The Plantagenet Chronicles

by Elizabeth Hallam

Examines the reigns of Henry II, Richard I, and King John, and discusses the Magna Carta, the Crusades, and life in twelfth-century England

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Medieval History, Medieval, Reference, Biography

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years, I've loved learning about this complex and ruthless family. A pre-cursor to Henry VIII, the king most people have heard of (6 wives, beheadings and divorces!), his ancestors formed a lot of modern England's laws and religious wars. I read about them in Shakespeare's plays... watched moves in high school that attempted to explain who they were, and then I began reading Philippa Gregory's books to explore the historical fiction side and determine what interesting facts I could learn about them. I became so fascinated that I asked for books about them a decade ago. I received this one as a gift. I leafed through it a bunch back then, but I never read it cover to cover. Now I have...

It's hard to review a non-fiction book. You can't talk through your feelings about the people. It's about the writing style, the organization of the details, what's covered and not covered. All in all, this is a great companion book when you're reading historical fiction and can't recall every single relationship. What I liked about this one is how it broke down the history into manageable chunks, focusing on the period in history, then the specific kings and queens who ruled them. It didn't cover all the Plantagenets, only the more well-known ones, and it stopped too early for me, as descendants turned into Tudors, Lancasters, Yorks, etc... but it's so much to cover, I get it.

It offered a lot. I liked the pictures, family trees, and maps to show what land England covered at the time of each king or queen's rule. I didn't realize how powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine was, nor did I know where in France England had territories. What finally clicked in my head this time was that 'France' didn't necessarily exist at that time. Feudal states with duchies and provinces ran themselves, and collectively they might've been known as France, but they could be controlled by English kings (who were German or French, etc. because of all the intermarriages). I would've liked more bulleted sections, short facts rather than lengthy paragraphs at times, just to aide in memory and sorting out the details, but it was still a remarkable read.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Introduction: The foundations of Plantagenet success were laid by a line of obscure castellans in the Loire Valley who, in the tenth century, rose to become counts of Anjou.

Opening: Part1: ORIGINS OF THE ANGEVIN DYNASTY: The fortunes of the house of Anjou were founded on the prowess of Ingelgar, a semi-legendary soldier of fortune who carved out an estate for himself in the Loire Valley. His son Fulk the Red, built effectively on his foundations and became count of Anjou by 941.

There, the stage is set to continue through this coffee-table weight tome of maps history illustrations and photographs, some of which are of double page spread dimensions.

When I had three Billy's for Christmas with the accompanying order to 'fill 'em up', I felt that I wanted somewhere to have reference books open so Dear M made a lectern in one of the shelves. This book has been there for months, a page read and turned everytime I walked past.

Scumptilious fun!

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

MEDIEVAL EUROPE’S
MOST TEMPESTUOUS FAMILY
FROM HENRY II AND HIS WIFE
ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE
TO RICHARD THE LIONHEART
AND HIS SCHEMING
BROTHER JOHN
SEEN THROUGH THE EYES
OF THEIR CONTEMPORARIES

From the book’s dustjacket.

The book has five sections:

Part I. Origins of the Angevin Dynasty
Part II. Geoffrey Plantagenet 1128-1154
Part III. Henry II 1154-1189
Part IV. Richard I 1189-1199
Part V. John 1199-1216

So the book is not by any means a complete story of the Plantagenets, who ruled England for over 300 years: from Henry II (1154) through the death of Richard III in 1485; including the famous years of both the Hundred Years War (1337 to 1453) and the Wars of the Roses (1455 to 1487), neither of which are included years.

There’s a lot of stuff in here. Maps (eleven of them); a two page family tree of the Kings of England and France, showing the houses of Norman, Angevin, Blois, Capet, Aquitaine & Plantagenet, starting with William I the Conqueror (1066-1087) down through Edward I (1272-1307); an Introduction by the editor in which she talks about the various chronicles used in the book; Glossary, Bibliography (ten pages, divided into the sections Politics, Law and Finance; Ecclesiastical; Social and Economic; Art, Music and Literature; Crusades and Warfare; & Bibliographies, Atlases and Reference Works.); a list of the Chronicles used in each of the five Parts; Index; and a couple pages called Manuscripts, which indicates exactly where all the historical illustrations in the book (not the modern photographs) come from.

Each of the five parts is comprised of a narrative; what the editor calls “notes”; and numerous illustrations and photographs, many in color.

