The Angevin # 4: Henry II part 2: All Hail the King!

King Henry II as played by Peter O'Toole in "The Lion in Winter"

So when we left 20 year old Henry in the Autumn of 1152, through his political guile and strategical military gamesmanship, he become the undisputed master of nearly the entire western half of France; he was married to arguable the most powerful woman in the realm; had certain legal protections from the church; and cowed the King of France himself into truce. With his traitorous brother in his custody and King Louie defeated, licking his wounds, Henry set his sights on his last remaining enemy, his 2nd cousin, King Stephen of England. For 18 years now Stephen and Henry's mother Matilda had been locked in a Norman civil war for the inheritance of King Henry I, Matilda's father and Stephen's uncle. At stake was the Duchy of Normandy in France and the crown of the whole of England.

Robert of Glouchster and Empress Matilda

Matilda, and subsequently her son Henry had control of Normandy thanks mostly to the efforts of Count Geoffrey of Anjou, Matila's 2nd husband and Henry's father. But England proved to be a much tougher nut to crack for Matilda's forces lead by her half brother, Robert of Gloucester.

But before we see how Henry will finally end the stalemate lets have a look at four points of interest that have come about because of recent events:

1. The devious couple

Abbott Suger

As Henry's conflict with King Louie ended, behind closed doors and in whispered tones peasant and noble alike spoke of the unsavory nature that had brought them to this point. Abbott Suger's death, Louie and Eleanor's annulment, and Henry's marriage to Eleanor was looked at with new feelings of intrigue and fear of the new marital alliance. The circumstances of Suger's death and replacement was of particular interest. The news out of Saint Denis abbey was that he had died of malaria in the night; but some questioned that he had been fine the preceding days and that malaria had not been seen in the Seine River basin since the days of Rollo? The abbey monks used the fear of Malaria outbreak as the reason for the hasty funeral and burial. Then there was Bernard of Clairvaux's swift appointment; he was literally waiting in the wings when his name was put forward and pressed he just so happened to be at court the day news reach the king of his old family friend's death? And finally the controversial marriage, taking place so soon after the annulment, where most bishops would have had them wait. Though no accusations were ever made public in her time, many chroniclers and historians view Eleanor with a great deal of suspicion in regards to these events and believe that in an age of chivalry (and out of fear) no one of the time would have dared point in her direction without overwhelming evidence. She had made many friends and allies within the clergy during the year of preparation for and during her journey of the 2nd Crusade, including Bernard. It was known fact that she had developed a disdain for her husband and wanted a more politically active role. And the cathedral that the marriage took place was one in her territory, that her family had donated to over the years. The questions many historians ask now are: Did Eleanor conspire these events with Bernard or at least members of his entourage upon her first meeting of Henry, when he, Bernard, and Louie all met to negotiate? Did Eleanor have Abbott Suger, the man that was preventing her from leaving Louie, killed and his murder covered up? Was Eleanor behind the church's approval of Henry's political tactics? And if all this is true, how much did Henry know? The fact that he was at the Anjou's southern border with Aquitaine, and not at his family's castle in Angers, or his new territory of Normandy, and being not to far away from Eleanor's proposed meeting place suggests he may have had some forward knowledge. It would not be so far fetched of a member of a Plantagenet family that many have accused of being "of the devil."

2. The Vexin

You have heard me name the region twice during the last post, and it will be mentioned a couple more times before our Angevin adventure is over, but what exactly is the Vexin and why is it so important? The Vexin is a wide and lush plateau that connects the north eastern coast of France to the expansive Seine River Valley and Basin (which right in the middle of sits Paris itself). To the medieval noble or warrior, the Vexin's easy terrain, abundant fresh water sources, and fields of grains make it perfect marching grounds for a large military force; whether you are coastal raiders looking to strike inland, like Rollo and his vikings or a French King looking to exercise his authority over certain troublesome nobles like the Dukes of Normandy or the Counts of Flanders. Just how much strategic importance has been put on this area over the centuries is evident in the numerous castles or ruins of castles that dot the landscape. Louie losing the Vexin and Eleanor to Henry would spark a hatred for the Normans and Angevins, and particularly the Plantagenet family; and that hatred would continue down his bloodline into his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

  3. The Norman Divide

The English civil war known as The Anarchy was more than an individual nation's civil war, it was a civil war within a multinational people. The Normans, since Rollo, have been a united people whether it was joint efforts under the Dukes of Normandy to undermine the French King's authority or their united campaign to topple the Saxons lords of England. Sure groups of Normans broke off to go claim fame and fortune else were in the medieval world; helping the Spaniards reconquer their lands from the Muslims, establishing the Kingdom of Sicily or one of the Christian Outremer nations, or hired as a formidable mercenary armies for one of the Italian city-states, but never had they fought each other on such a wide scale. This war rent of fissure in them, turning long time friends and allies against one another; but also bringing out the worst of ambition and greed in others, using the chaos to expand their own personal wealth and power at the expense of their fellow Normans. And since a good number of these lords held land in both France and England, the war started to have the effect of making individual Norman lords prioritize which side of the English Channel was more important to them. A political divide had started to create a cultural divide as the English Normans started to abandon their lands in France and French culture in favor of melding their Norman traditions with that of the Saxon peasantry of their English lands; including the slow transition of preferring to speak in the English tongue over the language of France. Even after peace would finally come this split starts to become more and more apparent as the decades and generations go by. By the end of John's reign in 1216 there will be two distinct people, the English and the French Normans. But the beginnings of this split will bring our next point....

 4. A Magnates' Peace

As I have stated before the civil war has been dragging on for almost two decades now and by this point many of the nobles and knights are just tired and want to get back to the work of making their lands profitable again. And as we just discussed above, some Normans do not see the point in dividing up their time, resources, and energy between their lands in England and their lands in France, especially in these hostile times. The magnates, powerful nobles who had armies of their own and lesser noble vassals under them, but were not necessarily part of either Stephen or Matilda's inner circle sought to lessen their roles and participation in the war. Especially when the two main protagonists, Matilda and Stephen, seemed to have lost some interest and had left the fighting to their children, Henry and Eustace. These nobles starting making separate truces with one another without the consent of their liege lords. Ranulf, the Earl of Chester and Duke Robert Beaumont of Leicester agreed to a non aggression pact, and that if either of them are forced to fight the other they would use no more than 20 knights each against each other. John Marshal, Baron of Marlborough, and Earl Patrick of Salisbury created a binding truce by John divorcing his wife and marrying Patrick's daughter. Other such and varies arrangements were being made all over England between the lords of places like Derby, Chester, Lester, North Hampton, and more.

