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| Henry II of England @History Extra |
(1133-1189)
King of England
King of England
1154-1189
Duke of Normandy
1150
Duke of Aquitaine
Lord of Ireland
Husband of: Eleanor d'Aquitaine, mar 1152
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| Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine |
Neglecting an independent wife with a power base.
"Henry had married Eleanor in 1154 and at first all went stunningly well. She produced eight children by him who grew to maturity, four boys and four girls. This was a great achievement for the times, but it gave Henry II the opposite problem to his grandfather Henry I, whose only son and heir had died young. By 1163, however, Henry and Eleanor were partially estranged. They saw less of each other while Henry dallied with mistresses, notably Rosamund Clifford, whom he set up in a love nest at Woodstock. Eleanor withdrew to her native Aquitaine, where she set up a court at Poitou, complete with troubadours and minstrels. This was the disadvantage of neglecting a wife who had an independent power base. The male children grew up under Eleanor's wing, and abetted by her, began to seek independent power within their father's empire. Henry eventually died when he was only 56, but he would have died a happier man if he had died sooner, for he was to see all his sons betray him. . . ." (History of England)
The most important monarch in Europe.
"So Henry II became the first Angevin or Plantagenet king of England. The term Plantagenet derives from the yellow broom Planta Genesta which appears in the coat of arms of the Count of Anjou. It is often said that here was a king who had everything going for him. Still only a young man, he was the most important monarch in Europe. He controlled not only England and South Wales but also all of the western half of France, apart from Brittany, whose overlord he was soon to become (to the extent that he was later able to nominate his son Geoffrey to marry its heiress and become its duke). He was a man of great ability and constant energy, firm as a monarch needed to be, and determined to enforce the law; but it all went so terribly wrong. He was a passionate man, and sometimes his temper got the better part of him. So did his sexual appetite, for no woman was too high or too low for him, from a princess to his own ward." (History of England)
Henry II's physical appearance & personal qualities.
"Though not handsome, Henry was larger than most men, stocky and quite powerful: a power which came across in his personality. His energy was overwhelming, and his anger legendary, as was his love of hunting. He dressed simply in hunting clothes and was rarely seen either out of the saddle or without a hawk on his arm. Yet paradoxically, this archetypal man of action was an intensely private intellectual. Multi-lingual, he liked to retire with a book, was well-polished in letters and enjoyed scholarly debate. He was also very approachable and never forgot a face. He shunned regular hours and his propensity to change his schedule at short notice was infamous. This often translated into an ability to react to unforeseen circumstances with astonishing rapidity and decisiveness." (BBC History)
A man of strong sexual appetites.
"Henry II was a man of strong sexual appetites. He fathered at least two bastards before his marriage: one was William 'Longsword', who became earl of Salisbury; the other was Geoffrey 'Plantagenet'---the son of a common whore called Ykenai---whom he tried to make bishop of Lincoln and who was later his chancellor and eventually archbishop of York. An item in the Pipe Rolls seems to refer to another mistress: 'For clothes and hoods and cloaks and for the trimming for two capes of samite and for the clothes of the queen and of Bellebelle.' Unfortunately nothing is known of the promisingly Bellebelle. In the 1160s there was a nasty accusation by a rebellious Breton vassal, Eudo de Porhoet, that the king had seduced his daughter when she was his hostage. Later Henry fathered a child on a prospective daughter-in-law, and he was obviously quite ruthless in satisfying his lusts. William of Newburgh says that the king did not begin to be unfaithful to the queen until she was past childbearing, but the statement does not carry with conviction." (Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages)
Betrayal, bastards and boredom.
