1.
Coronation of the British monarch
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The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally invested with regalia and crowned at Westminster Abbey. It corresponds to the coronations that took place in other European monarchies. The coronation usually takes several months after the death of the previous monarch. This interval also gives the planners enough time to complete the elaborate arrangements required, the ceremony is performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior cleric in the Church of England, of which the monarch is supreme governor. Other clergy and members of the nobility also have roles, most participants in the ceremony are required to wear uniforms or robes. Many other government officials and guests attend, including representatives of other countries, the essential elements of the coronation have remained largely unchanged for the past thousand years. The sovereign is first presented to, and acclaimed by, the people and he or she then swears an oath to uphold the law and the Church. Following that, the monarch is anointed with oil, invested with regalia. Wives of kings are then anointed and crowned as queen consort, the main elements of the coronation service and the earliest form of oath can be traced to the ceremony devised by Saint Dunstan for the coronation of King Edgar in 973 AD at Bath Abbey. It drew on ceremonies used by the kings of the Franks, two versions of coronation services, known as ordines or recensions, survive from before the Norman Conquest. It is not known if the first rescension was ever used in England and it was the second recension which was used by Edgar in 973 and by subsequent Anglo-Saxon and early Norman kings. A third recension was compiled during the reign of King Henry I and was used at the coronation of King Stephen in 1135. It remained in use until the coronation of Edward II in 1308 when the fourth recension was first used, having been compiled over several preceding decades. Although influenced by its French counterpart, the new ordo focussed on the balance between the monarch and his nobles and on the oath, neither of which concerned the absolutist French kings. One manuscript of this recension is the Liber Regalis at Westminster Abbey which has come to be regarded as the definitive version, however, six years later, he was succeeded by his half-sister, Mary I, who restored the Catholic rite. Scottish coronations were held at Scone Abbey, with the king seated on the Stone of Destiny. The original rituals were a fusion of ceremonies used by the kings of Dál Riata, based on the inauguration of Aidan by Columba in 574, a crown does not seem to have been used until the inauguration of Alexander II in 1214. The ceremony included the laying on of hands by a senior cleric, Alexander III was the last Scottish king to be crowned in this way in 1249, since the Stone was captured by the English forces of Edward I in 1296
2.
Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
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Objects used to invest and crown the monarch variously denote his or her roles as Head of State, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces. Wives of kings are crowned as queen consort with a set of regalia. Since 1831, a new crown has been made specially for each queen consort, the use of regalia by monarchs in Britain can be traced back to its early history. Most of the present collection as a whole dates from around 350 years ago when King Charles II ascended the throne. The medieval coronation regalia and Tudor state regalia had been sold or melted down by Oliver Cromwell. In addition to their use at coronations, a number of items are used at the annual State Opening of Parliament, royal christenings, weddings, and a few other state and religious occasions. When not in use, the Jewels are on display, mainly in the Jewel House. Although they are part of the Royal Collection and owned by the king or queen for the duration of his or her reign, following the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD, crowns and other symbols of authority continued to be used by the governors of Britain. By the 5th century, the Romans had withdrawn from Britain, and the Angles, a series of new kingdoms began to emerge. One of the used by regional kings to solidify their authority over their territories was the use of ceremony. The tomb of an unknown king – evidence suggests it may be Rædwald of East Anglia – at Sutton Hoo provides an insight into the regalia of a pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon king. He was also buried with a heavy stone sceptre, on top of which is an iron ring surmounted by the figure of a stag, a sword. In 597, a Benedictine monk had been sent by Pope Gregory I to start converting Pagan England to Christianity, the monk Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Within two centuries, the ritual of anointing monarchs with holy oil and crowning them in a Christian ceremony had been established, and regalia took on a religious identity. There was still no permanent set of regalia, each monarch generally had a new set made. Edward the Confessor is depicted on a throne and wearing a crown in the first scene of the Bayeux Tapestry, in 1066, Edward died without an heir, and William the Conqueror emerged as king of England following his victory over the English at the Battle of Hastings. Wearing a crown became an important part of William Is efforts to cement his authority over his new territory, in 1161, Edward the Confessor was made a saint, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. A crown referred to as St Edwards Crown is first recorded as having used for the coronation of Henry III in 1220
3.
