On 2 February 1169 the young Henry performed duties of Senschal of France at his father-in-law's court for the first time. The postion had been previously held by Henry's own father and Theobald of Blois respectively, but earlier in 1169, at the conference at Montmirail, Louis VII of France bestowed it upon the young Henry. Seneschal (French: sénéchal), was one of the most important offices at the French court. In medieval and early modern France, a seneschal was a steward or principal administrator in a royal or noble household. As time went on, the office declined in importance and was often equivalent to that of a bailiff; the office and title persisted until the French Revolution. But in the 1170s it meant playing a key role in the coronation ceremonies and crown-wearings of the French kings, and when a French king was waging war, it was his seneschal who led the vanguard of the royal army when it faced the enemy, and the rearguard when it withdrew. In the opening days of February 1169 the young Henry, then twenty six days shy of his fourteenth birthday, personally served Louis VII at table. A great feast to celebrate the Purification of the Virgin was held that day at Paris and young Henry must have regarded it as a high honour to perform such an important task.
Four years later, in the early 1173, Henry, by then styled "the Young King" had been summoned by his father to Auvergne, to participate in the meeting with Humbert, Count of Maurienne. The conference was held on 2 February, at Montferrand-le-Fort and was attended by Alfonso II of Aragon, Raymond V of Toulouse and Humbert, count of Maurienne. What Henry II was in mind was first and foremost a marriage settlement. Count Humbert first approached him two years prior to the meeting, in 1171, asking for his protection from Raymond V and from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Humbert had no male heirs, only two daughters. Alice, the elder one, was his heiress. In February 1173 Humbert and Henry met to discuss her marriage to John, Henry's youngest son. Should Humbert die without male heir , John was to inherit the count's vast domains, which consisted not only of the county of Maurienne itself, but also of the territories and regions that would be known as Savoy. This would mean extending the Angevin influence to the Alps, especially that Alice's dowry included key castles controlling some major Alpine routes and passes. The Maurienne match was also of great importance when it came to strained relations with Toulouse and helped to improve them. Count Raymond had little choice but to come to terms with his sworn enemy. Immediately after his submission Henry received custody of young Alice and of four of Humbert's castles. The Count had asked about provisions made for young John and his share in Henry II’s vast domains. The king suggested the three castles: Chinon, Mirebeau and Loudun as John’s dower, all situated in Anjou, a county assigned to his eldest son. Despite Henry the Young King’s loud protests and refusal to accept the terms introduced by his father, the settlement had been reached. ‘… and from this time it was that the king, the son, had been seeking pretexts and an opportunity for withdrawing from his father. And he had now so entirely revolted in feeling from obeying his wishes that he could not even converse with him on any subject in a peaceable manner.’ (Howden, the Annals, Vol I, p.367). The Mauriennce match is considered the proverbial finalstraw that ignited the war. Pior to the described events, following his coronation in 1170, the Young Henry had repeatedly asked his father for a territory in Normandy, or Anjou, or Maine where he could live with his wife, Marguerite and rule independently. He was repeatedly refused. Little wonder that his father's decision of giving the three castles to John unfair, at the least. John was being granted these castles at the time, when he, Henry, had no realm he could call his own and where he could prove himself worthy of his royal title. He refused to accept the proposed solution and demanded either England, or Normandy, or Anjou to be given over to him so that he could rule independently. Yet once again his father said "no". In consequence, soon afterwards he had to face the greatest crisis of his reign, the Great Revolt of 1173-74, in which his sons and his own Queen stood against him, supported by kings of France and Scotland, and a formidable coaltion of counts and disgruntled barons.
In my next post I will discuss in meticulous detail who chose to ally themselves with the Young King against his father in the conflict which Jordan Fantosme called the "war without love". Stay tuned!
Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik
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