#english_history 

## The idea of kingship
There was little or no idea of [[Nationalism in England|nationalism]], so it didn't matter for the king that the ordinary people of their realms may be different.

## William the Conqueror's progenies
When [[Troubles on the Throne in 10th-11th century England#^c6b3ec|William I]] died, he left the Duchy of Normandy to his elder son, **Robert II**, and England to his second son, **William II Rufus** (1087-1100) ("red").
When Robert went to fight in the [[Crusades]], he left William II in charge of Normandy.
William Rufus died in a hunting accident in **1100**, shot dead by an arrow without an heir. 
His brother Robert was on the way from the Holy Land, so to take the throne, his other brother, **Henry I (1100-1135)**, who was a witness of his death, without temporising rushed to Winchester and took charge of the king's treasury, then rode to Westminster and was crowned. Robert was furious and prepared to launch an invasion.
Most Norman nobles chose Henry, as he had already been crowned. Robert's invasion was a failure and he accepted payment to return to Normandy.
However, Henry's avarice and the loyalty of his nobles decided, after taking some stock, to invade Normandy. He successfully did so in 1106 and captured Robert. 
Henry I's next aim was to pass on both Normandy and England to his successor, but his son drowned at sea in 1120.
In 1135, he accepted that his only child, **Matilda**, would follow him. He married her to an affluent noble in France, **Geoffrey Plantagenet**, who was heir to Anjou, a large area southwest of Normandy. Shortly before his death, he took oaths from the nobles that they would accept Matilda.
At the time there were 2 possible heirs: Matilda in France, and Henry's nephew, **Stephen of Blois**, only a day's journey by sea from England. He raced to England to claim the crown, with most nobles supporting him.
Matilda invaded England in **1139**, causing a civil war (**The Anarchy**) (1139-1153) with no clear victors. In 1153 both sides agreed that Stephen could keep the throne but only if Matilda's son, **Henry II (1154-1189)**, could succeed him.
Stephen died in **1154**. ^002cae

## Henry II's rule
He destroyed the castles which many nobles had built without royal permission during the Anarchy, made sure that they lived in vulnerable [[Government and society of the Saxons#^eba737|manor houses]].
He married **Eleanor of Aquitaine**, enlarging his already enormous at the time empire:
![[Pasted image 20220623135710.png]]
However, Henry II quarreled with his wife and sons, **Richard I and John**, so the sons, encouraged by the French king, fought against the father.

## Richard I

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Richard I (1189-1199), nicknamed Lionheart, has always been one of England's most popular kings. He was valiant and skillful in arms, although spent hardly any time in England. 
He fought the Muslims in the Holy Land and was captured by the duke of Austria with whom he had quarrelled in Jerusalem on the way back. Richard spent 2 years in custody (more than half of the ransom was paid in wool, due to its [[The growth of towns as centres of wealth in Medieval England|high quality]] and then, in **1199**, was killed in France. Since he had no heirs, he was followed by his borther, John.

## John I

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John I (1199-1216) was already unpopular due to his avarice and rapacity: ^6c8634
1. He took many cases out of the vassals' courts and tried them in the king's courts, taking the money for himself
2. Asked for enormous amounts of money when a feudal lord's daughter was married
3. Asked for enormous amounts of money for land
4. Levied enormous taxes
In **1204** he became even more disrespected as John failed to prevent the French king from invading Normandy, including the English nobles' lands.
In **1209** John quarreled with the pope over who should be Archbishop of Canterbury, and gave in in **1214**, accepting the pope's choice of archbishop.
Having fallen out with the merchants, nobles and the church, he lost their trust and respect. 
In **1215**, when he hoped to recapture Normandy and called the nobles to their arms. Unable to stomach his behaviour, the lords and the merchants marched to London, where at **Runnymede**, John was forced to sign a new agreement, [[Magna Carta Libertatum]].