Henry II

by W. L. Warren; With a new foreword by Judith A. Green

• ISBN13: 9780300084740
• ISBN10: 0300084749
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Henry II (1133-1189) was an enigma in his own time and has continued to excite widely divergent judgments ever since. His quarrel with Archbishop Becket, his troubled relationships with his sons and with his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and other dramatic incidents of his reign present rich material for historical novelists, playwrights, and filmmakers, but with no unanimity of interpretation. This masterful biography provides a comprehensive reappraisal of Henry II, the man and king. W. L. Warren explores a full range of contemporary sources to illuminate the king's policy and personality as well as the events of his reign. Henry II's greatness as a king is not in doubt. From an early age he impressed his will on a turbulent realm and established new standards of law and order in seemingly ungovernable territories. He fought and won the first great war over the balance of power in western Europe, laid the foundations for the growth of English Common Law and of royal administration, and destroyed the possibility that the realm might disintegrate into feudal principalities. Warren focuses on the actions of the king and, while not underrating the importance of the famous crises of Henry's reign, gives equal attention to incidents that are little-known but equally revealing. "W. L. Warren has written a life of the great Angevin whose scholarship and fair-mindedness should make it the classic account for the next fifty years."--Michael Ratcliffe,The Times Winner of the Wolfson History Award The late W. L. Warren was professor of modern history and dean of theology at The Queen's University, Belfast. Judith A. Green is professor of history at The Queen's University, Belfast.

Author Biography

The late W. L. Warren was professor of modern history and dean of theology at The Queen's University, Belfast.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Note on References

Note on Translations

Preface

Politics

Prologue

The Pursuit of Inheritance

King, Duke, and Count: a Chronological Survey, 1154- c. 1182

The Lordship of the British Isles

Henry II and his Empire

The Government of England

The Pattern of English Government

Recovery and Reconstruction

The King's Government

Royal Justice

King and Subjects

Henry II and the Church

Church and State in Norman England

Archbishop Theobald

Archbishop Thomas Becket

The Restoration of Harmony

The Angevin Commonwealth

Federal Government (c. 1178-1183)

The End of the Reign (c. 1183-1189)

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

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