Treaty: Le Goulet, 1200

The Capetians and the Plantagenets were in an almost constant state of war during the time of the Angevin Empire of 1154-1214, and of course the issue was land.  While the Plantagenet kings held dominion over almost half of what makes up modern day France, they were in theory under the Capets as their overlords.  Try telling that to Henry II, Richard I or John, who didn't believe they were beholden to anybody.  The various English and French kings involved during this period made several treaties, and just as soon broke them.  The treaty between John and Phillip II Augustus of France in 1200 was just another piece of paper.

The treaty's name comes from Gueleton Island in the Seine River near Vernon, Normandy.  It called on Phillip to recognize John as King of England, even though John's teenage nephew, Arthur Duke of Brittany had the more senior claim as the son of Geoffrey, the brother between John and Richard in birth order.  John had to recognize Phillip as his overlord for all the Plantagenet holdings on the Continent including most of Normandy, and recognize that Phillip, not John, was the overlord of the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders.  John also agreed not to support any rebellion undertaken by the two counts aforementioned.  Phillip demanded 20,000 marks of silver to allow John to keep suzerainty of Brittany, and thus Arthur, and to keep the Plantagenet family's home province of Anjou under his own domain. 

Because Eleanor of Aquitaine was still alive and neither King wanted to cross her up, Aquitaine and Poitou were left out of the equation.  John's niece Blanche of Castile, from his sister Eleanor, was married to Phillip's son Louis to seal the treaty.  Despite the marriage, the treaty blew up within two years.  In 1202, John refused to answer a summons to appear before Phillip to answer charges that John was once again intriguing with some of Phillip's vassals for rebellion.  Phillip declared John dispossessed of his ancestral lands and invaded Normandy.  John rallied an army to deal with the threat, the first of many costly endeavors which would see England lose Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine by 1214.  So much for treaties.

 

King: John of England, 1166-1216

There's one in every family, the obnoxious sibling or cousin who doesn't think they've gotten their fair share and tries to make everyone else feel it, too.  The Plantagenet family's biggest royal misfit, and thus one of history's much-maligned monarch is John.  Such is his reputation that, with few exceptions, English princes were named anything else and he has no regnal number because he is the first and the last.  Novels and movies haven't been too kind to him, either.  He's the anti-hero to his brother Richard and to Robin Hood, the tyrannical king who had to be forced by his barons to acknowledge their rights.  He's the perpetually jealous, conniving, whiny, not-too-bright kill-joy of the family with a talent for scheming and getting himself in real trouble, then having to scheme and connive his way out of the hole he dug. 

So, how much of this is deserved?  John, 1166-1216, was the youngest of Henry II and Eleanor's brood of eight.  He was born in Beaumont Palace, Oxford and almost from the time he was born, his parents were perplexed about what to do with him or for him.  Not long after he was born, Henry and Eleanor's marriage was on the rocks.  By 1173, when he was about 7, his older brothers would be in open revolt against their father and his mother would be a prisoner of her husband.  The issues were power and land.  Henry the Young King, John's oldest brother, had already been crowned junior king and was assured in his inheritance of England, Normandy, and the traditional Plantagenet patrimony of Anjou and Maine.  Richard, the warrior poet of the family, would get Eleanor's vast dominions of Aquitaine and Poitou, though he also wanted everything else and Young Henry would've been hard put to it to hold Richard off had Henry lived.  Meanwhile, Geoffrey had been married to a woman who was Duchess of Brittany in her own right, but he, too, hoped to end up with everything some day.  That left John. 

John loved to read and listen to music, but not to play it.  He enjoyed board games such as backgammon.  He liked to hunt and, as befitted a son of Henry II, he had some promise as a capable administrator and commander.  He was short, about 5'8", with red hair, though not ugly as sometimes portrayed.  He could be charming, but he could also given in to fits of rage.  It was this touchiness that kept others, including members of his own family, at arm's length.  John was shopped around to various heiresses, particular the heiress of the Duke of Savoy.  Nothing came of it.  After the rebellion of his brothers, John spent most of his time in Henry II's custody and was considered his father's favorite.  Henry arranged a marriage of John with an English heiress, Isabel of Gloucester, but forgot one important detail.  Both John and Isabel were descendants of Henry I, the last Norman king of England.  They were related and required Papal dispensation to marry.  Henry wasn't big on Church authority and Thomas Becket's replacement as Archbishop of Canterbury wasn't into being lenient.  He handed Henry and John the ultimate conundrum.  John could marry Isabel, but couldn't physically relate to her on pain of excommunication.  Not deterred in the least, John would go on to have plenty of off-the-record relationships and biological children and numerous descents.

