Royal: Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany 1158-1186

Family in-fighting can be some of the most intricate and stressful situations imaginable.  Throw in titles, land, money and power and the problems only grow.  For the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, there could be no peace in the family as long as one brother was left with more of the above than the others.

In the Medieval era, inheritance laws weren't always so cut and dried.  Even if one son inherited the title and the lion's share of land, the others had to have something.  Their survival depended on it and the peace of the various family realms depended on it, because they would fight if they didn't get it.  And, they often brought allies and in-laws into the mix.  Henry and Eleanor had four sons who survived to adulthood.  It was understood that Henry, the oldest, would inherit England and Normandy.  Richard would inherit most of his mother's dominions, including Aquitaine and Poitou.  That would leave Geoffrey and John out if somebody didn't do something.  To that end, Henry II turned his attention to Brittany, where he had been at war on and off with the Duke, Conan IV.  If the name sounds Celtic, that's because Brittany did have Celtic origins.  Henry ultimate prevailed, forcing Conan to abdicate in favor of his own daughter, Constance, who was destined to marry Geoffrey.  Constance was turned over to Henry to be raised until she was old enough to be Geoffrey's wife.  They were married in July, 1181.  They would have three children, Arthur, Eleanor (whom we've met in a previous post) and Matilda.

However, none of the boys were satisfied with their lot of the family land.  Henry the Young King chafed at his father's heavy-handed control as he grew older.  He was insecure about Richard's ambitions.  Richard made no secret that he wouldn't be satisfied with just Aquitaine, he also wanted England, Normandy and Anjou.  Geoffrey wanted more than just Brittany and John felt left out altogether.  And, they had allies who could play on these fears and ambitions.  Namely, Louis VII of France and later his son, Phillip II Augustus.  As long as the Plantagenet boys were fighting their father or each other, they wouldn't be coming into French domains, or so the logic ran.  Geoffrey and Phillip were also tournament buddies and good friends, leading some to suppose that there was a physical side to their relationship.  Whether that was the case or not, we will never know.  However, rumors of their plotting and something more led to an even greater mystery.  How actually did Geoffrey die in 1186 at the age of 27?

He was in Paris for either one of two reasons.  Either he and Phillip were plotting against Henry II or Richard or both.  Or, he was there to compete in a tournament.  According to one story, Geoffrey was trampled to death in a tournament melee.  According to another story, Geoffrey and Phillip began quarreling about Normandy and Geoffrey threatened to lay waste to the province, including that part of it nominally under French control.  He began having chest pains and died soon after.  Some sources discount option B as a possible French invention, that God struck Geoffrey for insulting French honor, believing the tournament scenario more likely.  He was buried in the Cathedral at Notre Dame de Paris, where his half-sister Marie of Champagne established a chantry for prayers for his soul.  Sources discount the story that Phillip Augustus was so torn up he tried to throw himself into the burial vault.  Geoffrey's death with, at the time, no male heir was one less Plantagenet anyone had to worry about.  He left behind his wife Constance, who was pregnant with their son Arthur at the time.  More on this first of many young princes in the tower later.  During the French Revolution, in 1797, Geoffrey's skeleton was unearthed, revealing that he would've been about 5'6" tall.  So much for the tall, blonde Plantagenet myth.  

King: Henry the Young King

Young men in the Plantagenet family had a daunting task, to live up to fathers or older brothers who were some of the best kings England ever had9, and/or were celebrities in their own time.  One who might have fit the bill was Henry, the Young King (1155-1183), the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Little is known of Henry's earlier life.  He was the second of five sons of Henry and Eleanor.  His eldest brother, William of Poitiers, had died as a toddler.  Henry II hoped that Henry, Jr., would inherit the lion's share of the Plantagenet dominions including England and Normandy.  To that end, when Henry was 15 years old, he was crowned King of England during his father's lifetime.  This occurred during 1170, at the height of the Becket controversy, and without the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding.  Junior was described as tall, well-built, broad-shouldered, with a long neck, freckled skin, bright blue eyes and reddish-gold hair, the basic Plantagenet blueprint.  Henry II appointed William Marshal to serve as Junior's tutor in arms and military matters.  Under Marshal's guidance, Henry became a tournament champion.  In that day and age, the most common tournament form was the melee and Junior was one of many highborn knights who excelled with Marshal as team leader.

Because Henry II was very much alive and in control, Junior wasn't allowed to exercise any authority on his own and, for many years, that seemed to suit him just fine.  The assessment of contemporaries was that he gave no evidence of any political or military skill or even basic intelligence, probably because he was under his powerful father's thumb during his life.  He could be gracious, benign and courteous, when he wanted to be.  He could also be shallow, vain, careless and high-tempered, again the basic Plantagenet recipe.  What he would have amounted to after Henry II's death we'll never know.  In 1170, he was betrothed to Margaret of France, whom we've already met in a previous post.  They had one child together, William of Salisbury.  The birth was difficult and Margaret never had another child.  To appease critics who believed that Junior's earlier coronation was lacking due to the absence of an Archbishop of Canterbury, he and Margaret were crowned again after the wedding. 

