The Angevin Empire

161 Pages·2000·8.29 MB·English

by  John Gillingham

The Angevin Empire
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The Angevin Empire
Second Edition
JOHN GILLINGHAM
Emeritus Professor of History, London School of Economics
and Political Science
A
ARNOLD
A member of the Hodder Headline Group
LONDON
Co-published in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press Inc., New York
First published in Great Britain in 2001 by
Arnold, a member of the Hodder Headline Group,
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
http://www.arnoldpublishers.com
Co-published in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press Inc.,
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY10016
© 2001 John Gillingham
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically,
including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval
system, without either prior permission in writing from the publishers or a
licence permitting restricted copying. In the United Kingdom such licences
are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency: 90 Tottenham Court Road,
London W1P 0LP
The advice and information in this book are believed to be true and
accurate at the date of going to press, but neither the author nor the publisher
can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 0340 74114 7 (hb)
ISBN 0340 741155 (pb)
123456789 10
Production Editor: James Rabson
Production Controller: Martin Kerans
Cover Design: Terry Griffiths
Typeset in 11 on 13 pt Sabon by Cambrian Typesetters, Frimley, Surrey
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
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In memory of Tom Keefe
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Contents
List of maps ix
Genealogical table x
Preface to the Second Edition xi
1 Introduction 1
The empire with no name 2
2 The making of the Angevin Empire 6
France and England in 1150 6
The counts of Anjou 7
1128: the marriage of Geoffrey and Matilda 8
The war of Norman succession 12
The crises of 1151-53 17
3 Aggression and expansion, 1156-72 22
France 23
Flanders 24
Brittany 25
Scotland 26
Wales 26
Ireland 27
Toulouse 29
The end of the Angevin-Capetian accord 30
The king's children 32
4 Holding on, 1173-99 34
The rebellion of 1173-74 and its aftermath 34
Philip II Augustus 36
The Old King and Richard 36
Richard I: going on Crusade 40
The king in captivity 43
Recovery: administration, diplomacy and war 46
viii Contents
5 The geography of the empire 50
Mapping the Angevin Empire 50
Charters, law courts and justice 55
English royal revenues 1130-1220 57
Other revenues 59
The Angevin trading zone 61
6 Government 67
King and household 67
Central administration 69
The itinerant household 72
Provincial administration 75
Patronage 78
Royal and provincial custom 79
Cohesion? 82
7 The crisis of the Angevin Empire, 1199-1206 86
The war of Angevin succession 86
The revolt of the Lusignans, 1201-2 89
Defeat on all fronts, 1202-4 92
Holding the line, 1205-6 94
The causes of defeat 95
8 The end of the empire 103
The failure of grand strategy, 1214 103
The Capetian invasion of England, 1215-17 107
Government without cash: the minority of Henry III 108
The loss of La Rochelle 110
9 Conclusion 116
A Plantagenet culture? History, myth and architecture 117
Dynastic structure 119
Further reading 126
Index 139
List of maps
Map 1 Royal castles in England, Wales and Ireland 52
Map 2 Angevin dominions on the continent, c.1200 53
Map 3 John's itinerary, 1199-1202 74