Medieval fiction: The Angevins (1154–1216)

Bell214: Henry II, the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Henry I’s daughter Matilda, was the first in a long line of 14 Plantagenet kings, stretching from Henry II’s accession through to Richard III’s death in 1485. Within that line, however, four distinct Royal Houses can be identified: Angevin, Plantagenet, Lancaster and York.

Bell214: The first Angevin King, Henry II, began the period as arguably the most powerful monarch in Europe, with lands stretching from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. In addition, Ireland was added to his inheritance, a mission entrusted to him by Pope Adrian IV (the only English Pope).

A new administrative zeal was evident at the beginning of the period and an efficient system of government was formulated. The justice system developed. However there were quarrels with the Church, which became more powerful following the murder of Thomas à Becket.
As with many of his predecessors, Henry II spent much of his time away from England fighting abroad. This was taken to an extreme by his son Richard, who spent only 10 months of a ten–year reign in the country due to his involvement in the crusades.

Bell214: The last of the Angevin kings was John, whom history has judged harshly. By 1205, six years into his reign, only a fragment of the vast Angevin empire acquired by Henry II remained. John quarreled with the Pope over the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury, eventually surrendering.
He was also forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215*, which restated the rights of the church, the barons and all in the land. John died in ignominy, having broken the contract, leading the nobles to summon aid from France and creating a precarious position for his Plantagenet heir, Henry III.

* Note: The Salisbury Cathedral has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta (all four original copies are in England).

(http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAngevins/TheAngevins.aspx)

Read more: http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/England/Angevin/index.html

Bell214: *****

Bell214: I. The reign of Henry II (1154–1189) and Eleanor of Aquitaine

The marriage between Henry of Anjou and Eleanor of Aquitaine, said by some to have been a love match, united his possessions of Normandy and Anjou, as well as his claim to the throne of England, with her realms in Aquitaine and Gascony, creating a kingdom that stretched across the Channel.
Eleanor and Henry’s amity did not persist. The two even warred against each other in 1173 when Eleanor joined the revolt of their eldest son, Henry, who died of dysentery during the revolt.
The reign of Henry II was marked by power struggles with the Catholic Church, which came to a head when a group of noblemen murdered Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170.


(The Lion in Winter, 1968, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063227)

Bell214: Selected novels:

● The Passionate Brood (1945) by Margaret Campbell Barnes

● The Plantagenet Prelude (1976) by Jean Plaidy (The first book in the Plantagenet Saga series)

● The Revolt of the Eaglets (1977) by Jean Plaidy (The second book in the Plantagenet Saga series)

● The Saint: A Fictional Biography of Thomas Beckett (1977) by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer

● A Pride of Kings (1978) by Juliet Dymoke

● Eleanor of Aquitaine series by Sharon Kay Penman:
1. When Christ and His Saints Slept (1994)
2. Time and Chance (2002)
3. Devil’s Brood (2008)

● The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin:
1. Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
2. The Serpent’s Tale (2008)
3. Relics of the Dead (2009)
4. A Murderous Procession (2010) (See: Medieval Mysteries)

● Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine (2008) by Robert Fripp

● Defender (Two–volume tale) by Corey Holst
1. Defender of the Realm (2009)
2. Defender of the North (2011)
(See: Shadows of Sherwood: Robin Hood in fiction)

● Captive Queen (2010) by Alison Weir

● The Secret Eleanor (2010) by Cecelia Holland

● The Queen’s Pawn (2010) by Christy English

● To Be Queen (2011) by Christy English

Bell214: Non–fiction:
1. Henry II (English Monarchs) (1973) by W.L. Warren
2. The Devil’s Crown: A History of Henry II and his Sons (1978) by Richard Barber
3. Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England (2001) by Alison Weir
4. England under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075–1225 (New Oxford History of England) (2002) by Robert Bartlett
5. April Queen: Eleanor of Aquitaine (2004, reprinted 2011) by Douglas Boyd

See also: http://www.medievalbookshop.co.uk

Bell214: *****

Bell214: II. The reign of Richard I “Coeur de Lion” (Lionheart) (1189–1199)

Richard I, the Lionheart, remains forever (and perhaps wrongly) the mythical king of England who preferred to wage war than to rule over his empire.
Henry and Eleanor’s sons were as fractious as their parents. Richard, known as “the Lionheart” is best known for his energetic leadership during the Crusades (novels centering on the Crusades appear in the separate section: The Crusades in historical fiction: The Road to Jerusalem).

Even after succeeding his father as king, Richard spent most of his time at war trying to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim control. His mother, Queen Eleanor, ruled as regent in his absence. When he died, his brother John (who had tried to usurp the throne while Richard was on crusade) succeeded him.

