Henry II was born in Le Mans, France in 1133. Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I, were his parents. Henry’s younger brothers were Geoffrey and William (Bingham 22).

Henry’s father gave Henry the best education possible at that time. Peter of Saintes, who was a well-known poet, was Henry’s first tutor. Adelard of Bath also taught Henry. William of Conches and Henry’s other previous tutors instilled in Henry the appreciation for literature. Soon after Henry II’s education, he became Duke of Normandy. With the death of his father, Henry II became the Count of Anjou at age eighteen. Once he became Count of Anjou, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine on May 18, 1152, in the Cathedral of Poitiers. Their children were William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John (Tabuteau 185).

Once Stephen, who was a well-known king, died, Henry II became lord of all land between the Pyrenees and Scotland (Henry 835). Henry had to deal with problem

For all achievements that Henry had accomplished, it would be his own family that would be his undoing. Not wanting to see his vast empire crumble, Henry divided his empire among his progeny, and instantly the quarreling between his sons began. When Henry stepped in to try to halt the fighting, the brothers turned against him. In alliance with the French King, Louis VII, the brothers began revolts in their respective holdings, where they were acting as lords in their father’s name. Fortunately for Henry, the common people did not want to return to the days of baronial oligarchy, and stood against the princes, in support of their king. With the aid of the common man, King Henry threw down the revolts. Once the fighting died down, he promised the princes annual revenue, but still refused to share his power. Finally, with two sons dead (prince Henry and Geoffrey), Henry was defeated by prince Richard in 1189. Richard, who was in league with Philip Augustus, forced Henry II to accept his demands. Henry at this point was already a dying man, and was crushed by the betrayal of his sons. He would die at age fifty-six two days after the formal acceptance of Richard’s demands (Bingham 23; Schultz 34).

McKay, John, etal. A History of World Societies. Dallas: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.

King Henry II filled the vacancy of the archbishop of Canterbury with his best friend Thomas Becket. Thomas Becket was a well-educated man, who accomplished many great tasks in his existence. Thomas Becket unwillingly took the archbishop of Canterbury seat. Thomas Becket warned the king that he was not going to be a puppet for him. King Henry II and Thomas Becket had a huge disagreement concerning criminals in the church. The knights of the king secretly went to th

Some topics in this essay:
Henry II, Thomas Becket, Henry II’s, Constitutions Clarendon, King Henry, henry ii, Fortunately Henry, Scotland Henry, king henry, Curia Regis, Louis VII, Middle Ages’, king henry ii, thomas becket, count anjou, henry ii’s, king henry ii’s, archbishop canterbury, common law, accused person, irish people, english common law, houghton mifflin company, british monarchs,