The Plantagenet Lands

A geographical bloc stretching from Northumberland to the Pyrenees, focusing around important towns and strong holds. Henry was the sovereign of an enormous realm.

Professor Boussard defined the 'empire' as a very strong state in a feudal network

Element of unity within the Plantagenet lands can be seen by the similar inquests e.g the Norman inquest of 1171 was similar to the English Inquest of Sheriffs in 1170. 

No signs of plans to centralise the administration throughout the Angevin lands,

The 'empire' was not seen as a political unit. The collection of lands gathered by Henry was not seen as a unit to be kept together; he believed that they should be divided between his sons, like his father Geoffrey had intended. However, on each occasion one man took all the lands by force.

Geoffrey intended Henry to have his mother's land of Normandy, but that once he had acquired England he should pass Maine and Anjou to his brother, Geoffrey. However, Henry kept them all, aswell as acquiring Aquitaine in 1152.

Henry also envisaged a division: in 1169 he laid down that young Henry was to inherit England, Normandy, Maine and Anjou. Richard was to get Aquitaine. Geoffrey was to get Brittany by virtue of marriage to Constance. However, this changed when the young king died in 1183, and Richard refused to relinquish Aquitaine to John.

Richard took all of his fathers lands. In 1191 he made an agreement with Philip Augustus that if he had two sons the second would take Normandy, or Anjou, or Aquitaine. However, Richard had no son, leaving the succession to the thrown a problem

Disputes between John and Arthur of Brittany arose. However, Richard named John as his heir on his deathbed.

Surprising that on a number of occasions Henry II's lands were inherited in their entity. On more than one occasion it was intended that they should be divided.

Lack of unity - as the component states were brought under control, they retained their own laws and customs 

Links of family, landholding, feudal tenure and patronage was strongest in the case of Normandy and England

By the 1180s and 1190s there were signs of a growing rift between England and Normandy - differences between business and diverging laws and inheritance customs.

Differences between the parts of the Angevin Empire was clearer at the end of the 12th century

Henry's empire wasn't a unitary state - it was a shaky federation of Norman, and French-dominated colonies.

Became apparent to the King that it was increasingly difficult to keep his over-extended territories as a coherent dynastic estate.

These lands were cobbled together. 

Founded and continued to to survive on an unholy combination of princely greed and genealogical accident.

The Angevin Empire, and its loss, represented the triumph of French culture in England, as well as the separation of England from France.

The unity of French lands could be no more than personal because each of their components already owed allegiance to the French crown

Domain of overlapping spheres, in most of which indirect rule was practised.

The style of government and culture in the years 1135-99 was cosmopolitan rather than exclusively English, Norman or French

The French believed that the Angevin Empire occurred as a result of a weak King Louis VII

Normandy = central importance of the empire. Spent the most time there - 176 months

In 1169 Henry signed treaty of Montmiral, and in his will in 1170 he made it clear that he wanted to divide his lands amongst his sons

Richard refused to split up his fathers lands, but grants John territory

England only visited 6 times during his reign - this makes his achievement of restoring royal authority even more impressive

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