King Stephen and his son Count Eustace IV of Boulogne

 And so getting back to our story, the leaders of the factions needed to do something fast or an unintended piece would accidentally break out, perish the thought. His father dead, his mother Matilda's right hand man, Robert of Gloucester dead, and Matilda herself, one foot in the grave, retired to a priory, Henry took up sole leadership of the claim for the English crown and his first act would be a bold and unexpected deployment. In the midst of terrible winter storms Henry was to bring an army across the English Channel in January of 1153, to relieve his families supporters. Because things had settled down in France and the French Normans were trying to rebuild; none wanted to commit their own forces and instead gave Henry enough to fund a large mercenary force. But upon arrival, before he could start a new offensive against Stephen he had to get his own house in order.

There had been much infighting since Robert of Gloucester's death and many were not happy with Ranulf of Chester, who had switched sides a couple of times during the coarse of the war, bullying his way into a leadership position and having a non-aggression pact with Duke Robert Beaumont of Leicester. Henry re-excreted his control over his forces, making Ranulf share second in command with Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. With that settled the next step was to rescue two of his mothers most loyal supporters from starvation. If you recall King Stephen had laid siege upon Wallingford castle while Henry was occupied with the forces of King Louie VII of France. Roger Fitzmiles, Duke of Hereford, and Brien Fitzcount, the bastard half brother of the Duke of Brittany, had held the castle for about a year now, having repelled Stephens forces from taking the castle on a number of occasions. However, food was running out and they would soon face the choice of surrender or starvation. Henry deceived Stephen's forces in thinking he was about to lay siege to the castle of Malmesbury. When Stephen rode out to intercept Henry he took the army surrounding Wallingford with him giving Roger and Brien the relief they needed to resupply and regroup. As for catching Henry's smaller force in the open, Stephen would have no luck as Henry would skillfully keep the river Avon between them. With the winter weather getting worse and Stephen realizing that Malmesbury was never in danger and that he was back at square one in Wallingford, he agreed to a temporary truce with Henry where both would wait out the rest of the winter before resuming hostilities. Henry used the truce to travel north and there brokered a deal with the powerful Robert Beaumont, delivering the Duke of Leicester's sizable force to Henry's cause. This was a massive blow to Stephen as Beaumont was head of nearly a quarter of his army and he had relied on the Duke to be a bulwark against any possible future aggression from the King of Scotland. Again, like in France, Henry had combined military trickery and political opportunism to turn the odds against his enemy.

Stamford and Ipswich

But spring would show why Stephen had held out all those years against Henry's uncle Robert. During the Easter season Stephen would when dual victories only days apart; the rebel city of Ipswich, whose forces were being led by Hugh Bigod fell and the Earl taken into custody. Stephen then broke Henry's siege of Stamford, sending Henry into a full retreat but again unable to catch him. The tide of the war was again turning in Stephens favor. Henry and his forces were at a stand still; besides making a few small scale raids into enemy territory Henry could not find a foothold to make any meaningful gains. Just as Stephen was riding this high and planning his next move his 26 year old son and heir Eustace died suddenly and mysteriously in August. No one knows exactly what happened but many historians believed he was poisoned in his sleep, but by whom is a matter of contention; whether it was an agent of Henry's or a member of the clergy as Eustace was openly hostile to the Church's involvement in governance and would raid and burn cathedrals and monasteries to plunder them for funds to pay his military efforts against the Plantagenets. No one really grieved his death except his father who William of Newburgh said:

"grieved beyond measure by the death of the son whom he hoped would succeed him; he pursued warlike preparations less vigorously, and listened more patiently than usual to the voices of those urging peace."

But as for the opinions of most of English and French, the Anglo-Saxon chronicler of Peterborough puts it:

"He was struck down by the wrath of God for he was an evil man and did more harm than good wherever he went; he spoiled the lands and laid thereon heavy taxes"

Wallingford Castle

 Stephen made one last attempt to end the war, he brought to bear nearly the entirety of all forces loyal to him to renew the siege of Wallingford castle, for once that fell it would open the way to a full on assault of the remainder of Henry's lands on the English side of the channel. The siege force was one of the largest ever seen in England and Henry feared all his efforts would soon come crashing down if he did not prevent the castle from falling. He mustered as much of his forces as he could in short notice, not able to wait for the new massive amount of men he had just acquired from his deal with Duke Robert Beaumont, and march to break the siege before it could possible begin. Just as Stephen arrived at Wallingford and started to set up his siege engines, news arrived of Henry's eminent arrival. He turned his forces around, this time determined to force young Henry into an open field battle. the two armies faced each other over a ford at the river Thames. But something remarkable happened, something you may have seen coming if you were paying attention to the beginning parts of this post.

The armies did not heed the calls to charge, they refused to fight and demanded that Henry and Stephen broker a lasting peace. For the next two months the armies stared down each other from either side of the river while King Stephen and Henry Plantagenet negotiated the terms of peace. So in November of 1153 the Treaty of Winchester/Wallingford was signed. While varies promises were made to release prisoners and exchange lands by both sides the main stipulations were that all foreign mercenaries were to be disbanded and sent home and Stephen would adopt Henry as his son and heir to the throne of England and Count of Bois, meanwhile Stephan's remaining son William would have the protection of Henry from all that would do him harm in retaliation against Stephen or Eustace and that William would be named Count of Boulogne. The treaty was oversaw by and given church binding by the arch-bishop of the cathedral of Winchester and Henry and Stephen sealed it with the kiss of peace. Satisfied Henry would personally escort 16 year old William to his new county in France and wait out the rest of the reign of King Stephen, acting as a mentor and advisor to the boy. For the next couple of months Stephen would would be setting his kingdom straight, preparing the kingdom for the transition of power; riding up to York to re-establish his authority with the northern barons and receiving pledges to be vigilante against the Scots, then riding to the Welsh borders and receiving reassurances from the powerful and militant marcher lords that they would remain vigilant against the Welsh. He even received the Count of Flanders as a guest in the city of Dover in the late summer to ask the powerful rival of the French king to keep an eye out if Louie would attempt to take advantage of his son William. But by then people started to notice a marked decline in Stephan's health  Nearly a year after the treaty that ended the war that plagued his entire reign, on October 25, 1154, King Stephen died to complications with an unknown "stomach illness", which historians believe may have been cancer. And so after the King's burial, next to his son Eustace in the Faversham Abby, and after the respected mourning period, on December 8, 1154 in Westminster Abby in London, Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou and Bois, was crowned King of England and the powerful Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine was crowned his Queen. 22 year old King Henry II was now one of the most powerful men in all of western Europe, having as much if not more money and man power as the King of France and almost as much territory as the Emperor of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire.

 

The Angevin # 3: Henry II Part 1: Breed and Groomed for Power

"Born of the Devil"

Henry Fitzempress Plantagenet, also known as Henry Curmantle, for his scorn for long flowing robes usually worn as a symbol of office at formal occasions, opting instead for a shorter less voluminous robes, was born in Le Mans, on  March 3, 1133. His parents' marriage was meant to assuage the hostilities between the Norman lords and the lords of Anjou, a long standing rivalry for dominion over parts of North Western France.

