It is reported that there was then such perfect peace in Britain, wheresoever the dominion of King Edwin extended, that, as is still proverbially said, a woman with her newborn babe might walk throughout the island, from sea to sea, without receiving any harm. ibid. II:16
A war with no sign of an end. The Romans have stirred up a ferocious foe – our ancestors. The Romans consider Britain a land of barbarians. The British I: Treasure Island, Sky Atlantic 2012
In A.D. 58 one of Rome’s most feared generals lands on British soil. ibid.
A fertile land kept warm and wet by the Gulf Stream. ibid.
The Druids foment resistance to the Roman invasion. ibid.
Britain is transformed – new roads are built. ibid.
Urbanised Britons begin dressing and behaving like Romans. ibid.
It’s a slow death but Roman authority in Britain is collapsing. ibid.
Over 150,000 people die or flee their homes. Alongside murder comes the devastation of Anglo-Saxon lands ... William destroys all resistance. The British II: People Power
A network of castles appears across the land. ibid.
The Black Death ... This is now the Bubonic plague. ibid.
From London, revolt spreads to towns and villages across the country. ibid.
England has become a residence for foreigners and the property of aliens. William of Malmesbury c.1125
Here I am. No traitor to the King but a priest of God. Thomas Becket, attributed
I suppose I have to do this penance to make my peace with you. Becket 1964 starring Peter O’Toole & Richard Burton & John Gielgud & Paolo Stoppa & Donald Wolfit & David Weston & Martita Hunt & Pamela Brown & Felix Aylmer & Gino Cervi & Christopher Rhodes et al, director Peter Glenville, Henry at Becket’s tomb
How do you combine the two – honour and collaboration? ibid. King to Becket
Where honour should be, in me there is only a void. ibid. Becket
The power of the Bishops is increasing like a pestilence. ibid.
You’re a monster! ibid. King to Becket
Are you taking yourself seriously as Archbishop? ibid. King to Becket
We are all God’s fools, my lord. ibid. Becket
England is splitting into the Henry camp and the Becket camp. ibid. King of France
He’s never forgiven me for preferring God to him. ibid. Becket to French King
Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest? ibid. King
Matilda: the first woman to make a claim to the English throne in her own right. Dr Helen Castor, She Wolves: England’s Early Queens I, BBC 2012
A handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. ibid.
Matilda was the daughter of Henry I and granddaughter of William the Conqueror. ibid.
There was nothing explicit to say a woman couldn’t wear the crown. ibid.
Matilda might have given up on her marriage but her father hadn’t. ibid.
In 1135 ... Matilda stayed in Anjou with Geoffrey. ibid.
As soon as the news of her father’s death reached her, Matilda made her first move to become queen. ibid.
While Matilda hesitated it was her cousin Stephen who seized the moment. Stephen was a powerful man and an effective soldier. ibid.
Stephen’s masterstroke was his speedily arranged coronation. ibid.
Normandy had collapsed into anarchy and so had Stephen’s army. ibid.
All Matilda’s hopes of being crowned Queen were trampled into the dirt along with the feast she had left behind. But things were about to get still worse. ibid.
If the she-wolf couldn’t wear the crown, her cub would. ibid.
Eleanor wasn’t typical in anything she did. ibid.
Eleanor made a particularly powerful match – her new husband was heir to the French throne. And within days of the wedding the old King died. Now at the age of only thirteen Eleanor was Queen of France. Wife of King Louis VII. ibid.
Louis and Eleanor had decided to go on Crusade. ibid.
In 1168 Eleanor went to govern the Dutch [Aquitaine] in her husband’s name. ibid.
Eleanor never had a claim to be a monarch in her own right but her children did. ibid.
She rebelled against her husband. ibid.
She was captured on the road by her husband’s forces. ibid.
Richard sent word that his mother should have the power of doing whatever she wished in the kingdom. ibid.
It was Eleanor who secured the succession of her youngest son John. ibid.
Age and exhaustion caught up with Eleanor. ibid.
England’s Queen haven’t always been greeted with such adoration. Dr Helen Castor, She Wolves: England’s Early Queens II: Isabella and Margaret
Women and power have made an uneasy combination. ibid.
These are the stories of the she-wolves of England. ibid.
Two women who were thrust into a violent and dysfunctional foreign country. ibid.
Isabella ... was a peace-making Queen. ibid.
At Bannockburn Robert Bruce routed Edward’s army. England had lost its control of Scotland. ibid.
It was Isabella herself who precipitated the country into civil war. ibid.
Edward ordered that all French men and women living in England should be arrested as enemy aliens. ibid.
Isabella, Mortimer and Prince Edward set sail for England. ibid.
She was greeted with open arms. ibid.
Her husband’s power simply melted away. ibid.
She, a Queen, had seized power to depose a crowned and anointed King for the first time in English history. ibid.
Over the next hundred years England and France were almost constantly at war. ibid.
Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Anjou. She would marry the English King, Henry VI. ibid.
Out of the darkness of chaos and violence of the Middle Ages one family rose to seize control of England. Generation after generation they ruled the country for more than 300 years, ruthlessly crushing all competition to become the greatest English dynasty of all time: the Plantagenets. Dan Jones, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty s1e1: Revenge, Channel 5 2014
These kids murdered, betrayed and tyrannised their way to spectacular success. ibid.
Matilda’s son, Henry Plantagenet, has watched from France as his birthright is ripped away. In 1153 Henry Plantagenet sails to England with an invasion force aiming to seize back the throne. ibid.
The whole of Europe blames him for the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury. And his obsession with control has alienated his entire family. ibid.
He’s good at betrayal but he lacks his father’s political savvy. ibid.
England is turning into a disaster zone. ibid.
The Plantagenets forged England as a nation. Dan Jones, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty s1e2: Hatred
1230: Henry III came to the throne at the age of nine. He has been King for fourteen years. His powers are limited by a document signed by his father King John. It’s called the Magna Carta. ibid. caption
Henry III is the fourth Plantagenet King. ibid.
He is a total dreamer. ibid.
Simon [de Montfort] marries Henry sister Eleanor, the greatest catch in the kingdom. ibid.