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November 18, 1180: Accession of Philippe II of France

18 Thursday Nov 2021

Posted by liamfoley63 in Bishop of Rome and the Catholic Church, Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Mistress, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, This Day in Royal History

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Angevin Empire, Ingeborg of Denmark, John of England, King of the Franks, Philip II of France, Pope Celestine III, Prince Louis of France, Valdemar I of Denmark

Philippe II Auguste (August 23, 1165 – July 14, 1223) King of France from November 18, 1180 to 1223. Philippe was thecof King Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné (God-given) because he was a first son and born late in his father’s life. Philippe was given the epithet “Augustus” by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the crown lands of France so remarkably. Philippe II’s predecessors had been known as Kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philippe became the first French monarch to style himself “King of France”.

After a twelve-year struggle with the Plantagenet dynasty in the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214, Philippe succeeded in breaking up the large Angevin Empire presided over by the crown of England and defeated a coalition of his rivals (German, Flemish and English) at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. This victory would have a lasting impact on western European politics: the authority of the French king became unchallenged, while the English King John was forced by his barons to assent to Magna Carta and deal with a rebellion against him aided by Philippe’s son Prince Louis, the First Barons’ War. The military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward. Philippe did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals and knights to help carry them out.

Philippe II transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns free themselves from seigneurial authority, granting privileges and liberties to the emergent bourgeoisie. He built a great wall around Paris (“the Wall of Philippe II Augustus”), re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country.

He was married on April 28, 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry.

Marital problems

After the early death of Isabella of Hainaut in childbirth in 1190, Philippe decided to marry again. On August 15, 1193, he married Ingeborg, daughter of King Valdemar I of Denmark. She was renamed Isambour, and Stephen of Tournai described her as “very kind, young of age but old of wisdom.”

Philippe, however, discovered on their wedding night that she had terribly bad breath, and he refused to allow her to be crowned queen. Ingeborg protested at this treatment; Philippe’s response was to confine her to a convent. He then asked Pope Celestine III for an annulment on the grounds of non-consummation and consanguinity. Philippe had not reckoned with Isambour, however; she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful Queen of France. The Franco-Danish churchman William of Paris intervened on the side of Ingeborg, drawing up a genealogy of the Danish kings to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity.

In the meantime, Philippe had sought a new bride. Initial agreement had been reached for him to marry Margaret of Geneva, daughter of William I, Count of Geneva, but the young bride’s journey to Paris was interrupted by Thomas, Count of Savoy, who kidnapped Philippe’s intended new queen and married her himself instead, claiming that Philippe was already bound in marriage. Philippe finally achieved a third marriage in June 1196, when he was married to Agnes of Merania from Dalmatia. Their children were Marie and Philippe, Count of Clermont, and, by marriage, Count of Boulogne.

Pope Innocent III declared Philippe Augustus’ marriage to Agnes of Merania null and void, as he was still married to Ingeborg. He ordered the king to part from Agnes, and when he did not, the Pope placed France under an interdict in 1199. This continued until September 7, 1200. Due to pressure from the Pope and from Ingeborg’s brother King Valdemar II of Denmark, Philippe finally took Isambour back as his wife in 1201, but it would not be until 1213 that she would be recognized at court as Queen.

Philippe II fell ill in September 1222 and had a will made, but carried on with his itinerary. Hot weather the next summer worsened his fever, but a brief remission prompted him to travel to Paris on July 13 1223, against the advice of his physician. He died en route the next day, in Mantes-la-Jolie, at the age of 58.

His body was carried to Paris on a bier. He was interred in the Basilica of St Denis in the presence of his son and successor by Isabella of Hainaut, Louis VIII, as well as his illegitimate son Philippe I, Count of Boulogne and John of Brienne, the King of Jerusalem.

September 23, 1158: Birth of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany.

23 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Featured Monarch, Royal Genealogy, Royal House, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, This Day in Royal History

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Conan IV of Brittany, Constance of Brittany, Duke of Brittany, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Geoffrey II of Brittany, Geoffrey of Anjou, King Henry II of England, Louis VII of France, Philip II of France

Geoffrey II (September 23, 1158 – August 19, 1186) was Duke of Brittany and 3rd Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.

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Life

In the 1160s, Henry II began to alter his policy of indirect rule in Brittany and to exert more direct control. Henry had been at war with Conan IV, Duke of Brittany. Local Breton nobles rebelled against Conan, so Conan sought Henry II’s help. In 1164, Henry intervened to seize lands along the border of Brittany and Normandy and, in 1166, he invaded Brittany to punish the local barons.

Henry then forced Conan to abdicate as duke and to give Brittany to his five-year-old daughter, Constance, who was handed over and betrothed to Henry’s son Geoffrey. This arrangement was quite unusual in terms of medieval law, as Conan might have had sons who could have legitimately inherited the duchy. Geoffrey and Constance eventually married, in July 1181.

