Henry the II King of England Western Civilization Essay
Henry the II, King of England Western Civilization Essay
To demonstrate my capabilities of exploring history on Henry II King of England and present a descriptive essay on these events for an improvement on my grade score average.
IV. Henry II King of England
King Henry II was born on March 5th, 1133 at Le Mans to Empress Matilda and her second husband Geoffry of Anjou. He ruled from 1155 to 1189. Henry the II already ruled Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Aquitaine when he succeeded in 1154 to the throne as heir to King Stephen. He was married in 1151 to Eleanor of Aquintaine, divorced wife of Louis VII of France, from whom he took the title of Duke of Aquitaine. Their children included William, Matilda, Eleanor, Henry, Richard, Geoffry, John, and Joan. Henry II died at Chinon in 1189 and was buried in the Abbey of Fontrevault.
Henry the II was the first of the Plantagenet line of kings. He was the grandson of Henry the I and his father Geoffry of Anjou was also known as Geoffry Plantagenet from the sprig of broom (planta genista) he used as a badge. King Henry the II and his immediate successors are known as the Angevin Kings, but the House came to be known by the family name of Plantagenet.
The Angevins were notorious for their energy, their turbulane, and their terrible rages. They were said to be descended from the witch Melusine, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaulx said of them "From the Devil they came and to the devil they will return."
(1) Henry II had all that temper: when a particular enemy of his was praised in his presence he fell into such a rage that he threw himself screaming out of bed and tore his mattress into pieces with his teeth. And he had all that energy, and " fits of black bile" which were unwise to provoke. Henry was a fine-looking man, not tall but of strong muscular built with, like all the Angevins, sandy hair and rather prominent gray eyes which grew bloodshot when his temper was up. Tough a hardened athlete, he was also a man of great culture. This was another family trait. Henry II was orderly in business, careless in appearance, sparing in diet, never resting or giving his servants rest, chatty, inquisitive, endowed with a singular charm of address and strength of memory, obstinate in love or hatred, a...