In 1173, matters came to a head between Henry, Eleanor, Junior and the other Plantagenet boys.  Whether it was frustration with their father's heavy hand, dissatisfaction with their potential inheritance, instigation by Eleanor, or all the above, Henry's sons rose in rebellion against their father.  Junior's effort gained traction in the form of Norman, Breton and Angevin lords willing to join him and he almost toppled his father from the throne.  The loyalty of the English barons and the timely neutralization of Scotland by the capture of its king saved Henry II's throne.  He and his sons were reconciled, for the time being.  In 1179, Junior represented his father when his counterpart Phillip Augustus, was crowned junior king to his own father, Louis VII.  Then, in 1182, Junior and William Marshal had a falling out.  Rumors had it that Marshal had had an affair with Margaret.  Junior sought an annulment of the marriage around this time, based on Margaret's inability to have children, but maybe there was more under the surface?

Things were never peaceful in the Plantagenet family for long.  Although Junior later patched things up with Marshal, he was once more on the outs with Henry II and Richard, this time over their potential inheritance rights.  As he gathered his forces and funds to march against his father and brother, Junior caught dysentery and began to sink fast.  He sent to Henry II and begged his father to come.  Sensing a trap, Henry II declined and sent a ring as a token of his forgiveness.  Conscience-stricken, Henry, Jr., confessed and prostrated himself naked before a crucifix.  He had given his cloak, with its Crusader's cross, to Marshal with instructions to take it with him to the Holy Land.  Henry died in 1183 and was buried in Rouen Cathedral.

Queen: Joanna of Sicily

Plantagenet women were not damsels in distress waiting for their men to rescue them.  They ran countries, led armies, conducted diplomacy, patronized artists and scholars, and when the situation called for it, they got their brothers (or any other man) told off in a hurry.

Joanna (or Joan) was one of the youngest of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's large brood.  Eight years separated Joanna from her old brother Richard (aka the Lionheart).  Joanna (1165-1199) was born at one of her father's favorite places in Angers.  She spent much of her time as a girl under her mother's care, drifting between Winchester and Poitiers.  In 1176, when she was 11 years old, ambassadors from Sicily asked her hand in marriage for their king, William II.  The marriage would be celebrated, but the couple wouldn't begin living together until Joanna began menstruating, indicating that she was capable of child bearing.  The couple had no children and William died in 1189, leaving Joanna a widow and his out-of-wedlock son Tancred as his only heir.  In those days, being born out of wedlock wasn't necessarily a barrier to inheritance if a man had the means to take his rights by force.

Tancred seized the lands guaranteed to Joanna by her marriage contract, or tired to.  He was also holding Joanna captive when her brother Richard arrived in Sicily in 1190 as part of the Third Crusade.  Richard demanded her safe conduct and return of her dowry money.  Tancred defied him until Richard seized a monastery, the castle of La Bagnara, and decided to stay the winter in Massena.  Tancred realized there was only one way of getting rid of two Plantagenet siblings and returned Joanna and her money.  Things only got worse for Tancred when Richard and Joanna's mother, Eleanor, arrived in Sicily with Richard's intended bride, Berengaria of Navarre. 

Eleanor handed Berengaria off to Joanna and returned to England to deal with John if he made any false moves in Richard's absence.  Joanna, Berengaria and Richard sailed for Acre.  A storm ensued and his ship was blown to Crete.  Joanna and Berengaria ended up in Cyprus where the local Byzantine ruler, Isaac Comnenus, seized Joanna's dowry and Richard's crusading funds.  Isaac was courteous enough to the women, but intended to keep the money until Richard attacked the port of Limasol, threw Isaac into a dungeon, married Berengaria and took her along with him and Joanna on the crusade.  The two women remained at Acre while Richard pursued his crusade.

Then, one of the stranger episodes in Joanna's history began to unfold.  Richard soon realized that Saladin the Magnificent was not called that for nothing and that he and his fellow crusaders were in for more of a war than they realized.  In his turn, Saladin realized that Richard was just crazy enough to be dangerous.  When Richard proposed a truce, Saladin was ready to talk.  Then Richard proposed to marry Joanna to Saladin's brother and top general, Al-Adil.  Joanna loved Richard but this was not in her game plan.  She pleaded and begged, threatened and quarreled.  When Richard persisted with this insane idea of marrying a Christian princess to a Muslim, she went over his head to the Church leaders in Acre.  Not even being Queen of Jerusalem on an equal footing with Al-Adil as King, and the assurances that she could retain her Christian faith were going to dissuade her.  The churchmen warned Richard that he faced excommunication if he allowed the marriage and Richard backed off the idea.  Joanna was equally unimpressed with Phillip II of France, who backed off in his turn.  His father had been married to Joanna's mother Eleanor and one lion queen in the family was enough.

Joanna was too valuable a widow to be left unmarried.  She eventually married Raymond VI, Count of Tolouse and bore him two children, Raymond VII and a daughter, Little Joanna.  Raymond was trying to hold on to his own estates in the Holy Land and Joanna was described as supporting him by herself commanding the forces laying siege to the castle of a rebellious vassal.  When the situation proved too much she did what all sisters do, ask big brother to step in.  But by that time, unbeknownst to her, Richard was already dead.  Joana returned to Europe, widowed and pregnant again.  She sought refuge at Fontevrault Abbey in France where, after her child was born dead, she was veiled a nun and died in her turn.  Her tomb, with its effigy showing her kneeling at the head of her father, Henry II, was destroyed during the French Revolution.