Growing tensions between Henry II and Louis VII, King of the Franks, finally spilled over into open war in 1167, triggered by a trivial argument over how money destined for the Crusader states of the Levant should be collected. Louis VII allied himself with the Welsh, Scots and Bretons and attacked Normandy.

Henry II responded by attacking Chaumont-sur-Epte, where Louis VII kept his main military arsenal, burning the town to the ground and forcing Louis to abandon his allies and make a private truce. Henry was then free to move against the rebel barons in Brittany, where feelings about his seizure of the duchy were still running high.

Geoffrey was fifteen years old when he joined the first revolt against his father. He later reconciled to Henry in 1174 when he participated in the truce at Gisors. Geoffrey prominently figured in the second revolt of 1183, fighting against Richard, on behalf of Henry the Young King.

Geoffrey was a good friend of Louis VII’s son Philippe, and the two men were frequently in alliance against King Henry. Geoffrey spent much time at Philippe’s court in Paris, and Philippe made him his seneschal. There is evidence to suggest that Geoffrey was planning another rebellion with Philippe help during his final period in Paris in the summer of 1186. As a participant in so many rebellions against his father, Geoffrey acquired a reputation for treachery.

Gerald of Wales wrote the following of him: “He has more aloes than honey in him; his tongue is smoother than oil; his sweet and persuasive eloquence has enabled him to dissolve the firmest alliances and by his powers of language able to corrupt two kingdoms; of tireless endeavour, a hypocrite in everything, a deceiver and a dissembler.”

Geoffrey also was known to attack monasteries and churches in order to raise funds for his campaigns. This lack of reverence for religion earned him the displeasure of the Church and, as a consequence, of the majority of chroniclers who wrote about his life.

Family

Geoffrey and Constance had three children, one born after Geoffrey’s death:

  • Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (1184–1241)
  • Maud/Matilda of Brittany (1185–before May 1189)
  • Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187–1203?)

Death

Geoffrey died on August 19, 1186, at the age of 27, in Paris. There is also evidence that supports a death date of August 21, 1186. There are two alternative accounts of his death. The more common first version holds that he was trampled to death in a jousting tournament. At his funeral, a grief-stricken King Philippe II of the Franks is said to have tried to jump into the coffin. Roger of Hoveden’s chronicle is the source of this version; the detail of Philippe II’s hysterical grief is from Gerald of Wales.

In the second version, in the chronicle of the French royal clerk Rigord, Geoffrey died of sudden acute chest pain, which reportedly struck immediately after his speech to Philippe II boasting his intention to lay Normandy to waste. Possibly, this version was an invention of its chronicler, sudden illness being God’s judgment of an ungrateful son plotting rebellion against his father, and for his irreligiosity.

Alternatively, the tournament story may be an invention of Philippe II’s to prevent Henry II’s discovery of a plot; inventing a social reason, a tournament, for Geoffrey’s being in Paris, Philippe II obscured their meeting’s true purpose.

Marie of Champagne, with whom Geoffrey was on good terms, was present at the requiem for her half-brother and established a mass chantry for the repose of his soul.

Geoffrey was buried in the choir of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, but his tombstone was destroyed in the 18th century before the French revolution. His body was exhumed in 1797 and measured at 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m).

Succession

After Geoffrey’s death, Henry II arranged for Constance, Geoffrey’s widow, to marry Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. Ranulf would become Duke of Brittany, jure uxoris, for a short time before this marriage was annulled.

September 18….These dates in History.

18 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by liamfoley63 in Duchy/Dukedom of Europe, Empire of Europe, Featured Monarch, Featured Royal, From the Emperor's Desk, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, This Day in Royal History

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Carl XV of Sweden-Norway, Eleanor of Portugal, George I of Great Britain, Harald III of Norway, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Denmark, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of the Franks, Marie of France, Philip II of France

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Events

1066 – Norwegian king Harald III Hardrada lands with Tostig Godwinson at the mouth of the Humber River and begins his invasion of England.

1137 – Eric III succeeds to the throne of Denmark. (c. 1120 – 27 August 1146) was the King of Denmark from 1137 until 1146. He was the grandson of Eric I of Denmark and the nephew of Eric II of Denmark, whom he succeeded on the throne. He abdicated in 1146, as the first and only Danish monarch to do so voluntarily. His succession led to a period of civil war between Sweyn III, Canute V, and Waldemar I.

1180 – Philippe II August becomes King of France at the age of fifteen. It was during Philippe II’s reign that the title of the monarch changed from King of the Franks to King of France.

1714 – King George I arrives in Great Britain after becoming king on August 1 after the death of Queen Anne.

1872 – King Oscar II accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway.

Births

1344 – Marie of France (September 18, 1344 – October 11, 1404) was the sixth child and second daughter of Jean II of France and Bonne of Bohemia. In 1364, Marie married Robert I, Duke of Bar.

1424 – birth of Eleanor of Portugal (September 18, 1434 – September 3,1467) was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. A Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King Edward of Portugal and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, she was the consort of Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III and the mother of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.