But for the time being, he still had no land and no sure inheritance.  He was known as John Lackland even in his own lifetime and certainly felt the sting.  Henry II had John proclaimed Lord of Ireland in 1177 and wanted John to be crowned King of Ireland, but the Pope wasn't going for that, either.  John invaded Ireland in 1185 and tried to cobble together his own kingdom but without success.  Like the Romans centuries before, and the British ever since, he soon came to understand that conquering Ireland was an expensive and bloody undertaking.  Henry II died in 1189 and Richard became King of England.  He soon departed on Crusade in 1191 and John saw his chance.  Through Eleanor's urging, Richard had allowed John to return to England, but didn't give him any position during Richard's absence.  Richard's Justiciar, William Longchamp, became unpopular, leaving John to fill the void as an alternate ruler in his brother's absence.  He opened negotiations with Phillip II of France, hoping to receive aid in conquering at least Normandy and Anjou, if not England itself. 

Then, the unthinkable happened.  Richard showed up back in England and John had some explaining to do.  Richard stripped John of his few possession, except for Ireland, and sent him to the Continent.  There, he showed some skill keeping Phillip from invading Normandy.  Richard died in 1199, but John's way to the English throne was barred by Geoffrey's son, Arthur of Brittany.  Arthur made a feeble attempt to claim his inheritance, but was captured by John, and never seen alive again.  John was acclaimed King of England.  He had his marriage to Isabel of Gloucester annulled and married a French princess, Isabella of Angouleme.  The couple would have five children, including the future Henry III.  John was King of England, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, but he would have a hard time hold on to all of it.  He decided to pay Phillip off by doing homage to him for the family lands in France, a move which earned him another disparaging nickname, John Soft-Sword. 

Relations between John and Phillip would continue to deteriorate to the point that, after two years of war, 1202-1204, John lost the Duchy of Normandy in its entirety.  Meanwhile, his barons were already becoming restless.  John believed that he ruled by divine right, with or without their support.  His policy of rule by force and divisiveness began to take its toll.  The barons believed they had the right to serve as the king's counselors.  John intended to rule on his own.  Although John kept the legal and administrative machinery his father had put in place, and proved a capable administrator on the local level, the powerful lords weren't satisfied.  Like all kings, John had to have money to finance his wars and his taxes made him increasingly unpopular with all levels of society.  His continued war with France didn't help in this regard.  John was responsible for beefing up England's land and sea defenses, which he continued to do, at the cost of more money.  A vicious cycle was developing.  He managed to keep Scotland and Wales at bay, and drew resources from Ireland to focus on France. 

Then, like his father before him, John got into a dispute with the Papacy.  Innocent III was one of the more powerful popes of the Medieval era, keen on consolidating the authority of the Church throughout Europe.  John was just as keen on royal authority within his domains.  He asserted the right to appoint bishops, including the next Archbishop of Canterbury, selecting men who would be beholden to him.  John refused the Pope's candidate, Stephen Langton and barred him from entering England to take up his duties.  Innocent put England under an interdict.  John responded by seizing the lands and arresting any clergy who refused to perform religious services.  By 1209, Innocent excommunicate John, who wasn't deterred in the slightest.  John continued to seize lands and appropriate any money due to the Church from England into his own coffers.  By 1213, with the situation deteriorating among his barons, John had to negotiate with the Pope, offering him feudal homage for England and Ireland. 