Anjou was a fertile land known for its lush fruits and wines, but whose people had developed a unsavory and scandalous reputation among the peoples of the surrounding lands. The Normans in particular had a disdain and distaste of the Angevin whose lands laid in the midst of the Norman controlled territories of Normandy, Blois, and the Norman aligned Brittany. The Angevin had been seen by outsiders as degenerates and hedonists, who "desecrated churches and murdered priests in the night", and who "ate like animals, devoid of table manners." The gossip around France was severally exaggerated but not baseless, as the lords in Anjou had a continuing disputes with the Catholic church about several issues which had led to some isolated incidents of churches and monasteries being burned and clergy being arrested and executed. The French Kings would always have to step in and mediate the latest standoff, but it was a far cry from the accusations of witchcraft and devil worship the rumor mongers spread among the peasantry. As for the other accusations, with Anjou being so bountiful the Angevin were quick to festival and feast than normal, using even the simplest occasions to make celebration. But to other regions who were more prone to lean harvests, and again, especially to the Normans who are use to harsh winters, this was seen as a sinful extravagance and waste of food. Demonizing of Anjou was at its peak when it came to speaking of the Counts of Anjou. The Counts, ruling for many generations from their castle in Angers, had a reputation of being conniving and

Castle Angers and the Count of Anjou coat of Arms

untrustworthy, political snake charmers who had great and terrible tempers if their charming tricks did not work. The Counts were "Born of the Devil" as the chroniclers of the age liked to say, often citing passages from the family legend that the first Count, Fulk I,  had taken a Moorish pagan enchantress, Melisune, as bride, and after giving him a number of children she did not intend on raising as christian, she was forced to attend a christian mass to baptize her and her children. The story goes that the words of the bible were "like madding poison to her ears", so she flung herself out the window and down a cliff. Instead of trying to squelch the story the Counts, including Henry and his son Richard the Lionheart, would sometimes revel in it, using it as an excuse for some of their more volatile behavior.

King Henry I and Geoffrey Plantagenet

 After years of rivalry between the Norman lords, lead by the Dukes of Normandy and Angevin lords lead by the Counts of Anjou, Henry I, Duke of Normandy and King of England struck a truce with Geoffrey Plantagenet, younger brother of Count Fulk V, that in exchange for raw material and food surplus from Anjou the Normans would throw their military and political weight behind the Angevins in disputes with other French lords (including the King) who may look to take advantage of Anjou, since Fulk was leaving on crusade to the holy lands, taking much of his army with him. To seal the agreement Henry agreed to marry off his daughter, Empress Matilda, widow of Emperor Henry V of the German Holy Roman Empire, to Geoffrey in 1128. Fulk, not intending to return to France, gifted Anjou and the title of Count to his brother Geoffrey as a wedding gift (Fulk would eventually be crowed King of Jerusalem). Meanwhile, a few years earlier, King Henry's son, William, had died during the sinking of his ship in the English channel leaving no clear heir to the throne of England or the Duchy of Normandy, eventually causing the civil war known as The Anarchy after Henry I's death in 1135 (see the last article for a quick recap). And so Henry Fitzempress, heir to the County Anjou, and potential heir to the Duchy Normandy and throne of England was born just before war broke out and was raised during one of the most chaotic times in western Europe. He was left with tutors and nannies, or attended various French courts, for most of his younger years, as his parents were off fighting to press his mother's claims on inheritance; Matilda in England and Geoffrey in Normandy. However, after gaining control of Normandy in 1146 through combination military strategy and diplomatic guile, Geoffrey returned to castle Angers to take personal charge of his son's education. In his father Henry would not find a more able teacher in the art of court intrigue; as historian Dan Jones puts it, "Twelfth-century French politics was violent, changeable and rough, and Geoffrey was an adept player."

Henry's Political Debut

King Louie VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine

Henry, now a handsome stocky red headed teenager of 13, followed and watched his father ride across parts of South and eastern France, making deals, forming alliances, and projecting power and authority with some of the most powerful men of the realm. On this education tour it was noted that Henry was not as refined as his mother, nor was as charming as his father, but was noticed as highly intelligent, had a talent for administration and logistics, and had a piercing stare that intimidated most. In fact the boy seemed to have developed a flare for the dramatic, making strategically timed bullying outbursts if negotiations were not going his way. He garnered a reputation for the famed Angevin temper, when in fact he had become quit adept at acting out varies levels of outrage or indignation to what the situation called for. But him and his father's political skills would be put to the test with the arrival of King Louie VII, returned from a trip to the holy land. Louie having been informed of what had gone on since he left grew concerned at the amount of power Geoffrey had acquired in his absence, especially in his plans to name Henry as Duke of Normandy. To seal the claim for Normandy, Geoffrey offered Henry's hand in marriage to Louise's new born daughter, Alix (yes, I said new born, a 13 year old would be betrothed to a baby. It was not too common but it did happen occasionally, however, actual marriage in these cases would not happen until the younger of the two had reached mid teens).

Bernard of Clairvaux

Remembering their long time dispute with the Angevin and fearing an Angevin influence on the king's court, the clergy, lead by the powerful Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, campaigned against the union and used a convoluted family tree to argue against it; with Bernard writing the king,"I have heard that the Count of Anjou is pressing to bind you under oath respecting the proposed marriage between his son and your daughter. This is something not merely inadvisable but also unlawful, because apart from other reasons, it is barred by the impediment of consanguinity. I have learned on trustworthy evidence that the mothers of the Queen and this boy are related in the third degree. Have nothing to do with the matter." Outraged by the set back, Geoffrey threatened to proclaim Henry Duke of Normandy without the king's consent and in response King Louie threatened to name King Stephen of England's son Eustace as Duke. It would be Henry who would prevent a war between the Angevin and the crown, as he entered Louise's court in Paris and negotiated with the king on his father's behalf. It was seen as a brazen move, as technically he had no standing, he was not a lord, just heir to one, and had no army or land of his own. Henry struck a deal with Louie, that in exchange for a renewed oath of fealty to the French king from his father and the promised gift of the Vexin, a strategic valley that connects the Norman lands and the lands of the powerful Count of Flanders

(modern day western Belgium and north eastern France) to the King's personal domain, Louie would name Henry Duke of Normandy, but only in the understanding that it was an advance on the eventual inheritance from his mother Matilda and that Geoffrey and the County of Anjou had no primacy over Normandy. By this King Louie had just declared for Matilda on the French side of the Channel, helping defend against all claims from King Stephen of England and his family. The decree was finalized by Bernard, Geoffrey, and Louie, and all sides seemed content. It was a tremendous feat for one so young and not yet into his inheritance; for the first time the French nobility took awed notice of this skilled young man, especially the kingdom's young and ambitious firebrand queen, Eleanor. In fact it is suspected by some chroniclers and historians that Eleanor is the only one that knew just how clever the boy had been, more on that in a bit.