"No chronicler gives any explanation, unless one can accept the opinion of Gerald of Wales that it was contrived by God to punish Henry for having married another man's wife. It may be supposed that Eleanor had been alienated by her husband's adulteries, but there is very little evidence to support such assumption. Henry undoubtedly had two bastards -- Geoffrey 'Plantagenet', and William 'Longsword' -- but both were almost certainly born before his marriage. Both were publicly acknowledged and generously rerated. Geoffrey in particular was a prominent figure: he was bishop-elect of Lincoln in 1173 and subsequently royal chancellor. That these two were well-known and that no others are suggests that there were no more. It is true that Henry was alleged to be concupiscent, and was even said to have been accused by Eudo de Porhoet of having seduced his daughter while she was his hostage; but it is impossible in these stories to separate from from malicious gossip. And even if Henry were unfaithful it need not be supposed that Eleanor was unduly distressed. She had herself been imprudent in her younger days, and scandal spoke of liaisons with her uncle, Count Raymond of Tripoli, and with Henry's father, Geoffrey of Anjou. William of Newburgh says that Henry lapsed into adultery only after his wife was beyond child-bearing. Her last child, John, wa born in December 1167. In 1173 Henry II was forty, and Eleanor over fifty. It is possible that Henry had already begun a liaison with Rosamund Clifford which was to last until her death about 1176. Undoubtedly sh was the great love of his life -- he had a shrine erected to her in the nunnery of Godstow. Tales were told of Queen Eleanor's jealousy of 'Fair Rosamund' and of how she had poisoned her; but since the tales related to a period when Eleanor was in fact a closely guarded prisoner it is difficult to believe that they are anything more than romantic fantasies. Nothing, indeed, can be recovered for certain about Henry's relations with his wife until their obvious estrangement in 1173, and although lack of information does not preclude the possibility of jealousy, it is probable that the explanation lies in another quarter entirely." (Henry II: 119)
The king had whoremasters.
"Although in some senses quite unlike the deliberately darkened court of William Rufus, in which all manner of scandals were reputed to have occurred, Henry II's court was not without its night-time scandals of its own. The king himself fathered several bastards, some of them, we must assume, on women who were little more than whores. In other cases, however, the women were seduced were of a higher social standing, setting a paternal example that Henry's son, King John, was only too eager to follow. Besides his well-known liaisons with Annabel de Balliol and Rosamund de Clifford (herself, we might note, commemorated with a tomb at Godstow around which candles burned by night and by day), the king was accused by his detractors of the seduction of such women of the court as Alice, the daughter of King Louis VII, intended as bride of the future Richard I, and of a daughter of the prominent Breton magnate Eudo de Porhoet, these latter accusations involving more than a hint of incest. Among the king's bastard children, William Longuespee, future earl of Salisbury, was born to a woman named by William himself as ;my mother, the countess Ida', almost certainly to be identified as Ida de Tosny, married after William's birth to Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk. Both in England and in Normandy the king had whoremasters." (Henry II: New Interpretations: 331)
Betrayal, bastards and boredom.
"No chronicler gives any explanation, unless one can accept the opinion of Gerald of Wales that it was contrived by God to punish Henry for having married another man's wife. It may be supposed that Eleanor had been alienated by her husband's adulteries, but there is very little evidence to support such assumption. Henry undoubtedly had two bastards -- Geoffrey 'Plantagenet', and William 'Longsword' -- but both were almost certainly born before his marriage. Both were publicly acknowledged and generously rerated. Geoffrey in particular was a prominent figure: he was bishop-elect of Lincoln in 1173 and subsequently royal chancellor. That these two were well-known and that no others are suggests that there were no more. It is true that Henry was alleged to be concupiscent, and was even said to have been accused by Eudo de Porhoet of having seduced his daughter while she was his hostage; but it is impossible in these stories to separate from from malicious gossip. And even if Henry were unfaithful it need not be supposed that Eleanor was unduly distressed. She had herself been imprudent in her younger days, and scandal spoke of liaisons with her uncle, Count Raymond of Tripoli, and with Henry's father, Geoffrey of Anjou. William of Newburgh says that Henry lapsed into adultery only after his wife was beyond child-bearing. Her last child, John, wa born in December 1167. In 1173 Henry II was forty, and Eleanor over fifty. It is possible that Henry had already begun a liaison with Rosamund Clifford which was to last until her death about 1176. Undoubtedly sh was the great love of his life -- he had a shrine erected to her in the nunnery of Godstow. Tales were told of Queen Eleanor's jealousy of 'Fair Rosamund' and of how she had poisoned her; but since the tales related to a period when Eleanor was in fact a closely guarded prisoner it is difficult to believe that they are anything more than romantic fantasies. Nothing, indeed, can be recovered for certain about Henry's relations with his wife until their obvious estrangement in 1173, and although lack of information does not preclude the possibility of jealousy, it is probable that the explanation lies in another quarter entirely." (Henry II: 119)
The king had whoremasters.
