Seipp Family Genealogy:Information about Henry III Plantagenet King Of England
Henry III Plantagenet King Of England (b. October 01, 1207, d. November 16, 1272)
 |
Henry III Plantagenet King Of England (son of John I "Lackland" Plantagenet King Of England and Isabella Of Angouleme Taillefer)3901, 3902, 3903, 3904, 3905, 3906 was born October 01, 1207 in Winchester Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, England3907, 3908, 3909, 3910, 3911, and died November 16, 1272 in Westminster Palace, London, Middlesex, England3912, 3913, 3914, 3915, 3916.He married Eleonor on January 14, 1234/35 in Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.3917, daughter of Raymond Berenger and Beatrice.
Notes for Henry III Plantagenet King Of England:Henry III was born in 1207 and succeeded his father John o n the throne of England in 1216. It was a ravaged inheritan ce, the scene of civil war and anarchy, and much of the eas t and south eastern England was under the control of the Fr ench Dauphin Louis. But Henry had two great protectors---hi s liege lord the Pope, and the aged William Marshal.
The Marshal, by a combination of military skill and diploma tic ability, saw off the Dauphin by September, 1217, but le ss than two years later he was dead, and a triumvirate rule d in his place: the papal legal Pandulf; the Poitevin Bisho p of Winchester Peter des Roches; and the Justiciar Huber t de Burgh. The legate departed in 1221; two years later He nry became of age and, rejecting Peter, chose Hubert to b e his chief counsellor.
Trouble soon came, as Hubert attempted to re-asert royal au thority. Barons, who had kept their castles undistrubed an d exercised their powers without supervison, were now calle d to account to the haughty justiciar, and the party of Pet er des Roches did not fail to underline the annoyances invo lved. The years 1223-4 were taken up with quelling rebellio ns.
Meanwhile the situation abroad was even more disturbing: th e French king Philip Augustus was eating up English lands i n Gascony, and Henry's mother Isabella made a bad situatio n worse by her marriage with Count Hugh of Lusignan. It wa s only in 1230 that a badly prepared English force set ou t for France and, after much squabbling, all it was able t o do was make a demonstration march through Gascony.
Hubert had already had one dismal failure in Wales in 1228 , and his arrogant attempts to build up a personal base i n the Marches provoked a Welsh raid in 1231 which did mor e harm to his good name. Hubert was thrust out of power, t o be replaced by Peter des Roches' Poitevins. But by 1234 t hey had upset the baronage of England, who had never take n kindly to foreigners other than the Normans, and Richar d Marshal combined with Edmund of Abington, Archbishop of C anterbury, to force the King to replace them.
Henry now began his period of personal rule, and the worl d was to see what sort of king he would make. He was a simp le, direct man, trustful on first impression, but bearin g a life-long grudge when people let him down. At times lav ish and life-loving, he could show another side of his natu re, that wicked Angevin temper and streak of vindictive cru elty. He had a very refined taste, and enjoyed building an d restoration work more than anything else. Surrounded by b arons who had been proved in the hardest schools of war, th e King had the spirit of an interior decorator; the natio n could have born the expense of his artistic tastes, coul d have forgiven the eccentricity of it all, but Henry showe d time and again that he was timorous as well as artistic . He feared thunderstorms, and battle was beyond him.
The Crown had some 60 castles in England, and these were i n a bad state after the troubles of John's reign and the mi nority. Henry travelled about tirelessly rebuilding them an d making them more comfortable, spending at least ten per c ent of his income on building works. He personally instruct ed his architects in great detail, and could not wait for t hem to finish---it must be ready for his return 'even i f a thousand workmen are required every day' and the job mu st be 'properly done, beautiful and fine.' In addition he b uilt or restored twenty royal houses, decorating them sumpt iously. The painted chamber at Westminster was 80 ft. long , 26 ft. wide, and 31 ft. high. The walls were all wainscot ted (at Winchester even the pantry and cellar were wainscot ted) and painted with pictures and proverbs. The subjects o f the pictures varied according to the royal moods---in Ma y 1250 the Queen borrowed a book about the crusades, an d a year later the walls at Clarendon showed Richard the Li onheart duelling with Saladin. Wherever there were no pictu res, there was the King's favourite decor---green curtain s spangled with gold stars. The floors were tiled, the wind ows glazed (and barred after 1238 when an attempted assassi nation scared Henry out of his wits---he even had the ven t of the royal privy into the Thames barred over) and firep laces provided the ultimate in luxury. Special rooms sprout ed everywhere, including the room where the royal head wa s washed.
