Houses and lineages

Plantagenet

The descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou reigned in England from 1154 and governed much of western France as vassals of the French king.

Arms. Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or. The three lions became established as the royal arms under Richard I.

27 recorded people2 documented connections

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Genealogy, inheritance and alliances

Parent houses and branches

Descent, marriage and inheritance connect houses in different ways. Each documented link retains its own explanation.

Parent house

Anjou-Gâtinais

The earlier Angevin counts connected with the English monarchy and the Kingdom of Jerusalem before the Capetian House of Anjou emerged.

Fulk V of Anjou · ES Baldwin III of Jerusalem · ES Amalric I of Jerusalem · ES Sibylla of Jerusalem Baldwin IV of Jerusalem Isabella I of Jerusalem · ES

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Branches of this house

Plantagenet-Lancaster

The Lancaster inheritance turned a Plantagenet branch into a territorial power and subsequently an English royal house.

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Cadet branch · 1362

John of Gaunt, Edward III’s son, acquired the Lancaster inheritance through his marriage to Blanche. Their son Henry Bolingbroke became King Henry IV.

Edward III of England John of Gaunt · ES Blanche of Lancaster · ES Henry IV of England · ES

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Branches of this house

York

Edmund of Langley’s branch combined male-line descent from Edward III with the Mortimer inheritance and contested the English crown with Lancaster.

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Cadet branch · 1385

Edmund of Langley founded the ducal York branch. His grandson Richard combined that descent with Lionel of Antwerp’s line transmitted through Anne Mortimer.

Edward III of England Edmund of Langley · ES Richard of Conisburgh · ES Anne Mortimer · ES Richard of York · ES

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Origin

Geoffrey of Anjou, whose emblem gave the house its name, married Matilda, Henry I of England’s daughter. Their son Henry II inherited England in 1154 and, with his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought together Normandy, Anjou and Aquitaine: a group of dominions on both sides of the Channel.

Development

John lost Normandy and Anjou to Philip II of France in 1202–1204 and had to accept Magna Carta in 1215. Henry III and Edward I strengthened Parliament; Edward I conquered Wales. Edward III claimed the French crown in 1337 and began the Hundred Years’ War, in which his son the Black Prince won important victories.

Legacy

Richard II was deposed in 1399 by his cousin Henry of Lancaster, John of Gaunt’s son. The Lancaster and York branches of the Plantagenets subsequently fought for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. Henry Tudor won the crown in 1485 and defeated another Yorkist challenge at Stoke in 1487.

People who connect the history

Protagonists and connections

Henry II of EnglandKing of England · Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine · Count of Anjou1133 – 1189

John of England“Lackland”King of England · Lord of Ireland1166 – 1216 Henry III of England · ESKing1207 – 1272 Edward I of England“Hammer of the Scots”King1239 – 1307 Edward II of EnglandKing1284 – 1327 Edward III of EnglandKing1312 – 1377 Edward of Woodstock“the Black Prince”Prince1330 – 1376 John of Gaunt · ESDuke1340 – 1399 Richard II of England · ESKing1367 – 1400

Territorial context

Linked territories

England · ES Normandy Aquitaine · ES Anjou · ES Wales · ES Ireland · ES Maine · ES Brittany · ES Germany · ES

Recorded members of this house

People in this house

Geoffrey V of Anjou · ESCount of Anjou and Maine · Duke of Normandy1113 – 1151

Henry II of EnglandKing of England · Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine · Count of Anjou1133 – 1189 Henry the Young King · ESJunior king of England1155 – 1183 Matilda of England · ESConsort1156 – 1189

Richard I of England“the Lionheart”King of England · Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine · Count of Anjou1157 – 1199 Geoffrey II of Brittany · ESDuke of Brittany1158 – 1186 Eleanor of England · ESConsort1161 – 1214 Joan of England · ESQueen consort of Sicily · Countess consort of Toulouse1165 – 1199

