Young King Henry, Part 3

When Henry II of England crowned his son, Young King Henry, as a co-ruler, he could not have predicted that the son would attempt to overthrow him rather than wait until the father died on his own. The younger had been given little authority of his own originally, but after the rebellion he was given more autonomy. This gave him the funds he wanted to travel about with William Marshal, attending tournaments and making a name for himself.

For some reason, however, Henry had a falling out with William in 1182. A contemporary historian who knew William wrote a biography of him, in which he suggested that the problem was William having an affair with young Henry's queen, Marguerite of France. Henry's sending his wife back to France in 1183 might support this notion, but a modern historian thinks he did this just to keep her safe because he was starting another family war.

Young Henry demanded the Duchy of Normandy be handed into his care. This would give him a strong revenue stream. His father kept Normandy, but agreed to increase his son's household budget. Frustrated, young Henry demanded his brothers Richard and Geoffrey pay homage to him for their lands (Aquitaine and Brittany, respectively), since he would be their king some day. Richard refused, but Henry made alliances with some of the barons in Aquitaine who did not like Richard. War broke out, with Henry senior joining Richard to defend Aquitaine.

While young Henry was pillaging monasteries for funds to pay mercenaries in June 1183, he came down with dysentery. Seeing that he was dying, he received last rites on 7 June. On his deathbed, he sent word to his father that he wished to be reconciled. Henry senior would not come to see him personally—an overabundance of caution told him it might be a trap—but he sent a ring in token of his forgiveness. Young Henry died on 11 June, clutching the ring.

His body was carried to be entombed at Rouen Cathedral (see illustration). He had run out of money, and his funeral procession had to rely on charity as they traveled. His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, lobbied with others to have him declared a saint. The Archdeacon of Wells even wrote a sermon stating that there were miraculous happenings around the funeral escort as it traveled. Nothing came of this.

Despite his patricidal leanings, he was considered a good and charismatic figure. Gerald of Wales called him "admirable for gentleness and liberality... had a commendable suavity... commended for his easy temper... remarkable for his clemency." The Occitan troubadour Bertran de Born called him "the best king who ever took up a shield." Bertran even joined Henry in the war against Richard. What could a troubadour bring to the fray? Well, he was also a baron, and we will learn more about him next time.

Young King Henry, Part 2

King Henry II of England followed the one-time Capetian practice of having your son and heir crowned king in your lifetime to prepare for the succession. I suppose this created an expectation in the heir that might have made him eager to take over sooner rather than later. In the case of Henry, the Young King, this is how it played out.

Young Henry was born in 1155, crowned in 1170 (aged 15), and married to the daughter of the king of France in 1172 (aged 17; making him potentially king of both countries), rebelled against his father in 1173 (aged 18).

Contemporary chroniclers pointed out that he had been given to lands of his own to rule. (His older brother, Henry's first-born William who died at the age of 2, had been named Count of Poitiers at birth; no such designation came to Henry junior.) Also, lack of funds for his lifestyle was given as a reason.

Henry senior had determined in 1169 how he would leave his kingdom to his sons. Young Henry would receive England and Normandy (Richard would get Aquitaine and Geoffrey would get Brittany). He had his sons' pledge fealty to Louis for their future continental lands. Louis probably took this opportunity to poison the sons' minds against their father. Henry's rule was strict, and one could not predict how long he would live. Inheritance looked a long way off (born in 1133, Henry senior was only 36 at this point).

Then Henry senior decided to be kind to his youngsters son, John, in a move that might have triggered young Henry's rebellion. John had nothing; their father even called him "Lackland." But Henry decided he would give John three castles as part of what he would bring to a marriage with Alice of Maurienne. The castles were in young Henry's territory.