If his private comfort bulked large in Henry's mind, his pu blic display of piety came a close second: these were neatl y combined in the royal bedroom where a window was fitted t o look into the chapel. His greatest project was the rebuil ding of Westminster Abbey, on which he spent nearly £50,000 ---the equivalent of £4,000,000 today. He had been so thril led with St. Louis' Sainte Chapelle that he had wanted to p ut it on a cart and roll it back to England. That was impos sible, so he had to build his own. He finished it in 1269 , and proudly put up the inscription 'As the rose is the fl ower of all flowers, so this is the house of houses.'
For a while Henry had reason for pride: he married Eleanor , daughter of the Count of Savoy, and sister of the Queen o f France, the finest match in Europe; his sister Isabella w as married to the Emperor Frederick II, and his son Edwar d to Eleanor of Castille. He persuaded the Germans to elec t his brother, Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans.
On the other hand, his foreign policy was leading him int o dangers. In 1242 he foolishly allowed himself to be led i nto supporting his mother's ambitions in Poitou, and the en mity with France was to continue needlessly until the settl ement of 1259. Louis IX had no desire to be his enemy---i n 1254 all England was amazed at the French King's generou s gift of an elephant, which the historian Matthew Paris we nt to draw in the Tower of London.
In 1246 Henry's mother died (to almost universal relief) an d he generously invited his four Lusignan half-brothers t o live out their orphanage under his roof. He gave them lar ge incomes, but they took more, milking the land as hard a s they could in the last moments before bankruptcy. The Eng lish hated them for their avarice, price, and foreign-ness.
In ecclesiastical affairs Henry's hands were hopelessly tie d---the Pope had always been his chief prop, and the King c ould not afford to lose his aid. There was a strong movemen t for reform, but the papacy's desparate need for money t o prosecute its war against the Hohenstauffen made refor m a secondary consideration, and indeed frequently blocke d it. But Henry may justly be criticised for his foolishnes s in accepting the papal offer of the crown of Sicily for h is son Edmund in 1250. The payment was to meet the astonomi cal debts of the Pope, and Richard of Cornwall had alread y wisely turned down this bad bargain, commenting that he h ad been offered the moon, if he could reach it.
Henry's need for money dominated most of his domestic polic y. During the period of his personal government he obtaine d what he needed by getting legalists and professional civi l servants to manipulate the complex chaos of the feudal go vernment he had inherited. Government became a secret and c entralised affair, excluding the barons, great and small. T here are many comparisons here with the tyranny of Chales I.
In 1258 came the explosion: Parliament refused a grant unle ss Henry should exile his grasping half-brothers, and allo w a commission of enquiry. A committee was set up to contro l the appointment of Crown officials, examine and reform lo cal government, and supervise the affairs of the realm in g eneral.
This was a revolt, but it had many obscure roots. One canno t assess how deeply felt were the demands for just and equa l government voiced by Simon de Montfort, but certainly the re were other elements in the baronial party which were rea ctionary rather than revolutionary, wanting to return to ba ronial government for its own sake. On this issue the refor mers spilt, Gloucester leading the conservatives, and de Mo ntfort the radicals. Henry saw his chance, and deftly usin g the ever valuable support of the Pope, shook off the Comm ittee's control.
Now came war, and the stunning defeat of the royal party a t Lewes in 1264. From this point onwards Henry was very muc h a broken man, though prone to bouts of vicious anger. Th e initiative was passed to his son, the Lord Edward, who de feated de Montfort at Evesham, where Henry was rescued, scr atched and shouting 'Do not hurt me.'
Henry longed for revenge, and disinherited the rebels, wh o fled to hideouts in the fens to continue the war. The pap al legate Ottobono persuaded the King to go so far, in th e Dictum of Kenilworth of 1266, as to allow the rebels to b uy back their estates. Still not satisfied, the disinherite d, under Gloucester's leadership, took London, and Richar d of Cornwall negotiated an easier peace. In 1267 the Statu te of Marlborough embodied much of what de Montfort had fou ght for, and the long years of trouble were over.
