The Plantagenet Dynasty: From Henry II to Edward II

This book is a representative work by William Stubbs, Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University and founder of Oxford's Faculty of Modern History. It begins with England's political situation in the later years of Henry I, amid a crisis over the heir to the throne, and ends with the country's politics at the time of Edward II's grisly death. It covers the reigns of six kings: Henry II, Richard I, King John, Henry III, Edward I, and Edward II. Was Henry, Duke of Normandy, legally entitled to claim the English throne? Why was his marriage to Eleanor essential to his seizure of the crown? What political realities lay behind the tragedy of Henry II's bloody conflicts with his sons? Why was Richard I known as “the Lionheart”? What did he contribute to the Crusades? Why did King John become known as “Lackland”? Was Henry III's reign really so uneventful? Why do historians consider Edward I's reign the beginning of the union of the English and Scottish crowns? Why was Edward II killed by his own queen, Isabella? This book explores these questions in detail.