England and France during the High Middle Ages

by Tom Kando

How many movies have you seen and books have you read about the history and the conflicts raging in England and in France during the High Middle Ages (1000-1400)? I just re-saw the wonderful mini-series Pillars of the Earth - based on Ken Follett’s great novel. Hollywood has produced an endless series of often highly entertaining films about this era - from many makes and remakes of Robin Hood to the movie version of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, from many versions of Joan of Arc to excellent films such a the Lion in Winter and Becket, more recent productions such as Braveheart, The Kingdom of Heaven and many more.

My knowledge of English history is limited, that of French history better. I thought I’d try to draw a brief and somewhat coherent picture of one aspect of this era, namely the ceaseless fighting between the English and the French, a narrative which incorporates many of the stories which popular culture has popularized so often.


If you start with the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and go to the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453, you have a period of nearly four centuries during which two things pre-dominate: (1) the inextricable connection between France and England, whereby England is culturally, linguistically and politically practically an extension of France, and (2) the never-ending reluctance of the English royal families and nobility to let go of France, once and for all. In other words, dynastic wars which last four centuries and devastate both sides of the Channel - France much more than England.

In 1066, the Norman/French king William (later dubbed “The Conqueror”) crossed the channel, invaded England, defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings and established the rule of a French/Norman ruling class/nobility/aristocracy over the local Anglo-Saxon population.

William and the Normans who conquered England were the descendants of Vikings, who had settled Normandy a century and a half earlier, and who had of course thoroughly inter-mingled with the French.

Both the secular and the ecclesiastical rulers of England were now French, while the Anglo-Saxons became the plebs. This had profound cultural, legal and linguistic consequences. French became the language of the ruling class. William ruled mostly from France. To this day, the two mottos which appear on the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom are: Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense (shamed be he who thinks evil of it), and Dieu et mon Droit (God and my right).

For nearly a century and a half after this, (until 1204), England and Normandy remained part of one united kingdom. The kingdom also included the adjacent French province of Maine, as well as - sometimes - provinces such as Anjou, Aquitaine and other territories, depending on the vicissitudes of conquests and dynastic marriages.

Until 1154, the kingdom was ruled by William himself, and by his children and his grandchildren: William died in 1087. He was succeeded by his son William Rufus - William the Second, who ruled until 1100. Rufus was the second member of the Norman Dynasty - king of England and Duke of Normandy and Maine.

William Rufus’ successor, the third member of the Norman Dynasty, was William the Conqueror’s second son, Henry the First. He ruled from 1100 to 1135, also as King of England and Duke of Normandy and Maine.

Then came King Stephen: Stephen’s original name was Etienne de Blois, as he was born in that French city. He was William the Conqueror’s grandson and Henry’s nephew. He ruled until 1154.

Stephen is considered to be a usurper of the throne, because the legitimate heir was Henry’s daughter, Empress Matilda, also known as Maude. She was born in England, she contested Stephen’s rule and a protracted civil war ensued. Queen Maude/Matilda was only able to rule over England for a few months, in 1141.

In 1128, Queen Maude had married Geoffrey Plantagenet, the Count of Anjou, who ruled over the French provinces Anjou, Touraine and Maine. In 1142-43, during the civil war against Stephen, Maude and Geoffrey invaded and conquered Normandy from Stephen. Thus after 1143, Normandy and the other French territories belonged to Maude, not to the English King Stephen.

There is confusion about the distinction between the dynastic House of Plantagenet and that of the Angevins. The best way to put it, is that the “House of Plantagenet is the continuation of the senior line of the House of Anjou (Angevin) as Kings of England.” (Wikipedia). Indeed, Geoffrey Plantagenet, the Count of Anjou who married Queen Maude, was a prominent Angevin. He and Maude established the Plantagenet dynasty, beginning with their son, Henry the Second.

Maude’s husband Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou died in 1151, and the following year, the English King Stephen recognized Maude’s and Geoffrey’s son Henry as his heir. This was King Henry the Second, now of the House of Plantagenet.

  In 1152, Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine, thereby acquiring the enormous province of Aquitaine. He had already been the Duke of Normandy since 1149 and the Count of Anjou since 1151 (his father’s death). He now also became the Duke of Aquitaine. Finally, upon Stephen’s death in 1154, Henry was also crowned King of England. He now ruled over the vast Angevin Empire which stretched from Scotland to the Pyrenees. He lived and ruled primarily out of Anjou, where he died in 1189.

Henry was succeeded by his and Eleanor’s son Richard Coeur de Lion, Richard the Lionhearted, or Richard the First. His official reign lasted from 1189 to 1199. No sooner was Richard king than he left on the Third Crusade, leaving the government of the Angevin empire in the hands of regents, whose authority was contested by his younger brother John (“John Lackland,” or “Jean sans Terre.”) Richard returned from the Crusade in 1196, and he died in battle in France in 1199. Altogether he only spent half a year of his reign in England, and he neglected his kingdom.

Richard was succeeded in 1199 by his younger brother John “Lackland,” who reigned until 1216.

The Mythical Robin Hood tales usually take place during Richard’s reign. They depict John Lackland’s alleged abuses and usurpation of power during Richard’s absence. Similarly, Walter Scott’s epic novel Ivanhoe takes place in 1194, depicting the Anglo-Saxon struggle for justice in the face of oppression by the Franco-Norman nobility.

The next two Kings in the Plantagenet dynasty were Henry the Third (reigned 1216- 1272) and Edward The First, “Longshanks.” (Reigned 1272 -1307). The last king in this long dynasty was the much maligned Richard the Third (1452-1485), whose skeleton was discovered in 2012.

The Angevin Empire of the Plantagenet Kings consisted primarily of French territories (Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine, Maine, Brittany, Blois, etc.). French monarchs in Paris, such as Philip II Augustus (reigned 1179-1223) were obviously eager to (re-)unite those territories with the French realm. Philip had some success doing so during the reigns of Richard the Lionhearted and John Lackland. At the same time, the English Kings missed no opportunity to resist the loss of their continental possessions. Hence, chronic war, generation after generation, century after century.

For example, in 1214, John Lackland organized a grand coalition and attacked France. John was repulsed in Anjou, and his coalition suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of King Philip Augustus at the Battle of Bouvines.

The conflict between France’s efforts at unification and the English monarchy’s desire to hold on to its continental possessions came to a head in the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453).

That century was devastating for France. Some of history’s best-known battles were fought during the Hundred Years War, and many of them were won decisively by the English. These included the Battles of Crécy (1346) and Agincourt (1415). Much of this had to do with superior English military technology, such as the English use of longbowmen against French cavalry. The Agincourt victory enabled King Henry V to recapture Normandy for England for the first time in two centuries.

However, England’s supremacy did not last long. Its days on the Continent were numbered: Soon, the French rallied around Joan of Arc (1412-1431). The “Maid of Orleans” only lived to be nineteen years old, but she inspired and led the demoralized French to final victory. In 1429, she relieved the English siege of Orleans. Several more victories followed, including the recapture of Reims and Rouen. By the middle of the 15th century, the English had been expelled from nearly all of France. They only held on to Calais - until 1558.

The theme of this brief historical synopsis is this: For nearly four centuries, the English monarchy and nobility, which paradoxically were of French origin, fought wars in France in their ceaseless efforts to hang on to their huge “Angevin Empire” on the Continent. This was THE central fact in the relationship between France and England. The history of France during the High Middle Ages can be summed up as the country’s unification and emancipation from English rule. leave comment here