It is at this time, 1148, as I stated in the previous article that Henry gets his first crack at a military campaign. Against his mother's wishes and ignoring the advice of his uncle, Robert of Gloucester, who was the head of Matilda's forces in England, Henry will take a small mercenary army and try to capture the region in southern England known as Wiltshire. It was an unmitigated disaster that was made all the more embarrassing to Matilda that her enemy (and cousin) King Stephen took pity on her boy, and gave him money to go home. But instead of running with his tail between his legs he used that money to reignite his mothers waning alliance with King David I of Scotland. David would knight the boy and would comment to Matilda and Robert of Gloucester what a remarkable young man Henry was. Some of his pride restored Henry returns to France with his mother, both looking to abandon large parts of the English campaign in favor of consolidating the gains made against Stephen's supporters in France.While this was going on there was much distress within the royal house of Louie VII Augustus; his marriage to the young and beautiful Eleanor was not a happy one. Louie had married the Duchess to obtain direct control of her inheritance, namely the large, bountiful, wealthy, and artistic Duchy of Aquitaine.

He and his father had for years been working on consolidating power back into the hands of the crown, and trying to reign in more independent minded nobles. He had made significant diplomatic successes with the Duchies of Burgundy, Champagne, and Toulouse, and was engaged in an on and off war with the Count of Flanders. But his marriage to Eleanor and subsequent acquisition of Aquitaine was a major coup in the efforts to centralize power. But Eleanor was not the submissive bride Louie and his advisors hoped she would be; Louie tried to play for time, hoping that his wife would settle down in her ambitions but it only made her more frustrated and power hungry. The cracks in their union were evidently visible on their return from the holy land, as rumors swirled of scandal that had happened between Eleanor and her uncle Prince Raymond of Antioch; and that events that transpired their hastened Louie's itinerary. So Louie returned to Paris in not the best of moods when he learned of Geoffrey and Henry's efforts to embolden Angevin power, efforts that could undermined his own. Whats worse is Eleanor had yet to produce a male heir; two daughters had been born to Louie and Eleanor, Marie and Alix, and the 30 year old king was growing concerned about succession of the throne, especially seeing what was currently happening in England and his own backyard, Normandy. His nobles counseled him to get a divorce, that his lack of sons may be due to his marriage not pleasing to god. But his families long time friend and advisor, Abbott Suger of Saint-Denis, advised against divorce, that it would lose him Aquitaine and undermine his goal of centralizing power in France. His fretting about succession and marriage, his indecisiveness in the conflicts in Outremer and Flanders, and his inability to bring the whole of his country to heel without making major concessions disgusted Eleanor. A famed chronicler of the time, William of Newburgh, quoted her as saying she "married a monk, not a king." How very lady Macbeth sounding. So when Henry came to court in Paris to treat with Louie, Eleanor took notice. No one knows whether Henry and Eleanor had conspired the coming events together and if so was it from the very start of their meeting? Many are quit suspicious of Eleanor's involvement in the chain of events.

In the winter of 1150, Henry's father died, making Henry Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou. Next came a series of events that would put most soap operas to shame and show the world just what a Machiavellian mind Henry (and perhaps Eleanor) had. 1151, Abbott Suger dies under mysterious circumstances; the body given funerary rights and buried with haste the next morning. The news barely had reached King Louis ear when portions of the royal court lead by Eleanor call for the king to place Abbott Bernard of Clairvaux (you remember Bernard, he help Louie and Henry work things out) as replacement in the advisory position. Bernard took to his new position quickly, claiming he wanted to clean up all the unfinished business Suger left behind. He reopened the debate about Louie's marriage annulment as a way to solve the succession issue, but this time the clerical position was for annulment. So in March of 1152, presided over by the Arch-Bishop of Sens, Hugh de Toucy, and the Arch-Bishop of Reims, Samson of Mauvoisin, an annulment agreement was signed between Louie and Eleanor, where Eleanor would lose her title as Queen but retain her lands as Duchess of Aquitaine. Louie was comfortable with this as he would hold custody of their daughters, heirs to the Duchy. The annulment was finalized and approved by Pope Eugene III ten days later. As soon as word reach Eleanor of the Pope's approval she declared her intention to return home to Aquitaine by barge traveling the Loire river to Tours, a city on the Anjou border and head south from there. But while in Tours she sent a message to Henry to make haste for Poitiers. Henry, now 19, traveled in secret and once their immediately married Eleanor, 30, in the cathedral of Saint-Pierre, combining their two territories.

Enemies of Two Kings and Power couple of the Age

To say King Louie was furious would be an understatement, he demanded the marriage to be dissolved under the oaths of fealty agreed upon in the previous treaty Henry negotiated. But Henry refused, claiming the treaty stipulated his father was the one who swore oaths of fealty, not him. In fact Henry made a counter demand that the Vexin be restored to the Duchy of Normandy, that again technically under the treaty he negotiated and his father signed, Geoffrey, as Count of Anjou had no authority, that Anjou had no "primacy" to sign over the Vexin to King Louie. Louie turned to the church to have Henry declared an oath-breaker and a traitor in rebellion, but the clergy legalists sided with Henry; Henry may have negotiated the terms, but he was not the signatory and that the treaty was legitimate as it was witness by the now deceased Bernard of Clairvaux. Without Henry being declared a traitor he could not force the hands of all his lords, he would need to rely on much smaller personal alliances and coalition building.

Coat of Arms from Left to right, top to bottom: King Louis VII, Count of Boulogne, Count of Bois, Count of Perche, Count of Nantes, Count of Champagne, Duke of Normandy, and Duchess of Aquataine

His coalition consisted of King Stephen of England (acting as the Count of Bois), Stephen's son Eustace (acting as the Count of Boulogne), the Counts of Champagne and Perche, and in exchange for the title of Count of Nantes and promised the County of Anjou, Henry's own younger brother Geoffrey. Geoffrey claimed his betrayal was justified as he had heard rumors from his late fathers servants that it was his dying wish since Henry had Normandy, Anjou was suppose to go to Geoffrey. Eleanor stayed in Aquitaine, as she was beloved by the lords of Aquitaine, and would be a rallying symbol for them to resist the main royalist force lead by Louie. Meanwhile Henry raced up to Normandy, as he traveled he had heard that the Counts of Champagne and Perche had taken the city of Neufmarché-sur-Epte on the border of Normandy and Flanders. Meanwhile back in England, King Stephen, in hopes of goading Henry to split his forces, laid siege to one of his mothers last remaining strongholds, Wallingford Castle. But Henry new better and made a calculated move to scare the French King. Neufmarché-sur-Epte had always been a disputed territory with the King's hated rival, the Count of Flanders. He let it be known he cared not for the city and that he may be willing to recognize Flemish claim to it. He then surprise attacked and conquered the Vexin, creating a potential open doorway for a joint Norman/Flemish attack into the heart of Louie's personal domain. With the threat of invasion, getting nowhere in Aquitaine, and pressure from the church to end what they say was a personal war, Louie fained illness and called a truce, taking the Counts of Champagne and Perche with him. Henry then turned his attention to his wayward brother. With no support and already one of his castles burned to the ground, Geoffrey retreated to what he thought was the safety of his ally