Henry had at least survived, and his last years were happ y in that he fininshed building his patron saint's Abbey o f Westminster. The wheel of fortune that decorated so man y of his palaces' walls had come round, and all the rage an d terror were done with. Henry died in 1272. [Source: Who' s Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books , New York, 1995][Plant..ged]
Acceded 1216-1272.
Henry III
Henry III (reigned 1216-1272), John's son, was only nine
when he became King. By 1227, when he assumed power from
his regent, order had been restored, based on his
acceptance of Magna Carta. However, the King's failed
campaigns in France (1230 and 1242), his choice of friends
and advisers, together with the cost of his scheme to make
one of his younger sons King of Sicily and help the Pope
against the Holy Roman Emperor, led to further disputes
with the barons and united opposition in Church and State.
Although Henry was extravagant and his tax demands were
resented, the King's accounts show a list of many
charitable donations and payments for building works
(including the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey which began
in 1245).
The Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of
Westminster (1259) were attempts by the nobles to define
common law in the spirit of Magna Carta, control
appointments and set up an aristocratic council. Henry
tried to defeat them by obtaining papal absolution from his
oaths, and enlisting King Louis XI's help. Henry renounced
the Provisions in 1262 and war broke out. The barons, under
their leader, Simon de Montfort, were initially successful
and even captured Henry. However, Henry escaped, joined
forces with the lords of the Marches (on the Welsh border),
and Henry finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the
Battle of Evesham in 1265. Royal authority was restored by
the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the King also
promised to uphold Magna Carta and some of the Provisions
of Westminster.
[large-G675.FTW]
REF: British Monarchy Official Website:Henry III (reigned
1216-1272), John's son, was only nine when he became king.
By 1227, when he assumed power from his regent, order had
been restored based on his acceptance of Magna Carta.
However, the king's failed campaigns in France, his choice
of foreigners as friends and advisers, together with the
cost of his scheme to make one of
his younger sons king of Sicily and help the Pope against
the Holy Roman Emperor, led to further disputes with the
barons and united opposition in Church and State. The
Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of
Westminster (1259 were attempts by the nobles to curb the
king's power, control appointments and set up an
aristocratic council. Henry renounced the Provisions in
1264 and war broke out. The barons under their leader,
Simon de
Montfort, were initially successful, but Henry and his son,
Edward, finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the
Battle of Evesham in 1265.Royal authority was restored by
the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the king also
promised to uphold Magna Carta and some of the Provisions
of Westminster.
REF: Sharon Kay Penman "Falls the Shadow":In April 1258,
Henry's brother Richard of Cornwall sent 50 ships of grain
from Germany (where Richard was chasing the elusive crown
of Germany) to London to help alleviate the famine, Henry
siezed the ships & tried to sell them at inflated prices.
This enraged the general populace of London, Henry backed
down but they remained bitter. After Henry reconciled with
Prince Edward through the mediation of Richard of Cornwall
(Henry thought Edward was plotting with Simon de Montfort),
Henry attempted to try de Montfort on charges of perjery &
"lesse-majeste".The Barons on the King's Council baulked
& Louis IX was dismayed by Henry's bad faith, & sent the
Archbishop of Rouen to defend de Montfort,Henry backed
off.In June 1261 Henry borrows from his father John's
tricks & gets the Pope to annul the Oxford Provisions, even
as John did with the Magna Charta.The Barons nearly
revolt over this, with even Richard de Clare, Earl of
Gloucester, siding with de Montfort. Later, de Clare
defects from de Montfort & comes to a "private
understanding" with Henry & de Montofrt's "common
enterprise" unravels.Simon withdraws to France.In July
1262, Henry follows de Montfort into France & tries to have
him arraigned before the French King, Louis IX, but the
attempt fails. Simon returns to England April 1263, which
most felt meant a precursor to war.May 1263 the de
Montfort supporters meet & vow allare enemies who do not
support the Provisions save the King & his family.Henry
held fast, the barons' discontent flared into violence &
Simon's supporter the Earl of Derby sacked the town of
Worcester & burned the Jewry. May 1263 the young Earl of
Gloucester led an Army west & captured the Bishop of
Hereford, the most hated of the foreign advisors to Henry
III then left after the expulsion of the de Lusignans.He
threw the Bishop into prison, laid siege to the royal
castle at Gloucester, where de Montfort assumed command.
