Hello and welcome to the History of England, Episode 34, Anarchy 3, Resolution.

Last week took us to the end of the most eventful year of the Anarchy and we've seen how Matilda

failed to convert the Golden Opportunity She gained at Lincoln into a complete victory.

So while success had eluded her in England, what about the Angering Causing Normandy?

I think I should reintroduce you to Geoffrey Plantagenet, the Count of Anshu, and husband

of the Empress. I should start explaining the name Plantagenet with apologies to those

of you who already know it. The name became a tax to Geoffrey's descendants who rule England

until the Welsh take over in 1485. The name is not used at all at the time and is not

officially used until the 15th century. It comes from the Broome Plant, a sprig of which

Geoffrey is supposed to have worn, since the Latin name for Broome is Plantagenesta. As

for Geoffrey himself, his borrowed for described him as, tall in body, handsome and ruddy in

appearance, lean and taught with sparkling eyes, grown strong through niche and through

exercise, gentle, charming and generous of spirit. Nice chap then. However, the images

we have of kings and jukes are symbolic rather than truly representative, and I suspect

Jean-Marmoutier's biography was meant to be in the same vein, so you'd be forgiven

for taking the description with just a pinch of salt. But there is corroboration from other

chroniclers who describe him as a man of great worth and energy. His reputation was as

being well-read with a great knowledge of antiquity, a lover of music and a cultured

man. He was incidentally noted for reading for teachers to help him in his castle warfare

which is something actually I keep me in to mention when we talked about welfare a few

weeks ago. Vigitius was the Roman author of a treatise called Duray Militarie on Military

Strategy, written a consternable in 450, and it is worth noting that his work was widely

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