Henry II Part I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Geoffrey of Anjou

Geoffrey of Anjou is the accepted father of Henry II. He wore a sprig of the Planta Genesta, a yellow gorse plant, in his helmet. It was from this plant that the name Plantagenet arose. William Clito was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, whose place on the English throne was taken by Henry I.

Henry I was Henry II's grandfather. Stephen of Blois was the nephew of Henry I and was Henry's mother's rival for the throne of England. There are some grounds for the belief that Stephen was in fact Henry's father. Matilda, Henry's mother, was estranged from her husband Geoffrey and was in England in 1132.

She hastily returned to France and reconciled with Geoffrey. Henry was born in 1133. In his will, Geoffrey left all his estates to his second son, Geoffrey, in the event that Henry became king of England.

Henry did not honour that bequest.

Answer: Empress Matilda

The Empress Matilda was the widow of Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V. After the drowning of her brother William she returned to England and was proclaimed heiress to the throne. She did not marry Geoffrey willingly since she felt that it was beneath her to take a mere count as her second husband.

Her father, Henry I, was successful in convincing her but the marriage had its difficulties. Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William I and Henry II's great grandmother. Matilda of Boulogne was the wife of Stephen of Blois, Matilda's rival for the English throne. Matilda of Scotland was Henry II's paternal grandmother.

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was a great heiress bringing with her almost all of southern France. Her first husband was Louis VII with whom she went on Crusade. She and Louis had two daughters. Her marriage to Louis was dissolved in Beaugency on March 18, 1152 and shortly after, on May 1, 1152, she married Henry II. Eleanor of Castile was the wife of Edward I. Eleanor of Provence was married to Henry III. Eleanor of Richmond was Henry II's granddaughter. King John held her in captivity due to her superior claim to the throne.

Answer: True

The provision for Henry to be Stephen's heir was reminiscent of the agreement reached between Henry I and his elder brother Robert. By that agreement, in return for an annual pension to Robert of 3000 marks, Henry was to retain the throne for the rest of his life and Robert was to be his heir. That, of course, was not the final result.

In 1106 Henry invaded Normandy capturing his elder brother, Robert, and imprisoning him in England for the rest of his life.

Answer: 8

Henry II and Eleanor had five sons and three daughters only one of whom, their first born son, died in infancy. Henry also had at least 12 illegitimate children by five or more women.

Answer: False

Becket was a longtime friend of Henry II's and was Chancellor of England before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. Although the office of chancellor was not the highest in the land (chief justiciar was highest followed by constable, marshal, steward, chamberlain, then chancellor), under Becket it rapidly increased in importance.

It had been Henry's intention to combine these two high offices, one secular and one clerical, however Becket resigned his position as chancellor.

Answer: Henry

Henry II had his eldest surviving son, Henry, crowned king of England. Due to his dispute with Becket who was Archbishop of Canterbury, the crowning was done by the Archbishop of York - which fact further alienated Becket. Henry, (the young king) married Margaret, the daughter of Louis VII of France. They had one child, William, who died in infancy.

Answer: True

Legend has it that the forest maiden Melusine, married to Raymond de Lusignan, turned into a blue and white serpent on Saturdays. There was also the witch-countess who disappeared when forced by her husband's courtiers to attend Mass. The unsavory reputation of the Anjous created apprehension on the part of the English when it was announced that the Empress Matilda would take as her second husband, Geoffrey of Anjou.

Answer: Curtmantle

Henry appeared at his coronation dressed in a doublet and short Angevin cloak and hence earned his nickname Curtmantle. Beauclerk was the nickname given to his grandfather Henry I. Henry V was known as Henry of Monmouth. Longshanks was the nickname given to Edward I due to his great height.

Answer: all of these

The civil war was one of unprecedented destruction. The common people had suffered from the raiding armies of both Matilda and Stephen. Justice had suffered, strongholds for local war lords had been built and foreign soldiers employed by Stephen remained in England. In the early years of the reign practically all of the 1100 unlicensed castles were torn down.

Answer: Adrian IV

Nicholas Brakespeare came to the attention of Pope Eugenius III and was sent on a delicate diplomatic mission to Scandanavia to resolve a dispute with respect to the creation of additonal bishoprics in the area. He was elected unanimously to the papacy after the death of Pope Anastasius IV.

He was a strong pope but, due to the brevity of his reign, a forgotten one. Adrian VI was from Utrech, Holland. Elected to the papacy in 1522 he was the last non-Italian pope until the election of John Paul II in 1978. Pope Innocent III was the pope that placed England under an interdict during the reign of King John.

Answer: persuade the pope to refrain from accepting Eustace as Stephen's heir

Stephen exerted every effort to have the pope recognize his son Eustace as his successor. Becket was dispatched to convince the pope that to do so would continue the divisions that existed in England. He was also to portray Henry as a man with the potential of being a good king, while Eustace did not have the same potential.

The result of this mission was that the Angevin succession had quiet papal support.

Answer: Margaret

Margaret was only seven at the time of her betrothal and she was sent to England to be brought up with her husband only slightly older. She and Henry were placed in the chancellery with Becket as tutor to them both. Alice, the daughter of Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine was married to Theobald V, count of Blois. Mary, another of Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine's daughters was married to Henry, Count of Champagne. Alice, daughter of Louis VII and Constance of Castile was betrothed to Richard the Lionheart. Rumour had it that Henry II took her as a mistress and when Richard came to the throne, he returned her to her father.

She was later married to Count William III of Ponthieu.

Answer: True

Becket fielded a force of 700 knights and 4000 foot soldiers to support Henry in this action. He was skilled on the tilting ground and led his men through the first breach in the walls. He was a strategist also advising Henry on tactics in this action, advice which Henry did not accept due to his dilemma of facing his overlord Louis VII, to whom he owed fealty for his French lands, in open battle.

Answer: Katherine Hepburn

The portrayal of Eleanor by Katherine Hepburn was a truly remarkable tour de force. Although the film did take some dramatic license with history, it was by and large true to the times and the events.
I hope you enjoyed this quiz and will stay tuned for Part 2.