The Devil's Brood: Part VIII-The Ransom of a King

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 was succeeded by his son Richard I. Part VIII examines Richard's capture on his return from Palestine and his struggle to evict King Philip of France from Normandy.

Cast of Characters:
Richard I-King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou
Eleanor of Aquitaine-Duchess of Aquitaine and Richard's mother
John-Richard's only living brother
Joan-former queen of Sicily and Richard's sister
Constance-duchess of Brittany and Richard's sister-in-law
Arthur-Constance's only son
Philip II-king of France, Richard's nominal overlord for Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou
Adela-dowager Queen of France, mother of Philip
Henry I-Count of Champagne, Adela's brother, vassal and rival to Philip
Theobald V-Count of Blois, Adela's brother, vassal and rival to Philip, would-be suitor/kidnapper of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Stephen I-Count of Sancerre, Adela's brother, vassal and rival to Philip
Alys-daughter of King Louis VII of France and his second wife, Constance of Castile
Philip I-Count of Flanders
Tancred-King of Sicily
Henry VI-King of Germany
Leopold-Duke of Austria
Baldwin IX-Count of Flanders and Hainaut

Sources:
The Plantagenets: the Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England-Dan Jones
The Restless Kings: Henry II, His Sons and the War for the Plantagenet Crown-Nick Barratt
The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones-Thomas Asbridge
Richard I-John Gillingham
Lionheart & Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest-Frank McLynn
King John and the Road to Magna Carta-Stephen Church
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings-Amy Kelly
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life-Alison Weir
The Angevin Empire-John Gillingham
The Plantagenet Empire: 1154-1224, Martin Aurell, translated from the French by David Crouch
Angevin England 1154-1258-Richard Mortimer
Tales from the Long Twelfth Century: The Rise and Fall of the Angevin Empire-Richard Huscroft
Medieval Flanders-David Nicholas

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