Conference at Montmirail. Epiphany Day 1169
Just
a short note today, but the one that cannot be missed. On Epiphany
Day 1169 Henry the Young King's father and Louis II of France held a
conference at Montmirail, a town of Maine, near to the French
frontier. Henry
II’s
three eldest sons
were there, as well as Louis’s beloved Dieu-Donne
[the God given] Philip [later
Augustus].
According
to the treaty the English princes
were to hold respectively: the
young Henry Normandy, Brittany, Anjou and Maine, Richard Poitou and
Guienne, Geoffrey Brittany
under his brother Henry. It
was also agreed that Richard would marry Alais, Louis's second
daughter by his late wife Constance of Castile. Alais was the young Henry's sister-in-law. Furthermore
king Louis,
the young Henry's father-in-law
bestowed upon him
the post of
Seneschal of France, previously held by Theobald
of Blois (the same year, on 2 February Henry, in person,
would be attending Louis's table and performing his duties as
required by the new position).
The
next day saw the young Henry and Richard doing homage to Louis, as
well as the three papal envoys* delivering to king Henry the papal
letter of May, 1168, in which the Pope exhorted him to reconcile with
Thomas Becket, the exiled Archbishop of Canterbury. The latter
appeared before the gathering, throwing himself on the king's mercy
at first, but later stubbornly insisting on "certain salvos about
the dignity of his Church” and the "Honour of God” (Eyton, p.119). The
negotiations broke off. King Henry left the meeting angry and king
Louis, so far Becket's staunch supporter, became estranged from him
for a few days.
* The envoys were: Simon, Prior of Mont Dieu, Bernard de Corilo, Monk of Granmont and Engelbert, Prior of Val St.Pierre (Eyton)
Hi Kasia
ReplyDeleteHow are you? I hope you're enjoying Sons! Its interesting to know what Henry and his brothers were doing on this day. Have shared everywhere!
Thank you, dear Paula! Happy New Year to you and your family! I was going to write during Christmas break, but we had this strong wind called "halny" that ravaged the south of Poland and caused electricity and Internet problems.
DeleteI consider myself highly privileged every time I come across the info concerning Henry's whereabouts, exact dates being so very precious!
Carving up the empire.......
ReplyDeleteExactly, Anerje! Such a shame it all came to naught in the end. But it was doomed from the very begining, I daresay- too vast an area to be kept together for long plus Henry II's reluctance to share power and responsiblity with his sons.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree - the Empire was just too big for one ruler. It's a shame it broke up the way it did. Again it's one of those instances in history where we think what would have happened if Henry II had shared power with his sons.
ReplyDeleteBut he did share power with them. This is a classic myth around Henry II. Young Henry was bridled because he was a feckless fool who liked to be liked. Geoffrey and Richard on the hand had relative autonomy in Brittany and Aquitaine respectively. That Henry’s empire broke up after his death is the greatest possible proof that his sons were not worthy of him.
DeleteI like to imagine the scenario you've mentioned :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'll see to that...
ReplyDelete