The narrative is presented directly from the (edited) chronicles, all of which were written pretty much contemporaneously with the persons and events written about. These chronicles have been translated into modern English, even if they were written in “English” of medieval times – so they are very easy to read, and repetitious or “boring” material has been excised. The narrative parts of the book are separated from the rest by being stuck in attractive boxes, and printed on a light yellow background.

(Note: in these photos, click once to get to Flickr; click a second time to enlarge; then move (without clicking) the mouse within the photo to explore it in the enlarged version.)




The yellow color doesn’t show up here, but you can see the “box” outline on the left. Also note in the lower left corner, the words in italics. These are notes from the translator or editor, and are the way that the reader knows which chronicle is being used here. There are two chronicles used on this page. Prior to the italics is from Henry of Huntingdon, The History of the English; following the italics is from The Deeds of Steven, written by an unknown chronicler. (Additional information about the chronicles used is provided by the editor in her Introduction.)

The “notes” are actually what I would call sidebar information. They generally don’t provide more information about the subject of the chronicle narration. Rather they are ancillary information providing a background or historical context to what is going on in the narrative. Usually these notes occupy a full page, sometimes more. There are a great many of these notes, all detailed in the table of contents. The actual count: Part I - 8; Part II – 15; Part III – 38; Part IV – 20; Part V – 22 Here the list from Part IV, on Richard I.

The troubled lion
The Massacre of the Jews
Philip Augustus
The long arm of kingship
The Sicilian connection
The alternative queen
Travellers’ tales
The web of German politics
A king’s ransom
Poets and patrons
The tournament
The market places of Europe
Omens and apparitions
Paris
The Plantagenet harvest
Poetry and romance
Accounting for England
Chateau Gaillard: Richard’s ‘fair daughter’
The Angevin abbey
The greatness of valour

The notes are almost all illustrated, sometimes with a modern photograph, sometimes with an old drawing or painting from a manuscript.



This is the facing page of the narrative above, from Part II. The illustrations here (neither are in color) are obviously from medieval sources. In the Manuscripts section we find the illustrations described. The one at the top, “King Steven holding a falcon. (Matthew Paris: Historia Major, English, c.1240. British Library, London, MS Roy.20AII, f.7)”; and at the bottom, “Seal of King Steven: second seal, used in 1137-39. 9.5 cm in diameter. (Private collection)”

Here’s another note, from Part V on King John.



This one actually occupies a page and a half, starting on the page prior to the one pictured. The title of the note is The hollow victory: Mirebeau. The illustration is described, “A battle. (The Maciejowski Psalter, French, 14th century. Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, MS 638)”

The book is quite fun to just page through, reading what looks interesting. And of course the old narratives of these medieval times are fascinating.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2020: A book on a subject you know nothing about

So the conversation went like this:

Me: Muuuum, can I use this book on politics for a subject I know nothing about? I don't know MUCH about politics.

Mum: I guess so. I mean, it would be difficult to think of a subject you know NOTHING about because then how would you know about the subject?

*turns head 180 degrees to parents' bookshelf*

Me: What's a Plantagenet?

And that's how I came to read this excellent book about the Plantagenets.

The Plantagenet Chronicles exudes more than a little Game of Thrones and I learned loads.

My favourite historical character was St. Hugh of Lincoln (best mates with a swan, upset the local monks by putting Mary Magdalene's hand bones in his mouth (!), kings just couldn't stay mad at him because he was such a card) and my fave Chronicler was Gerald of Wales (gossipy and good fun).

I really enjoyed it and want to find out what happened next...

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If my house was burning down, and I could save, let's say, two books from the fire, I would choose this book, as well as Hallam's Four Gothic Kings: The Turbulent History of Medieval England and the Plantagenet Kings. I simply cherish these books, which I discovered completely accidentally at a used book sale.

This book is a mixture of contemporary accounts of the times, modern asides, and gorgeous photography of the locations, buildings, and artwork of the period. Although some of the contemporary accounts drag with King A captured castle X and King B captured castle Y, there are enough fascinating asides to hold your interest.

For example,
"Fish of an unusual appearance were caught in England. It was as if they were helmeted and carrying shields and they looked extremely like an army of knights, though they were much more numerous."

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent sourcebook! Not only does it tell the story, with appropriate timelines of the family, it also places them firmly within the culture of the middle ages. Usually I find "boxes" of text separate from the main thread irritating, but here, it worked so well.

Invaluable.

[Elia Princess of Starfall · Rating 4 out of 5]

"From the Devil they came and to the Devil they will return."