Passau
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Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or City of Three Rivers, because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south, passaus population is 50,000 of whom about 12,000 are students at the local University of Passau. It is renowned in Germany for its institutes of economics, law, theology, computer science, in the 2nd century BC, many of the Boii tribe were pushed north across the Alps out of northern Italy by the Romans. They established a new capital called Boiodurum by the Romans, now within the Innstadt district of Passau, Passau was an ancient Roman colony of ancient Noricum called Batavis, Latin for for the Batavi. The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe often mentioned by authors, and they were regularly associated with the Suebian marauders. During the second half of the 5th century, St. Severinus established a monastery here, from the 10th century the bishops of Passau also exercised secular authority as Prince-Bishops in the immediate area around Passau. In the Treaty of Passau, Archduke Ferdinand I, representing Emperor Charles V and this led to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. During the Renaissance and early period, Passau was one of the most prolific centres of sword. Passau smiths stamped their blades with the Passau wolf, usually a rather simplified rendering of the wolf on the citys coat-of-arms, superstitious warriors believed that the Passau wolf conferred invulnerability on the blades bearer, and thus Passau swords acquired a great premium. According to the Donau-Zeitung, aside from the wolf, some signs and inscriptions were added. As a result, the practice of placing magical charms on swords to protect the wearers came to be known for a time as Passau art. Other cities smiths, including those of Solingen, recognized the value of the Passau wolf. By the 17th century, Solingen was producing more wolf-stamped blades than Passau was, in 1662, a devastating fire consumed most of the city. Passau was subsequently rebuilt in the Baroque style, Passau was secularised and divided between the Electorate of Bavaria and the Electorate of Salzburg in 1803. The portion belonging to Salzburg became part of Bavaria in 1805, from 1892 until 1894, Adolf Hitler and his family lived in Passau. The city archives mention Hitler being in Passau on four different occasions in the 1920s for speeches, on November 3,1902 Heinrich Himmler and his family arrived from Munich. They lived at Theresienstraße 394 until September 2,1904, Himmler maintained contact with locals until May 1945. In November 1933, the building of Nibelungenhalle was announced, intended to hold 8,000 to 10,000 guests, and another 30,000 in front of it, in 1935 the hall also became quarters for a unit of the Austrian Legion
4.
Hilt
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The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons, a ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel, the pommel is an enlarged fitting at the top of the handle. They were originally developed to prevent the sword slipping from the hand, from around the 11th century in Europe they became heavy enough to be a counterweight to the blade. This gave the sword a point of not too far from the hilt allowing a more fluid fighting style. Depending on sword design and swordsmanship style, the pommel may also be used to strike the opponent, pommels have appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including oblate spheroids, crescents, disks, wheels, and animal or bird heads. They are often engraved or inlayed with various designs and occasionally gilt, ewart Oakeshott introduced a system of classification of medieval pommel forms in his The Sword in the Age of Chivalry to stand alongside his blade typology. Oakeshott pommel types are enumerated with capital letters A–Z, with subtypes indicated by numerals, one of the most common forms, found throughout the 10th to 15th centuries. I, a disk with wide chamfered edges, the disk being much smaller than in H. I1 is a hexagonal variant J, as I. T1 to T5 are variants of this basic type U, key-shaped type of the half of the 15th century V. W, a wheel shape Z, square shape, with its sub-types used to closely define the area and age, Z1 and Z2b, Z3. The grip is the handle of the sword and it was usually of wood or metal, and often covered with shagreen. Shark skin proved to be the most durable in temperate climates but deteriorated in hot climates, alternatively, many sword types opt for ray skin instead, referred to in katana construction as the same. Whatever material covered the grip, it was usually glued on and held on with wire wrapped around it in a helix. It is a misconception that the cross-guard protects the users entire hand from the opponents sword. Only with the abandonment of the shield and then the armoured gauntlet did a full hand guard become necessary, the crossguard still protected the user from a blade that was deliberately slid down the length of the blade to cut off or injure the hand. Early swords do not have true guards but simply a form of stop to prevent the hand slipping up the blade when thrusting as they were used in conjunction with a shield. From the 11th century, European sword guards took the form of a straight crossbar perpendicular to the blade, beginning in the 16th century in Europe, guards became more and more elaborate, with additional loops and curved bars or branches to protect the hand
5.
