HENRY II., first of the Plantagenet line, born in Normandy in 1133, son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I. He was invested with the Duchy of Normandy, by the consent of his mother, in 1150; in 1151 he succeeded to Anjou and Maine, and by a marriage with Eleanor of Guienne gained Guienne and Poitou. In 1152 he invaded England, but a compromise was effected, by which Stephen was to retain the crown and Henry to succeed at his death, which took place in 1154. The commencement of his reign was marked by the dismissal of the foreign merce naries; and though involved with his brother, Godfrey, who attempted to seize Anjou and Maine, and in a temporary dispute with France, he reigned prosper ously till the contest with Thomas Becket regarding the Constitutions of Clarendon. Though sufficiently submissive after Becket's death in the way of penance and expiation, Henry only gave up the article in the Constitutions of Clarendon which forbade appeals to the court of Rome in ecclesiastical cases. Before this matter was terminated, Henry, in 1171, com pleted the conquest of Ireland, a great part of which had been reduced by Rich ard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, com monly known as Strongbow. Henry's last years were embittered by his sons, to whom he had assigned various terri tories. The eldest son, Henry, who had
been not only declared heir to England, Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine, but actually crowned in his father's life time, was induced by the French mon arch to demand of his father the imme diate resignation either of the kingdom of England or of the dukedom of Nor mandy. Queen Eleanor excited her other sons, Richard and Geoffrey, to make sim ilar claims; Louis and William of Scot land gave them support; and a general invasion of Henry's dominions was be gun in 1173 by an attack on the fron tiers of Normandy, and an invasion of England by the Scots, attended by con siderable disturbance in England. Con ciliating the Church by his penance, Henry took prompt action; William of Scotland was captured, and an accommo dation arrived at with Henry's sons. These, however, once more became tur bulent, and though the deaths of Henry and Geoffrey reduced the numbers of centers of disturbance, the king was forced to accept humiliating terms from Richard and Philip of France. He died shortly after at Chinon in 1189. He ranks among the greatest English kings both in soldiership and statecraft.