Henry junior was not the only one interested in taking control from Henry senior. Richard and Geoffrey were eager to get complete control of their promised lands. Eleanor of Aquitaine had been treated poorly by her husband and joined her sons' rebellion. William Marshal, a rich and powerful lord who was young Henry's companion, supported the rebellion, as did Louis VII and the counts of Brittany, Flanders, and Boulogne. Some earls of England—Robert de Beaumont of Leicester and Hugh Bigod of Norfolk—also felt it was time to depose Henry II.

They all failed; some of them were killed in battle, like Matthew of Alsace, Count of Boulogne, who failed to recover from a crossbow bolt wound. Hugh Bigod had all his lands confiscated and his Thetford Castle destroyed.

William the Lion of Scotland took the strife in England as an opportunity to attack the north in spring of 1174. Henry II was fighting in Normandy, and arrived back in England on 8 July. He had to stop in Canterbury and do penance for the murder of Thomas Becket. Before Henry could head north, however, his right-hand man in the north, Ranulph Glanvill, captured William at Alnwick. Henry was free to g back to the continent to defend Normandy against his sons.

The rebellion was put down, the sons all pledged loyalty to their father again, they were forgiven for being led astray by older lords and advisors, and all was right with the world.

For a time. We will wrap up the (short) life of Henry the Young King tomorrow.

Young King Henry, Part 1

Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine were married in 1152 and had a son in 1153, but William died in 1156 at the age of two. On 28 February 1155, their second child, Henry, was born.

Henry doesn't have any history recorded about his childhood, but in 1170 when he was 15 he was crowned king. (The illustration shows the coronation, with Henry II serving his son at the banquet.) This was a custom of the Capetian dynasty: to ensure and publicly proclaim the succession. Normal practice would have been to allow the son to assume some of the roles of government in preparation for assuming the throne, but Henry II retained control of his government. This not only made junior less capable when the time would come, but also annoyed him to the point where he thought he could take matters into his own hands.

He was given over to William Marshall in 1170 to be trained in the knightly arts. Marshall managed young Henry's "tournament team" (until 1182) and made sure he did not get severely hurt. Going to tournaments and jousts across northern and central France brought young Henry an admirable reputation. A contemporary Occitan troubadour, Bertran de Born, called him:

...the best king who ever took up a shield, the most daring and best of all tourneyers. From the time when Roland was alive, and even before, never was seen a knight so skilled, so warlike, whose fame resounded so around the world – even if Roland did come back, or if the world were searched as far as the River Nile and the setting sun.

This may have been true, or it may have been an attempt to curry favor with the man who would become a powerful ruler in both England and on the continent. To be fair, after his death, Gervase of Tilbury (who acted as Henry's chaplain) said 

Assuredly, as he was a solace to the world while he lived, so it was a blow to all chivalry when he died in the very glow of youth.

During this time, he had funds allocated to him by his father. For a tournament in 1179 held at Lagny-sur-Marne by King Louis VII to commemorate the coronation of his son, Philip II, young Henry brought 200 knights at the cost of 20 shillings per knight per day. Henry led the English team against a Flemish team led by his and Marshal's friend Baldwin of Béthune, whose later life was in the service of English kings, not French.

This extravagance was not to last, however. Lack of funds as well as lack of his own lands to rule would be part of his reason for rebelling against his father. But more on that tomorrow.

The Fall of Hubert de Burgh.

Hubert de Burgh was one of the most important figures in England during the reign of Henry III. Not only had he helped ensure Henry would succeed his father, John; he had been Regent during Henry's minority, and Henry in gratitude had given him several properties and titles, even making his Chief Justiciar for life.

He had enemies, however, who were jealous or wary of his growing power. One was William Marshal, the most respected man for decades, who had in fact recommended Hubert as Regent. Another was the Frenchman Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester during the reigns of John and Henry and Henry's childhood tutor. A third was Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, who alternately worked with and opposed Hubert (as well as the king).