Henry III of England
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Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was nine in the middle of the First Barons War. Cardinal Guala declared the war against the barons to be a religious crusade and Henrys forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, which limited royal power and his early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had belonged to his father. A revolt led by William Marshals son, Richard, broke out in 1232, following the revolt, Henry ruled England personally, rather than governing through senior ministers. He travelled less than previous monarchs, investing heavily in a handful of his palaces and castles. He married Eleanor of Provence, with whom he had five children, in a fresh attempt to reclaim his familys lands in France, he invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. After this, Henry relied on diplomacy, cultivating an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to become King of the Romans in 1256 and he planned to go on crusade to the Levant, but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony. The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to reform a stable government, in 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons War. Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised an army, the Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264, where Henry was defeated and taken prisoner. Henrys eldest son, Edward, escaped captivity to defeat de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year. Henry initially enacted a harsh revenge on the rebels, but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth. Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to acquiesce to various measures, including suppression of the Jews, to maintain baronial. Henry died in 1272, leaving Edward as his successor and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had rebuilt in the second half of his reign, and was moved to his current tomb in 1290. Some miracles were declared after his death but he was not canonised, Henry was born in Winchester Castle on 1 October 1207. He was the eldest son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, little is known of Henrys early life
6.
Matthew Paris
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Matthew Paris, known as Matthew of Paris, was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, some were written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse. His Chronica Majora is a source, though modern historians recognise that Paris was not always reliable. He tended to glorify Emperor Frederick II and denigrate the Pope, however, in his Historia Anglorum, Paris displays a highly negative view of Frederick, going as far as to describe him as a tyrant who committed disgraceful crimes. In spite of his surname and knowledge of the French language, Paris was of English birth and he may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at St Albans School. The first we know of Matthew Paris is that he was admitted as a monk to St Albans in 1217. He was clearly at ease with the nobility and even royalty and his life was mainly spent in this religious house. Apart from these missions, his activities were devoted to the composition of history. After admission to the order in 1217, he inherited the mantle of Roger of Wendover, Paris revised Rogers work, adding new material to cover his own tenure. This Chronica Majora is an important historical document, especially for the period between 1235 and 1259. Equally interesting are the illustrations Paris created for his work, the Dublin MS contains interesting notes, which shed light on Paris involvement in other manuscripts, and on the way his own were used. The lending of his manuscripts to aristocratic households, apparently for periods of weeks or months at a time, Paris manuscripts mostly contain more than one text, and often begin with a rather random assortment of prefatory full-page miniatures. Some have survived incomplete, and the elements now bound together may not have been intended to be so by Paris. Unless stated otherwise, all were given by Paris to his monastery, the monastic libraries were broken up at the Dissolution. These MS seem to have appreciated, and were quickly collected by bibliophiles. Many of his manuscripts in the British Library are from the Cotton Library, corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Mss 26 and 16,362 x 244/248 mm. ff 141 +281, composed 1240–53. His major historical work, but less heavily illustrated per page than others and these two volumes contain annals from the creation of the world up to the year 1253. There are 100 marginal drawings, some maps and an itinerary, and full-page drawings of William I
7.
