from this acquisition, and the prospect of his rising fortune, had such an effect in England, that Henry was encouraged to make an invasion (1153). Having gained some advantage over Stephen at Malmesbury, a decisive action was every day expected; when the great men of both sides, terrified at the prospect of farther bloodshed and confusion, interposed with their good offices, and set on foot a negotiation between the rival princes. It was agreed that Stephen should possess the crown during his lifetime, and that upon his demise Henry should succeed to the kingdom. After all the barons had sworn to the observance of this treaty, and done homage to Henry, as to the heir of the crown, that prince evacuated the kingdom; and the death of Stephen, which happened the next year after a short illness (October 25, 1154), prevented all those quarrels and jealousies which were likely to have ensued in so delicate a situation.

England suffered great miseries during the reign of this prince; but his personal character appears not liable to any great exception. He was possessed of industry, activity, and courage to a great degree; though not endowed with a sound judgment, he was not deficient in abilities; he had the talent of gaining men's affections; and, notwithstanding his precarious situation, he nev er indulged himself in the exercise of any cruelty or revenge. He is commonly branded as a usurper; but, as the right of direct lineal succession was not firmly established till the time of Edward I., his seizing of the crown, regarded in itself, was no more an act of usurpation than that of his two predecessors. It was, however, a crime, inasmuch as he had sworn fealty to Matilda, the daughter of his benefactor.

Henry II. From his monument at Fontevraud.

CHAPTER VII.

A.D. 1154-1199.

§ 1. Accession of HENRY II. First Acts of his Government. § 2. His Wars and Acquisitions in France. § 3. Ecclesiastical Disputes. Thomas à Becket. § 4. Constitutions of Clarendon. § 5. Opposed by Becket. § 6. Compromise with Becket and Return of that Prelate. § 7. Becket assassinated. § 8. Grief and Submission of the King. § 9. Conquest of Ireland. § 10. Revolt of Prince Henry and his Brothers. § 11. Henry's Penance at the Tomb of Becket. Peace with his Sons. § 12. Death of Prince Henry. § 13. Preparations for a Crusade. Family Misfortunes and Death of the King. His Character. § 14. Accession of RICHARD I. Preparations for a Crusade. § 15. Adventures on the Voyage. § 16. Transactions in Palestine. § 17. The King's Return and Captivity in Germany. His Brother John and Philip of France invade his Dominions. § 18. Liberation of Richard and Return to England. § 19. War with France. Death and Character of the King.

§ 1. HENRY II., 1154-1189.-Henry II., who now ascended the throne, was the first monarch of the house of the Plantagenets, whose name was derived from the planta genista, the Spanish broom-plant, a sprig of which was commonly worn by Geoffrey, Henry's father, in his hat. The Plantagenets reigned over England for more than three centuries, and to this family all the English monarchs belonged from Henry II. to Richard III. (A.D.

*The portrait of Geoffrey Plantagenet on the following page, of which the original is now in the museum of Le Mans, served formerly to ornament the tomb of Geoffrey in the cathedral of Le Mans.

1154-1485); but on the death of Richard II. they were divided into the houses of Lancaster and York, to the former of which belonged Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. (1399-1471), and to the latter Edward IV., Edward V., and Richard III. (1471–1485). The first two Plantagenet monarchs were still Anglo-Norman princes; and it is not before the reign of John that a new epoch commences in English history.

No opposition was offered to the accession of Henry. He was in Normandy at the time of Stephen's death, and upon his arrival in England he was received with the acclamations of all orders of men, who swore with pleasure the oath of fealty and allegiance to him. He was crowned on the 19th of December. The first act of his government corresponded to the high idea entertained of his abilities, and prognosticated the re-establishment of justice and tranquillity, of which the kingdom had so long been bereaved. He immediately dismissed all those mercenary soldiers who had committed great disorders in the nation; he revoked all the grants made by his predecessor, even those which necessity had extorted from the Empress Matilda; he repaired the coin, which had been extremely debased during the reign of his predecessor, and he took proper measures against the return of a like abuse. He was rigorous in the execution of justice and in the suppression of robbery and violence; and, that he might restore authority to the laws, he caused all the newly-erected castles to be demolished, which had proved so many sanctuaries to freebooters and rebels.

§ 2. The Continental possessions of Henry were far more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. He was master, in the right of his father, of Anjou and Touraine; in that of his mother, of Normandy and Maine; in that of his wife, of Guienne, Poitou, Xaintogne, Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, the Limousin. These provinces composed above a third of the whole French monarchy, and were much superior, in extent and opulence, to those territories which were subjected to the immediate jurisdiction and government of the king. On the death of his brother Geoffrey in 1158, Henry prepared to take possession of the county of Nantes, which had been put into Geoffrey's hands by the inhabitants, after they had expelled their former prince, Count Hoel; but which had been seized by Conan, Duke or Count of Brittany, on the pretense that it had been separated by rebellion from his principality. Lest Louis, the French king, should interpose in the controversy, Henry paid him a visit, and so allured him by caresses and civilities, that an alliance was contracted between them; and they agreed that young Henry, heir to the English monarchy, should be affianced to Margaret of France, though the former was only five years of age and the latter was still in her cradle. Henry, now