The Devil's Brood: Part III-The King and the Archbishop

The Devil's Brood examines the Angevin Dynasty, otherwise known as the Plantagenets, which ruled over England and the greater part of France until John lost most of the family lands in Europe. Henry II was the first Angevin king of England, and Part III will present the efforts of Henry II to expand his domains in Europe by invading Toulouse, his growing rivalry with King Louis VII of France and his feud with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.

Cast of Characters:
Henry II-King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou
Eleanor of Aquitaine-Duchess of Aquitaine and Henry's wife
Thomas Becket-Chancellor of England, then Archbishop of Canterbury, then martyr
Henry the Younger-the heir of Henry II
Richard-Henry's second-oldest son
Geoffrey-Henry's third-oldest son
John-Henry's fourth-oldest son
Louis VII-King of France, Eleanor's ex-husband, Henry's nominal overlord for Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou
Adela of Champagne-Louis' third wife
Henry I-Count of Champagne, Adela's brother, vassal and rival to Louis
Theobald V-Count of Blois, Adela's brother, vassal and rival to Louis, would-be suitor/kidnapper of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Pope Alexander III-the rightful pope
Frederick Barbarossa-King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor
Victor IV-Barbarossa's first puppet pope
Paschal III-Barbarossa's second puppet pope

Sources:
The Plantagenets: the Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England-Dan Jones
The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones-Thomas Asbridge
Tales from the Long Twelfth Century: The Rise and Fall of the Angevin Empire-Richard Huscroft
Henry II-W.L. Warren
The Accession of Henry II in England: Royal Government Restored 1149-1159-Emilie Amt
Henry Plantagenet-Richard Barber
The Restless Kings: Henry II, His Sons and the War for the Plantagenet Crown-Nick Barratt
Henry the Young King 1155-1183-Matthew Strickland, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings-Amy Kelly
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life-Alison Weir
Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim, A 900-Year-Old Story Retold-John Guy
The Angevin Empire-John Gillingham
Angevin England 1154-1258-Richard Mortimer
The Plantagenet Empire: 1154-1224, Martin Aurell, translated from the French by David Crouch
Brittany and the Angevins: Province and Empire 1158-1203-J.A. Everard
The Popes: A History-John Julius Norwich

Image Credit: King Henry II and his chlidren (left to right: William, Henry the young King, Richard Lionheart, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleonor, Joan, John Lackland)

By Anonymus - http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=49987, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14711475