John of England“Lackland”King of England · Lord of Ireland1166 – 1216 Arthur I of Brittany · ESDuke of Brittany1187 – 1203 Henry III of England · ESKing1207 – 1272 Richard of CornwallKing of the Romans1209 – 1272 Joan of England · ESConsort1210 – 1238 Isabella of England · ESConsort1214 – 1241 Edward I of England“Hammer of the Scots”King1239 – 1307 Margaret of England · ESConsort1240 – 1275 Beatrice of England · ESConsort1242 – 1275 Margaret of England · ESNoble1275 – 1333 Edward II of EnglandKing1284 – 1327 Edward III of EnglandKing1312 – 1377 Joan of the Tower · ESConsort1321 – 1362 Joan of Kent · ESNoble1328 – 1385 Edward of Woodstock“the Black Prince”Prince1330 – 1376 Lionel of Antwerp · ESDuke1338 – 1368 John of Gaunt · ESDuke1340 – 1399 Philippa of Clarence · ESCountess1355 – c. 1378 Richard II of England · ESKing1367 – 1400

Recorded governments of members

Includes nominal titles, regencies and disputes when recorded. Annual intervals do not establish continuous or exclusive control.

Person	Territory and title	Period	Status
Geoffrey V of Anjou · ES	Count · Anjou · ES	1129–1151	Effective rule
Geoffrey V of Anjou · ES	Count · Maine · ES	1129–1151	Effective rule
Geoffrey V of Anjou · ES	Duke · Normandy	1144–1150	Effective ruleHe conquered Normandy on his wife’s behalf during the English civil war and transferred it to his son Henry in 1150.
Henry II of England	Duke · Normandy	1150–1189	Effective ruleHis father transferred the duchy to him in 1150; Louis VII invested him in 1151.
Henry II of England	Count · Anjou · ES	1151–1189	Effective ruleHe inherited Anjou, including Touraine, and Maine on his father’s death in 1151.
Henry II of England	Count · Maine · ES	1151–1189	Effective rule
Henry II of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1152–1189	Jure uxorisThrough his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152.
Henry II of England	King · England · ES	1154–1189	Effective rule
Richard I of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1172–1199	Co-rulerInvested as duke at Limoges in 1172; he governed the duchy alongside his mother, Duchess Eleanor.
Geoffrey II of Brittany · ES	Duke · Brittany · ES	1181–1186	Jure uxorisThrough his marriage to Duchess Constance in 1181.
Richard I of England	King · England · ES	1189–1199	Effective ruleHe spent less than a year in England: the Third Crusade (1190–1192), his captivity in Germany (1192–1194) and war against Philip Augustus kept him on the continent.
Richard I of England	Duke · Normandy	1189–1199	Effective rule
Richard I of England	Count · Anjou · ES	1189–1199	Effective rule
Richard I of England	Count · Maine · ES	1189–1199	Effective rule
John of England	King · England · ES	1199–1216	Effective rule
John of England	Duke · Normandy	1199–1203	Effective ruleAngevin rule before the French conquest of 1204; the cutoff represents complete years.
John of England	Count · Anjou · ES	1199–1203	Effective ruleAn Angevin county; effective control is not extended beyond the French conquest.
John of England	Count · Maine · ES	1199–1203	Effective ruleA continental Angevin county, distinct from the English occupation of the fifteenth century.
Arthur I of Brittany · ES	Duke · Brittany · ES	1201–1203	Effective ruleProclaimed duke alongside his mother in 1196. A rival of his uncle John for the Angevin inheritance, he was captured at Mirebeau in 1202 and disappeared in 1203.
John of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1204–1216	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Henry III of England · ES	King · England · ES	1216–1272	Effective rule
Henry III of England · ES	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1216–1254	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Edward I of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1254–1306	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Richard of Cornwall	King of the Romans · Germany · ES	1257–1272	Rival
Edward I of England	King · England · ES	1272–1307	Effective rule
Edward II of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1306–1325	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Edward II of England	King · England · ES	1307–1327	Effective rule
Edward III of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1325–1362	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Edward III of England	King · England · ES	1327–1377	Effective rule
Edward of Woodstock	Prince · Aquitaine · ES	1362–1372	Effective rulePrincipality granted in 1362 and relinquished in October 1372; not an independent reign over England.
Edward III of England	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1372–1377	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.
Richard II of England · ES	King · England · ES	1377–1399	Effective rule
Richard II of England · ES	Duke · Aquitaine · ES	1377–1399	Effective ruleA separate Aquitanian government; boundaries, confiscations and conquests follow the dated regional versions. A title retained after a territorial loss does not create a filled area.

Contextual bibliography

General references do not by themselves verify every relationship or date. Bibliographic titles retain their original language.

Sources and methodology

Arms: Sodacan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Original drawing and proportions preserved.