The Plantagenets surely must have been the original contenders for the Game of Thrones. Murder, betrayal, incest...they had it all. Uncles plotted against nephews, children locked in towers to die, the nation plunged into several civil wars/conflicts.
Amazing stuff and incredible tales.
You know some from Robin Hood fame. Bad King John and King Richard the Lion Heart.
From Shakespeare - Henry the fifth.
Very interesting BBC 2 series recently painted them in all their gory colours.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03yrdwc
Who needs fantasy when you have history like this!
I read about some of their antics during the War of the roses maybe early last year, in _Women of the Cousins' War_, edited by Philippa Gregory. Their politics certainly seemed to lean towards complicated schemes and counter-schemes. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteIn Hawai'i, we think the rise of Kamehameha the Great was violent, but really it was just him vs. his cousin Keoua, and their rivalry only lasted five years. That's pretty small peanuts compared to what the Plantagenets got into. {SMILE, wink}
Thanks for the tip on Women of the Cousin's war - any good?
DeleteI enjoyed it pretty well. Philippa Gregory wrote about Jacquetta of Luxembourg, while a historian wrote about Elizabeth Woodville, and another historian wrote about Margaret Beaufort. It's interesting seeing things from the female perspective. All three writers seem to think the women actively pushed their own causes pretty strongly. They just had to be a little more subtle than the guys. {Smile}
DeleteAnne Elizabeth Baldwin
There was Margeret Anjou as well who was a strong character. Plenty of books about her. This family tree is useful http://www.britroyals.com/plantagenet.htm
DeleteThings went wrong for Henry II (his sons tried to take the throne) and Richard II (first anointed king killed) and the latter led to the War of the Roses.