Chaumount-sur-Loire and Theobald V

Theobald V, acting Count of Bois in King Stephens place. Instead, Theobald had him seized and imprisoned. A truce was made between Henry and Theobald that in exchange for the castle of Chaumount-sur-Loire on the Bois/Anjou border, Theobald returned Geoffrey to his brother Henry and promised to never raise arms against him unless his liege lord, King Stephen himself, came down to personally order it. Henry was now the undisputed master of nearly half of France, he could now set his sights on England and hopefully fulfill his mothers dream of seizing her father's throne.

The Angevin # 2: Anarchy's Aftermath

Rollo, 1st Duke of Normandy

The Road to Anarchy

Before we dive into the age of the Angevin lets give a little background on the series of events that led to the intertwining of the fates of England and France and the eventual coronation of the first of the Plantagenet dynasty. I am going to gloss over some of the most famous events in British and French history here so please forgive me as I am trying to get us to the Angevin founder, Henry II, in one post. So away we go.....

Our story begins well beforehand in the early 900s, in northern France, which is under constant attack by viking raiding parties. The kings of France seem helpless to the continuing pillaging, plundering, and burning. The best they can do is temporarily drive off the invaders, rebuild, and wait for it to start up all over again. Enter Rollo, a viking chieftain so brazen and whose band is so effective they made their way well into the interior of the country and laid siege to the city of Paris itself. BTW, despite what the History Channel show Vikings would have you believe, there seems to be no evidence that Rollo is directly related to or knew Ragnar Lothbrok. Anyway, the French King, Charles the Simple came up with what he thought was a brilliant plan, he would ennoble Rollo's vikings to use them as a shield against other barbarian hordes and at the same time force these new "noble" savages to play by the rules of court intrigue and politics instead of the sword, giving him and the traditional French nobles an upper hand. It would be a grave miscalculation that would have repercussions throughout the whole of Europe and the Middle East for centuries to come. So in 911 the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte was negotiated by the Archbishop of Reims between Rollo and King Charles.

Baptism of Rollo as stipulated by the treaty

In exchange for land and title with rights of inheritance for him and his men, Rollo and his warriors were to swear fealty to Charles, being his vanguard against any future viking incursions, and be baptized as Christians, denouncing their pagan faith. Rollo agreed and the lands they would be given would be called Normandy (land of the North Men) with Rollo being named as Duke of Normandy. Surprisingly the vikings took to their new roles as nobles and Christians with great speed and devotion. They embraced Christianity with much gusto and became its fiercest advocates against their former pagan allies. And as for being nobles, to the horror of Charles, they adapted to French culture and the game of politics with lighting speed, making strategic partnerships and marriage alliances across large parts of northern and western France. What was suppose to be Charles' puppet barbarian army became a not so controllable new breed of Frankish noble.

William The Conqueror

Lets fast forward a couple generations to around 1066. By this point this new breed of noble had spread its bloodline in nearly every county and duchy in northern France, creating a people known as the Normans, whose culture was a hybrid of French and Nordic traditions: staunchly Christian but more robust and battle ready and less refined and artistic than the rest of the french nobility. And while Normandy was their home, through marriage and politics, they found their way in many noble houses, in about a third of France. So far they, with the exception of spreading their influence, were loyal retainers and vassals of the French King, and had more than kept up with their ancestors end of the treaty to protect France from viking raiders. The current de facto leader of the Normans is William II, Duke of Normandy, and he, like his father Robert the Magnificent (great great grandson of Rollo), has become entangled in the bitter dynastic struggles of the Saxon Kings of England. First born sons were not automatically heirs to title in Saxon England, the King could chose which ever relative he please to succeed him, this has lead to many disputes over the years between claimants of the throne including those blood related in Denmark and Normandy. So when childless King Edward the Confessor died it was rumored he had named William as his heir as William was the grandson of Edward's uncle, Richard II of Normandy. This rumor was repudiated by the powerful Godwin family whose current head was married to Edwards daughter. He was seen by many of the Saxon nobility as the natural heir even if Edward had a on again off again falling out and that no matter how angry Edward would have been with Godwin, he would not name a non Saxon as his heir.

Through all this confusion Edward did not seem to care about his potential claim, he was currently focused on his rivalry with the Count of Anjou (remember Anjou, its important. Hint: Its all in the name) for control of a portion of central France. However, a series of diplomatic blunders, broken promises, and insults to his person by Harold Godwinson, William shifted his focus from Anjou to the Kingdom of England. Without seeking the French King's advise or permission William rallied the Norman lords and launched a war of conquest on England to press his claim for the throne. And after the historically monumental Battle of Hastings, the Normans, without the aid of their French overlords, seized England, expelling or killing all but a hand full of Saxon lords and crowning William as King of England. Now the Normans were lords of both French and English lands, and their leader William while still a subject a the French King while in France, was now a King in his own right in England. This put the Normans in a very unique and complicated position that worked to their advantage, allowing them to shake loose some of the control of the French king, as they now had the power and money to rival France itself. Thus France and England will be intertwined for the next couple of centuries as the Normans would juggle their power between their English and French holdings. I know, I know, I am really bum rushing one of western histories most import events, the Norman invasion, but as I stated before we are trying to get to a specific point. At some point in time I will go back sink my teeth into the whole Saxon, Danish, Norman kerfuffle that resulted in such a shift in power, but for now we have goals people. Focus! 