1765 – Pope Gregory XVI (September 18, 1765 – June 1, 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from February 2, 1831 to his death in 1846.

1786 – Christian VIII of Denmark, was the king of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederik, King of Norway in 1814.

Deaths

1137 – Eric II, king of Denmark was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niels of Denmark, and was declared king in 1134.

1180 – Louis VII, King of the Franks. (1120 – September 18, 1180), called the Younger or the Young was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet “le Jeune”) and married Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe.

1361 – Ludwig V, duke of Bavaria (b. 1315) called the Brandenburger (May 1315 – 18 September 1361), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, ruled as Margrave of Brandenburg from 1323 to 1351 and as Duke of Bavaria from 1347 until his death. From 1342 he also was co-ruling Count of Tyrol by his marriage with the Meinhardiner countess Margaret.

1675 – Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (April 5, 1604 –September 18, 1675, Allenbach) was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 until his death in 1675, with a brief interruption in 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, Nicholas François.

1872 – Carl XV of Sweden (b. 1826) Carl XV of Sweden was also Carl IV of Norway (May 3, 1826 – September 18, 1872). Though known as King Carl XV in Sweden (and also on contemporary Norwegian coins), he was actually the ninth Swedish king by that name, as his predecessor Carl IX (reigned 1604–1611) had adopted a numeral according to a fictitious history of Sweden.

July 14, 1223: Death of King Philippe II Auguste of France

14 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Death, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, Royal Titles, This Day in Royal History

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Anglo-French War of 1213–1214, House of Anjou, House of Capet, House of Plantagenet, King Louis VII of France, Philip II of France, Philippe II Auguste of France, Philippe II of France, Pope Celestine III, Pope Innocent III., Waldemar I of Denmark, Waldemar II of Denmark

Philippe II Auguste (August 21, 1165 – July 14, 1223), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as King of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philippe II became the first French monarch to style himself “King of France”. The son of King Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné (God-given) because he was a first son and born late in his father’s life. Philippe II was given the epithet “Augustus” (French: Auguste) by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the crown lands of France so remarkably.

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Philippe II Auguste, King of France

After a twelve-year struggle with the Plantagenet dynasty in the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214, Philippe II succeeded in breaking up the large Angevin Empire presided over by the crown of England and defeated a coalition of his rivals (German, Flemish and English) at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214.

This victory would have a lasting impact on western European politics: the authority of the French king became unchallenged, while the English King John was forced by his barons to assent to Magna Carta and deal with a rebellion against him aided by Philippe’s son Prince Louis, the First Barons’ War. The military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward.

Philippe did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals and knights to help carry them out.
Philippe transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns free themselves from seigneurial authority, granting privileges and liberties to the emergent bourgeoisie. He built a great wall around Paris (“the Wall of Philippe II Augustus”), re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country.

King Philippe II was married on April 28, 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry.

Marital problems

After the early death of Isabella of Hainaut in childbirth in 1190, Philippe II decided to marry again. On August 15, 1193, he married Ingeborg, daughter of King Waldemar I of Denmark. She was renamed Isambour, and Stephen of Tournai described her as “very kind, young of age but old of wisdom.” Philippe, however, discovered on their wedding night that she had terribly bad breath, and he refused to allow her to be crowned queen.

Ingeborg protested at this treatment; his response was to confine her to a convent. He then asked Pope Celestine III for an annulment on the grounds of non-consummation. Philippe had not reckoned with Isambour, however; she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful queen of France. The Franco-Danish churchman Guillaume of Paris intervened on the side of Ingeborg, drawing up a genealogy of the Danish kings to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity.

In the meantime, Philippe II had sought a new bride. Initial agreement had been reached for him to marry Margaret of Geneva, daughter of William I, Count of Geneva, but the young bride’s journey to Paris was interrupted by Thomas, Count of Savoy, who kidnapped Philippe intended new queen and married her instead, claiming that Philip was already bound in marriage.

Philippe II finally achieved a third marriage in June 1196, when he was married to Agnes of Merania from Dalmatia. Their children were Marie and Philippe, Count of Clermont, and, by marriage, Count of Boulogne.

Pope Innocent III declared Philippe II Auguste marriage to Agnes of Merania null and void, as he was still married to Ingeborg. He ordered the king to part from Agnes, and when he did not, the pope placed France under an interdict in 1199. This continued until September 7, 1200. Due to pressure from the pope and from Ingeborg’s brother King Waldemar II of Denmark, Philippe II finally took Isambour back as his wife in 1201, but it would not be until 1213 that she would be recognized at court as queen.

Philippe II fell ill in September 1222 and had a will made, but carried on with his itinerary. Hot weather the next summer worsened his fever, but a brief remission prompted him to travel to Paris on July 13, 1223, against the advice of his physician. He died en route the next day, in Mantes-la-Jolie, at the age of 58. His body was carried to Paris on a bier. He was interred in the Basilica of St Denis in the presence of his son and successor by Isabella of Hainaut, Louis VIII, as well as his illegitimate son Philippe I, Count of Boulogne and John of Brienne, the King of Jerusalem.

