1. Henry II
Henry II was the first of eight Plantagenet kings. He neither ignored his island kingdom nor dragged it into continental trouble. Along with Alfred, Edward I, and Elizabeth I, Henry II ranks as one of the best British monarchs. .
Henry II was born in Le Mans, France in 1133. Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of Henry I, were his parents. Henry's younger brothers were Geoffrey and William (Bingham 22; Tabuteau 185). .
Henry's father gave Henry the best education possible at that time. Peter of Saintes, who was a well-known poet, was Henry's first tutor. Adelard of Bath also taught Henry. William of Conches and Henry's other previous tutors instilled in Henry the appreciation for literature. Soon after Henry II's education, he became Duke of Normandy. With the death of his father, Henry II became the Count of Anjou at age eighteen. Once he became Count of Anjou, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine on May 18, 1152, in the Cathedral of Poitiers. Their children were William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John (Bingham 22; "Henry" 835-836; Tabuteau 185). .
Once Stephen, who was a well-known king, died, Henry II became lord of all land between the Pyrenees and Scotland ("Henry" 835). Henry had to deal with problems as soon as he became king. Once the Danish kingdoms established themselves in Ireland, the Danish colonists were at war with Irish people and the Irish people were at war with themselves. King Henry II realized he needed to stop all the chaos with a conquest of Ireland. In a few months, every part of Ireland except Connaught was under King Henry II's control. The regions that the British controlled slowly dwindled away and soon vanished (Larned 114-115). .
Even though Henry II was a king, he did not resemble a king. He had a freckled face, gray eyes, and tawny hair. He also had a very short temper. At times, King Henry II would be as ruthless as a savage ("Henry" 835).
Henry V A historical background - In 1399, at about the age of thirty-three, Henry of Lancaster usurped the crown of his first cousin Richard II and retained power until his death in 1413... - Henry of Lancaster, born Henry of Bolingbroke, became Henry IV through some lucky odds and foolish mistakes made by Richard II. ... - Henry IV, parts I and II dramatize much of Hal's carousing and his close relationship with the fat, jolly drunkard, Falstaff. ... " - One of the first things Henry V does is to give a proper burial to Richard II's body. He had him buried in We...
Is Henry the Fifth the consummate hero-king of English history? ... In Act II, scene 2, the king displays his clever handling of his conspirators, revealing himself as an astute and just leader who is acutely aware of human behaviour. ... (Act II, sc 2, p.83, lines 54-57, course text) At this instance, the king lays out his so-called commission letters to them, which were in fact their charges against them for treason. ... Scroop, in particular, had been a bosom friend of Henry who "knew'st the very bottom of my (Henry's) soul" (line 97). ... He forbids his soldiers to boast of an...
In Act II, the function of the Chorus is to fill in the lapse of time that has occurred since the time when Henry made the decision to go to war against France. ... However, as we find out in Act II, the King finds out about the conspiracy against him. ... In Act II, he was sent to France to ask the King to forfeit his crown or else the English would go to war with France. ... Act II ended there, and now the Chorus tells that the king's counteroffer was his daughter, Katherine, and her dowry. ... In act II, the Chorus sets the plot for the conspiracy planned against the King. ...
Henry was most likely brought up by his uncle Henry Beaufort. ... The conspirators urge Henry to punish the man, but Henry concedes to release the man. ... Henry declares war on France and the saga of his invasion begins (Henry V) . ... The scene is also used to expose another doing of Henry's, which was very significant: the re-interring of king Richard II. Historically, Henry's father had usurped his throne from Richard II, and Richard had the opportunity to use Henry as a bargaining chip in the squabble for the throne. ...
In the early 1500's, Henry joined Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, Rome emperor Maximilan I, and the Venetians in a Holy League against France. ... The Holy league's goal was to expel Louis XII from Italy; it failed when Julius II died(Holy league). ... Henry VIII joined Charles in a war against France in 1522(Henry VIII). ... Two men now assisted Henry: Thomas Cormwell and Thomas Cranmer(Henry). ... Henry executed Boleyn for infidelity(Henry). ...
In this short monologue extracted from Henry IV, Part II, King Henry grieves over his inability to sleep properly during the night. By incorporating highly descriptive imagery, together with diction and syntax, Shakespeare manages to convey exactly King Henry's state of mind. ... Due to this, King Henry's mood is one of misery and gloomy. ... Shakespeare attributes a very complex and rich vocabulary to King Henry since he is, after all, the king. ... The monologue ends when King Henry declares that, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". ...
Even though the man receives respect from people around him andis inaplace of exbit these characteristics are King Henry II in Becket by Jean Anouilh and Atticus in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Lee Harper. In Becket, King Henry II is the most powerful man in England but he feels lonely. ... King Henry appoints Beckect, his one trues friend, as archbishop of Canterbury. ... King Henry II and Atticus are strong men who stood alone due to their actions....
In Act II, the function of the Chorus is to fill in the lapse of time that has occurred since the time when Henry made the decision to go to war against France. ... However, as we find out in Act II, the King finds out about the conspiracy against him. ... In Act II, he was sent to France to ask the King to forfeit his crown or else the English would go to war with France. ... Act II ended there, and now the Chorus tells that the king's counteroffer was his daughter, Katherine, and her dowry. ... In act II, the Chorus sets the plot for the conspiracy planned against the King. ...