But the reversals just kept on.  He lost most of the family's vast French inheritance in 1214 at the Battle of Bouvines, including Normandy and Anjou.  The barons, fed up, were ready to revolt.  Fixated on retrieving the family patrimony in France, John agreed to the Magna Carta on June 15, 1215, but he had no intention of keeping his word.  The Charter guaranteed Church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, access to justice, taxation only with baronial consent and limitation on feudal dues and duties.  It was soon apparent to the barons that the only means of securing these rights was open warfare, leading to the First Barons' War, 1215-1217.  Like his father before him, John would die on campaign, trying to stamp out a revolt.  He died of food poisoning at Newark Castle, Newark on Trent on October 19, 1216.  William Marshal, who remained one of his few supporters among the barons, was appointed protector for John's son, 9-year-old Henry.  John was buried in Worcester Cathedral, where his effigy still remains.   Isabella returned to the Continent, marrying Hugh of Lusignan and leaving Henry in Marshal's care.  Through Marshal's steady influence, the Barons' War would be brought to a close, for now.  John's five children lived to grow up and most had descendants of their own.  His biological daughter, Joan, married Llewellyn the Great of Wales.  Meanwhile, the pros and cons of John's reign, policies and personal qualities remain a matter of debate. 

Extended Family: William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury

Being an illegitimate child in Medieval times wasn't always a social stigma.  Depending on how far up the social chain the parents were, biological children could benefit almost as much as children born within wedlock.  William Longespee, c 1176-1226, the biological son of Henry II and half-brother of Richard I and John, is an example.

William was born c 1176 and speculation existed for centuries about who his mother might be.  The most likely candidate was Rosamund Clifford until a charter from William to "Countess Ida, my mother" was located.  This pinpoints William's mother was Ida de Tosny, wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk.  Henry II acknowledged his son, providing him with a manor at Appleby in Lincolnshire.  Richard I was also generous to his younger half-brother, arranging his marriage to an heiress, Ela, Countess of Salisbury in her own right.  William was now an Earl, a wealthy man, and a specimen straight out of Plantagenet central casting.  The surname Longespee referred not only to the length and size of his sword, Latin longa spathe, but also to William's own great height and strength, needed to wield such a weapon.  Tall, temperamental and good-looking, with money to burn and a penchant for tournaments and military command, William fit well with the rest of the family.

His family loyalty would be tested during the reign of his half-brother John, 1199-1216.  During John's reign, William held a number of key positions, Sheriff of Wiltshire, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Warden of the Welsh Marches, and Viceroy of Ireland.  John trusted William, who frequently had his back during John's conflicts with his barons.  In 1213, Salisbury led an invasion fleet to Flanders, and in 1214, was the English commander at Bouvines, serving under the overall command of a Plantagenet grandson, Otto IV of Germany.  The battle was a disaster, costing the family much of its land in France.  Meanwhile, there were troubles back home and William was needed.  John's barons had cornered him into signing the Magna Carta.  Along with William Marshal, Salisbury was busy in besieging the castles of rebellious barons who remained in the field. 

However, even brotherly loyalty only went so far.  When John reneged on his promises in Magna Carta and Phillip II sent his son, the future Louis VIII, at the head of an invasion fleet to England, William of Salisbury deserted to Louis' side.  Family loyalty won out after John's death, when both Marshal and Salisbury returned to the allegiance of young Henry III and drove the French out of England.  Henry III also showered his uncle with several important posts.  William Longespee lived until 1226, when he died and was buried in Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire.  Rumors spread at the time that he'd been poisoned.  When his tomb was opened in 1791, a dead rat (eeewww!) was found inside the skull, that had traces of arsenic.  I'm not even speculating how that happened, or how 18th century forensic was able to detect arsenic. 

Opposition: Llewellyn the Great of Wales (c 1173-1240)

The Plantagenet dynasty boasted several outstanding rulers, but it was their rivals and enemies, the Welsh, who had the honor of having two of their leaders named "the Great".  One was Llewellyn, Prince of Gwynedd and Powis Wenwynwyn during the reigns of King John (1199-1216) and Henry III (1216-1272).

Llewellyn (c 1173-1240), may have been born in Dolyweddelan Castle in what is now Conwy County Borough, North Wales.  He was born to a princely family, the rulers of Gwynedd.  Although the eldest son of his father, Gwynedd was not necessarily the first choice as ruler.  Gwynedd was held between his two uncles, who had no intention of giving him the throne.  If Llewellyn wanted his father's throne, he would have to take it by force of arms, which he did, in a struggle which lasted several years (1188-1199), which Richard the Lionheart was crusading in the Holy Land, in captivity in Austria and trying to retain his family's possessions in France before his death.  Llewellyn's opponent was his cousin Davydd, who was himself a Plantagenet in-law by means of marriage with a relative of Henry II.  Llewellyn ultimately prevailed over Davydd in 1203.

