Talk:Henry II of England

Proposed trimmed lead

The lead is bloated and rambling. Much is a re-hash of what appears in the main body. It needs to be much tighter. I submit the following alternative:

Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle, Henry FitzEmpress or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from October 1154 until his death, Lord of Ireland (1171–1189), Duke of Normandy (1150-1189), Duke of Aquitaine (1152–89, in right of his wife), Count of Anjou (1151–1189), Count of Maine (1151–1189), Count of Nantes (1158 – 1189). At various times, he exercised control over large parts of Wales and the Duchy of Brittany. Henry was born in Le Mans, France, the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and the Empress Matilda, who was the daughter of King Henry I of England. By the age of 14, Henry was actively involved by in his mother's efforts to claim the throne of England. With his marriage in 1151 to the wealthy heiress, Eleanor of Aquitaine, he got control of vast estates in south-west France. Henry and Eleanor had eight children. As they grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge. He led a military expedition to England in 1153 to further the claims of the Empress. By the terms of the Treaty of Wallingford, he inherited the throne of England following the death of Stephen, King of England a year later. Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales and Scotland shaped the development of their societies and governmental systems. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland and the western half of France, an area that would later come to be called the Angevin Empire. During his reign, the powers of the monarchy increased at the expense of the great barons. His achievements were impaired, however, by disputes with the Church, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket and by revolts within his own family. Henry suppressed rebellions by his sons in 1173 and 1183. Following a further rebellion in 1189, he died at Chinon leaving the throne to his son Richard. Henry's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John. Laurel Lodged (talk) 15:13, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

The current text appears to comply with WP:LEAD - were there particular points of concern? Hchc2009 (talk) 15:19, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

See section 31 above from a few years back.Laurel Lodged (talk) 16:36, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

The lead is supposed to repeat information in the body of the article. It's a summary of the entire article, and for an article this size, three or four paragraphs are recommended. I'll note that this lead (with minor copyedits) passed through the featured article process and no one there had issues with the size being "bloated". I find it about right, quite honestly. Ealdgyth - Talk 15:20, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

It's not supposed to be a complete re-hash. It should contain the essentials and no more. Laurel Lodged (talk) 09:02, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

The lead contains too much detail for some topics. It largely reproduces what appears later in the main body. That's not what's supposed to happen. Laurel Lodged (talk) 12:29, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

The lead, again, is supposed to reproduce the stuff in the main body. It is NOT, per Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Comparison to the news-style lead, a newspaper style lead. The lead "provides far more information, as its purpose is to summarize the article, not just introduce it." Ealdgyth - Talk 12:57, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

I'd agree with Ealdyth's comment. Hchc2009 (talk) 17:22, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

There's a big difference between avoiding newspaper-style headline brevity and outright duplication. "Each word, phrase, and sentence in a lead should be covered by equivalent content in the body of the article, preferably in the same order they appear in the article. The content in the body of the article will usually be longer and more detailed." The current lead violates this guideline. Laurel Lodged (talk) 10:43, 15 May 2017 (UTC)

Examples? Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 10:54, 15 May 2017 (UTC)

• @Laurel Lodged: The lede as it currently stands is four paragraphs out of nearly eighty; and you think it shold be reduced to one?! It would clearly fail WP:LEADLENGTH, which states that for articles with over 30,000 characters, 'Three or four paragraphs' is right; this article has >76,000 characters. I give you, QED :) — O Fortuna ^{semper crescis, aut decrescis} 11:34, 15 May 2017 (UTC)

  Those four paragraphs are massive though, I barely contribute to wikipedia but this lead is a far too unwieldy. Needs a trim. 81.108.146.146 (talk) 21:05, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

Marriage contrary to feudal practice

According to Henry II of England#Early reign (1150–1162), Henry's marriage to Eleanor "ran counter to feudal practice". What does this mean? Surtsicna (talk) 12:53, 27 June 2019 (UTC)

Certainly, the text is not very clear. It refers to the fact that Eleanor and Henry did not request permission for their marriage from the King of France, since they were both vassals. --Ezi1234 (talk) 22:41, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Angevin kings of England

Hi there. These days I've translated into Russian an enwiki article Angevin kings of England. Immediately a was kicked around and the translation was nominated for deletion. The core of disagreement is: a) Angevin kings are simply another name for Plantagenets and as such do not deserve separate article; b) Angevin kings of England are a separate historical entity and the article is valid.

