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The first Angevin King, Henry II, began the period as arguably the most powerful monarch in Europe, with lands stretching from the Scottish borders to the Pyrenees. In addition, Ireland was added to his inheritance, a mission entrusted to him by Pope Adrian IV (the only English Pope). A new administrative zeal was evident at the beginning of the period and an efficient system of government was formulated. The justice system developed. However there were quarrels with the Church, which became more powerful following the murder of Thomas a Becket.
As with many of his predecessors, Henry II spent much of his time away from England fighting abroad. This was taken to an extreme by his son Richard, who spent only 10 months of a ten-year reign in the country due to his involvement in the crusades. The last of the Angevin kings was John, whom history has judged harshly. By 1205, six years into his reign, only a fragment of the vast Angevin empire acquired by Henry II remained. John quarrelled with the Pope over the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury, eventually surrendering. He was also forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, which restated the rights of the church, the barons and all in the land. John died in ignominy, having broken the contract, leading the nobles to summon aid from France and creating a precarious position for his heir, Henry III.
Henry II ruled over an empire which stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. One of the strongest, most energetic and imaginative rulers, Henry was the inheritor of three dynasties who had acquired Aquitaine by marriage; his charters listed them: 'King of the English, Duke of the Normans and Aquitanians and Count of the Angevins'. The King spent only 13 years of his reign in England; the other 21 years were spent on the continent in his territories in what is now France. Henry's rapid movements in carrying out his dynastic responsibilities astonished the French king, who noted 'now in England, now in Normandy, he must fly rather than travel by horse or ship'.
By 1158, Henry had restored to the Crown some of the lands and royal power lost by Stephen; Malcom IV of Scotland was compelled to return the northern counties. Locally chosen sheriffs were changed into royally appointed agents charged with enforcing the law and collecting taxes in the counties. Personally interested in government and law, Henry made use of juries and re-introduced the sending of justices (judges) on regular tours of the country to try cases for the Crown. His legal reforms have led him to be seen as the founder of English Common Law.
Henry's disagreements with the Archbishop of Canterbury (the king's former chief adviser), Thomas a Becket, over Church-State relations ended in Becket's murder in 1170 and a papal interdict on England. Family disputes over territorial ambitions almost wrecked the king's achievements. Henry died in France in 1189, at war with his son Richard, who had joined forces with King Philip of France to attack Normandy.
King Stephen was forced to recognize Henry as his heir; when Stephen died the English warmly welcomed the new ruler. Henry enlarged the kingdom - in 1157 he forced the Scottish king to submit to him and to yield his claim to Northumbria - he made allies of the Welsh - in 1175 he invaded Ireland and secured the submission of all the native kings (and made his youngest son, John, lord of Ireland) - in 1160 he took the French Vexin (key piece of land between Normandy and the French royal lands). Henry was one of the most powerful rulers of his era, full of energy and an able military leader. He was tall and had broad shoulders, with strength and endurance. "His dress was usually informal - like that of a huntsman - and his manner courteous and charming, although he was quick to take offence if he felt his authority as king was being threatened. His sense of humour was strong and his wit mordant, but his temper was unpredictable and he could be bitterly vindictive.... Generous to the poor, he gave alms frequently, and often in secret. ...had a serious and scholarly side...[which] emerges in the many legal, administrative and financial developments of his reign, developments for which he had been much praised by posterity. "The Plantagenet Chronicles," ed. by Elizabeth Hallam. 1986, pp.94-5.} Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey on the Sunday before Christmas, 1154. He wore his reddish hair close-cropped. {-see the detailed description of him in "Seven Medieval Kings," Joseph Dahmus (Doubleday, 1967, pp.148ff.).} Also see "Henry Plantagent: A Biography of Henry II of England," by Richard Barber (London, 1964, reprinted 1972), and Barber's "The Devil's Crown: Henry II, Richard I, John" (London, 1978).