The "dynasty" in the title of this program is the Angevin, and the influential ruler was Henry II.
By 1154, England was wracked by civil war and problems with succession. The realm was in ruin. Then, Henri II arrived on the scene to put an end to the anarchy. His influential contributions were as the father of the common law and the godfather of the English state. Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet with the plantagenet tree sprig in his hat, and history was changed. She gave Geoffrey a son, Henry.
The heart of the program was the war of wills between Henry II and his friend Thomas Becket. Henry wanted to establish strong courts. But he never counted on the intransigence of Thomas and the parallel ecclesiastical courts.
For a brief period, Thomas was in exile on the continent. But there was a reconciliation at Fréteval, and the two old friends sat under a tree for a long conversation. Thomas walked away with a chafed arse due to his lice-infested goat hairshirt.
In 1170, Becket lands in Sandwich, then proceeds to Canterbury. The sour taste of Fréteval is still in the air. Their differences were supposed to be resolved. But Henry may never have realized the austere transformation that Thomas had experienced. Now, the die was cast, and the murder in the cathedral occurred with thugs whose faces were covered like terrorists.
Becket's view of the church endured. The Angevin empire did not. But under Henry II's offspring, something new occurred that might have been the most far-reaching in its implications: Magna Carta.
By 1154, England was wracked by civil war and problems with succession. The realm was in ruin. Then, Henri II arrived on the scene to put an end to the anarchy. His influential contributions were as the father of the common law and the godfather of the English state. Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet with the plantagenet tree sprig in his hat, and history was changed. She gave Geoffrey a son, Henry.
The heart of the program was the war of wills between Henry II and his friend Thomas Becket. Henry wanted to establish strong courts. But he never counted on the intransigence of Thomas and the parallel ecclesiastical courts.
For a brief period, Thomas was in exile on the continent. But there was a reconciliation at Fréteval, and the two old friends sat under a tree for a long conversation. Thomas walked away with a chafed arse due to his lice-infested goat hairshirt.
In 1170, Becket lands in Sandwich, then proceeds to Canterbury. The sour taste of Fréteval is still in the air. Their differences were supposed to be resolved. But Henry may never have realized the austere transformation that Thomas had experienced. Now, the die was cast, and the murder in the cathedral occurred with thugs whose faces were covered like terrorists.
Becket's view of the church endured. The Angevin empire did not. But under Henry II's offspring, something new occurred that might have been the most far-reaching in its implications: Magna Carta.