It was June of 1232 that Hubert's appointment as Justiciar of Ireland was made an appointment for life. But then, something happened, some incident that changed Henry's mind toward his biggest supporter. In July, Hubert was dismissed as Justiciar and replaced with Stephen de Seagrave, a close friend of Peter des Roches.

Whatever the turning point was, it was significant enough that Hubert feared for his life—or at least for his freedom. He fled to Merton Priory (where another courtier-and-friend-of-the-king who fell from grace had gone to school—and requested sanctuary (see illustration , from the Historia Anglorum of Matthew Paris). Henry wanted him dragged out physically, but this was opposed by his Chancellor, Ralph Neville.

Sanctuary had a time limit, however: forty days. Henry's soldiers were stationed outside of the chapel where Hubert sat, limiting how much food and drink could enter. When the forty days ended, Hubert was taken from Merton, imprisoned, and forced to surrender a large sum of money that he had left with the Knights Templar (who functioned as bankers because of their reliability and presence across Europe and the Middle East). Once he had the money in hand, Hubert was released into the custody of his fellow earls.

Later, Hubert's gentle captivity became more rough on the king's orders, and Hubert escaped and sought sanctuary again. The king had him dragged out of the church, but the bishops made such a fuss about violating sanctuary that Henry had to allow Hubert back in while the forty days passed. Again, the plan was to starve him out, but the tide of public opinion was turning.

His replacement, Stephen de Seagrave, turned out to be not a great replacement, and Peter des Roches administration was not well received. William Marshal's son, Richard Earl of Pembroke, plotted Hubert's escape. Hubert was taken to Marshal's castle of Striguil (also called Chepstow), between the Rivers Usk and Wye. This kept him well away from London and Henry, where Hubert could rest and recover for months.

Henry was wary of offending his earls: he was well aware of their desire for more independence from the Crown during his father's reign and his own. The resolution for their conflict came in a letter from the pope. I'll wrap up the saga of Hubert de Burgh tomorrow.

William Longchamp

William Longchamp (or "de Longchamp") achieved success the old-fashioned way: he paid lots of money for it. That's not fair; best to start at the beginning.

Little is known of his background, except that his family came from Longchamp in Normandy. A rival of his, Hugh Nonant, Bishop of Coventry, claimed William's grandfather was a peasant. This seems unlikely, since William's father Hugh held a knight's tenancy in Normandy, also land in England. (Nonant was Longchamp's opposite on many issues, such as the Becket affair and loyalty to Henry II's children.)

Near the end of Henry II's reign, Longchamp entered royal service for Henry's son Geoffrey (not Geoffrey Plantagenet, Duke of Brittany, who would join the rebellion against their father; the illegitimate one, who became Archbishop of York under Richard). That did not last long. Soon he was working in Henry's chancery, writing up documents, and later was working for Richard I, who made Longchamp Chancellor of Aquitaine, of which Richard was then the Duke. During a dispute between Richard and Henry's envoy, William Marshall, Longchamp was sent to Paris to represent Richard at the court of King Philip II.

When Richard became king, it might have seemed inevitable that he made the trusted and competent Longchamp Chancellor for England—once Longchamp paid £3000 for the privilege, that is. Longchamp would manage England's business while Richard ruled. One of those bits of business was the use of the Great Seal to authenticate documents, whose control and use was now in Longchamp's hands. Stamping a chancery document with the Great Seal incurred a fee, paid to the keeper of the Seal. The price of the Seal's use was raised at this time, perhaps to help Longchamp recoup the £3000 pounds.

Longchamp was also made Bishop of Ely, as well as Justiciar, able to act in the king's name in certain matters. He clashed with a co-justiciar, Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham (who paid £1000 for that office), and so Richard split the country, giving Hugh authority over everything north of the Humber. (Hugh was a bit of a problem, exercising too much authority because the position of Archbishop of York had not been filed for awhile; once Richard placed his brother there, Hugh had a higher authority to whom he was forced to submit.)