According to legend, the infamous Plantagenet family can claim descent from the daughter of Satan, Melusine; a witch who could not bear to hear Mass. Its safe to say that the rampant betrayals, murders, rebellions and sheer daredevil nature of the earliest Plantagenet monarchs cemented this image of a power-mad and ruthless clan devoted to authority above all else. The Plantagenets have gone down in history as the longest ruling dynasty of England but also as its most bloodiest and warlike.

The Plantagenets are, IMHO, fucking awesome. What a bad-ass family of kings, crusaders, murderers, adulterers and all round BASTARDS! The fights this family got into! Fucking glorious!

No doubt you've deduced that I'm actually a rather enthusiastic fan of the Plantagenets....



Lets move onto the book, shall we?

The Plantagenet Chronicles is an excellent and well informed sourcebook all about the rise of the Plantagenet family, their ancestors from Anjou and how the family members were influenced and interacted with their lands and subjects. Using a balanced mixture of translated contemporary chronicles and letters alongside short introductory essays written by medieval historians, I would describe the Plantagenet Chronicles as an insightful and enjoyable introduction into the world of the early Middle Ages and the rulers who wielded such ridiculously vast power and influence over so many lives. Broad, expansive and chocked full of interesting historical facts, the Plantagenet Chronicles is the perfect coffee table book.

Split into five sections

PART I The Origins of the Angevin dynasty
-Who the ancestors of the Plantagenets were and their importance.

PART II Geoffrey Plantagenet 1128-1154
-the father of the Henry II the first Plantagenet monarch and the role that he and his wife Matilda played in gaining Henry the Crown of England.

PART III Henry II 1154-1189
-(My absolute favourite English king) the reign of Henry II, his fractious relations with his wife and sons and how he governed over England, Maine, Anjou, Normandy, Brittany and Aquitaine.

PART IV Richard I 1189-1199
-The "Coeur de Lion", how he went on the Third Crusade, left his mother Eleanor in charge of England, fought against the French King Phillip II and was captured and ransomed by the German Emperor Henry VI.

PART V John 1199-1216
-How John got the throne instead of his nephew Arthur, his loss of Normandy, Anjou and Maine to the French king, his signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 and why Prince Loius of France invaded England.

Accompanied by beautiful medieval pictures of daily peasant life, religious portraits, detailed maps of Plantagenet territory and breath-taking pictures of ruined castles and fortresses, the Plantagenet Chronicles is lavishly illustrated and the various trials, triumphs and disasters of the Plantagenet beginnings are told clearly with no academic dryness. An incredibly helpful introduction in understanding the Plantagenets as monarchs, their overall importance to English and French history and why they deserve to be remembered to the present day.

Not only does this book go into detail about the earliest Plantagenets it also describes women in early medieval society, agriculture, the prestige of the Roman Catholic Church, the relentless appetites for crusades in the Middle East, the Magna Carta, coinage, the Royal Forest, whether Robin Hood was fact or fable, astrology and prophecy, the Anarchy in England, the trouble over in Wales and why Eleanor of Aquitaine was a magnificent Queen of both England AND France. I would completely recommend this book if anyone wanted to know more about medieval society in its proper historical context. That being said this is a very broad introduction and cannot in fairness delve too deeply into particular issues. The bibliography in the back can be very helpful in further reading.

FYI the loss of the ancestral French homelands under John's reign lead (indirectly) to the Hundred years War between England and France in the 14th century under King Edward III.

They say that an elephant never forgets.

Fuck that.

A PLANTAGENET never forgets!

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoy these larger size books, and this one has some brilliant colour photographs. Too wide a subject area to delve deep, but a good intro to the Plantagenets.

[Thom Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Medieval Europes's Most Tempestuous family from Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine to Richard the Lionheart and his scheming brother John seen through the eyes of their contemporaries."

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Thank you, Bettie! Looks luscious.

[TJ]

Read this to do a little research in my family tree, when I found out I am a direct ancestor of this very "interesting" family line.

[Martin Ridgway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a slog to get through since it is the contemporary chronicles of the English kings from 1128 to 1216 (the end of the disastrous John) and those chronicles are hagiography or its opposite. That makes it a great review of primary sources.
The break-out pages provide some very useful contexts on various aspects of the period.

[William Guerrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like her book Four Gothic Kings, this an extremely well-conceived and well-written book. Weaving accounts from 20 chroniclers in with her own scholarly essays is brilliant. The book is also beautifully illustrated.

[Belle Meade School]

942.03

[Mark Beaulieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This large format color picture book chronicles the first Plantagenets only - so if you like Geoffrey & Matilda, Henri & Eleanor, Richard & John - this is golden treasure. The actual chronicle is fairly good, but the maps and photos are really helpful.