In those days, Wales was divided into a series of kingdoms.  That is, the part of it that hadn't already been conquered by English barons (the border area known as the Marches).  Even after the death of his uncles and his cousin Dafydd retiring to England, Llewellyn would have to keep consolidating and conquering.  He would also have to work a fair amount of intricate diplomacy with the English.  He reached an agreement with John, swearing fealty to the English King for his lands.  He also married John's out-of-wedlock daughter, Joan in 1205, thus becoming a Plantagenet by extension.  He then set his sights on the larger kingdom of Powys.  In exchange for a promise to assist his father-in-law with a campaign against William I of Scotland, John stripped the ruler of Powys of his authority and gave that kingdom to Llewellyn.  By means of these two kingdoms, influence with the English and his military and diplomatic ability, Llewellyn was ruler of virtually all of Wales.  He is sometimes called the first Prince of Wales, though he only ever claimed to be Prince of North Wales. 

Relations between Llewelly and John soured, as in-laws often will.  John sent an army into Wales and Llewellyn began a scorched-earth running retreat before the superior forces of the English.  He also ravaged the lands of one of the Marcher lords.  Furious, John backed the former ruler of Powys in an attempt to get his lands back, but Llewellyn wasn't through yet.  Enter Joan, Lady of Wales, who approached her father with an offer of compromise.  John's terms were steep, requiring Llewellyn to hand over his own out-of-wedlock son Gruffydd as a hostage and stipulating that if Joan did not produce issue, all of Llewellyn's holdings and virtually most of Wales would revert to English control.  Joan would later save her husband's kingdom by having a son, also named Dafydd.  Meanwhile, Llewellyn had formed alliances with other Welsh leaders who were fed up with John and the English and willing to fight back. 

John planned an invasion of Wales in 1212, but Joan and William I of Scotland saw an opportunity to play a hand and warned John of the obvious.  His barons were in a mutinous mood.  If he lunged at Wales, he might just lose England and his own life.  Llewellyn reached out to an old Plantagenet enemy, Phillip II of France, then seized and held the town of Shrewsbury.  When John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, he also had to make concessions to Llewellyn in Wales.  Llewellyn, now de facto Prince of Wales, continued his campaigns in 1215, seizing Carmarthen, Cardigan and several other Welsh towns.  He also defeated his old rival and took back the Kingdom of Powys.  When Henry III succeeded his father, Llewellyn concluded with him the Treaty of Worcester, which confirmed Llewellyn in possession of the territory he had conquered.  Llewellyn took the opportunity to marry some of his daughters to the leading Marcher lords in a bid for peace and stability.   Llewellyn was careful not to antagonize Henry III, even backing him in 1229, when William Marshal, 2nd Ear of Pembroke, decided to revolt against Henry.

Then family drama erupted.  Joan was found in bed with one of her husband's old enemies, William de Braose, a leading Marcher lord.  Llewellyn ordered de Braose hanged and his wife imprisoned, which led to tensions with her relatives in England.  Despite this, de Braose's daughter married Llewellyn and Joan's son, Dafydd.  By this time, Henry III was choosing to back another Marcher lord, Hubert de Burgh, against Llewellyn and war broke out again.  Once again, Llewellyn would fight his enemies to a standstill and in 1232, another truce was agreed.  His plan was to have his legitimate son Dafydd inherit his lands in Gwynedd but Davydd would have to fight for his rights, just as his father had. 

Joan died in 1237 and Llewellyn suffered a stroke, severely limiting his ability to rule.  Dafydd took more of a hand in running the kingdom and dispossessed his half-brother Gruffyth, of his inheritance.  Llewellyn died at the Abbey of Aberconwy.  His remains were later moved to St. Grwst's Church, where his stone coffin can still be seen.  Dafydd would have to do homage to Henry III of England to keep his lands.  Gruffydd was taken as a hostage to England and later killed attempting to escape from the Tower of London in 1244.  Dafydd died without issue in 1246 and Gruffyth's son succeeded to his famous grandfather's kingdoms.