This date in History: October 21, 1209, Coronation of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by liamfoley63 in Empire of Europe, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Henry the Lion, Holy Roman Empire, King Richard I of England, Matilda of England, Otto IV Holy Roman Emperor, Philip II of France, Philip of Swabia, Pope Innocent III., Third Crusade


Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was one of two rival kings of Germany from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until he was forced to abdicate in 1215. The only German king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1210.

Otto was the third son of Heinrich XII the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Duke of Saxony, (as Heinrich III) by his wife and Matilda of England, the eldest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. His exact birthplace is not given by any original source. He grew up in England. in the care of his grandfather King Henry II. Otto was fluent in French as well as German. He became the foster son of his maternal uncle, King Richard I of England. In 1190, after he left England to join the Third Crusade, Richard appointed Otto as Earl of York.

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Coat of Arms of Otto IV as Duke of Bavaria

The authenticity (or authority) of this grant was doubted by the vassals of Yorkshire, who prevented Otto taking possession of his earldom. Still, he probably visited Yorkshire in 1191, and he continued to claim the revenues of the earldom after becoming king of Germany, although he never secured them. Neither did he succeed in getting the 25,000 silver marks willed to him by his uncle in 1199.

In 1195, King Richard I of England began negotiations to marry Otto to Margaret of Scotland, daughter and heir presumptive of King William the Lion of Scotland Lothian, as Margaret’s dowry, would be handed over to Richard for safekeeping and the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland (Carlisle) would be granted to Otto and turned over to the king of Scotland. The negotiations dragged on until August 1198, when the birth of a son and heir to William rendered them unnecessary. Having failed in his efforts to secure Otto an English earldom or else a Scottish kingdom, in September 1196 Richard, as duke of Aquitaine, enfeoffed Otto with the county of Poitou. There is some disagreement over whether Otto received Poitou in exchange for or in addition to the earldom of York.

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Coat of Arms of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Otto was in Poitou from September 1196 until mid-1197, when he joined Richard in Normandy to confer over the appointment of bishops to the vacant sees of Poitiers, Limoges and Périgueux. He then participated in the war against Philippe II of France on the side of Richard. In October he returned to Poitou. The German historian Jens Ahlers, taking into account Otto’s life prior to 1198, considers that he might have been the first foreign king of Germany.

After the death of Emperor Heinrich VI, the majority of the princes of the Empire, situated in the south, elected Heinrich VI’s brother, Philip, Duke of Swabia, as German King in March 1198, after receiving money and promises from Philip in exchange for their support. Those princes opposed to the Staufen dynasty also decided, on the initiative of Richard of England, to elect instead a member of the House of Welf. Otto’s elder brother, Heinrich, was on a crusade at the time, and so the choice fell to Otto. Otto, soon recognized throughout the northwest and the lower Rhine region, was elected German by his partisans in Cologne on June 9, 1198.

Otto took control of Aachen, the place of coronation, and was crowned by Adolf, Archbishop of Cologne, on July 12, 1198. This was of great symbolic importance, since the Archbishop of Cologne alone could crown the King of the Romans. The coronation was done with fake regalia, because the actual materials were in the hands of the Staufen.

After Philip’s death, Otto made amends with the Staufen party and became engaged to Philip’s daughter Beatrix. In an election in Frankfurt on November 11, 1208, he gained the support of all the electoral princes, as he promised he would not make hereditary claims to the imperial crown on behalf of any children he might father.

Now fully reconciled with Pope Innocent III, Otto made preparations to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. To secure Innocent’s support, he promised to restore to the Papal States all territory that it had possessed under Louis the Pious, including the March of Ancona, the Duchy of Spoleto, the former Exarchate of Ravenna, and the Pentapolis.

Travelling down via Verona, Modena, and Bologna, he eventually arrived at Milanwhere he received the Iron Crown of Lombardy and the title of King of Italy in 1208. He was met at Viterbo by Pope Innocent and was taken to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he was crowned emperor by Pope Innocent on October 21, 1209, before rioting broke out in Rome, forcing Otto to abandon the city.

This date in History. Death of King John of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine: October 19, 1216.

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Isabella of Angouleme, John of England, King Henry II of England, Kings and Queens of England, Louis VIII of France, Philip II of France, The Magna Carta

I cannot possibly cover the entirety of King John’s reign in this one post, therefore I will cover more personal issues along with issues regarding the succession.

John (December 24, 1166 – October 19, 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philippe II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John’s reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document sometimes considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine had five sons: William IX, Count of Poitiers, who died before John’s birth; Henry the Young King; Richard I, King of England & Count of Poitiers (Lionheart); Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; and John.