"Although in some senses quite unlike the deliberately darkened court of William Rufus, in which all manner of scandals were reputed to have occurred, Henry II's court was not without its night-time scandals of its own. The king himself fathered several bastards, some of them, we must assume, on women who were little more than whores. In other cases, however, the women were seduced were of a higher social standing, setting a paternal example that Henry's son, King John, was only too eager to follow. Besides his well-known liaisons with Annabel de Balliol and Rosamund de Clifford (herself, we might note, commemorated with a tomb at Godstow around which candles burned by night and by day), the king was accused by his detractors of the seduction of such women of the court as Alice, the daughter of King Louis VII, intended as bride of the future Richard I, and of a daughter of the prominent Breton magnate Eudo de Porhoet, these latter accusations involving more than a hint of incest. Among the king's bastard children, William Longuespee, future earl of Salisbury, was born to a woman named by William himself as ;my mother, the countess Ida', almost certainly to be identified as Ida de Tosny, married after William's birth to Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk. Both in England and in Normandy the king had whoremasters." (Henry II: New Interpretations: 331)
Henry II's lovers were:
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Alys de France Comtesse de Vexin @Pinterest |
1) Alys de France, Comtesse de Vexin (1160-1220)
Lover in 1176.
French princess & royal mistress.
a.k.a. Alais de France, Alais Capet; Alice of France.
"Alice of France, daughter of Louis VII of France, and of Alice of Champagne [Alice's mother was Constance of Castile], was betrothed, at the age of fourteen, to Richard Coeur de Lion, second son of Henry II of England. She was taken to that country to learn the language, where her beauty made such an impression that Henry II, though then an old man, became one of her admirers. He placed her in the castle of Woodstock, where his mistress, the celebrated Rosamond Clifford, had been murdered, as was then reported, by his jealous wife, Eleanor of Guienne. Alice is said to have taken the place of Rosamond
"Alais (pronounced 'Alice') Capet is the mistress of King Henry II of England and the sister of King Philip II of France. Alais is a beautiful twenty-three-year-old woman who has been Henry's mistress since she was sixteen years old. In a treaty between France and England that was made when she was a young girl, Alais was promised in marriage to whichever of Henry's sons he names as his successor. But Alais is deeply in love with Henry and does not want to marry any of his sons. However, she has no power whatsoever to determine her own future and is merely subject to the political wrangling of the other characters in the play. She describes herself as a 'pawn' in the political maneuvering between Henry, Eleanor, Philip and the three sons. Alais's only source of power lies with Henry's emotional attachment to her, although he makes it clear that he will not let his attachment interfere with his political decisions. Alais was brought to Henry's castle when she was seven years old and was raised by Eleanor, but now she and Eleanor regard each other as rivals for Henry's affections." (A Study Guide for James A. Goldman's 'The Lion in Winter)
"In 1189 Richard formed an alliance with the new King of France, Philip Augustus, a much bolder man than his predecessor Kouis VIII. One motivator might have been that his proposed bride, the French princess Alais, had just given broth to an illegitimate child. According to rumour, the father was none other than Henry. By this time the king was 56 years old and had made many enemies. The war went disastrously for him; watching Philip and Richard set fire to Le Mans, his home town, Henry sued for terms. Even as these were agreed he prayed to be spared enough time to gain his revenge. No doubt he would indeed have gained his revenge, but he was not spared the time. Two days later he learned to his horror that his youngest John, the one only one who had never betrayed him, wsa on the list of noblemen who had agreed to support Philip and Richard. He died, some say of a broken heart. The only son present at his deathbed was an illegitimate one, another Geoffrey. Henry is reported to have remarked as he died that 'The others are the read bastards'. So npw England had to prepare itself for the rule of one of those bastards, Richard the Lionheart." (History of England)
2) Alix de Porhoet (1185-1235).