One of Longchamp's first challenges after Richard left England was the Massacre at York, when about 150 Jews died after seeking refuge in Clifford's Tower. Richard had made it clear after the anti-semitic riot at his coronation that Jews were to be left in peace. Angry at the insult to the king's command, Longchamp marched to York and imposed heavy fine on 52 of its citizens. He banished Richard de Malbis and members of other families who had been leaders of the riot and massacre. Evidence showed that these individuals owed debts to the Jews, giving them motivation for their crimes.

There are some who blame Longchamp for harassment of the Jews, and yes, there was financial inequity because of Richard's kidnapping, but ultimately that led to Richard creating a system that he intended would stop the attempt to eliminate debt by eliminating the Jew to whom one owed the debt. In fact, Richard's plan gave Jewish moneylenders a slight advantage over Christian moneylenders. We'll go into all this next time.

Henry III's Troubles

Henry III's most loyal and powerful supporter was William Marshal, but William's son was not of the same mind. Richard Marshal (1191 - 1234) was William's second son, and became the 3rd Earl of Pembroke on 6 April 1231.

Henry inherited not just a crown from his father, King John, but also a country where the ranks below that of king demanded more authority and autonomy. Magna Carta was not enough, and civil unrest between the crown and less-loyal factions was a constant threat. There were also smaller conflicts that erupted into larger conflicts whenever the king took sides.

The Bishop of Winchester, Peter Des Roches, had been an important figure in Henry's youth, but in 1233 he demanded a manor be returned to a friend of his, Peter de Maulay, from Gilbert Basset, who currently held it due to earlier strife. Henry supported the bishop; Basset resisted; Henry called Basset a traitor; Basset fled to southern Wales where Richard Marshal held lands; Basset had been a friend of Richard's older brother, William, who had been the 2nd Earl of Pembroke after their father. Richard felt he should shelter and support his brother's old friend, so that's what he did.

This was a tense situation. Henry did not want to alienate Richard, and a date was sent to discuss the matter face-to-face in Gloucester, but Richard did not trust that Henry might not use the event to arrest him, so he refused to meet. Henry sent the Bishop of St. Davids to threaten Richard that his relationship with the king was in danger of being cut off. Meanwhile, the king's bailiffs demanded that one of Richard's castles, Usk Castle, be surrendered to them, with which his garrison at Usk complied.

Richard probably did not want to appear to be in rebellion against the king, but when Basset decided to make a cavalry raid across England, he was forced to act. He decided to stick with his original support of Basset. Richard allied with Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd, and quickly seized Usk and other castles. They continued to Monmouth, where Baldwin III, Count of Guînes, came out to fight. The illustration above is from historian Matthew Paris, showing Richard unhorsing Baldwin.

Richard did not have enough forces to go as far as London and challenge the king. Meanwhile, Henry did not want to commit too many forces to deal with Richard, and hoped for a peaceful settlement. A truce with France was coming to a close, and Henry feared using up troops at home in a rebellion when they might be needed on the continent to defend English-held territory there. An attempt at peace on 1 April 1234 negotiated by Templars failed, and a fight broke out during which Richard was wounded. He succumbed to his injuries on 15 April, and the rebellion died with him.

I was going to tell next about one of Henry's policy decisions that the modern world would condemn, but I feel the need to take a side trip to Matthew Paris, whose work has been mentioned several times throughout this blog but has never been given his own entry. That's for tomorrow.

William Marshall

Guillaume le Maréchal, or William Marshal, is one of the most fascinating and impressive figures in medieval English history. Born about 1146/7 to a minor noble, he was destined to inherit no lands or fancy titles, yet he rose in the ranks to serve five kings and become one of the most powerful men in England under the fifth of those, Henry III.

His father had switched sides during The Anarchy, and William briefly became a hostage in a situation that almost led to his death. He survived, and was sent to Normandy to train as a knight under his mother's cousin, William de Tancarville. We learn about his early life and training from a biography, Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, the only known biography from the Middle Ages of someone who was not royal.