Nicknamed John Lackland because he was not expected to inherit significant lands, John became King Henry II’s favourite child following his surviving brothers failed revolt of 1173–74. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. When Henry II died in 1189, having been predeceased by Henry the Young King and Geoffrey of Brittany, Richard became king with Geoffrey’s son, Arthur, as heir presumptive.

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King John of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine

John grew up to be around 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) tall, relatively short, with a “powerful, barrel-chested body” and dark red hair; he looked to contemporaries like an inhabitant of Poitou. John enjoyed reading and, unusual for the period, built up a travelling library of books. He enjoyed gambling, in particular at backgammon, and was an enthusiastic hunter, even by medieval standards. He liked music, although not songs. John would become a “connoisseur of jewels”, building up a large collection, and became famous for his opulent clothes and also, according to French chroniclers, for his fondness for bad wine. As John grew up, he became known for sometimes being “genial, witty, generous and hospitable”; at other moments, he could be jealous, over-sensitive and prone to fits of rage, “biting and gnawing his fingers” in anger.

First Marriage

Isabella, Countess of Gloucester (c. 1173 – October 14, 1217). Isabella was the daughter of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, and his wife Hawise de Beaumont. Her paternal grandfather, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, was the illegitimate son of King Henry I. Her father died in 1183, at which time she became Countess of Gloucester suo jure.

On September 28, 1176, King Henry II betrothed Isabella to his youngest son, John Lacklannd. John and Isabella were half-second cousins as great-grandchildren of Henry I, and thus within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. But in the marriage agreement, the King agreed to find the best husband possible for Isabella should the Pope refuse to grant a dispensation for the marriage. Henry also declared Isabella the sole heir to Gloucester, disinheriting her two sisters.

On August 29, 1189, John and Isabella were married at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire, and John assumed the Earldom of Gloucester in her right. Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, declared the marriage null by reason of consanguinity and placed their lands under interdict. The interdict was lifted by Pope Clement III. The Pope granted a dispensation to marry but forbade the couple from having sexual relations.

After John became king he sought an annulment in order to marry Isabella of Angoulême. The annulment was granted on the grounds of consanguinity, by the bishops of Lisieux, Bayeux, and Avranches, sitting in Normandy. John, however, kept her lands, and Isabella did not contest the annulment.

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Philippe II, King of France.

After King Richard I’s death on April 6, 1199 there were two potential claimants to the Angevin throne: John, whose claim rested on being the sole surviving son of Henry II, and young Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, who held a claim as the son of John’s elder brother Geoffrey. Richard appears to have started to recognise John as his heir presumptive in the final years before his death, but the matter was not clear-cut and medieval law gave little guidance as to how the competing claims should be decided. With Norman law favouring John as the only surviving son of Henry II and Angevin law favouring Arthur as the only son of Henry’s elder son, the matter rapidly became an open conflict. John was supported by the bulk of the English and Norman nobility and was crowned at Westminster Abbey, backed by his mother, Eleanor. Arthur was supported by the majority of the Breton, Maine and Anjou nobles and received the support of Philippe II, who remained committed to breaking up the Angevin territories on the continent. With Arthur’s army pressing up the Loire valley towards Angers and Philippe II’s forces moving down the valley towards Tours, John’s continental empire was in danger of being cut in two.

John and Philippe II negotiated the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet; by this treaty, Philippe recognised John as the rightful heir to Richard in respect to his French possessions, temporarily abandoning the wider claims of his client, Arthur. John, in turn, abandoned Richard’s former policy of containing Philippe through alliances with Flanders and Boulogne, and accepted Philippe’s right as the legitimate feudal overlord of John’s lands in France. John’s policy earned him the disrespectful title of “John Softsword” from some English chroniclers, who contrasted his behaviour with his more aggressive brother, Richard.

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Isabella of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England and Lady of Ireland.

Second Marriage

Isabella of Angoulême (c. 1186/1188 – June 4, 1246) was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John’s death in 1216. She was also suo jure Countess of Angoulême from 1202 until 1246.

Isabella was the only daughter and heir of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, by Alice of Courtenay, who was sister of Peter II of Courtenay, Latin Emperor of Constantinople and granddaughter of King Louis VI of France.

Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on June 26, 1202, by which time she was already Queen of England. Her marriage to King John took place on August 24, 1200 in Angoulême, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester. She was crowned queen in an elaborate ceremony on October 8, at Westminster Abbey in London. Isabella was originally betrothed to Hugh IX le Brun, Count of Lusignan, son of the Count of La Marche. As a result of John’s temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philippe II of France confiscated all of their French lands, and armed conflict ensued.

At the time of her marriage to John, the blonde-haired blue-eyed Isabella was already renowned by some for her beauty and has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians. Isabella was much younger than her husband and possessed a volatile temper similar to his own. King John was infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; however, his acquisition of her had at least as much to do with splitting his enemies between one another as romantic love.