Lover in 1168.
2) Alix de Porhoet (1185-1235).
Lover in 1168.
Abbess of Fontevraud, 1207-1216
Daughter of Eudes II de Porhoet & Alienor de Leon, daughter of Guihomar IV, Viscount of Leon
Daughter of Eudes II de Porhoet & Alienor de Leon, daughter of Guihomar IV, Viscount of Leon
Wife of Guy III de Mauvoisin (117-1211). mar 1201
" . . . Viscount Eudes II of Porhoet was one of the greatest opponents of King Henry II of England in his struggle to impose Plantagenet hegemony in Brittany. Despite being the guardian of the young Conan IV, Eudes tried to usurp Conan's accession to power in Brittany, leading to ally with the Angevin monarch. It was then that Eudes adopted the title of 'Count of Brittany.' By 1164-67, Eudes had been defeated by Henry II and was required tp deliver one of his daughters as a hostage to the English king. Everything indicates that this daughter was Adelaide or Alix of Porhoet, the future prioress and abbess of Fontevraud. We know this from a letter by John of Salisbury reporting a meeting at La Ferte-Bernard in July 1168 between the kings of England and France, at which Eudo Britonum comes was present. There, he bitterly reproached Henry II for having committed adultery and incest, leaving his daughter pregnant, who had been a virgin and had been given as a guarantee of peace, since the Angevin monarch and Bertha of Brittany, wife of Eudes, were relatives." (The Sword and the Cross: Castile-León in the Era of Fernando III: 113)
"What is more, the seduction of Alys fits Henry's established modus operandi. If we look at Henry's other attested relationships, we can see a pattern of attraction to much younger women who were in his power and, as such, should have been forbidden fruit. In the 1160s there was Alix de Porhoet, the teenaged daughter of the Vicomte de Porhoet, a vassal of Henry whose seduction was decried by her father as 'treachery, adultery and incest' because of the fact that she was in his safekeeping and because of the blood relationship between them. . . ." (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
" . . . Alix de Porhoët, daughter of Eudes de Porhoët, ex-Duke of Brittany & his first wife --- . Given-Wilson & Curteis states that “Eudo de Porhoët, ex-count of Brittany” claimed in 1168 that the English king, while holding his daughter as a hostage for peace, had made her pregnant ‘treacherously, adulterously and incestuously; for the king and Eudo´s wife were the offspring of two sisters’” (referring to two daughters of King Henry I, one legitimate the other illegitimate, named Matilda). The primary source on which this information is based has not been identified." (geni)
" . . . Alix de Porhoët, daughter of Eudes de Porhoët, ex-Duke of Brittany & his first wife --- . Given-Wilson & Curteis states that “Eudo de Porhoët, ex-count of Brittany” claimed in 1168 that the English king, while holding his daughter as a hostage for peace, had made her pregnant ‘treacherously, adulterously and incestuously; for the king and Eudo´s wife were the offspring of two sisters’” (referring to two daughters of King Henry I, one legitimate the other illegitimate, named Matilda). The primary source on which this information is based has not been identified." (geni)
3) Annabel de Balliol (d.1225)
Also known as:
Annabel de Greystoke.
