Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Angevin Empire (/ ˈ æ n dʒ ɪ v ɪ n /; French: Empire Plantagenêt) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wales, and had further influence over much of the remaining British Isles.
The term "Angevin Empire" was coined in 1887 by Kate Norgate.As far as it is known, there was no contemporary name for this assemblage of territories, which were referred to—if at all—by clumsy circumlocutions such as our kingdom and everything subject to our rule whatever it may be or the whole of the kingdom which had belonged to his father.
Angevin is French for "of Anjou". The three Angevin kings were the 12th-century Geoffrey of Anjou's son, Henry II, and grandsons Richard I and John. Noble houses were regularly denominated by a territory or place of birth, eg., House of Normandy, House of Wessex. "Angevin" can also refer to the period of history in which they reigned.
Henry II [nb 2] (() 5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine), an area that altogether was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.
Its 12th century Count Geoffrey created the nucleus of what became the Angevin Empire. The adjectival form is Angevin, and inhabitants of Anjou are known as Angevins. In 1360, the county was raised into the Duchy of Anjou within the Kingdom of France.
The Anglo-Norman invasion was a watershed in Ireland's history, marking the beginning of more than 800 years of British rule in Ireland. In May 1169, Anglo-Norman mercenaries landed in Ireland at the request of Diarmait mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurragh), the deposed King of Leinster , who sought their help in regaining his kingship.
As a duchy, it broke up after the conquest of the independent Aquitanian duchy of Waiofar, going on to become a sub-kingdom within the Carolingian Empire. It was then absorbed by West Francia after the partition of Verdun in 843 and soon reappeared as a duchy under it. In 1153, an enlarged Aquitaine pledged loyalty to the Angevin kings of England.
Henry was the first Angevin king of England, followed by his sons Richard I and John. The Angevin kings ruled over extensive possessions in the British Isles and France, known as the Angevin Empire. As a result of their cross-Channel empires, the Norman and Angevin kings spent little time in England.