She was already engaged to Hugh IX le Brun when she was taken by John. It was said that he neglected his state affairs to spend time with Isabella, often remaining in bed with her until noon. However, these were rumors spread by John’s enemies to discredit him as a weak and grossly irresponsible ruler, given that at the time John was engaging in a desperate war against King Philippe II of France to hold on to the remaining Plantagenet duchies. The common people began to term her a “siren” or “Messalina”, which spoke volumes as to popular opinion. Her mother-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine, readily accepted her as John’s wife.

Personal Life

John’s personal life greatly affected his reign. Contemporary chroniclers state that John was sinfully lustful and lacking in piety. John’s lack of religious conviction has been noted by contemporary chroniclers and later historians, with some suspecting that John was at best impious, or even atheistic, a very serious issue at the time.

It was common for kings and nobles of the period to keep mistresses, but chroniclers complained that John’s mistresses were married noblewomen, which was considered unacceptable. John had at least five children with mistresses during his first marriage to Isabella of Gloucester, and two of those mistresses are known to have been noblewomen. John’s behaviour after his second marriage to Isabella of Angoulême is less clear, however.

None of John’s known illegitimate children were born after he remarried, and there is no actual documentary proof of adultery after that point, although John certainly had female friends amongst the court throughout the period. The specific accusations made against John during the baronial revolts are now generally considered to have been invented for the purposes of justifying the revolt; nonetheless, most of John’s contemporaries seem to have held a poor opinion of his sexual behaviour.

The character of John’s relationship with his second wife, Isabella of Angoulême, is unclear. John married Isabella whilst she was relatively young – her exact date of birth is uncertain, and estimates place her between at most 15 and more probably towards nine years old at the time of her marriage. Even by the standards of the time, Isabella was married whilst very young. King John was 34 at the time of his marriage.

On October 1, 1207 at Winchester Castle, Isabella gave birth to a son and heir, named Henry after the King’s father, Henry II. If Isabella was 9 at the time of her marriage to King John, then she would have been 15 at the time she gave birth to the future Henry III. If Isabella was 15 at the time of her marriage, then she would have been 22 at the birth of her son.

Young Prince Henry was quickly followed by another son, Richard, and three daughters, Joan, Isabella, and Eleanor. All five children survived into adulthood and made illustrious marriages; all but Joan produced offspring of their own.

John did not provide a great deal of money for his wife’s household and did not pass on much of the revenue from her lands, to the extent that historian Nicholas Vincent has described him as being “downright mean” towards Isabella. Vincent concluded that the marriage was not a particularly “amicable” one. Other aspects of their marriage suggest a closer, more positive relationship. Chroniclers recorded that John had a “mad infatuation” with Isabella, and certainly John had conjugal relationships with Isabella between at least 1207 and 1215; they had five children. In contrast to Vincent, historian William Chester Jordan concludes that the pair were a “companionable couple” who had a successful marriage by the standards of the day.

Death

In September 1216, John began a fresh, vigorous attack against the rebellious Barons. He marched from the Cotswolds, feigned an offensive to relieve the besieged Windsor Castle, and attacked eastwards around London to Cambridge to separate the rebel-held areas of Lincolnshire and East Anglia. From there he travelled north to relieve the rebel siege at Lincoln and back east to King’s Lynn, probably to order further supplies from the continent.

In King’s Lynn, John contracted dysentery, which would ultimately prove fatal. Meanwhile, King Alexander II of Scotland invaded northern England again, taking Carlisle in August and then marching south to give homage to Prince Louis (future Louis VIII) for his English possessions; John narrowly missed intercepting Alexander along the way. Tensions between Louis and the English barons began to increase, prompting a wave of desertions, including William Marshal’s son William and William Longespée, who both returned to John’s faction.

King Louis VIII the Lion invaded southern England and was proclaimed “King of England” by rebellious barons in London on June 2, 1216 a few months before the death of King John. Tensions between Louis VIII and the English barons began to increase, prompting a wave of desertions, including William Marshal’s son William and William Longespée, who both returned to John’s faction. Louis VIII was never crowned as king of England, however, and renounced his claim after being excommunicated and repelled by English forces.

The king returned west but is said to have lost a significant part of his baggage train along the way. Roger of Wendover provides the most graphic account of this, suggesting that the king’s belongings, including the Crown Jewels, were lost as he crossed one of the tidal estuaries which empties into the Wash, being sucked in by quicksand and whirlpools. Accounts of the incident vary considerably between the various chroniclers and the exact location of the incident has never been confirmed; the losses may have involved only a few of his pack-horse. Modern historians assert that by October 1216 John faced a “stalemate”, “a military situation uncompromised by defeat.”

John’s illness grew worse and by the time he reached Newark Castle he was unable to travel any farther; John died on the night of 18/19 October. Numerous – probably fictitious – accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a “surfeit of peachees.” His body was escorted south by a company of mercenaries and he was buried in Worcester Cathedral in front of the altar of St Wulfstan. A new sarcophagus with an effigy was made for him in 1232, in which his remains now rest.