Daughter of Bernard II de Balliol, Lord de Balliol & Agnes de Picquigny
Wife of:
1. Ranulf fitz Walter of Greystoke
2. Roger fitz Hugh
"This period is perhaps the best fit for an affair which Henry had at around this time with Annabel de Balliol, the sister of Eleanor's clerk Joscelin de Balliol, and daughter of a lord whose landholdings were near the Scottish border. Unless this young lady was actually in Eleanor's service, this period of time seems the only likely window for Henry to have met her. Annabel would later received the manor of Coniscliffe in Durham as her dowry with thanks 'for her service'. . . ." (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
4) Ida de Tosny.
Countess of Norfolk
4) Ida de Tosny.
Countess of Norfolk
Lover in 1175
Also known as:
Also known as:
Ida de Toeni
Ida de Toesny.
Daughter of: Ralph V de Toeny (d.1162) & Margaret of Leicester.
Wife of: Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk (d.1221) mar 1181
Natural offspring:
Daughter of: Ralph V de Toeny (d.1162) & Margaret of Leicester.
Wife of: Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk (d.1221) mar 1181
Natural offspring:
a. William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury married Ela of Salisbury.
"And there is certainly incontrovertible evidence that at least during 1175 Henry had turned his attentions elsewhere: in 1176 one of Henry's wards, Ida de Tosny, herself a cousin of Rosamund Clifford, gave birth to Henry's son, the future William Longsword. Ida was probably the daughter of one Ralph de Tosny and Margaret Beaumont, daughter of the late Earl of Leicester, and may well have been daughter or niece to the mother of Henry's son Geoffroy. Once her father died in 1162, she became a royal ward until her marriage. Her parents having married sometime after 1155, Ida was at most nineteen in 1175, and very probably younger, since she was one of seven children and was also still deemed young enough for marriage to Roger Bigod in 1181. Again, however, it seems unlikely that Henry wished to marry her, since no substantial advantage could accrue to him from such a match." (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
" . . . Roger's wife was Ida de Tosny, and that she was given to him in marriage by Henry II, together with the manors of Acle, Halvergate and South Walsham, which had been confiscated after his father's death. As Roger had been holding them for three-quarters of a year at Michaelmas 1182, Morris dates the marriage to around Christmas 1181. . . ." (Medieval Genealogy)
" . . . Ida, daughter of ---. William Longespee refers to his mother as "comitissa Ida, mater mea" and "Ida comitissa, mater mea" in two charters[392]. She is identified as the wife of Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk. This identification is based on a list of hostages captured at the battle of Bouvines in 1214 which includes "Rad[ulfus] Bigot frater comitis Salesbir[iensis]". (geni)
5) Ikenai (lvg 1180/81)
" . . . Roger's wife was Ida de Tosny, and that she was given to him in marriage by Henry II, together with the manors of Acle, Halvergate and South Walsham, which had been confiscated after his father's death. As Roger had been holding them for three-quarters of a year at Michaelmas 1182, Morris dates the marriage to around Christmas 1181. . . ." (Medieval Genealogy)
" . . . Ida, daughter of ---. William Longespee refers to his mother as "comitissa Ida, mater mea" and "Ida comitissa, mater mea" in two charters[392]. She is identified as the wife of Roger Bigod Earl of Norfolk. This identification is based on a list of hostages captured at the battle of Bouvines in 1214 which includes "Rad[ulfus] Bigot frater comitis Salesbir[iensis]". (geni)
5) Ikenai (lvg 1180/81)
Lover in 1150/51.
Also known as:
Also known as:
Ykenai
Hikenai.
Natural offspring:
Natural offspring:
a. Geoffrey FitzRoy (1153-1189), Archdeacon of Lincoln, Bishop of Lincoln 1173-1182, Chancellor of England 1182-1189, Archbishop of York 1191.
