Great Lion's Hearts

The Plantagenet dynasty was England's longest-running royal family, beginning with the reign of Henry II (1154), and ending with the death of Richard III at Bosworth Field (1485).  Thirteen kings, some of them renowned military leaders like Richard I and Henry V, others weaklings or simpletons such as Edward II and Richard II, great lawgivers and rulers such as Henry III and Edward I and III, or wannabe saints such as Henry IV and VI, all held power in England, Wales, portions of Ireland and France, and also claimed Scotland while they were at it.

Nor were the kings the only colorful characters.  The women also played their own important roles, not just as mothers, but also as partners, co-rulers, diplomats, and even leaders.  Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife and mother of kings, Eleanor of Castile, beloved wife of Edward I, Anne of Bohemia, the only stability Richard II would ever know, and Margaret of Anjou, the backbone and brains for the Lancasters for many years.  The Plantagenet era would see such tumultuous events as the Third Crusade, the Black Death, the Hundred Years War, and the Wars of the Roses.  Redoubtable enemies such as Saladin the Magnificent, Joan of Arc, and William Wallace would test the mettle and will of the Plantagenets for glory and real estate.  Courtiers such as William Marshal and John Falstaff would play their role, as would rebels such as Henry "Hotspur" Percy, Simon de Montfort, and Warwick the Kingmaker.  Through tournaments, battles, crusades, parleys, pilgrimages and the other vestiges of Medieval life, the Plantagenets lives were more dramatic and tempestuous than anything Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, or Keeping Up With the Kardashians could ever dish out. 

Great Lions' hearts isn't just about dates and battles during the Plantagenet era(s).  It's about the people, men and women and sometimes children, royal, noble, commoner, peasant, who played out their lives in this spectacular era.  It's about the context of their lives, from daily ritual such as castle feasts and hunting, to grand spectacles and even gruesome ones.  Great Lions' Hearts will bring the Kings, Queens and great nobles of this era into their own context and why they remain relevant today.