Henry ii (power in France by 1162)

Question 1

How much of modern day france did Henry rule by 1154?

Answer 1

Henry II ruled 1/3 of modern day France through control of Eleanor’s Duchy of Aquitaine and the territories of Maine, Anjou, Brittany, Touraine and Normandy from his father

Question 2

Were all his territories easy or hard to access and why?

Answer 2

All these territories were contiguous ( sharing a border), making them easy to access

Question 3

Did these territories have thier own culture and were they rich?

Answer 3

All these territories had their own languages, customs and powerful local lords who often vied for independence
All these territories were also wealthy with wine, salt and pottery

Question 4

How large was Henry’s Empire?

Answer 4

This was the largest land empire held in Europe
Henry was ‘the one who holds England and all the seaboard between Spain and Scotland, from shore to shore’

Question 5

Did Henry hold more power than Louis VII?

Answer 5

Henry had vastly more territory and wealth than the king of France

Question 6

How long did Henry spend in England?

Answer 6

Henry spent only 13 of his 35 year long reign in England, he was absent from England from 1159-63

Question 7

Under whose support and when had Henry’s brother, Geoffrey, began attacking Henry’s French territories?

Answer 7

From 1152-1155, with the support of Louis VII, Geoffrey began attacking Henry’s French territories

Question 8

Why had Geoffrey rebelled against Henry?

Answer 8

When their father, Geoffrey duke of Normandy died he promised Geoffrey control over the territories of Anjou, Maine and Touraine, but Henry took them and in 1152, Geoffrey began attacking territoires promised to him.

Question 9

What happened in 1156 between Henry and his brother?

Answer 9

In 1156, to quash these rebellions, Henry paid homage to Louis VII, giving him official status and lordship over these lands, even if Louis was technically the king over them
Geoffrey was forced to surrender by Louis VII, and was landed with an even tinier lordship of Loudon from Henry II and a small pension

Question 10

Who had attempted independence from Henry in 1156

Answer 10

Hoel count of Nantes, a leading noble in Brittany attempted independence from Henry’s control in 1156

Question 11

How did Henry respond to Hoel?

Answer 11

Henry marched into Nantes and removed Hoel, replacing him with Geoffrey that year

Question 12

What happened to Geoffrey in 1158 and what did this mean?

Answer 12

Geoffrey died in 1158, meaning Henry inherited Brittany all to himself

Question 13

How did Henry ensure stability in Normandy?

Answer 13

Henry also ensured his Duchy of Normandy remained stable by launching regular investigations into taxes and the records of land ownership in the territory
Henry also established an Exchequer of Normandy to ensure control of royal finances there

Question 14

What did Henry’s father, Geoffrey Duke of Normandy, give Louis?

Answer 14

Henry’s father, Geoffrey Duke of Normandy, gave Louis VII the territories of The Vexin, a large strip of land off the East coast of Normandy

Question 15

What did Henry do regarding the Vexin in 1158?

Answer 15

Upon becoming king, Henry decided he wanted The Vexin back for economic, political and military reasons
In 1158, Henry II betrothed his eldest son, Henri to Margaret, daughter of Louis VII and as a part of the marriage deal, Louis had promised to return The Vexin to Henry when they get married.

Question 16

What issue did Henry have with the marrige deal and what did he do to resolve this?

Answer 16

Henry, eager for the Vexin, wanted the territory immediately
Henry went to pope Alexander III to give a dispensation to allow this to happen

Question 17

Why did the pope agree with Henry?

Answer 17

The papal schism had just started, and Alexander III, eager for an alliance with Henry, agreed.

Question 18

What happened in Nantes in 1159?

Answer 18

Hoel of Nantes’ stepson, Conan, attempted to take Nantes back from Henry in 1159, but due to the marriage deal Louis put a stop to this

Question 19

What happened to Henry in 1159?

Answer 19

Later in 1159, Henry was made Seneschal of Anjou by Louis, giving him semi-royal status, meaning he could rule all of his French territories independently of Louis

Question 20

What was the last piece of territory Henry felt like he needed to claim by 1159 and why was it not under his control?

Answer 20

Toulouse
Toulouse was originally the territory of Eleanor of Aquitaine, however, due to the confusion of her divorcing Louis and marrying Henry, the territory ended up in the hands of Eleanor’s brother, Raymond

Question 21

What tax did Henry raise in response to Raymond not returning the territory?

Answer 21

Scutage

Question 22

What was Scutage?

Answer 22

Scutage was a tax raised by Henry II to fund armies for foreign wars

Question 23

How has Henry used scutage to replace the preexisting system?

Answer 23

Although all barons were meant to rent their land from the king, many had adopted a system from Henry I where they could pay for their land by donating knights
Scutage replaced this system by declaring that barons need to pay tax per the amount of knights they owned

Question 24

How much money had scutage raised and what did Henry use this money for?

Answer 24

Scutage raised £9,000 for the 1159 campaign in Toulouse
This money was then used to hire mercenaries, normally from Wales

Question 25

Who joined Henry on his campaign into Toulouse in 1159?

Answer 25

Henry was joined by Thomas Becket, Malcolm IV, Owain and virtually all barons in England and their armies

Question 26

However what happened during his Campaign in 1159?

Answer 26

Just before they attacked, however, they realised that Louis VII was in Toulouse himself Henry, eager to maintain the advantageous relationship he had with Louis decided he could not attack, and withdrew