"While considering Eleanor's household, the question of the presence of Henry's son Geoffroy arises. Geoffroy was born in 1151 to a woman Walter Map calls Ykenai and describes as a harlot. However, one possibility is that she was from the quasi-noble Akeny or Acquigny family, a name used in the slightly better known de Tosny family, who owned the castle of Acquigny in Normandy as well as lands in Hertfordshire and Clifford in the Welsh Marches; certainly Geoffroy was well educated, as might be expected of a son with quasi-noble blood. It also appears that a lady of this family received lands 'for her service' to the king. Geoffroy was somewhat older than Eleanor's sons, but may well have been included in the royal nursery, at least until he was old enough to move into another house to commence his formal education." (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
" . . . Henry II, for instance, had twelve illegitimate children, eight of whom were by a woman named Ikenai, described in some chronicles as 'a common prostitute'." (English History: Strange but True)
". . . Walter Mapes names "Ykenai" as mother of Geoffrey Bishop of York. She and her son arrived at King Henry's court soon after his accession." (geni)
". . . Walter Mapes names "Ykenai" as mother of Geoffrey Bishop of York. She and her son arrived at King Henry's court soon after his accession." (geni)
Lover in early/mid 1170s
Also known as:
Nest of Wales.
Daughter of Angharad, daughter of Uthred, Bishop of Llandaff, and Iorwerth ab Owain, the lord of Caerleon.
Wife of Ralph Bloet III (d.1199), Lord of Striguil
Natural offspring
a. Morgan, Bishop-elect of Durham
"From Westminster the court moved to Canterbury and Dover followed by Windsor, Reading and Wallingford before moving to Woodstock while Henry campaigned in Wales. It is here that we find the first clear traces of Henry's infidelity since his marriage to Eleanor; Nest, the daughter of the lord of Carleton, became pregnant by hum, and he married her to a tenant of Richard de Clare, Ralph Bloet. Their son, Morgan, may well have been taken into Eleanor's household, for he was certainly educated for the Church, in due course becoming Bishop-elect of Durham." (Eleanor of Aquitaine)
"Nesta, wife of Ralph Bloet, daughter of ---. Robert de Graystane's early 14th century History of the Church of Durham records the election as bishop of Durham in 1213 of “Morganus frater Regis Johannis et Galfridi archiepiscopi Eboracensis, præpositusque Beverlacensis”, that his appointment was blocked by Rome because he was born “spurius . . . Henricus pater eius” to “uxore . . . militis . . . Radulphi Bloeth”, and that the Pope offered to confirm the election if he declared that the king was not his father, which he refused to do." (geni)
7) Rosamund Clifford (1150-1176)
Lover in 1173-1176.
English aristocrat & royal mistress.
Also known as:
Fair Rosamund
the Rose of the World.
Daughter of Walter de Clifford, Baron of Clifford & Margaret.
"It is likely that Henry began his long affair with Rosamund Clifford before 1167. Unlike his other mistresses she was not merely a sleeping partner but a genuine rival to the queen. It has often been suggested that it was this affair that turned Eleanor against Henry. Yet it is just likely that she was not altogether displeased with the affair, which left her free to intrigue. Perhaps as early as 1167 Eleanor started to hatch a vast and involved plot that would take many years of careful, secret preparation. 'Fair Rosamund' was the daughter of a knight from the Welsh border, Walter de Clifford, who had served in Henry's wars in Wales. It has been plausibly suggested that the king may first have met her during his Welsh campaign in 1165. We know little about her except that she was young and very beautiful. According to Gerald of Wales, some contemporaries made a play on her name and called her 'Rose of the World' (rosa-mundi). The legend of her beauty persisted down the ages. . . Legend also connects her with the palace of Woodstock. Gerald informs us that Henry was for long a 'secret adulterer' with her before he openly paraded Rosamund at his court as his mistress, presumably after his final break with Eleanor." (Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages)
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| Woodstock Palace @Wikipedia |
First encounter - 1166.