Empress Matilda, King Henry II, and King Stephen

Anarchy and the Crowning of Henry II

We now zip forward in time again, to 1135. William the Conqueror's son, Henry I, King of England and Duke of Normandy, the leader of the Norman people has died. His son and heir Prince William had died 15 years earlier in a tragic boating accident in the English Channel, leaving Henry with no clear successor. On his death bed he tried to convince his nobles that his widowed daughter, Empress Matilda, returned from Germany after the death of her husband the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, now married to the French Count of Anjou, should be crowned as Queen of England. Though she was allowed to keep the honorific of "Empress" she was not allowed to inherit her husbands thrown. But this did not stop many of the Norman lords as seeing her as an outsider and foreigner, having lived so long in Germany and now married to yet another non Norman, and were also unsure of a woman being able to be an effective military leader. Many opted for the king's nephew, Stephen of Bois and before the matter could be settled Stephen seized the thrown. A nearly 20 year civil war broke out with both sides making and losing ground, even capturing one another, at varies points. Actually Matilda turned out to be quite the military leader in spit of the lords earlier assumption; she too will eventually have a Badass Women of History Post at some point. But where Matilda was strategic in arms, Stephen was cunning in diplomacy and intrigue. And so the war dragged on, for the most part it was a stalemate with King Stephen holding the support of the English Normans and Matilda holding onto the French lands in no small part due to the efforts of her husband Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou (can you see where this is going, told you Anjou would be important). Again, a lot happens in this period and I am giving you a bare bones walk through to get to a certain point. And her it is. Come now Henry Fitzempress Plantagenet onto the scene, son of Empress Matlida and Geoffrey Plantagenet. At a young age he would grow up in the Anjou and receive an education in politics in various French courts, but by 14 his parents decided it was time for him to take up the families cause and sent him with his uncle, Robert of Gloucester, to Bristol, one of the last strongholds of Matilda supports in England. Their he lead an unsuccessful raid on the city of Wiltshire, which left him penniless and stranded in England away from any support of his parents. Help come from the last place anyone would have expected, King Stephen, his 2nd cousin and the man his parents were at war with, who took pity on the boy and gave him enough money required to get him home to Anjou. But instead of going home he used the money to travel to Scotland. There he successfully negotiated an alliance with Scotland's King David, to have the Scottish attack the English northern borders to relieve some of the pressure on his uncles forces in Bristol. Though the Scottish intervention was defeated and shut down at the Battle of the Standards it had the desired effect of giving Robert of Gloucester room to maneuver in the south. When all was said and done every one on both sides was more than impressed with young Henry's brilliant diplomatic, political and militarily tactical mind. Near the end of the war it was Henry who had taken a front seat in the war effort on behalf of his parents and uncle. But the stalemate was growing to much for the soldiers on both sides so Henry negotiated a peace with King Stephen. In 1154 the Treaty of Winchester was signed ending all hostilities, the deal was Stephen would remain King for the rest of his days, but upon his death Henry was named his heir to not only the Kingship of England, but also Duke of Normandy and Count of Bois and Boulogne, in France. King Stephen would die a few months later from an unknown stomach disorder in October of 1154 and in December Henry was crowned king. And being a Plantagenet from Anjou was dubbed the first Angevin King of the Plantagenet dynasty. 

Phew....We did it we got to the starting line. Again I apologize for severely, almost criminally glossing over the Anarchy but I could be here forever trying to get to my goal without doing so. I really do want to do an article about the Anarchy, put if you cannot wait there is a terrific book and TV mini series (starring Rufus Sewell, Donald Sutherland, and one of my personal favorite actors Ian Shane) called Pillars of the Earth that does a decent job fictionalizing it, though I do not agree with the harsh light they portray to King Stephan.....but that's for another time. Instead next time we will look at Tywin Lannister....ah I mean King Henry II, and how he used every trick in the book to amass a huge amount o territory, consolidate his power, and very effectively and efficiently administer such a wide realm. We may even get some bleed over into my promised Badass Women post as we look at his strategic marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The Angevine Empire #1 (1154-1216): Overview

An Empire Forged and Preserved By Force of Will and Personality

From the epic of Ivanhoe, the tales of Robin Hood, and the iconic Third Crusade, a vast amount of our collective ideas and stories about medieval times is inspired by the less than 100 year time of the vast Angevin Realm; a time that was one of the markers for the end of the medieval era and into the Middle ages. Out of the fires of the horrific English civil war known as The Anarchy was forged a multinational British realm which many see as the prototype of the much later British Empire. The Norman kings of England, who still held titles and lands in France from the days of their ancestor William the Conqueror, would themselves conquer south Wales and the eastern half of Ireland; they would make the rest of Ireland and Wales, and the whole of Scotland client states, subordinating their kings to the Angevin crown. Even the mighty kings of France would not be able to enact any meaningful sovereignty over those lands controlled by the Angevins though the Norman lords of those lands were technical his vassals. 

Twin Capitals of Angers and Chinon

 From their fortresses in Angers and Chinon, France, the Plantagenet family ruled a multifaceted realm with strength and intrigue, fending off many outside challengers while trying to find ways to dethrone each other. And although the halls of power are a den of vipers, the outside world, to some extant, lives up to it's romanticized image: it is the age of the knight and the beginning of the ideals of chivalry, of deep christian devotion were the idea of making the 100s of mile journey to the holy land to fight the "heathen" Muslim hordes was a noble and valid way to cleanse ones sins; an age of troubadours and poets chronicling the deeds of great men. At least that's how the peasants liked to view it; as it was a welcomed low in the times of pillaging and burning commoners lands. The nobles, for a time, seemed content on attacking each other directly, besieging and counter sieging each others castles. And there was even room and opportunity for lowest of freeman to make some coin and have adventures of their own, if they were willing to "take the cross" and brave the journey to one of the christian strongholds of Outremer (small christian countries in the middle east that had popped up due to the events of the 1st Crusade).

Eleanor and Henry: Thee power couple of the age

The next couple of articles we will explore the events that shaped this realm, from its rise at the coronation of King Henry II to its disintegration under the inept rule of the villainous and incompetent King John; the constant on again off again wars with France; The aforementioned Third Crusade, also known as the Crusade of Kings, and the frenemy relationship between a Christian King and a Sultan of Islam; the scandalous murder of a revered clergyman; the start of the knightly pastime of tourneys; the beginnings of England's tumultuous relationship with Ireland; and the signing of one of the most important documents in western civilization, the Magna Carta.

We will also look at the great figures of the age, from the ruling dysfunctional Plantagenet family to their most trusted allies and bitterest rivals, though the two categories sometimes interchanged. Some of the personalities we will get to know are King Henry II, the skilled power broker and cunning founder who is one of the inspiration for the character of Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones (top left); the legendary (and oft misunderstood) warrior King Richard the Lionheart (top right); the man historians have dubbed "The Greatest Knight" and the "Paragon of Chivalry", William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke (middle left); Saladin, the warlord that united the Muslim world (center); Saint Thomas Becket, once friend than political rival of the King, who was murdered in his own chapel (middle right), to name just a few. We will even cross over into our Badass Women of History Series as we look at the life of one of the most powerful and Machiavellian women in European history, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who played the game so well she could give Cersi Lannister a run for her money.

