Brittany and the Angevins
Province and Empire 1158–1203

This book, first published in 2000, is a political history of Brittany under Angevin rule between 1158 and 1203.

J. A. Everard (Author)

9780521660716, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 October 2000

264 pages, 2 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.56 kg

'With carefully assembled knowledge of a huge cast, she traces in remorseless but clear detail the familial and material motives behind the apparently purposeless wars, rebellions, and shifts of alliance which fill the chronicles of the period, and arrives at many convincing insights.' Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies

The rule of the Angevins in Brittany is characterized usually as opening an isolated 'Celtic' society to a wider world and imposing new and alien institutions. This study of Brittany under the Angevins, first published in 2000, demonstrates that the opposite is true: that before the advent of Henry II in 1158, the Bretons were already active participants in Anglo-Norman and French society. Indeed those Bretons with landholdings in England, Normandy and Anjou were already accustomed to Angevin rule. The book examines in detail the means by which Henry II gained sovereignty over Brittany and how it was governed subsequently by the Angevin kings of England from 1158 to 1203. In particular, it examines the extent to which the Angevins ruled Brittany directly, or delegated authority either to native dukes or royal ministers and shows that in this respect the nature of Angevin rule changed and evolved over the period.

List of figures and maps
Preface
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. Ducal Brittany, 1066–1166
2. Henry II and Brittany
3. The government of Brittany under Henry II
4. Duke Geoffrey and Brittany, 1166–86
5. Duke Geoffrey, Henry II and the Angevin empire
6. The end of Angevin Brittany, 1186–1203
Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]