Norman War (1152–1154)

The marriage of Heinrich Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and the Duke of Normandy, and Alienora of Aquitaine , which took place less than two months after the divine duchess and the French king, caused strong discontent in Paris. Formally, it was a violation of feudal law, according to which the heiress of the fief could not marry without the permission of her lord. The concentration in the hands of Henry of vast possessions in France and the prospect of obtaining the English crown posed a great danger to the French kingdom.

To combat this threat, Louis VII formed a league uniting the opponents of Henry. It included the Count of Champagne Henry I the Generous , his brother Thibault V de Blois , the brother of King Robert I de Dreux , Eustache IV of Boulogne , and Geoffrey VI of Anjou . Later, the Earl of Flanders, Thierry of Alsace, was to join the league.

Each of them had their own reasons for the war. Count Champagne married the daughter of Louis and Alienora, Maria of France , a possible heiress to her mother's possessions; Thibault de Blois was the lord of Tours , for whom Henry had to bring him homage, but refused to do so, and following his example Sulpice d'Amboise also refused to take the oath of Chaumont-sur-Loire . Eustache of Boulogne, the son and heir of King Stephen of Blois , sought to detain Henry on the continent and prevent him from landing in England. Geoffrey of Anjou, brother of Henry, according to the will of Geoffrey V was to receive Anjou and Maine , but his older brother gave him only three castles ^[1] .

The Allies planned to strike from several sides and dismember Henry's possessions, leaving him only Normandy . Given the balance of power, this plan could succeed with an energetic and experienced leadership, but Louis VII, whose character was broken by an unsuccessful crusade and family turmoil, did not possess the required qualities. Instead of penetrating deep into Normandy and Anjou, and giving help to the rebellious Anjou nobility and the Norman supporters of Stephen, he began a siege of fortresses on the border of Normandy, giving Henry time to subjugate the rebel barons ^[2] .

Military operations began shortly after St. John's Day, when Henry was preparing to sail from Barfleur to England to fight Stephen. Geoffrey attacked Anjou, and Louis, Eustache, Robert, and Henry the Generous besieged the Nefmarsh . The fortress stubbornly resisted, and Plantagenet postponed the British expedition and on July 16 moved to its rescue. The allies were forced to conclude a truce with him, and at the end of August Henry left the pacified Normandy and began a campaign in Anjou, where he defeated his brother by the end of the year ^{[3] [4]} .

In January 1153, Henry landed in Bristol and launched a successful campaign against Stephen. Louis did nothing for six months, then resumed hostilities and captured Nefmarsh and Vernon . In April 1154, Henry returned to Normandy as heir to the English throne. Louis did not dare to confront him, and in August he made peace in which he returned the occupied fortresses and recognized Henry as duke of Aquitaine, receiving 2,000 marks of compensation. From Normandy, Henry undertook a swift expedition to Aquitaine, where he pacified the rebellious barons. On October 25, 1154, King Stephen died, and Plantagenet stood at the head of the Anjou Empire, which gained overwhelming superiority over France ^{[3] [2] [5]} .

The unification of the Anglo-Norman kingdom and Aquitaine marked the beginning of a centenary conflict between the Capetites and Plantagenets. Geoffrey of Anjou in 1156 again rebelled against his brother, and was finally defeated. A new war between Henry and France took place already in 1159.

• d'Arbois de Jubainville M.-H. istoire des ducs et comtes de Champagne. T. III. - P. , 1861.
• Luchaire A. Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'à la révolution. T. III. Premiére partie. - P .: Hachette, 1911.
• Appleby J.T. Plantagenet Dynasty. Henry II. The greatest monarch of the era of the Crusades. - M .: CJSC Centropoligraf, 2014. - ISBN 978-5-9524-5133-9 .