" . . . A great beauty, Rosamund had first met Henry in 1166, and they began an affair in 1173---an affair that was so deeply emotional that Henry considered divorcing Eleanor, and he had no problem flaunting Rosamund in front of his wife in 1175 so that Eleanor would become angry and try to annul the marriage, but Eleanor was too wise to be provoked. Rosamund died suddenly in 1176, and rumors soon arose---and suspicions remain---that the queen had Henry's mistress poisoned for revenge." (Icons of the Middle Ages: 280)
"There were various speculations about the when and where in which King Henry II and Rosamund first met. Some felt that they became involved after Eleanor ceased to bear Henry any more children. (Henry certainly made no effort to be faithful to Eleanor, as there are numerous known mistresses and bastard children. Why, by some accounts, Henry even saw fit to 'try our' son Richard's intended bride to assure that she would be tempting enough in bed.) Other sources definitively state that Rosamund bore the King two sons, Geoffrey, who became the Archbishop of York, and William, who became the Earl of Salisbury. But other sources, who argue different dates in which they were involved, strongly feel that there were no children from the relationship." (Rosamund's Bower: 242)
She was the great love of his life.
" . . . In 1173 Henry II was forty, and Eleanor was over fifty. It is possible that Henry had already begun a liaison with Rosamund Clifford which was to last until her death about 1176. Undoubtedly she was the great love of his life -- he had a shrine erected to her in the nunnery at Godstow. Tales were told of Queen Eleanor's jealousy of 'Fair Rosamund' and of how she had poisoned her...." (Henry II: 119)
". . . Rosamund Clifford, daughter of Walter de Clifford & his wife Margaret. . . The Chronicon Johannis Bromton abbatis Jornalensis (as cited by Eyton) records that Rosamond Clifford became "openly and avowedly the paramour of the king" after he imprisoned Queen Eleanor following the rebellion of his sons in 1173. Eyton adds that "for an indefinite time previously she had been secretly domiciled at Woodstock" but he does not cite the primary source on which he bases this statement. It is not known whether he draws the conclusion from the Chronicon Johannis Bromton (the original of which has not yet been consulted). Eyton also suggests that the start of the king's relationship with Rosamond can be dated to [1154] and that the king´s known illegitimate children Geoffrey Archbishop of York and William Longespee, later Earl of Salisbury, were Rosamond's sons. However, as can be seen below, Geoffrey´s birth is estimated to [1151] and William's to [1176], which is inconsistent with their being full brothers. In any case, as noted above, the name of Geoffrey´s mother is reported as Ikenai. The uncertain chronology of the family of Walter [I] de Clifford appears to be the key to resolving the question of when Rosamond´s relationship with the king started. As discussed in the document UNTITLED ENGLISH NOBILITY A-C in relation to the possible parentage of Walter [I]´s wife Margaret, it appears likely that their children were born after [1140] and, in the case of their son Walter [II], probably considerably later than this date. Rosamond´s appearance, with her brother Walter, as witness to the undated Dore abbey charter quoted above suggests that she was the only remaining unmarried daughter with her parents at the time, which in turn suggests that she was younger than her sisters. If this is correct, her birth could be as late as [1150/60], which would render Eyton´s hypothesis untenable. Further discussion of this problem will have to wait until more indications about the family chronology come to light. The Chronicon Johannis Bromton abbatis Jornalensis states that Rosamond died ("sed illa cito obiit")[388], his wording implying that her death occurred soon after the king´s relationship with her started, suggesting the period [1174/76]. “Walterus de Clifford” donated property to Godstow nunnery in Oxfordshire, for the souls of "uxoris meæ Margaretæ de Clifford et filiæ nostræ Rosamundæ", by undated charter. . . Rosamond´s corpse was removed from its burial place on the orders of Hugh Bishop of Lincoln]. She was known as "Fair Rosamond", although the primary source on which this is based has not yet been identified." (geni)
8) Unnamed mistress.
Natural offspring:
a. Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking 1175.
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