![]() ![]() His attempt to retake Normandy and Anjou was defeated at the Battle of Bouvines. John's behaviour led to rebellions by the Norman and Angevin barons that broke his control of the continental possessions. His younger brother John succeeded in England, and fought a successful war against Richard's nephew Arthur for control of the French possession. He spent the remainder of his reign restoring his lands in France, dying in 1199. On his return journey he was taken hostage in Germany and a huge ransom was paid in order to secure his release in 1194. Richard acceded to the Angevin inheritance on Henry's death in 1189 and almost immediately departed on a Crusade. The later part of his reign was dominated by rebellions involving his sons and Philip II of France that forced him to accept his son Richard as sole heir. He clashed with his appointee to the Archbishopric of Canterbury Thomas Becket, resulting in Becket's murder and Henry making a dramatic exhibition of penance. ![]() Henry, considered the first Angevin king of England, had extensive holdings in France and asserted his authority over Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Eventually Stephen recognised Matilda's son Henry as his heir and when Stephen died in 1154, he succeeded as Henry II. When Henry died in 1135 her cousin Stephen of Blois had himself proclaimed king, leading to a civil war known as The Anarchy. Henry was a ruthless yet effective king, but after the death of his only male heir William Adelin in the White Ship tragedy, he persuaded his barons to recognise his daughter Matilda as heir. On his death in 1100 his younger brother claimed the throne as Henry I and defeated his brother Robert to reunite England and Normandy. William's sons disputed succession to his lands, with William II emerging as ruler of England and much of Normandy. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled by nobles with landholdings across England, Normandy and Wales. They brought with them the French language and maintained their rule through a system of castles and the introduction of a feudal system of landholding. This linked the crown of England with possessions in France and brought a new aristocracy to the country that dominated landholding, government and the church. A disputed succession and victory at the Battle of Hastings led to the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066. England in the High Middle Ages includes the history of England between the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the death of King John, considered by some to be the last of the Angevin kings of England, in 1216. ![]()
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