The army then went north to Bridgenorth, where they
coordinated their attack with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd; the
twon & castle surrendered. de Montfort then headed south
for London, where a panicked Henry took refuge in the
Tower. In June 1263 Prince Edward's foreign Flemish troops
burned Bristol; the populace rose up & besieged him & his
army in the castle. The Bishop of Worcester placated the
townsfolk by taking Edward's pladge to make peace with de
Montfort & the barons (which Edward had no intention of
honoring his pledge).In October 1263 Richard Duke of
Cornwall (Henry's brother) son Henry defected to Montfort.
Simon received a triumphal entry into London July 1263 &
Henry capitulated at the Tower of London on July 13, 1263.
Reigned 1216-1272. A minor when he took the throne he did
not take the reigns
of Government himself until 1234. Baronian discontent
simmered, boiling over
in 1258 when Henry facing financial disaster attempted to
raise large sums
from his magnates. Reforms were agreed upon but then
renouced by Henry. Simon de Montford lead a rebellion
against the King (the Barons Wars) which was defeated after
initial success, thereafter Hnery ceeded much of his power
to his son. Henry III ran afoul of his barons (again) when
he requested a large amount of money to aid him in putting
down Gaston de Béarn's 2nd rebellion in Gascony, saying
that de Béarn's ally St. Ferdinand III King of Castile was
going to invade Gascony, but just as he said this, Simon de
Montfort returned to England & told the barons that Henry
was actually negotiating with the St. Ferdinand III to
marry his daughter Eleanor to Henry's son Crown Prince
Edward "Longshanks" (de Montfort's commetns were true). At
this point, with Henry's many debacles, his lack of resolve
& constancy, the reforms were going to be made with or
without his participation.
REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the
Conqueror requested a large number of Jews to move to
England after his conquest. They spoke Norman & did well
under his reign.They continued to thrive under William's
grandson Henry II.When Richard was coronated, he did so
"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very
heavily, "bled them white". The Jews did the worst of all
under the pious Henry III as during his reign the church
felt threatened by violence, war, schism & heresy.The
church encouraged Jewish pogroms & spread rumors of grisly
rituals & murders committed by Jews.Henry, as a faithful
son of the church, did nothing to restrain it.
REF: British Monarchy Official Website:Henry III (reigned
1216-1272), John's son, was only nine when he became king.
By 1227, when he assumed power from his regent, order had
been restored based on his acceptance of Magna Carta.
However, the king's failed campaigns in France, his choice
of foreigners as friends and advisers, together with the
cost of his scheme to make one of
his younger sons king of Sicily and help the Pope against
the Holy Roman Emperor, led to further disputes with the
barons and united opposition in Church and State. The
Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of
Westminster (1259 were attempts by the nobles to curb the
king's power, control appointments and set up an
aristocratic council. Henry renounced the Provisions in
1264 and war broke out. The barons under their leader,
Simon de
Montfort, were initially successful, but Henry and his son,
Edward, finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the
Battle of Evesham in 1265.Royal authority was restored by
the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the king also
promised to uphold Magna Carta and some of the Provisions
of Westminster.
REF: Sharon Kay Penman "Falls the Shadow":In April 1258,
Henry's brother Richard of Cornwall sent 50 ships of grain
from Germany (where Richard was chasing the elusive crown
of Germany) to London to help alleviate the famine, Henry
siezed the ships & tried to sell them at inflated prices.
This enraged the general populace of London, Henry backed
down but they remained bitter. After Henry reconciled with
Prince Edward through the mediation of Richard of Cornwall
(Henry thought Edward was plotting with Simon de Montfort),
Henry attempted to try de Montfort on charges of perjery &
"lesse-majeste".The Barons on the King's Council baulked
& Louis IX was dismayed by Henry's bad faith, & sent the
Archbishop of Rouen to defend de Montfort,Henry backed
off.In June 1261 Henry borrows from his father John's
tricks & gets the Pope to annul the Oxford Provisions, even
as John did with the Magna Charta.The Barons nearly
revolt over this, with even Richard de Clare, Earl of
Gloucester, siding with de Montfort. Later, de Clare
defects from de Montfort & comes to a "private
understanding" with Henry & de Montofrt's "common
enterprise" unravels.Simon withdraws to France.In July
1262, Henry follows de Montfort into France & tries to have
him arraigned before the French King, Louis IX, but the
attempt fails. Simon returns to England April 1263, which
most felt meant a precursor to war.May 1263 the de
Montfort supporters meet & vow allare enemies who do not
support the Provisions save the King & his family.Henry
held fast, the barons' discontent flared into violence &
Simon's supporter the Earl of Derby sacked the town of
Worcester & burned the Jewry. May 1263 the young Earl of
Gloucester led an Army west & captured the Bishop of
Hereford, the most hated of the foreign advisors to Henry
III then left after the expulsion of the de Lusignans.He
threw the Bishop into prison, laid siege to the royal
castle at Gloucester, where de Montfort assumed command.
