ALFONSO VIII OF CASTILE elNoble or el de las Navas, King of Castile, Toledo, and Extremadura, lord of Gascony, son and heir of Sancho III el Deseado, IKing of Castile, by Blanca, daughter of Garcia VI Ramirez, King of Navarre. He was born at Soria 11 Nov. 1155. They had seven sons, Sancho, Fernando, Sancho (again), Enrique, Fernando (again), Fernando (again), and Enrique (I) [King of Castiie], and seven daughters, Berenguela, Sancha, Urraca, Blanche (or Blanca), Mafalda, Leonor (wife of Jaime I, King of Aragon), and Constanza (nun at Las Huelgas). His wife, Eleanor (or Leonor), died at Burgos 25 Oct. 1214. ALFONSO VIII OF CASTILE, King of Castlle, Toledo, and Extremadura, died at Gutiérre Muñoz near Arévalo 5 Oct. 1214. They were both buried in Santa Maria la Real monastery (called de las Huelgas) near Burgos.
Geoffrey V "le Bon" PLANTAGENET Count d'Anjou
From Magna Charta / Wurtz FHL British 942 D2wj Pt. 1-2
537. MATILDA of England, called also Maud, born in 1102, died 30 January 1164. In 1114 she became the wife of Henry V, Emperor of Germany, who died without issue 23 May 1125. Her second husband, to whom she was married 3 April 1127, was No. 69 Geoffrey, surnamed Plantagenet, Count d'Anjou, born 1113, died 1151. The friends of Geoffrey were unaware that their playful nickname for him of Plantagenet would live through the years. The story is told that while disguised in battle, and to make himself known to his followers, he leaned from his horse and grasped a sprig of plante de genet, the common broom corn which grew thickly on the heath, and thrust it in his helmet. Thus he derived his popular title.
A noble person was Geoffrey, one of the most powerful princes of France, with "elegant and courtly manners and a reputation for gallantry in the field." His alliance with England came about in consequence of the great tragedy of the sinking of the famous White Ship. When it struck the hidden rocks off the coast of France, young William, Duke of Normandy, the heir apparent to the English throne, and three hundred others, were drowned in the freezing November waters, the Butcher of Rouen alone being saved.
King Henry I of England, in despair over the loss of his only son, sought the aid of Geoffrey Plantagenet and personally invested him with the order of Knighthood. Approving the marriage of his daughter Matilda with Geoffrey, King Henry expressed the hope that all Englishmen would give them full allegiance. The Barons took the oath to uphold the succession of Matilda and Geoffrey and their children after them. When, therefore, the sons Henry, Geoffrey and William were born, their grandfather thought the succession to the throne secure. However, "King Henry was no sooner dead than all the plans he had labored at so long crumbled away like a hollow heap of sand." Yet eventually, on 19 December 1154, Geoffrey's eldest son was crowned as King Henry II. and thus Geoffrey heads the line of English Kings which bear his Plantagenet name.
As eldest son of Fulk V. King of Jerusalem, and his wife, Ermengarde, daughter of Helias, Count of Maine, Geoffrey was of the House of Angevin Kings which had been prominent for three centuries. His noble character adds prestige to this illustrious background and merits the recognition given it by the formation of The Plantagenet Society, early instituted to commemorate these important historic events.
Emma PLANTAGENET Princess of Wales
EMME, married in summer 1174 DAFYDD AB OWAINxe Anjou, Emme of & Daffydd ab Owainxe ab Owain, Daffydd & Emme of Anjou, Prince (or King) of North Walesxe North Walesxe Wales, younger son of Owain Gwyneddxe Gwynedd, by Christina, daughter of Gronw ab Owain ab Edwinxe ab Owain, Gronw. They had two sons, Owain and Einion, and two daughters, Gwenhwyfar (or Wennour) (wife of Meurig ap Roger Powysxe Roger Powysxe Powys) and Gwenllian (wife of Gruffudd ap Cadwgonxe ap Cadwgon, Gruffudd). In 1157 he took part in the ambush of Hawarden Woods. In 1170 he and his brother, Rhodri, attacked and killed their half-brother, Hywel ab Owainxe ab Owain, Hywel, in a battle near Pentraeth. In 1173 he attacked another half-brother, Maelgwn ab Owainxe ab Owain, Maelgwn, and drove him from Anglesey. In 1174 he ejected all his rivals, whereby he became ruler of the whole of Gwynedd. In 1175 he was attacked by his brother, Rhodri, and driven into the eastern half of Gweynedd. In 1177 King Henry II bestowed the manors of Ellesmere, Shropshire and Halesowen, Worcestershire on his sister, Emme. Dafydd subsequently settled in the Middle Country, where he resided in a castle at Rhuddlan, Caernarvonshire. In 1193 she restored the manor of Halesowen, Worcestershire to her nephew, King Richard I, in exchange for rents of other manors including Broom and Clent, Worcestershire. In 1194 Dafydd was defeated by his nephew, Llywelyn ap Iorwerthxe ap Iorwerth, Llywelyn [see WALES 4], in a battle at Aberconwy, and, in 1197, was imprisoned by Llywelyn. He was released in 1198 by the intervention of Hubert Walterxe Walter, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, and spent the rest of his life in England. DAFYDD AB OWAIN, Prince (or King) of North Walesxe Wales, died about May 1203, having won the esteem of both nations by maintaining a just balance between Welsh and English. His widow, Emme, was living in 1212, and presumably died c.1214, when her name last appears in the Pipe Rolls.
MARY, nun, became Abbess of Shaftesburyxe Shaftesbury, Mary, Abbess of c.1181, died shortly before 5 Sept. 1216. W. Dugdale Monasticon Anglicanum 2 (1819): 484 (Mary styled my sister [sororis meæ Mariæ abbatissæ'] by King Henry II of England).
Guillaume Vii (IX) Duke of AQUITAINE
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Philippa (Mathilde Or Maude), Countess of TOULOUSE
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