In this respect I would like to know the basis of calling Henry II of England a Plantagenet keeping in mind that the Angevin kings of England reads (NB: the article is marked as Good)

Historians use the period of Prince Louis's invasion to mark the end of the Angevin period and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty.

and

Richard of York adopted "Plantagenet" as a family name for himself and his descendants during the 15th century. Plantegenest

So: where actually had Angevins ended and Plantagenets started, if ever? Pls advise. From Russia with love. Ashec (talk) 12:55, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

Co-ruler of what, exactly, and with whom?

Third paragraph of the lead begins:

"Henry and Eleanor had eight children—three daughters and five sons. Three of his sons would be king, though Henry the Young King was named his father's co-ruler rather than a stand-alone king."

Earlier in the lead, we read,

"Henry became Count of Anjou and Maine upon the death of his father, Count Geoffrey V, in 1151. His marriage in 1152 to Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII had recently been annulled, made him Duke of Aquitaine."

So, Henry II's father was not a king. And therefore not king of England. He was Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.

The statement about Henry's co-rulership, therefore, in my opinion, needs re-wording to explain exactly what it means. Was Henry named co-ruler of Anjou or co-ruler (co-king) of England in Matilda's place (for whom, according to the text above, Henry II, her son, had agreed "a peace treaty [with Stephen of Blois] after Henry[II]'s military expedition to England in 1153, and Henry inherited the kingdom on Stephen's death a year later") and, if so, with whom as the other co-monarch of England?

Was this "inheritance" the co-rulership spoken of later or was it co-rulership of Anjou, while Henry [II] inherited full title as king of England upon Stephen's death? Hedles (talk) 01:36, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

I think you are misunderstanding this. Henry, son of Geoffrey V, inherited the throne of England from his uncle Stephen on Stephen's death after the Treaty of Westminster(?) established that he (Henry, son of Geoffrey V) was the heir to the throne of England, meaning that he became Henry II of England. The first statement you mention refers not to Henry II but his son with Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry the Young King. In 1170 Henry II made his son (Henry the Young) co-ruler (along with Henry II himself) of England, Normandy, Anjou and Maine. This is the "co-rulership" referred to in the article. It would be simpler if Henry the Young was just known as "Henry III", but unfortunately he died before his father, so never ruled on his own. 31.50.147.32 (talk) 19:18, 2 January 2022 (UTC)

What is a "Mainstream European"?

Mainstream Europeans regarded the Irish as relatively barbarous and backward.[267]

Including King in Wikilinks, Manual of Style

Hi. Help:Introduction to the Manual of Style/linking quiz in "Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick" example, it says 'King', with upper-case K, is part of the title "King Henry II of England": it is awkward to see part of the title black and part of it blue. So I have searched all "King" words and found three. (King) David I of Scotland in Early years (1133–1149) section. (King) Malcolm of Scotland in "Reconstruction of royal government" section. (King) William of Scotland in Great Revolt (1173–1174) section. Jeournat (talk) 21:12, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

Why Curtmantle?

Why is he called Curtmantle? DuncanHill (talk) 14:13, 17 January 2023 (UTC)

@DuncanHill: Nickname, presumably based on his fashion tastes; 'Henry Shortcloak'. Cf. Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror. Also, e.g., curtlof (shortbread). Same etymological root, from Old French as the modern English curt (to be curt with smn...), brief or terse. etc. HTH! SN54129 14:38, 17 January 2023 (UTC)

I see that this nickname was removed in the 19 May 2023 change -- why? SorghumBean (talk) 03:35, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Ok, I added it SorghumBean (talk) 05:48, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Time immemorial

As his reign is linked to the concept of 'Time immemorial perhaps a mention here? Jackiespeel (talk) 18:12, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

Location of death

Hello @Ealdgyth:. OK, "my" source is not reliable. But since this information is worth knowing for any visitor to the fortress (plaque not very visible, nor signposted), I leave it to you to find a source in English that complies with WP:RS. (For your information, a low quality photo can be found on Wikimedia Commons ; the name of the file is : Chateau de Chinon. Site chapelle St Melaine.✝Henry II Plantagenet.jpg). Boncoincoin Boncoincoin (talk) 16:18, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

Henry's son: William IX of Poitiers?

I am having trouble confirming either the name "William IX" or that the child was count of Poitiers. Can someone shed some light on this? The contents of the article William IX, Count of Poitiers appear to have stayed unchanged for over 20 years. Surtsicna (talk) 23:05, 19 August 2024 (UTC)