The army then went north to Bridgenorth, where they
coordinated their attack with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd; the
twon & castle surrendered. de Montfort then headed south
for London, where a panicked Henry took refuge in the
Tower. In June 1263 Prince Edward's foreign Flemish troops
burned Bristol; the populace rose up & besieged him & his
army in the castle. The Bishop of Worcester placated the
townsfolk by taking Edward's pladge to make peace with de
Montfort & the barons (which Edward had no intention of
honoring his pledge).In October 1263 Richard Duke of
Cornwall (Henry's brother) son Henry defected to Montfort.
Simon received a triumphal entry into London July 1263 &
Henry capitulated at the Tower of London on July 13, 1263.
Reigned 1216-1272. A minor when he took the throne he did
not take the reigns
of Government himself until 1234. Baronian discontent
simmered, boiling over
in 1258 when Henry facing financial disaster attempted to
raise large sums
from his magnates. Reforms were agreed upon but then
renouced by Henry. Simon de Montford lead a rebellion
against the King (the Barons Wars) which was defeated after
initial success, thereafter Hnery ceeded much of his power
to his son. Henry III ran afoul of his barons (again) when
he requested a large amount of money to aid him in putting
down Gaston de Béarn's 2nd rebellion in Gascony, saying
that de Béarn's ally St. Ferdinand III King of Castile was
going to invade Gascony, but just as he said this, Simon de
Montfort returned to England & told the barons that Henry
was actually negotiating with the St. Ferdinand III to
marry his daughter Eleanor to Henry's son Crown Prince
Edward "Longshanks" (de Montfort's commetns were true). At
this point, with Henry's many debacles, his lack of resolve
& constancy, the reforms were going to be made with or
without his participation.
REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the
Conqueror requested a large number of Jews to move to
England after his conquest. They spoke Norman & did well
under his reign.They continued to thrive under William's
grandson Henry II.When Richard was coronated, he did so
"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very
heavily, "bled them white". The Jews did the worst of all
under the pious Henry III as during his reign the church
felt threatened by violence, war, schism & heresy.The
church encouraged Jewish pogroms & spread rumors of grisly
rituals & murders committed by Jews.Henry, as a faithful
son of the church, did nothing to restrain it.
Acceded: 28 Oct 1216, Gloucester Cathedral.
Defeated Resoundingly By Louis IX In The Ill Fated Gascony
Campaign Of 1242.
More About Henry III Plantagenet King Of England:
Ancestral File Number: 8XJ5-ZJ.3918, 3919
Baptism (LDS): November 26, 1932, ARIZO.3920
Date born 2: October 01, 1206, Winchester, Hampshire, England.3921, 3922, 3923, 3924, 3925
Burial 1: November 20, 1272, Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England.3925
Burial 2: November 20, 1272, Westminster Abby, London, Middlesex, England.3926
Christening: Bet. 1216 - 12723926
Died 2: November 16, 1272, Westminster, Middlesex, England.3927, 3928, 3929, 3930, 3931
Endowment (LDS): February 24, 1933, ARIZO.3931
Record Change: July 19, 20023931
Ruled: 1216-1272.3931
Sealed to parents (LDS): October 08, 1991, JRIVE.3931
More About Henry III Plantagenet King Of England and Eleonor:
Marriage: January 14, 1234/35, Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England..3932
Children of Henry III Plantagenet King Of England and Eleonor are:
- +Edward I " Longshanks" King of England, b. June 17, 1239, Westminster, Middlesex, England3932, d. July 07, 1307, Burgh-On-The-San, Cumberland, England3932.
- +Edmund Plantagenet, b. January 16, 1244/45, London, Middlesex, England3932, d. June 05, 1296, Bayonne, France3932.