With the death of King John he was succeeded by his 9 year old son as King Henry III of England, Lord of Ireland. On his deathbed, John had appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom. The dying King John further requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England. The loyalist leaders decided to crown Henry immediately to reinforce his claim to the throne.

On these dates in History: September 18…1964, 1872, 1714, 1180, 1066.

18 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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Constantine II of Greece, Duke of Normandy, Frederick IX of Denmark, Harald Hardrada, Harald III of Norway, Harold Godwinson, Margrethe II, Philip II of France, Tostig Godwinson, William the Conqueror

September 18, 1964

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The 55th wedding anniversary of King Constantine II of the Hellenes and Queen Anne-Marie (born Princess of Denmark, daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and sister to the current Queen Margarethe II of Denmark).

The couple and their children went into exile in 1967 after a military coup and the monarchy was abolished in 1973. Today the couple lives in Greece again.

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September 18, 1872

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Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; January 21, 1829 – December 8, 1907) was the King of Sweden from 1872 until his death, and was also the final King of Norway from the House of Bernadotte.

Oscar II became King on 18 September 1872, upon the death of his brother, Carl XV. At his accession, he adopted as his motto Brödrafolkens väl / Broderfolkenes Vel(“The Welfare of the Brother Peoples”). While the King, his family and the Royal Courtresided mostly in Sweden, Oscar II made the effort of learning to be fluent in Norwegian and from the very beginning realized the essential difficulties in the maintenance of the union between the two countries.

Oscar II was King during a time when both Sweden and Norway were undergoing a period of industrialization and rapid technological progress. His reign also saw the gradual decline of the Union of Sweden and Norway, which culminated in its dissolution in 1905. He was subsequently succeeded as King of Norway by his grandnephew Prince Carl of Denmark under the regnal name Haakon VII, and as King of Sweden by his eldest son, Gustaf V.

Oscar II is the paternal great-great-grandfather of Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden since 1973. Harald V, King of Norway since 1991, is a great-grandson of Oscar II, through his third son Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland.

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September 18, 1714: King George I arrives in London.

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George I (May 28, 1660 – June 11, 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from August 1, 1714 and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) in the Holy Roman Empire from January 2, 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarchof the House of Hanover.

Born in Hanover to its Elector Ernst August and Electress Sophia Sophia of the Palitinate), George inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime; he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover in 1708. After the deaths in 1714 of his mother and his second cousin Anne, Queen of Great Britain (r. 1702–1714), George ascended the British throne as Anne’s closest living Protestant relative under the Act of Settlement 1701. Jacobites attempted, but failed, to depose George and replace him with James Francis Edward Stuart, Anne’s Catholic half-brother.

During George’s reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual political power was held by Robert Walpole, now recognised as Britain’s first de facto prime minister. George died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover, where he was buried. He was the last British monarch to be buried outside the United Kingdom.

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September 18, 1180

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Philippe II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), known as Philippe Auguste he was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philippe II became the first French monarch to style himself “King of France”. The son of King Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné (God-given) because he was a first son and born late in his father’s life. Philippe II was given the epithet “Auguste” by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the crown lands of France so remarkably.

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September 18, 1066: Harald Hardrada arrives in England.

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Harald Sigurdsson (Old Norse: Haraldr Sigurðarson; c. 1015 – September 25, 1066), given the epithet Hardrada (roughly translated as “stern counsel” or “hard ruler”) in the sagas, was King of Norway (as Harald III) from 1046 to 1066. In addition, he unsuccessfully claimed the Danish throne until 1064 and the English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus’ and of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire.

Harald was born in Ringerike, Norway in 1015 (or possibly 1016) to Åsta Gudbrandsdatter and her second husband Sigurd Syr. Sigurd was a petty king of Ringerike, and among the strongest and wealthiest chieftains in the Uplands. Through his mother Åsta, Harald was the youngest of King Olaf II of Norway.

With the truce and the recognition that he would not conquer Denmark, Harald turned his attention to England. England had belonged to Harthacnut, the son of Canute the Great, until he died childless in 1042. Harald based his claim to the throne of England on an agreement made between Magnus and Harthacnut in 1038, which stated that if either died, the other would inherit the throne and lands of the deceased. When Harthacnut died, Magnus the Good (King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042, ruling over both countries until his death in 1047) assumed the crown of Denmark and considered himself the lawful heir to Harthacnut.

When Edward died in January 1066, he was to Harald’s dismay succeeded by Harold Godwinson, a son of one of Edward’s advisors . Harald allied himself with Tostig Godwinson, (c. 1026 – September 25 1066) brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada’s invasion of England, and both were killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 25, 1066 by the army of King Harold. Harold marched south where he met the army of Duke William II of Normandy at Hastings (near the town of Senlac) and was defeated in battle on October 14, 1066. Duke William marched onto London and was crowned as King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

This date in History: September 3, 1189. Coronation of King Richard I of England.

