Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2017.
He was the son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, brother to the future Richard the Lionheart and “wicked” King John yet never King in his own right. Destined never to get the Roman Numeral after his name he was a co-ruler with his father, kept as a “gelding” which led to rebellion and he was to die, ingloriously, of dysentery in an awkward pause between one King and another. A slight life perhaps, but Matthew Strickland ensures that we know all about this young King in waiting throwing true historical perspective on a period many of us only recognise from the film The Lion in Winter. ~ Sue Baker
Like for Like Reading
Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England, Alison Weir
The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal: The Power behind Five English Thornes, Thomas Asbridge
Wolfson History Prize Judges: “A joy to read… Strickland has a remarkable eye for detail and fluently opens up a huge amount of new ground in uncovering an engrossing subject.”
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This first modern study of Henry the Young King, eldest son of Henry II but the least known Plantagenet monarch, explores the brief but eventful life of the only English ruler after the Norman Conquest to be created co-ruler in his father's lifetime. Crowned at fifteen to secure an undisputed succession, Henry played a central role in the politics of Henry II's great empire and was hailed as the embodiment of chivalry. Yet, consistently denied direct rule, the Young King was provoked first into heading a major rebellion against his father, then to waging a bitter war against his brother Richard for control of Aquitaine, dying before reaching the age of thirty having never assumed actual power. In this remarkable history, Matthew Strickland provides a richly colored portrait of an all-but-forgotten royal figure tutored by Thomas Becket, trained in arms by the great knight William Marshal, and incited to rebellion by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, while using his career to explore the nature of kingship, succession, dynastic politics, and rebellion in twelfth-century England and France.
Henry the Young King, 1155-1183 features in the following genres: History, Biographies & Autobiographies, Non-Fiction Books of the Month, eBooks of the Month, History and Archaeology, Biography, Literature and Literary studies, Recommendations
Henry the Young King, 1155-1183 is available in Hardback
Henry the Young King, 1155-1183 was written by Matthew Strickland and published by Yale University Press
Henry the Young King, 1155-1183 has 496 pages
£15.29
