Family History 2.24

Bigelow History: pre-1630

Henry III

Henry III's coronation

 

This is where the two ancestral lines come together. Henry, descended from the counts of Anjou, and Eleanor of Provence, descended from the counts of Barcelona, married in 1236, when he was 28 and she was 12.

 

At this stage Henry had been king for nearly 20 years; they continued to reign for most of the thirteenth century, until they were succeeded on Henry's death by their eldest son, Edward I, who for much of the later part of the reign, virtually controlled the family and its lands.

 

Henry is described by contemporaries as "mild, and easy-going" -- interpreted by some as weak, no doubt.

 

In those days the Plantagenets regarded themselves as basically French, speaking French, and only secondarily English. Henry brought his relatives from Poitou, and Anjou, and his wife's Provencal relatives and set them up in England. This "invasion" from the continent was resented by the traditional English nobility and gave rise to conflict for much of the reign, between the supporters of the king, and the barons who were led by Simon de Montfort.

 

In about 1227, Henry took personal control of the government. He was a patron  of the arts, spending lavishly on castles at Windsor and the Tower of London,  and especially at Westminster, where he rebuilt the Abbey.

 

He was very keen on religious observances and supported various charitable orders and other religious enterprises, including the crusades.

 

The tradition developed during his reign of calling an assembly of nobles and gentry together to approve the raising of taxes.  These meetings became known as "Parliaments" later in the reign.

 

The struggle with the barons was finally settled after the Battle of Evesham, where de Montfort was killed, and the opposition was all mopped up and a treaty signed by 1267.

 

Henry died in 1272 and was buried in his beloved Abbey at Westminster.