Henry II of EnglandHenry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. At various points in his life, he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou), an area that was later called the Angevin Empire. At times, Henry also held a strong influence over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany. Henry became politically involved by the age of fourteen in the efforts of his mother, Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, to claim the English throne, then held by a cousin, Stephen of Blois.
Louis IX of FranceLouis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly revered as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VIII, he was crowned in Reims at the age of 12. His mother, Blanche of Castile, effectively ruled the kingdom as regent until he came of age and continued to serve as his trusted adviser until her death.
Gerald of WalesGerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis; Gerallt Cymro; Gerald de Barri; 1146-1223) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He was nominated for several bishoprics but turned them down in the hope of becoming Bishop of St Davids, but was unsuccessful despite considerable support. His final post was as Archdeacon of Brecon, from which he retired to academic study for the remainder of his life.
NormansThe Normans (Norman: Normaunds; Normands; Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. The term is also used to denote emigrants from the duchy who conquered other territories such as England and Sicily. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden.
Anglo-Norman languageAnglo-Norman (Anglo-Normaund; anglo-normand), also known as Anglo-Norman French, was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period. When William the Conqueror led the Norman conquest of England in 1066, he, his nobles, and many of his followers from Normandy, but also those from northern and western France, spoke a range of langues d'oïl (northern varieties of Old French).
Duchy of NormandyThe Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman conquest of England, the dukes of Normandy were usually also kings of England, the only exceptions being Dukes Robert Curthose (1087–1106), Geoffrey Plantagenet (1144–1150), and Henry II (1150–1152), who became king of England in 1152.
AngersAngers (UKˈɑ̃ʒeɪ, USɑ̃ˈʒeɪ,_ˈændʒərz, ɑ̃ʒe) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the province are called Angevins or, more rarely, Angeriens. Angers proper covers and has a population of 154,508 inhabitants, while around 432,900 live in its metropolitan area (aire d'attraction). The Angers Loire Métropole is made up of 29 communes covering with 299,500 inhabitants (2018).
RoxburghRoxburgh (ˈrɒksbərə) is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at least as much importance as Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, for a time acting as de facto capital (as royal residence of David I).
House of CapetThe House of Capet (Maison capétienne) ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, when the three sons of Philip IV (reigned 1285–1314) all failed to produce surviving male heirs to the French throne. With the death of Charles IV (reigned 1322–1328), the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger brother of Philip IV.
PoitiersPoitiers (ˈpwɑːtieɪ, UKalsoˈpwVtieɪ, USalsoˌpwɑːtiˈeɪ,_-ˈtjeɪ, pwatje; Poitevin: Poetàe) is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomeration has 130,853 inhabitants in 2016 and is the center of an urban area of 261,795 inhabitants. It is a city of art and history, still known as "Ville aux cent clochers".
