Westminster. Rouen. Chinon. Poitiers. The Four Centres Of Power For Henry II Plantagenet. Mediæval King Of England 1154 – 1189. Friend And Foe Of Thomas à Becket. (Part Four).

Soundtrack from Simon Schama’s

“A History of Britain”,

which included King Henry II's reign.

Sung by Emma Kirkby (Soprano)

Music by John Harle.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

The Castle was rebuilt and extended, becoming his Administrative Centre and a favourite Residence. It was where Court was frequently held during the Angevin Empire.

On Henry’s death at the Castle in 1189, Chinon first passed to his eldest surviving son from his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I the Lionheart.

On Richard’s death in 1199, it then passed to the youngest of Henry’s children, John Lackland. King John would lose the Castle in a siege in 1205 to the French King, Philip II Augustus, from which date it was included in the French Royal Estates as the Royal Duchy of Touraine.

The Castle in Chinon served as a prison, when King Philip IV the Fair ordered the Knights Templar arrested in 1307.Jacques de Molay, Grand Master, and a few other dignitaries of the Order of the Temple were incarcerated there prior to trial and eventual execution.

During most of the Early-Middle Ages, the Town of Poitiers, France, took advantage of its defensive tactical site and of its location, which was far from the centre of Frankish power.

As the Seat for an Évêché (Bishop) since the 4th-Century A.D., the Town was a centre of some importance and the Capital of the Poitou County. At the height of their power, the Counts of Poitiers governed a large domain, including both Aquitaine and Poitou.

The Town was often referred to as “Poictiers”, a name commemorated in Warships of The Royal Navy, after The Battle of Poi(c)tiers.

[Editor: Two Ships of The British Royal Navy have been named HMS Poictiers. Poictiers is an alternative spelling for Poitiers, and, in this instance, commemorates the English victory.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.