It is also an era of great debate among historians as views and interpretations of the people and events have shifted back and forth over the years. Was King Henry II complicit in Becket's murder? Does King Richard deserve his vaunted reputation and reverence? Was Saladin a pious and righteous defender of Islam or just a opportunistic warlord? Could the great rivalry between England and France, that lasted for centuries and sparked numerous wars, been prevented, and if so who is at fault the Plantagenet's or the Augustus' (French Royal family)? Was Magna Carta inevitable or just the reaction to the policy's of one bad King? How incompetent of a ruler was King John, does he truly deserve the scorn he receives to this day? Was Robin Hood a real historical figure or a fictional folk hero? Did Ireland and Scotland themselves pave the way for England's dominance over them, or was it pure English aggression? Welcome to the end times of the medieval that would shape the coming High Middle Age, and spawn a singular identity for England; just as the Saxons had done by shaking off their Nordic and Germanic connections, so to will the Norman English break its connections with France.

Michelangelo: Merging Catholic Devotion with Masterful Art

 "The true work of art is but a shadow the divine perfection"

Of all the artists in all the world and throughout history none have caught my eye, are as aesthetically pleasing, or filled me with such awe then Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. It is a life long dream, certainly a bucket list item, for me, to stand beneath and take in the beauty of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, what I consider the most magnificent piece of art ever created. From the sculptures Pieta and David, the  masterpiece paintings of The Last Judgement and  The Crucifixion of Peter, to the architecture at the very heart of the Vatican itself, St. Peter's Basilica, his devotion to Catholicism is an indelible part of nearly his entire life's work.

The city of Caprese and the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Florence

Michelangelo was on born on March 6, 1475, in the Republic of Florence, one of the many small countries that made up the Italian peninsula, as Italy being one single nation was not realized until the mid 1800s.  Though he was born in the village of Caprese his family moved around within the Republic several times due to his father's shifting positions; from banker in Florence, Judge in Caprese, City Administrator in Chiusi, to quarry owner in Settigano. It was in this last location, where Michelangelo was living with his nanny and her husband after his mother's death, that he would develop his love of marble stone work. His nanny's husband, a stone-cutter at the quarry, would take six year old Michelangelo to work with him and teach him how to wield hammer and chisel to shape stone. But after several years his father was not pleased with his son's passion for manual labor and so at 13 had him shipped off to the city of Florence for schooling. His studies included grammar, math, and heavy doses of Humanism philosophy. 

Art and Architecture that influenced teenage Michelangelo

But he would routinely skip classes to go to Florence's many churches to try and copy the plethora of art displayed; places like Brancacci Chapel with its many painted frescoes of biblical scenes, the Church of Orsanmichele with its famous wall niche sculptures of saints, the architecture of the churches  San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito, and most of all the great bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery which Michelangelo called the "Gates of Paradise." When his father questioned him about his neglect toward his studies Michelangelo told him that his humanist teachers and the philosophy  of Humanism made him feel cold inside and detached from the beauty of the divine world. So after a year of formal studies his father paid for an apprenticeship with the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, considered a master fresco painter and regularly commissioned by the Church and the powerful Medici family. It was unheard of that someone as young as 14 would receive such an apprenticeship but Ghirlandaio was greatly impressed by Michelangelo's copies, including of one of his own frescoes from the Brancacci Chapel. It was not long till Lorenzo de Medici, who at this point had become the de facto ruler of the Republic of Florence, asked Ghirlandaio for his two students with the greatest potential to attend his new Latin-humanist school, where some of the greatest philosophers and theologians of southern Europe were reconciling many of Plato's Humanist ideas with church teachings (much in the vain of St. Augustine). It is here, at the age of 16, that Michelangelo created his first original works, commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici himself, Madonna On The Stairs and Battle Of The Centaurs:

Michelangelo looked set for a meteoric rise in the art world at a very young age. However, his ascension would stall as Lorenzo died in April of 1492 and the protection afforded to Michelangelo from his patron seemed to go with him. Jealous of his talent and rise, his fellow students and apprentices started to harass and bully him, culminating in his nose being broken by contemporary, Pietro Torrigiano. He left the school and returned to his father's house taking odd jobs here and there.

Many of his works from this time have been lost or destroyed, or were temporary as in the case of a giant snow sculpture he did for a party hosted by Piero de Medici. To the left are some of the more famous ones that did survive. In exchange for letting him study cadavers for anatomical form at the church's hospital he carved a wooden crucifix for the Prior of Santo Spirito. He also created his famous Angel Of Christ Sculpture about which he said, "I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.". He was also commissioned by a Cardinal for a statue of the Greek god Bacchus, but upon completion the Cardinal refused to pay and so Michelangelo sold it to a Florentine banker friend of his fathers. And lastly he helped carve some of the figurines adorning the alter at the Shrine of Saint Dominic in Bologna. It was enough to keep him financial afloat and in practice. Its believed that it was during these years he developed his minimalist, almost monastic, ascetic lifestyle. He would later tell his pupils that to achieve greatness you must throw your entire life into your work, sacrificing comforts, "However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man." His most famous apprentice said of Michelangelo, "he would eat more out of necessity than of pleasure. And often slept in his cloths and boots." Even before his great patronage with the church he was extremely devote and faithful, claiming all his talent was a gift from God, and in return must create great works to glorify him.

His time in obscurity would end and his career would once again take off in 1497. Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, the French ambassador to the Pope, commissioned him to create a sculpture depicting the mother/son relationship of Mother Mary and Jesus. In truth, the Cardinal and many of his associates were just expecting yet another piece of Mary cradling baby Jesus, as was a favorite subject among Italian and Spanish artists, but what they got was a masterpiece of an uncommon image that turned heads among the clergy. Michelangelo knew of the French and other Northern Europeans interest in non-biblical post crucifixion accounts, and so instead of Mary cradling a Jesus at the start of his life, he depicted the holy mother cradling him at the end. Further, instead of showing the wounds and torment of the passion upon Jesus's face, he wanted to show Jesus's countenance in a state of serenity that comes from being in a mothers arms. It was soon regarded around the whole of Western Europe as the worlds greatest sculpture with contemporaries giving accolades such as "a revelation of all the potentialities and force of the art of sculpture" and "It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh." In art history it is considered one of the most important pieces of the Renaissance era as it is possibly the first example of an artist marrying to separate styles into one uniform piece, in this case both renaissance ideals of "Classical Beauty" and "Naturalism." Now, at 24, he had become a household name that everyone of import wanted to patron.

In 1473, famed sculptor Agostino di Duccio was commissioned by several trade guilds in the city of Florence for several statues of biblical prophets and heroes to line the roof of the Great Florence Cathedral. Agostino died in 1481 before completion, and whats worse is that hero the city identified itself the most with, King David, was not only unfinished but the piece of marble from which it was being carved had barley been put into human shape. After years of squabbling on what parts of the commission should be finished and at what price, in 1499, the Guild of Wool declared they would at least pay for the completion of David. Naturally their first choice was Michelangelo, who not only took on the project but completely redesigned the original plans to make it his own. It was completed in 1504 and both Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci commented on how marveled they were on the technical skill of the sculpture, while they were on the committee trying to decide where in Florence David should be displayed. As David would be the symbol of Florence it was decided to be placed in the square directly in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the main governance building. Today a replica stands in the spot while the original is on display in the Gallery of the Academy of Florence.