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by liamfoley63 in Featured Monarch, Kingdom of Europe, Royal Genealogy, Royal Succession, This Day in Royal History

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antisemitism, coronation, Duke of Aquitaine, Henry II of England, Jews, King Richard I of England, Philip Augustus of France, Philip II of France, Third Crusades

(In this post I will discuss the background of Richard, his final battles with his father, Henry II, and his accession to the throne along with his coronation which resulted in a wave of anti-semitic violence.)

Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overlord of Brittanyat various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.

Richard was born on September 8, 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace, in Oxford, England, son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was a younger brother of Count William IX of Poitiers, Henry the Young King and Duchess Matilda of Saxony. As the third legitimate son of King Henry II, he was not expected to ascend to the throne. He was also an elder brother of Duke Geoffrey II of Brittany; Queen Eleanor of Castile; Queen Joan of Sicily; and Count John of Mortain, who succeeded him as king. Richard was the younger maternal half-brother of Countess Marie of Champagne and Countess Alix of Blois.

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Richard I, King of England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes.

The eldest son of Henry II and Eleanor, William, died in 1156, before Richard’s birth. Richard is often depicted as having been the favourite son of his mother. His father was Angevin-Norman and great-grandson of William the Conqueror. Contemporary historian Ralph of Diceto traced his family’s lineage through Matilda of Scotland to the Anglo-Saxonkings of England and Alfred the Great.

Accession to the throne.

The relationship between Henry II and Richard finally dissolved into violence shortly before Henry’s death. Philippe II Augustus, the new King of France, held a peace conference in November 1188, making a public offer of a generous long-term peace settlement with Henry, conceding to his various territorial demands, if Henry would finally marry Richard and Alys and announce Richard as his recognised heir. Henry refused the proposal, whereupon Richard himself spoke up, demanding to be recognised as Henry’s successor. Henry remained silent and Richard then publicly changed sides at the conference and gave formal homage to Philip in front of the assembled nobles.

The papacy intervened once again to try to produce a last-minute peace deal, resulting in a fresh conference at La Ferté-Bernard in 1189. By now king Henry II was suffering from a bleeding ulcer that would ultimately prove fatal. The discussions achieved little, although Henry is alleged to have offered Philippe II that John, rather than Richard, could marry Alys, reflecting the rumours circulating over the summer that Henry was considering openly disinheriting Richard.

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Henry II, King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, Maine, and Nante.

Henry II was caught by surprise at Le Mans but made a forced march north to Alençon, from where he could escape into the safety of Normandy. Suddenly, Henry turned back south towards Anjou, against the advice of his officials. The weather was extremely hot, the King was increasingly ill and he appears to have wanted to die peacefully in Anjou rather than fight yet another campaign. Henry evaded the enemy forces on his way south and collapsed in his castle at Chinon. Philippe and Richard were making good progress, not least because it was now obvious that Henry was dying and that Richard would be the next king, and the pair offered negotiations.

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Philippe II Augustus, King of France

They met at Ballan, where Henry, only just able to remain seated on his horse, agreed to a complete surrender: he would do homage to Philippe; he would give up Alys to a guardian and she would marry Richard at the end of the coming crusade; he would recognise Richard as his heir; he would pay Philippe compensation, and key castles would be given to Philippe as a guarantee.

Henry was carried back to Chinon on a litter, where he was informed that John had publicly sided with Richard in the conflict. This desertion proved the final shock and he finally collapsed into a fever, regaining consciousness only for a few moments, during which he gave confession. Henry died on July 6, 1189, aged 56; and was succeeded on the throne by Richard. King Henry II had wished to be interred at Grandmont Abbey in the Limousin, but the hot weather made transporting his body impractical and he was instead buried at the nearby Fontevraud Abbey.

Coronation

Richard I was officially invested as Duke of Normandy on 20 July 1189 and crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on September 3, 1189. Tradition barred all Jews and women from the investiture, but some Jewish leaders arrived to present gifts for the new king. According to Ralph of Diceto, Richard’s courtiers stripped and flogged the Jews, then flung them out of court.

When a rumour spread that Richard had ordered all Jews to be killed, the people of London attacked the Jewish population. Many Jewish homes were destroyed by arsonists, and several Jews were forcibly baptised. Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of London, and others managed to escape. Among those killed was Jacob of Orléans, a respected Jewish scholar. Roger of Howden, in his Gesta Regis Ricardi, claimed that the jealous and bigoted citizens started the rioting, and that Richard punished the perpetrators, allowing a forcibly converted Jew to return to his native religion. Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, reacted by remarking, “If the King is not God’s man, he had better be the Devil’s.”

Realising that the assaults could destabilise his realm on the eve of his departure on crusade, Richard ordered the execution of those responsible for the most egregious murders and persecutions, including rioters who had accidentally burned down Christian homes. He distributed a royal writdemanding that the Jews be left alone. The edict was only loosely enforced, however, and the following March further violence occurred, including a massacre at York.

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