British History

[Brychan]

This is for all the history buffs and people who are interested in English history - who do you think was the greatest British KING(there's another question coming up for the queens) of all time and why?

[Hawley]

When you get down to it most English kings were a pretty poor lot. I've always admired Charles I courageous death but that was the best thing he did and his son was worse. Some of the Henrys were OK but they come across better in Shakespeare than they did in real life. The Hanovers were fat German burghers and still are, 'tho not so fat. Most kings were concerned only with their power and their luxurious lifestyles.   I think England would have been improved by tossing out the whole lot but, strangely enough, I also think the royals are a real asset to England today. There is not a whole lot left except tourism and having a real live queen and all that makes a big difference. Disneyworld could set up a changing of the guard ceremony the equal to that at Buckingham except that it would still be Disneyworld. At Buckingham it's a real guard guarding a real queen in a real Palace with a thousand years of history looking on. It makes all the difference.

[Buach]

Henry II reigned from 1154-1189.  Before succeeding to the throne by an agreement between his mother Matilda and King Stephen, he was already the Count of Normandy and Anjou.  When he snatched Eleanor of Aquitane from her first husband, King Louis VII of France, he owned more territory in France than the French king.  He settled a firm boundary with Scotland, and perhaps unfortunately also invaded Ireland and gifted England with a problem it still has not figured out how to solve.   When Henry became King, much of the power in the kingdom still rested with the barons.  Henry's most lasting achievement was the creation of a well-educated and authoritative bureaucracy which could enforce the King's Law during his absence.  Good thing, too, because his continental possessions required a fair amount of attention.  The growth of a codified body of Common Law, rather than a patchwork of baronial fiats, did much to enhance the monarchy's authority and unite the English people.  Henry himself was famous for traveling tirelessly throughout the kingdom, hearing disputes and issuing judgements.  His was a very hands-on monarchy.    He wasn't without his little problems, of course.  Besides the Irish adventure previously mentioned, Henry had his famous public feud with Thomas Beckett.  One can sympathize with poor Henry, who had appointed his very close friend and Chancellor to be Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to curb the power and powerful abuses of the separate ecclesiastic courts, which were only answerable to the Church hierarchy.  Although historians tend to feel that Beckett's purity of purpose was perhaps less than his lust for power, still his martyrdom left England, like the rest of Europe, saddled with a non-secular body of law which existed beside and independent of the King's law.   He also had his domestic difficulties.  It was surely not easy being married to Eleanor, the most famous(or notorious) heiress of the day, and arguably the world's first truly liberated woman.  The sons Henry and Eleanor had displayed amoung them enough strength and weakness to testify to the larger-than-life nature of their parents--Young Henry, the eldest and heir, died in 1183 after already having been crowned co-King; Geoffrey, a rather enigmatic figure, died in 1186.   Richard(yes, that very same Lion-Hearted Richard) joined forces with Louis's son Philip of France to war against Henry, and in 1189 defeated him in battle.  Henry died two days later, and left Richard and John to squabble and plot over his leavings.       

[bedyw25]

The first of the Plantagenets. Henry II reigned from 1154-1189.  Before succeeding to the throne by an agreement between his mother Matilda and King Stephen, he was already the Count of Normandy and Anjou.  When he snatched Eleanor of Aquitane from her first husband, King Louis VII of France, he owned more territory in France than the French king.  He settled a firm boundary with Scotland, and perhaps unfortunately also invaded Ireland and gifted England with a problem it still has not figured out how to solve.   When Henry became King, much of the power in the kingdom still rested with the barons.  Henry's most lasting achievement was the creation of a well-educated and authoritative bureaucracy which could enforce the King's Law during his absence.  Good thing, too, because his continental possessions required a fair amount of attention.  The growth of a codified body of Common Law, rather than a patchwork of baronial fiats, did much to enhance the monarchy's authority and unite the English people.  Henry himself was famous for traveling tirelessly throughout the kingdom, hearing disputes and issuing judgements.  His was a very hands-on monarchy.    He wasn't without his little problems, of course.  Besides the Irish adventure previously mentioned, Henry had his famous public feud with Thomas Beckett.  One can sympathize with poor Henry, who had appointed his very close friend and Chancellor to be Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to curb the power and powerful abuses of the separate ecclesiastic courts, which were only answerable to the Church hierarchy.  Although historians tend to feel that Beckett's purity of purpose was perhaps less than his lust for power, still his martyrdom left England, like the rest of Europe, saddled with a non-secular body of law which existed beside and independent of the King's law.   He also had his domestic difficulties.  It was surely not easy being married to Eleanor, the most famous(or notorious) heiress of the day, and arguably the world's first truly liberated woman.  The sons Henry and Eleanor had displayed amoung them enough strength and weakness to testify to the larger-than-life nature of their parents--Young Henry, the eldest and heir, died in 1183 after already having been crowned co-King; Geoffrey, a rather enigmatic figure, died in 1186.   Richard(yes, that very same Lion-Hearted Richard) joined forces with Louis's son Philip of France to war against Henry, and in 1189 defeated him in battle.  Henry died two days later, and left Richard and John to squabble and plot over his leavings.          roseredcity's Recommendations Henry II(English Monarchs) Amazon List Price: $25.95 Used from: $4.00 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 9 reviews) Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings(Harvard Paperbacks) Amazon List Price: $16.15 Used from: $0.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5(based on 22 reviews) Becket Amazon List Price: $24.98 Used from: $13.81 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 123 reviews) The Lion in Winter Amazon List Price: $14.98 Used from: $5.69 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 179 reviews) I wonder if Henry II really looked like Peter O'Toole? roseredcity 76 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Amory]

If by "great" is meant the king with the most influence on British history I'd say William the Bastard. When you get down to it most English kings were a pretty poor lot. I've always admired Charles I courageous death but that was the best thing he did and his son was worse. Some of the Henrys were OK but they come across better in Shakespeare than they did in real life. The Hanovers were fat German burghers and still are, 'tho not so fat. Most kings were concerned only with their power and their luxurious lifestyles.   I think England would have been improved by tossing out the whole lot but, strangely enough, I also think the royals are a real asset to England today. There is not a whole lot left except tourism and having a real live queen and all that makes a big difference. Disneyworld could set up a changing of the guard ceremony the equal to that at Buckingham except that it would still be Disneyworld. At Buckingham it's a real guard guarding a real queen in a real Palace with a thousand years of history looking on. It makes all the difference. Seti1 76 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.