He grew tall (six feet), and ambitious (his nickname was "Greedy Guts"), and then his father died, leaving him no money. He took his martial skills to tournaments, showing off his prowess and gaining wealth through victories. In 1170 he was appointed to the household of Young King Henry, son of Henry II. William managed Henry's tournament team and kept an eye on Henry to prevent his capture by the other side; together they won many tournaments.

Something caused them to fall out—maybe because he was accused of having an affair with Young Henry's wife, or because at Henry II's request he fought on the side of Richard when the Young King rebelled against his father—and William was "traded" to Henry's rival, Philip of Flanders, but that change was short-lived. When the Young King died of dysentery on 11 June 1183, William was by his side. Henry had made a pledge to go on Crusade, and William undertook the journey on his deceased friend's behalf, carrying Henry's cross to Jerusalem where he spent two years fighting with the Templars.

Returning to England, William stayed with King Henry, leading his soldiers against a rebellion caused by Henry's son, Richard Lionheart. William met Richard in battle and unhorsed him. Henry died shortly afterward, and Richard (who admired martial ability) gave the 43-year-old William a wife: the 17-year-old Isabel de Clare, heiress to several estates. This made William the de facto Earl of Pembroke, so he finally had a title. Richard also made William Regent while Richard went on crusade, and had William lead his armies against France.

After Richard's death, William remained in service to King John, and then was Regent for John's son Henry III. Along with the Young King, William served a total of five kings in England. Finally, in his early 70s, his health began to decline. On his deathbed he said "I cannot defend myself against death." He passed away peacefully on 14 May 1219.

He had several children with Isabel de Clare, one of whom did not share his father's loyalty to the crown, as I will explain tomorrow.

King Henry III

When King John died, his son Henry (1207 - 1272) was only nine years old. It was 1216 and in the middle of the First Barons' War. Even though the Magna Carta had been signed the year before, giving more power to those who were not king, the barons still had issues with the way government was run.

Fortunately, William Marshall led the royal forces, defeating the rebel barons. John on his deathbed had asked William to become Henry's guardian. William Marshall was an obvious choice: he had been loyal to the crown for generations. Afterward, a regency government needed to be created to aid the young king. William asked Bishop of Winchester Peter des Roches to help guide Henry. He had been Henry's tutor since Henry was five.

The papal legate to England, Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, had declared the war against the barons to be a religious crusade, and threw his support to Henry, also making sure the ties between England and the papacy were strong. (Henry's father had declared England a papal fiefdom in order to gain the pope's total support.) Henry himself "took up the cross" and declared himself a crusader, giving him special protection from the pope.

Henry's authority as a king was somewhat restored through the efforts of William, Hubert de Burgh (mentioned here and here), and Peter des Roches, who was chosen to perform the coronation (seen here in a 13th century depiction). There were problems, however.: much of the civil structure across the country had collapsed during the war. The network of sheriffs who collected taxes had fallen apart.

Rebel barons (and even some loyalist ones) were ignoring the crown's demands for taxes, some building unapproved castles (the king had the right to approve castles, since they might be used in defense against him). These "adulterine" (unapproved) castles were a larger problem during The Anarchy.

Wales was always threatening rebellion. Henry finally resolved it by making the prince Llywelyn his justiciar (chief political officer) in Wales, underlining the crown's need to compromise over its ability to conquer.

Henry adopted Edward the Confessor as his patron saint. A few times that he planned to go on Crusade were foiled when he had to stay and deal with uprisings in his lands, especially those on the continent, such as Gascony. 

His reign was long and troubled, and I'll talk about it more very soon, but first we have to focus on his most steadfast support, William Marshall, and the troubles after William died. See you tomorrow.