Angevin kings of England
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The Angevins /ændʒvɪns/ were an English royal house in the 12th and early 13th centuries, its monarchs were Henry II, Richard I and John. As a political entity this was different from the preceding Norman. Geoffrey became Duke of Normandy in 1144 and died in 1151, in 1152 his heir, Henry, added Aquitaine by virtue of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry also inherited the claim of his mother, Empress Matilda, Henry was succeeded by his third son, Richard, whose reputation for martial prowess won him the epithet Cœur de Lion or Lionheart. He was born and raised in England but spent very little time there during his adult life, despite this Richard remains an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France, and is one of very few kings of England remembered by his nickname as opposed to regnal number. When Richard died, his brother John – Henry’s fifth and only surviving son – took the throne, in 1204 John lost much of the Angevins continental territories, including Anjou, to the French crown. He and his successors were recognized as dukes of Aquitaine. The loss of Anjou from which the dynasty is named is the rationale behind Johns son—Henry III of England— being considered the first Plantagenet—a name derived from a nickname for Geoffrey. Where no distinction is made between the Angevins—and Angevin era— and subsequent English Kings, Henry II is the first Plantagenet king, in addition it is also used pertaining to Anjou, or any sovereign, government derived from this. As a noun it is used for any native of Anjou or Angevin ruler, the term Angevin Empire was coined in 1887 by Kate Norgate. Whereas the Angevin part of this term has proved uncontentious the empire portion has proved controversial, in 1986 a convention of historical specialists concluded that there had been no Angevin state and no empire but the term espace Plantagenet was acceptable. The Angevins descend from Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais and Ermengarde of Anjou, in 1060 this couple inherited, via cognatic kinship, the county of Anjou from an older line dating from 870 and a noble called Ingelger. It was from this marriage that Geoffrey’s son, Henry, inherited the claims to England, Normandy and Anjou that marks the beginning of the Angevin and this was the third attempt by Geoffrey’s father Fulk V to build a political alliance with Normandy. The first was by marrying his daughter Matilda to Henry’s heir William Adelin, Fulk then married his daughter Sibylla to William Clito, heir to Henrys older brother Robert Curthose, but Henry had the marriage annulled to avoid strengthening William’s rival claim to his lands. As society became more prosperous and stable in the 11th century, the twelfth-century chronicler Ralph de Diceto noted that the counts of Anjou extended their dominion over their neighbours by marriage rather than conquest. The marriage of Geoffrey to the daughter of a king occurred in this context, King Henry’s great relief in 1133 at the birth of a son to the couple, described as the heir to the Kingdom, is understandable in the light of this situation. According to William of Newburgh writing in the 1190s, the plan failed because of Geoffrey’s early death in 1151. Henry’s brother Geoffrey died in 1154, too soon to receive Anjou, the unity of Henry’s assemblage of domains was largely dependent on the ruling family, influencing the opinion of most historians that this instability made it unlikely to endure
8.
Tristan and Iseult
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It has become an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with many variations. The tragic story is of the love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult. While the details of the story differ from one author to another, there are two main traditions of the Tristan legend. The early tradition comprised the French romances of two poets from the half of the twelfth century, Thomas of Britain and Béroul. Later traditions come from the Prose Tristan, which was different from the earlier tales written by Thomas. The Prose Tristan became the medieval tale of Tristan and Iseult that would provide the background for the writings of Sir Thomas Malory, the English author. The story and character of Tristan vary from poet to poet, even the spelling of his name varies a great deal, although Tristan is the most popular spelling. Most versions of the Tristan story follow the general outline. After defeating the Irish knight Morholt, Tristan goes to Ireland to bring back the fair Iseult for his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, along the way, they ingest a love potion which causes the pair to fall madly in love. In the courtly version, the effects last a lifetime, in the common versions. In some versions, they ingest the potion accidentally, in others, the potions maker instructs Iseult to share it with Mark, although Iseult marries Mark, she and Tristan are forced by the potion to seek one another as lovers. While the typical noble Arthurian character would be shamed by such an act, the kings advisors repeatedly endeavour to have the pair tried for adultery, but the couple continually use trickery to preserve their façade of innocence. In Bérouls version, the love potion eventually wears off, as with the Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere love triangle, Tristan, King Mark, and Iseult all hold love for each other. Tristan honors, respects, and loves King Mark as his mentor and adopted father, Iseult is grateful that Mark is kind to her, but every night, each has horrible dreams about the future. Tristans uncle eventually learns of the affair and seeks to entrap his nephew, also present is the endangerment of a fragile kingdom, the cessation of war between Ireland and Cornwall. Mark acquires what seems proof of their guilt and resolves to punish them, Tristan by hanging and Iseult by burning at the stake, Tristan escapes on his way to the gallows. He makes a leap from a chapel and rescues Iseult. The lovers escape into the forest of Morrois and take shelter there until discovered by Mark and they make peace with Mark after Tristans agreement to return Iseult to Mark and leave the country
9.