Bell214:



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(BBC Heroes & Villains: Richard the Lionheart, TV–Series, 2008)

Note: Drama–documentary questioning if Richard the Lionheart was a heroic warrior or a greedy imperialist who wanted to loot the Holy Land.
An extremist Christian, Richard struggled to lead a fractious, and ultimately futile, international coalition against an impenetrable Muslim stronghold in the Holy Land. With Saladin using scorched earth tactics, dissension slowly spread through the Crusaders’ ranks and Richard’s coalition fell apart.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009m3m4)

Bell214: Selected novels:

● The Talisman (1825) by Sir Walter Scott
(See: Novels set in the Crusades: Tales of the Crusaders)

● Kay the Left–Handed (1935) by Leslie Barringer

● A Search for the King (1950) by Gore Vidal

● The Lute Player (1951) by Norah Lofts

● The Kings of Vain Intent (1970) by Graham Shelby

● The Devil is Loose (1974) by Graham Shelby (a sequel to The Kings of Vain Intent)

● The Heart of the Lion (1977) by Jean Plaidy
(The third book in the Plantagenet Saga series)

● The Lionheart (1981) by Martha Rofheart

● Crowner John Mysteries (1998–2010) by Bernard Knight
(See: Medieval Mysteries)

● Knight Templar Crusade Trilogy (aka The Crusades Trilogy) by Jan Guillou:
1. The Road to Jerusalem (2002)
2. The Knight Templar (2002) (aka The Templar Knight)
3. Birth of the Kingdom (2010)
(See: The Knights Templar)

● The Outlaw Chronicles by Angus Donald:
1. Outlaw (2009)
2. Holy Warrior (2010)
3. King’s Man (2011)
4. Warlord (2012)
(See: Shadows of Sherwood: Robin Hood in fiction)

● Lionheart (2010) by Thorvald Steen
(Norwegian: Lovehjerte; English translation: June 2012)

● The Swords of Faith, A Novel of the Crusades (2010) by Richard Warren Field
(See: Novels set in the Crusades: The Swords of Faith Trilogy)

● Lionheart (2011) by Sharon Kay Penman

Bell214: Non–fiction:
1. Richard the Lionheart (1978) by John Gillingham (renowned as an expert on the Angevin Empire)
2. The Angevin Empire (1984) by John Gillingham
3. Richard Coeur de Lion: Kingship, chivalry and war in the twelfth century (1994) by John Gillingham
4. Richard I (1999) by John Gillingham (Part of the Yale English Monarchs Series)
5. Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade (2001) by James Reston, Jr.
6. Richard the Lionheart: The Mighty Crusader (2003) by David Miller
7. Richard and John: Kings at War (2007) by Frank McLynn
8. Richard the Lionheart: King and Knight (2007) by Jean Flori
9. Swords and Scimitars: Field of Glory The Crusades Army List (2008) by Richard Bodley–Scott
10. Lionheart: The True Story of England's Crusader King (2013) by Douglas Boyd

See also: The Crusades in historical fiction: The Road to Jerusalem

Bell214: *****

Bell214: III. The reign of King John (1199–1216)

Coming not very far behind Richard in a chart of most well–known English kings, John has a very different reputation from his elder brother. It is not only in Robin Hood that he plays the villain to Richard’s hero. In 2006 he was elected “worst Briton of the thirteenth century” by the BBC History Magazine.
There is no doubt that his infamy is to a large part deserved, though some historians point out that he was not responsible for creating some of the problems that disturbed the realm and led to the loss of a large part of the Angevin Empire and signing the Magna Carta, which reduced the king’s power.


(Ironclad, 2011, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233301)

Bell214: Selected novels:

● Ivanhoe (1820) by Sir Walter Scott

● Leopards and Lilies (1954) by Alfred Duggan

● The Wolf at the Door (1975) by Graham Shelby

● The Prince of Darkness (1978) by Jean Plaidy (The fourth book in the Plantagenet Saga series)

● The Battle of the Queens (1978) by Jean Plaidy (The fifth book in the Plantagenet Saga series)

● The Royal Griffin (1978) by Juliet Dymoke

● Myself As Witness (1979) by James Goldman

● Sir Richard Straccan series by Sylvian Hamilton:
1. The Bone–pedlar (2000)
2. The Pendragon Banner (2001)
3. The Gleemaiden (2004)
(See: Medieval Mysteries)

● Templar Knight medieval mystery series (2007–2011) by Maureen Ash:
(See: Medieval Mysteries)

● The Gallows Curse (2011) by Karen Maitland
(See: Medieval Mysteries)

Bell214: Non–fiction:
1. King John (English Monarchs) (1978) by W. L. Warren
2. 1215: The Year of Magna Carta (2005) by Danny Danziger