(Left) Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina (Right) da Vinci's Battle of Anghiari

The admiration he had for David prompted Leonardo da Vinci to invite Michelangelo to share in a commission for two frescoes to be painted in the main council chambers inside the Palazzo Vecchio, depicting two famed battle from Florentine history, the Battle of Cascina which Michelangelo was to paint, and the Battle of Anghiari which da Vinci was to paint. Unfortunately the works were never completed and all that remains are preliminary sketches from both artists as the walls where the works were being down were torn down due to the city's decision to refurbish the entire building interior. Though this was a great disappointment to him it turned out to be quit fortuitous, not only for his career and passion but for the very history of Western art, for Michelangelo was about to embark on the art worlds largest and most lavish creations.

Sistine Chapel panel: Creation of Adam

In 1505 Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to construct him a tomb from top to bottom, and to be adorned with several statues of prominent biblical figures; the central figure guarding the door to the tomb would be of Moses (see left). While construction of the tomb was ongoing Renaissance artists Donato Bramante and Raphael became extremely jealous of Michelangelo's favor with the pope and in secret convinced Julius II that it was bad luck to have a tomb built while he was still alive, hoping that the church and Julius's heirs would not want to spend the time or money to complete the tomb after his death. The Pope ordered a halt to the work until he was convinced God would not be offended at the idea of constructing one's tomb while still alive. Instead he drew up a new contract to have Michelangelo do work on the Sistine Chapel. Again, a competitor for the Pope's patronage, jealous of Michelangelo's favor (jealously by contemporaries seems to be a running theme in his life) convinced the Pope to have Michelangelo paint the 12 apostles on the triangular pendentives, notoriously difficult areas to apply artwork, where walls meet domed ceilings. When confronted with this challenge, Michelangelo asked Julius for carte blanche to not only paint the penentives, but the entire 500 square meter ceiling in a theme of his choosing. After four years, in 1512, his greatest accomplishment was complete, the ceiling contained 50 frescoes, containing a total of 300 biblical figures, depicting various scenes from the Book of Genesis, several prophets, and the genealogy of Christ. It has been praised throughout the centuries as one of the greatest artistic accomplishments ever achieved by a single man. As for the tomb, work would be on again, off again, for the next couple of decades, even after Julius II's death, and not completed until 1545.

Fellow Italian Artist Vasari said:

"The work has proved a veritable beacon to our art, of inestimable benefit to all painters, restoring light to a world that for centuries had been plunged into darkness. Indeed, painters no longer need to seek for new inventions, novel attitudes, clothed figures, fresh ways of expression, different arrangements, or sublime subjects, for this work contains every perfection possible under those headings."

Famed German writer and political philosopher Johann Wolfgang Goethe:

"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving." 

Pope John Paul II:

"It seems that Michelangelo, in his own way, allowed himself to be guided by the evocative words of the Book of Genesis which, as regards the creation of the human being, male and female, reveals: 'The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame'. The Sistine Chapel is precisely – if one may say so – the sanctuary of the theology of the human body. In witnessing to the beauty of man created by God as male and female, it also expresses in a certain way, the hope of a world transfigured, the world inaugurated by the Risen Christ."

  After two false starts to design and construct the facades of two new churches due to the the Vatican's money issue's to pay for material, Michelangelo once again found himself in the employee of the Medici family in 1520. They commissioned him to design and build a grand funerary chapel attached to the Basilica of San Lorenzo to house the remains of prominent members of the family, Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, and Lorenzo II, his nephew. The tombs inside, Michelangelo created 2 composite pieces consisting of 3 statues each. Giuliano's tomb, called Night and Day, has the Duke as the central figure, while his nephew is the central figure of the other, called Dusk and Dawn. Also within, sitting between the two is the piece Medici Madonna.

Upon the tombs' completion he was again commissioned by the Medici's to design the Laurentain Library. His unique, at the time, design of the interior and vestibule is considered by historians to be the forerunner to baroque architecture. But his relationship with the Medici family would take a dark turn. In 1527, the people of Florence, tired of the iron handed rule of the powerful family, threw out the Medici's in order to restore the Republic, the Medici's returned shortly after with an army to lay siege to the city. Michelangelo sided with the republicans and help with designing and building the fortifications to try and withstand the Medici forces. The city fell in 1530, and with the Medici's back in power, Michelangelo fled fearing for his life. He was welcomed back to Rome with open arms by Pope Clement and given a stipend and lodging in exchange for continuing work on Julius II tomb.

While still working on the tomb, the pope commissioned Michelangelo for a massive fresco to adorn the far wall of the Sistine Chapel behind the alter. The Last Judgement, completed in 1541, would be his most controversial work; dividing the pope and some of his cardinals. While the pope and many cardinals saw it as a masterpiece depicting exactly what the church feared for humanity and fighting for there souls to protect, a number of powerful cardinals lead by Cardinal Carafa (later Pope Paul IV) demanded it be removed as they believed it was sacrilegious, for its depiction of Jesus as a young, naked, muscular young man instead of the traditional bearded peacemaker; seemingly leading a violent army of saints crushing sinners and damned under pillars and crosses, St. Jerome (actually of self portrait of Michelangelo himself) with a flayed skin in hand, etc. During the Council of Trent, in 1564, where the church officials were deciding the fate of many of the church's doctrines in the face of the Protestant Reformation, it was decreed that the fresco was in line with church teaching and could stay with one alteration, that Jesus was to be covered by a cloth over his genitals. Michelangelo agreed and had his student Marcelo Venusti make the alteration. 

"The greatest creation of the Renaissance" Banister Fletcher, British Architectural historian

His final great work would be completed after his death. The construction of Saint Peter's Basilica had begun in 1506, but after the foundation was completed little work had been done since the death of the architect originally hired to build it. Many had come and gone since but none seemed to either had plans that did not pleased the Vatican or felt as though they could complete the original vision. So in 1547 the task was given to Michelangelo, who quickly drew up designs for the massive dome and roof lined with sculptures of saints to be made by him and his students. Work would continue at a slow and steady pace for the rest of his life and some feared it would not be completed if Michelangelo died beforehand. But when the supporting ring and lower part of the dome where completed and Michelangelo gave a red chalk sketch of how to complete the rest (his last known piece of art) was given to his student Giacomo della Porta, all fears were abated. Michelangelo would die at the age of 88 in 1564, completion of the the dome and consecration of the Basilica was in 1590. In compliance with his final wishes, his remains were taken back to Florence and there interned at the Basilica of Santa Croce. The lagcey of Michelangelo is beyond description or doubt of its deservance; his contributions to the art world undeniable.