The Give and Take of Hostages

Probably the easiest way to sum up the medieval view of hostages is a line from Adam Costa's Hostages in the Middle Ages:

In medieval Europe, hostages were given, not taken. They were a means of guarantee used to secure transactions ranging from treaties to wartime commitments to financial transactions.

The word itself has caused debate among etymologists. Some sources think it is related to the Latin hostis, "stranger." It seems more likely it is from Old French ostage, which was used for both pledge or bail and kindness or hospitality. In turn this was from Latin obsidanus, meaning literally "to sit before" and meaning people who were hostages.

A hostage was a pledge of financial payment or cooperation. One example was Philip of Courtenay. Another was William Marshal. William served five English kings, starting with Henry II. When he was a boy, his father, John, opposed King Stephen in favor of the Empress Matilda (this was during "The Anarchy"). Stephen was besieging John's Newbury Castle, and John promised he would eventually surrender the castle and offered William as hostage/surety for his promise.

John used the time it bought him, however, to reinforce the castle and send word to Matilda's forces of what was happening. Stephen found out, and ordered John to surrender immediately, or else William would be hanged. John called Stephen's bluff, saying "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Stephen started to arrange to have William catapulted at the castle, but could not do it. Harming a hostage and harming a child were not easily done.William was released only after several months went by and a peace treaty was signed to end the war.

Another famous hostage was King John of France (26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364) during the Hundred Years War. The English under Edward, the Black Prince, dominated at the Battle of Poitiers, although the French army was probably twice the size. John was captured by a French exile who had sided with the English, Denis de Morbecque, who promised to lead John to the Prince of Wales. John surrendered by handing over his glove.

John was taken to England, where he lived in high style for years. He was allowed to travel the country, and had a budget that included buying pets and clothing and having his own court astrologer and a court band. He would be a hostage while a treaty (including ransom) favorable to the English would be negotiated.

His son, the Dauphin, had great difficulty arranging things back in France. The Estates General, a consulting and legislative body of the various estates in France, were angry over the mismanagement of resources (taxes and men) in a disastrous military engagement. They demanded political concessions in exchange for money, which the Dauphin refused. King John would remain a hostage, hosted by King Edward, for a total of four years. How he was able to go home, and why he then went back to England to place himself in captivity, will be explained tomorrow.

Battle van Damme

A naval battle, from a ms. dated late 13th/early 14th century

We are accustomed to summing up the reign of King John (1199 - 1216) as a failure. His rebellious barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta; he lost the crown jewels; he gained the nickname "Lackland" [Johan sanz Terre] when he lost Normandy. As it happens, however, his reign was  not without successes.

At the end of May in 1213, King Philip II of France (mentioned here) was fighting in Flanders (someday I will get to that story). It was known that France thought John weak, and was planning an invasion of England.  John decided it was prudent to send his forces to Flanders and try to deal with Philip there, while he was already busy in conflict with someone else.

So John sent 500 ships and 700 knights, along with mercenaries and all the extra servants and other non-combatant personnel that a military campaign requires. His fleet made for the estuary of the river Zwyn on 30 May, where they encountered Philip's fleet, anchored at the town known as Damme. The French fleet was over three times the size of England's; rather than present a problem however, the fleet was manned by a skeleton crew, the military all having gone shore to march to Ghent for their battle.

The English captured a few hundred ships, burned a hundred more; the following day, they did it again, as well as disembarking and attacking the town. Unfortunately, Philip returned to Damme that day, and the English had to flee. They were in possession of hundreds of French ships, however, as well as all the goods that the French nobles carried with them while traveling. One writer of the period claimed "never had so much treasure come into England since the days of King Arthur."*

The damage to the French fleet was considerable, and not just from the deliberate actions of the English: there was so much debris from destroyed ships that the estuary was blocked, and the remaining French fleet could not sail out to open water. Philip had to abandon or burn the remainder of his ships.

*The biographer of William Marshall, in L'Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal ["The History of William the Marshall"]