settled outstanding problems, submitting conflicting claims in Auvergne to arbitration.
After Louis’s death, Henry acted as a distant protector to his heir, Philip II. Further
disputes among Henry’s sons, largely over the plans for succession after his death, arose
repeatedly from 1182, when a revolt in Aquitaine provided the spark. Adopting an anti-
Angevin policy, Philip supported Henry the Young King and later Geoffroi against their
father, but both sons died unexpectedly before much could be accomplished against
Henry II. Philip went to war with Henry in 1187, demanding (among other things)
Richard’s marriage to Alice. Henry made a counteroffer: his youngest son, John, would
marry Alice and receive all the French fiefs except Normandy, which with England
would be Richard’s. When Richard learned of this plan, he turned against his father and
in 1188 allied with Philip; they made war on Henry in 1189. His health failing, Henry had
nothing to gain by a war against his chief heir; he submitted on July 4 and died two days
later.
Donald F.Fleming
[See also: ANJOU; BRITTANY; ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE; NORMANDY]
Gillingham, John. The Angevin Empire. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1984.
Wattern, W.L. Henry II. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
HENRY III
(1207–1272). In 1216, Henry III, eldest son of King John and Isabelle d’Angoulême,
assumed the title king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and
count of Anjou. Even though his father had lost control of Normandy, Anjou, and much
of Aquitaine, Henry III continued to press his claims both diplomatically and militarily to
all these lands, which he considered his rightful patrimony. Largely unsuccessful, he
finally acquiesced to much less in the Treaty of Paris in 1259, though he retained control
over Gascony and as duke of Aquitaine was a peer of France. Thus, Henry III continued
to be an important baron on the Continent.
Henry was only nine years old when he inherited what was left of his father’s feudal
empire. His regents were successful in ending the barons’ rebellion in England, and Louis
of France, son of Philip II Augustus, gave up his claim to the English throne and left the
country. When Henry assumed control of the government in 1227, he held England, the
Channel Islands, Gascony, and the island of Oléron and continued to try to regain the rest
of the lands that he believed belonged to him. His military expeditions of 1230 and 1242
produced no long-term gains, while his diplomatic efforts did not force Louis IX to return
the disputed territory. Finally, on December 4, 1259, Henry and Louis signed the
controversial Treaty of Paris, in which Henry III recognized Louis’s control over
Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and Poitou, while Henry retained the title duke of
Aquitaine, for which he did homage to Louis. Henry’s hold over Aquitaine, however, was
limited to Gascony and Oléron. Several of Louis’s concessions required negotiations over
many years before they were useful to Henry. Within Gascony, some lords remained
relatively independent of Henry’s control. Also, Louis’s role as Henry’s liege lord
allowed Gascons, unhappy with the settlement of disputes in Henry’s courts, to appeal to
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