Henry II was Matilda, Jr.’s son and raised in France until the age of nine, returning with his mother to England in her effort to reclaim the throne. She never quite managed the coup for herself, but Henry II would ascend through her lineage upon Stephen’s death. Henry II had a few things going for him from the English perspective. He was the grandson of Henry I who had done a lot to integrate the Norman-Anglo ways into a fairly stable atmosphere, he was Scottish by way of his maternal lines, and he truly was the rightful heir to the throne. But he also had one glaring problem: his wife Eleanor. She was one tempestuous shrew. Eleanor actively plotted with their sons (Henry, Richard and Geoffrey) to rebel against their father, and she encouraged invasions by the kings of Scotland and France. Such a nuisance was she that Henry II would eventually place her under house-arrest for 15 years. Henry II was a man of reason and intellect like his grandfather and is notable for creating Common Law in England. Only problem was that Henry expected to extend these royal judicial oversights onto the Church. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. Henry appointed Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, believing him to have like-minded ideals of exposing the judicial abuses rampant in the Church. What he didn’t expect is that Becket would about-face and side with the Church. Becket went into exile upon hearing the king’s intention to try him for contempt. When Becket returned to England six years later, Henry II screamed (probably rhetorically), “Will someone rid me of this turbulent priest?†Someone took him seriously, because a couple of his knights would go and kill Becket on (gasp) the alter during Church service (thereby martyring him). Needless to say, this event didn’t exactly serve to popularize the King among his people, and he was henceforth publically shamed (forced to walk barefoot through Canterbury, arrive at Becket’s tomb, beg for pardon, and receive a lashing). Not too dignified for a King, huh? His sons Richard I and then John I would succeed him in that order.
