Plantagenets

The Plantagenets were a royal dynasty of England from the mid-12th to the late 15th century. They originated with Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, husband of Empress Matilda; their son Henry II became king in 1154, establishing the Plantagenet kings of England. The name Plantagenet comes from Geoffrey's nickname.

The early Plantagenets oversaw the expansion of royal authority and the development of English common law under Henry II, including reforms associated with the royal courts and the quarrel with Thomas Becket. Their realm, sometimes called the Angevin Empire, also encompassed extensive territories in France, though much of the French holdings were lost to Capetian kings, notably by 1204. The Magna Carta of 1215 limited royal authority and influenced the development of constitutional law.

The dynasty continued through the main line to Edward III and then Richard II. Later, cadet branches—the Lancastrians and the Yorkists—emerged, leading to the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic struggle that divided the nobility and destabilized the realm in the 15th century.

Among notable Plantagenet rulers are Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, and Edward I–III, as well as Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI. The mid–late Plantagenets faced the loss of most continental possessions and internal strife culminating in the overthrow of Richard III in 1485.

The end of the Plantagenet line gave way to the Tudor dynasty, starting with Henry VII, a Lancastrian claimant who established a new royal house through marriage and conquest. The Plantagenets left a lasting legacy in English law, governance, and the long history of the English monarchy.