Ogier the Dane
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Ogier the Dane is a legendary character who first appears in an Old French chanson de geste, in the cycle of poems Geste de Doon de Mayence. The 12th-century Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus was not familiar with the character, a chronicle from St Martins monastery in Cologne claims that the monastery had been pillaged by the Saxons in 778, but that it was rebuilt by Olgerus, dux Daniæ, with the help of Charlemagne. Ogier the Dane first appears as one of Charlemagnes knights, in Chanson de Roland and he plays only a minor part in this poem, and his only link to Denmark seems to be his name, Ogier le Danois. Ogier becomes the character in the poem La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche. Here he is the son of the Danish king Geoffrey, who is the enemy of Charlemagne, Ogier grows into a heroic character, who begets a son who was slain by Charlot, son of Charlemagne. Seeking revenge, Ogier kills Charlot and is prevented from killing Charlemagne. They eventually make peace and Ogier goes to fight at Charlemagnes side against the Saracens, after this poem was written Ogier becomes increasingly popular in European literature. Ogier the Dane had a sword named Cortana or Curtana, according to the legend, the weapon bore the inscription, My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal. The 13th-century Prose Tristan states that Ogier inherited the sword of the Arthurian knight Tristan, shortening it and this suggests a connection to Henry III of Englands coronation sword Curtana, which was said to have been Tristans sword, and which had its end cut off. The sword remains in use in the coronation of the British monarchs, in 1515, Kristiern Pedersen was living in Paris, and there he translated a prose novel based on the rhyming chronicles into the Danish Olger Danskes krönike, which was printed in 1534. Pedersen made Ogier into the son of a Danish king named Godfred who leaves Ogier as hostage to Charlemagne and this translation quickly became popular in Denmark. Like Frederick Barbarossa, Saint Wenceslas and King Arthur, in Danish legend Ogier becomes a king in the mountain, he is said to dwell in the castle of Kronborg, his beard grown down to the floor. He will sleep there until some day when the country of Denmark is in peril, at time he will rise up. The largest World War II Danish resistance group, Holger Danske, was named after the legend, in some versions, Morgue le Faye takes him to Avalon, from where he returns after two hundred years to save France. According to the guides of Kronborg Castle, legend has it that Holger sat down in his present location after walking all the way from his complete battles in France. On Rönneberga slopes, outside Landskrona in south Sweden, there is a burial mound named Holger Danske mound, the 1789 opera Holger Danske, composed by F. L. Æ. Kunzen with a libretto by Jens Baggesen, had a impact on Danish nationalism in the late 18th century. It spawned the literary Holger feud, which revealed the increasing dissatisfaction among the native Danish population with the German influence on Danish society, amongst others, the Danish intellectual Peter Andreas Heiberg joined the feud by writing a satirical version entitled Holger Tyske ridiculing Baggesens lyrics
10.
Charlemagne
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Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
11.
Henry the Young King
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Henry, known as the Young King, was the second of five legitimate sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou, Henry the Young King was the only King of England since the Norman conquest to be crowned in the lifetime of his father, but never exercised any power. Little is known of the young prince Henry before the associated with his marriage. His mothers children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France were Marie of France, Countess of Champagne and he had one older brother, William IX, Count of Poitiers, and his younger siblings included Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John. He was known in his own lifetime as Henry the Young King to distinguish him from his father, because he was not a reigning king, he is not counted in the numerical succession of kings of England. Henry did not appear to have been interested in the day-to-day business of government. His father, however, is reputed to have failed to delegate authority to his son, the majority opinion amongst historians is that of W. L. Warren, The Young Henry was the only one of his family who was popular in his own day. It was true that he was also the one who gave no evidence of political sagacity, military skill. And elaborated in a book, He was gracious, benign, affable, courteous. Unfortunately he was also shallow, vain, careless, high-hoped, incompetent, improvident, the Young Kings contemporary reputation, however, was by no means so negative. This had much to do with his place in the enthusiastic tournament culture of his own day. We can see this from his appearances in the History of William Marshal, the biography of the assigned to him as a tutor in 1170. The History depicts him as constantly moving from one tournament to another across northern, with his cousins, Philip, Count of Flanders, and Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, Flanders and Namur, he was one of the key patrons of the sport. He is said to have spent over £200 a day on the great retinue of knights he brought to the tournament of Lagny-sur-Marne in November 1179, if he lacked political weight, the Young Kings patronage gave him celebrity status throughout western Europe. The baron and troubador Bertran de Born, who knew him, said that he was the best king who took up a shield. There was a perception amongst his contemporaries and the generation that his death in 1183 marked a decline both in the tournament and knightly endeavour. His former chaplain, Gervase of Tilbury, said that his death was the end of everything knightly, the young Henry played an important part in the politics of his fathers reign. On 2 November 1160, he was betrothed to Margaret of France, daughter of King Louis VII of France and his wife, Constance of Castile
