The
Great Rebellion of 1173-1174 was arguably triggered by King Henry II’s
treatment of his son, Young Henry. However, there were other factors which
contributed to and/or caused the rebellion such as the discontent with baronial
policy, Eleanor’s jealous and anger, Louis VII of France who wished to diminish
Henry II’s authority as well as other rebels and key individuals who had a
common goal, to seize land.
Henry
II’s treatment of his sons had to some extent triggered the onset of the Great
Rebellion as Young Henry, the next heir to succeed the throne had little to no
power or land. This viewpoint is supported by Historian Jones who argues that
Young Henry had rebelled for being ‘denied the real fruits of Kingship’. It is
clear that Henry II didn’t treat his sons fairly as in 1169, the sons had been
given land but no true authority or income. It is most notable that Young Henry
was treated unfairly in contrast to his brothers as Richard was given
Aquitaine, Geoffrey was given Brittany and John was given 3 important castles
(Chinon, Loudun and Mirabeau) which Young Henry felt that they were rightfully
his as well as the fact that Young Henry was given no territory for himself or
his wife, generating anger and jealousy of his brothers as he had no true
power. As a result of this, in March 1173, Young Henry fled to Paris and Louis
VII, King of France sided with him as there was an opportunity to diminish
Henry II’s control. However, it would be false to state that the rebellion of
1173-1174 occurred entirely due to Henry II’s treatment of his sons as Richard
and Geoffrey were persuaded by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine to revolt
against their father alongside Young Henry and her previous husband, Louis VII.
Although this was probably done easily as Richard and Geoffrey had titles but
no real authority, explicitly seen with Richard where Henry II had given
Richard formal authority in Aquitaine yet still held a large amount of control
over the southern duchy and thus signifies that the cause of the Great Rebellion
had occurred due to Henry II’s treatment of his sons. Additionally, John was
far too young to be involved and disputes the statement to some extent that the
rebellion was caused by King Henry II’s treatment of his sons. Had Henry given
land to Young Henry to govern, like how his father Geoffrey of Anjou had given
him Normandy at the age of 17, then it would not have given Young Henry a
reason to rebel against his father and ultimately a rebellion may not have
occurred, supporting the statement to some degree.
Eleanor
of Aquitaine had a key role in ensuring the rebellion went forward as there
were two main reasons to why she had support Young Henry: firstly, that it was
reported she was immensely jealous of Rosamund Clifford, who was rumoured to
have an affair with Henry II and secondly, she was angry at the fact that Henry
II had given away Gascony without consulting her. Many critics argue that
Eleanor was motivated by jealous of Henry II’s many affairs and most famously
with Rosamund, however, it would be argued that Eleanor’s concern laid with
Gascony because her independent control of her duchy was slowly being eroded.
Henry II had taken matters into his own hands, giving parts of Aquitaine away,
most notably Gascony as it was given as a dowry for his daughter Eleanor’s
marriage to King of Castile but had also made Raymond, Count of Toulouse do
homage to Young Henry. As a result of this, she decided to side with her former
husband, bringing Richard and Geoffrey. Whilst it could be said that Eleanor
had contributed to the Great Rebellion, her influence on her sons were more
effective and to some extent indicates that the rebellion was caused by Henry
II’s treatment of his sons as surely if Henry II had treated Richard and
Geoffrey well, they would not have found a reason to rebel against him.
Louis
VII, King of France also played a key part and it could be argued that as
father-in-law to Young Henry, he was in a perfect position to encourage,
sanction and direct the rebellion. Louis VII encouraged Young Henry to demand
greater control over his inheritance and this could arguably suggest that it
was Louis VII instead who had caused the rebellion as he had influenced Young
Henry. However, Louis’s main aim was to divide the Angevin dynasty so that it
was be less threatening, considering the King of England had far more land in
France than the King of France himself. Whilst it may be the case that Louis
influenced Young Henry and thus caused the rebellion, it would be argued that
if it wasn’t for Henry II’s treatment of his sons, then Young Henry wouldn’t
have sought Louis for help in Paris and thereby wouldn’t have been able to get
French barons which also despised Henry II to rebel alongside Young Henry.
Another
factor which could be viewed to be what triggered the rebellion is the common
goal of the rebels (or supporters of the Great Rebellion). Baronial policy certainly
played a key role in acting as an incentive for people to join in with the
rebellion as many barons had a long-term hatred for policies such as the 1166
Cartae Baronum, the Assizes of Clarendon 1166 and the Inquest of Sheriffs 1170
which all ensured Henry II’s authority over individuals and localities. This
thereby acted as an incentive for barons like Robert, Earl of Leicester, Hugh,
Earl of Chester and William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, all of which wanted to
deteriorate Henry II’s authority and regain their confiscated lands back. William
the Lion, King of Scotland also saw an opportunity to regain the lands David
had, which he had lost to Henry II and thereby joined in with the rebellion.
From this, it is inferred that both the barons and other rebels which joined in
had only joined in with the rebellion as there was an incentive to regain
lands, seize more control and to deteriorate Henry II’s royal authority. This
however, wasn’t a reason to what triggered the Great Rebellion of 1173-1774 but
rather another incentive which increased the amount of rebels.
In conclusion, what led to
the Great Rebellion was mainly the jealousy of Young Henry which was backed by
Eleanor of Aquitaine, persuading Richard and Geoffrey to rebel against Henry
II, seeking Louis VII to diminish Henry II’s royal authority. Rebel barons (who
had a long-term hatred for baronial policy), William the Lion of Scotland (who wanted
to regain lands lost from David’s reign) and Louis VII wished to establish
power and joined together as they had a common goal and thus got involved in
the rebellion. However, Henry II’s treatment of his sons had significantly
triggered the onset of the Great Rebellion of 1173-1174 as if they were all
given land and independence to rule over their dominions, there would not be a
motive for the rebellion to go forward.
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