Here is one of the chapters in what I call my British kings “bullet book.” It contains historical facts about all of the British kings from Alfred the Great to Queen Elizabeth II. The purpose is to help me learn the British history which leads me to enjoy my British collection more. I have not been an overly serious British collector. I buy the coins for the history although I do have some good pieces. This is a decent Henry II penny. It’s not great because someone punched “HII” perhaps to separate the coin from those of his two sons, Richard I and John. At any rate here are my “Henry II historical bullets.” · Henry II was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and the Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I, who had been denied her crown as queen of England. Geoffrey had been known as Geoffrey of Anjou. He was noted for wearing a sprig of bright yellow broom blossom in his hair which had the Latin name, planta genista. That earned him the name, Geoffrey Plantagenet. · The Plantagenet kings brought a greater sense of style and elegance to the British crown than their Norman predecessors. There was also a distinct improvement in the quality of the coinage. · Henry’s greatest accomplishment was to claim control of England, Wales, Ireland , Scotland and Brittany, plus Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Aquitaine. He held more of France than the French king did at that time. · Henry’s greatest disappointment was that his three sons and his wife plotted to displace him and take his kingdoms before his death. His wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, had been the Queen of France before she married Henry. Her marriage to the French king, Louis VII ended because they were incompatible, and she had failed to give the king a male heir, only two daughters. · Henry’s oldest son, also named Henry, was the presumptive king and wanted to take charge of his inheritance despite that fact that he never acquired enough emotional maturity to be a king. Eleanor was concerned that Henry II would give too much of her beloved Aquitaine to other claimants. The King of France was only too happy to stir up trouble and diminish Henry’s influence on the continent. · Henry defeated his rebellious sons and wife. He made up with his sons for a time, but he never forgave Eleanor for her disloyalty. He condemned her to internal exile in England, and placed her under house arrest. · Henry’s greatest sin was his role in the execution of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Henry and Thomas had once been the best of friends, and Thomas was his most trusted advisor. Yet they became bitter enemies. How did this happen? · During this period, one in six Englishman was technically a “priest.” If during their life a man had received education from the church, the Catholic Church claimed him as a priest even if he did not have a church or congregation. This made him subject to church not secular law. Non priests who broke the law were called “criminous clerks.” · The church at this time was a power unto itself. If a priest, which included the “criminous clerks,” raped, murdered or stole property, his transgressions fell under the jurisdiction of the church, not the state. By claiming “benefit of clergy,” offending priests avoided the laws of the state and could be tried in the bishop’s courts. There the punishments might be no more than defrocking him, removing him from the ministry or penitence. Priests and “criminous clerks,” in that way, could be above the law. · Rich bishops and heads of the abbots had powers that were beyond the reach of the state. They could earn great sums from their holdings and could even raise small armies. While they swore allegiance to the king, they could go their own way if it suited them because their earthly oaths to the state were subservient to their loyalty to God. · When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1161, Henry saw an opening. He appointed Thomas Becket to replace him. · Once Becket was in place he enacted policies that were similar to those that had been in force under the old regime. This infuriated Henry and resulted in a breach of trust between the king and Thomas Becket. The breach reached the point where Becket fled the country and went into exile in France in 1164. · Becket returned to England in 1169. He stated that he would recognize the king’s authority except where God told him to do otherwise. That last caveat was the deal breaker. Henry knew that Becket would continue to cause him trouble. · Henry, who was known for his rages and bad temper, was said to have exclaimed, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” In reality Henry’s actual quote was, “What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a lowborn clerk!” A couple his knights took him at his word and killed Becket. They lopped off the top of his skull with a sword and trampled on his brains. · Henry’s reputation was greatly damaged following Becket’s execution. He went into a voluntary exile to Ireland until the situation simmered down. · In the wake of another rebellion from his sons, Henry showed penance for the execution of Becket to gain more support for his cause. He walked barefoot to Canterbury where the monks scourged him at the tomb of Becket who had become a saint. · His actions brought more support to his side, and Henry was once more able to make peace with his rebellious sons. · The oldest son, Henry, died of dysentery in 1183 before he could become king. The third son, Geoffrey died after sustaining injuries in a jousting match. That left the second son, Richard, and the fourth son, John, who would both become kings. · Henry II died in 1189. He was never able to negotiate a true peace with his rebellious sons.
Nice writeup and coin. Henry II 1154-1189 A.D. AR Penny Short Cross coinage, class Ic. O: hЄNRICVS R • ЄX, crowned facing bust, holding quatrefoil tipped scepter in right hand. R: + RΛVL • ON • LVN, voided cross pommée; quatrefoils in angles. 1.03g 20mm London Mint, 1185-89 A.D North 964; SCBC 1345
I would argue his greatest achievement is the establishment of Common Law... unfortunately I have no coins of Henry from England, but I do have one from Aquitaine: French Feudal, Aquitaine Henry II, r. 1152-1168 Bordeaux Mint, BL Denier, 16.57mm x 0.8 grams Obv.: +hENRICVS REX, cross pattée Rev.: º+º / AQVI / TANI / ºEº, in four lines Ref.: AGC 2 (1/a), Duplessy 1030, Roberts 3881, SCBC 8001 Ex. R.D. Frederick Collection. Ex. A.H. Baldwin
I'm very curious why would anyone name Henry as a king in 1152 and how likely it is that the coinage of Aquitaine for him started in 1152 and called him king.
He was not king in 1152, but married Eleanor in that year and thus became Duke of Aquitaine. As for when the coinage of Aquitaine began with named “Rex,” I don’t know. I supposed 1152 is possible and that “Rex” was a propaganda ploy as the civil war in England was still being fought (and Henry was heavily involved by that time). I suspect after his coronation would be more likely though. If anything, I need to amend my date of 1168... not sure where that came from.
That is a very nice penny @johnmilton and a great set of historical notes on Henry II. The short cross coinage of Henry II is a great area to collect, and one of my favorite. Here is one of my latest pennies from the Winchester mint. In regards to the Anglo Gallic coinage of Henry II, there is some very interesting debate regarding the attribution. For the longest time these denier were accepted as coming from Henry II, but some numismatists such as Elias and the Withers have argued against that attribution. I forget all of the details, but the gist is that there is almost no evidence connecting the coins to Henry II while contemporary records note that Henry III struck coins to the standard of Aquitaine and that hoard evidence points to a later date of minting, after the denier of Richard I. I'll have to dig out my books and look more into the evidence.
