose mother, Isabella , was Charles's sister. Isabella claimed the throne of France for her son by the rule of proximity of blood , but the French nobility rejected this, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right she did not possess . An assembly of French barons decided that a native Frenchman should receive the crown, rather than Edward. The throne passed to Charles's patrilineal cousin instead, Philip , Count of Valois . Edward protested but ultimately submitted and did homage for Gascony. Further French disagreements with Edward induced Philip, during May 1337, to meet with his Great Council in Paris. It

19170-411: Was not able to travel to Normandy and so the situation remained. Geoffrey had found new allies with the Count of Vendôme and, most importantly, William X, Duke of Aquitaine . At the head of a new army and ready for conquest, Geoffrey was wounded and was forced to return to Anjou again. Furthermore, an outbreak of dysentery plagued his army. Orderic Vitalis stated "the invaders had to run for home leaving

19312-559: Was not concerned with the events in Normandy and England. While Geoffrey consolidated his Norman power, Matilda suffered defeats in England. At Winchester , Robert of Gloucester was captured while covering Matilda's retreat so Matilda freed Stephen in exchange for Robert. In 1142, Geoffrey was asked by Matilda for assistance but refused; he had become more interested in Normandy. Following the capture of Avranches , Mortain and Cherbourg , Rouen surrendered to him in 1144 and he anointed himself duke of Normandy. In exchange for Gisors , he

19454-514: Was often a difference between the frontier Henry II, and later Richard I, claimed, and the frontier where their effective power ended. Scotland was an independent kingdom, but after a disastrous campaign led by William the Lion , English garrisons were established in the castles of Edinburgh , Roxburgh , Jedburgh and Berwick in southern Scotland as defined in the Treaty of Falaise . The Angevin Empire, rather than being administered directly by

19596-492: Was required to recognize the suzerainty of the King of France over them. In practical terms, a judgment in Guyenne might be subject to an appeal to the French royal court. The King of France had the power to revoke all legal decisions made by the King of England in Aquitaine, which was unacceptable to the English. Therefore, sovereignty over Guyenne was a latent conflict between the two monarchies for several generations. During

19738-419: Was spread purely to justify the younger Geoffrey's later rebellion against Henry, and that the Angevin nobles supported the story as it gave them an opportunity to reclaim their lost autonomy. In March 1152, Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine had their marriage annulled under the pretext of consanguinity at the council of Beaugency . The terms of the annulment left Eleanor as duchess of Aquitaine but still

19880-538: Was the strongest on the frontier near the Capetian royal demesne . Toulouse was held through weak vassalage by the Count of Toulouse but it was rare for him to comply with Angevin rule. Only Quercy was directly administered by the Angevins after Henry II's conquest in 1159, but it did remain a contested area. Brittany , a region where nobles were traditionally very independent, was under Angevin control during Henry II and Richard I's reigns. The county of Nantes

20022-502: Was under the firmest control. The Angevins often involved themselves in Breton affairs, such as when Henry II arranged Conan of Brittany 's marriage and installed the archbishop of Dol . The economy of the Angevin Empire was quite complicated due to the varying political structure of the different fiefdoms. England and Normandy were well administered and therefore would be able to generate larger revenues than areas such as Aquitaine. This

20164-536: Was used mostly for continental issues, although John Gillingham argues that although areas like Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine are recorded to have brought in less revenue compared to England, much of this is due to poor financial accounts for these continental possessions. Gillingham further argues that by the end of Richard's reign, Normandy may have been bringing in even more revenue to the royal treasury than England. The English revenues themselves varied from year to year. When financial records begin in 1155 to 1156,

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