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HENRY II (1133-89) King of England (1154-89).

HENRY II (1133-89) King of England (1154-89).

Henry was one of the most able of English kings. He came to the throne at a time when England had been ravaged by civil war for much of the previous 19 years, and set about repairing the institutions of law and administration. By strength of character, some persuasion, and a mixture of brute force and clever stratagem, he brought the barons of the realm back under the control of the crown, and set about creating a system whereby the effective administration of the his dominions was not contingent on the king’s presence.

Henry was one of the most able of English kings. He came to the throne at a time when the legal and social fabric of England had all but disappeared in the civil war of much of the previous 19 years, and set about repairing the institutions of law and administration. By strength of character, some persuasion, and a mixture of brute force and clever stratagem, he brought the barons of the realm back under the control of the crown, and set about creating a system whereby the effective administration of the his dominions was not contingent on the king’s presence.

The first of the Angevin kings of England, he brought with him the titles of Count of Anjou from his father, Duke of Normandy from his mother’s line, and Duke of Aquitaine as right of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was lord of three fifths of what is now France, as well as England; an enormous area given the atrocious roads of the time and the notoriously fickle sea conditions between England and the Continent. That he kept his lands under a good degree of control for most of his reign, and managed to improve the civic, justice and economic institutions, indicate not only ability, but enormous stamina. He spent most of his reign travelling.

The first of the Angevin kings of England, he brought with him the titles of Count of Anjou from his father, Duke of Normandy from his mother’s line, and Duke of Aquitaine as right of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was lord of three fifths of what is now France, as well as England; an enormous area given the atrocious roads of the time and the notoriously fickle sea conditions between England and the Continent. That he kept his lands under a good degree of control for most of his reign, and managed to improve the civic, justice and economic institutions, indicate not only ability, but enormous stamina. He spent most of his reign travelling.