I discovered a distant connection to the Plantagenets, firstly through my Maternal family line, but then after further 2 years of researching I discovered a much closer Paternal Bond connection; through Sarha Acton my 3rd great-grandmother. The House of Plantagenet was a royal house that originated from the lands of Anjou in France. Modern historians use the name Plantagenet to identify four distinct royal houses – the Angevins who were also Counts of Anjou, the main body of the Plantagenets following the loss of Anjou, and the houses of Lancaster and York, the Plantagenets' two cadet branches. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, when Richard III died.
The Plantagenet dynasty was preceded by the Norman kings (1066 - 1154) and the Saxons/Danes (800s - 1066)
Post-Plantagenet rule of England was by the Tudor Kings (1485 - 1603) the Stuart Kings (1603 - 1714), the Hanoverians (1714 - 1901) and the Windsors (1901 - )
Under the Plantagenets, England was transformed, although this was only partly intentional. The Plantagenet kings were often forced to negotiate compromises such as the Magna Carta. These constrained royal power in return for financial and military support. The king was no longer just the most powerful man in the nation, holding the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare. He now had defined duties to the realm, underpinned by a sophisticated justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, and the establishment of English as the primary language.
The language spoken by the Plantagenets and the English court was French before Henry IV learnt, a modern form of English; and introduced it as the native language during his rule.
After the Norman conquest, in 1066 French was the spoken language of the courts and monarchs of England until Henry IV.
In the 15th century, the Plantagenets were defeated in the Hundred Years' War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms. English nobles raised private armies, engaged in private feuds and openly defied Henry VI.
The rivalry between the House of Plantagenet's two branches of York and Lancaster brought about the Wars of the Roses, a decades-long fight for the English succession, culminating in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, when the reign of the Plantagenets and the English Middle Ages both met their end with the death of King Richard III. Henry VII, a Lancastrian, became king of England; two years later, he married Elizabeth of York, thus ending the Wars of the Roses, and giving rise to the Tudor dynasty. The Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid a number of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance, and the advent of early modern Britain.
Ingelger De Anjou, 32nd Great Grandfather.
Fulk I (The Red) De Anjou, 31st Great Grandfather. Fulk (The Good) De Anjou, 30th Great Grandfather. Geoffrey I Ferreol Gastinios De Anjou, 29th Great Grandfather. Geoffrey II of Gastinios Audri, Count, 28th Great Grandfather. Fulk IV (The Rude) De Anjou, Count, 27th Great Grandfather. Fulk V (The Younger) De Anjou, 26th Great Grandfather. Geoffrey V (The Handsome) Plantagenet, 25th Great Grandfather. Henry II (Curtmantle) 1st Plantagenet King, 24th Great Grandfather. John (Lackland) Plantagenet King, 23rd Great Grandfather. Henry III Plantagenet King, 22nd Great Grandfather. Edward I Longshanks Plantagenet King, 21st Great Grandfather. Joan Plantagenet, 22nd Great Grandmother.
The Plantagenet Kings of England
Henry II (1154–89)
Richard I (1189–99)
John (1199–1216)
Henry III (1216–72)
Edward I (1272–1307)
Edward II (1307–27)
Edward III (1327–77)
Richard II (1377–99)
Plantagenet: Lancaster
Henry IV (1399–1413)
Henry V (1413–22)
Henry VI (1422–61)
Plantagenet: York
Edward IV (1461–70)
Plantagenet: Lancaster
Henry VI (1470–71)
Plantagenet: York
Edward IV (1471–83)
Edward V (1483)
Richard III (1483–85)
Recommended reading: The Plantagenets, The Kings Who Made England, by Dan Jones. Birth of The Plantagenets (series), by Blanche d'Alpuget. War of The Roses (series), by Conn Iggulden.
Copyright © Noel Bond. Researched and written by Noel Bond, No written part of this Blog may be reproduced in any form, by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author.
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