Henry Ii And Eleanor

’srelation Essay, Research Paper

The relationship between Henry, Geoffrey, and John with their parents, Henry II and Eleanor

Henry II s family was a family that was considered anything but dysfunctional. During this era of the medieval period, there was no such thing as succession to the throne; thus, the current king had the option of choosing any of his sons to be the next ruler of the realm. During this time, Henry had 3 sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. All were unique in their own way but in some cases that uniqueness each had resulted in unwonted consequences. Richard was a warrior to the heart, hence his nickname, “Lion-Hart.” Geoffrey was commented as being nothing but a machine a political machine that always knew where to strike, who to kill, and what alliances were worth keeping. John was not a smart man to say the least. Toward the beginning of the film, he was the successor to the throne so Henry said but by the end, we saw otherwise.

Richard “Lion Heart” was the knight of the royal family. He was the one who would in almost any case result to violence instead of peaceful negotiating. Albeit his warrior-like instinct, he took on a role that involved much less dialogue compared to that of his two brothers. . To see how he related to his parents was at times vague due to the fact of his reticence, but it was obvious toward the end of the film that his abomination of his father reigned supreme over that for his mother, Eleanor. It was obvious that Eleanor loved Richard much more than his father did simply due to the fact that from the start of the movie and history that she wanted Richard on the throne after Henry passed on. Richard didn t necessarily loathe his father until he was locked up in the dungeon with his two brothers because of “treason”, however after that, his hatred toward Henry was stronger than the sturdy bricks of Chillingham Castle.

Geoffrey, being the middle child, was another of the likely candidates for the throne of greater Great Britain. Geoffrey was the net-weaver of the royal children. He was one who delighted in working behind the curtain and pulling the strings of his political puppets (which would have been Richard or John). He was the one who at times would appear as your best friend, but in actual reality would be trying to use you for his purpose. Geoffrey arranged a deal with Richard that if Richard became the next king, he would make Geoffrey his chancellor. Thus, Geoffrey would exercise his power and ultimate manipulation controls on Richard and would have a clandestine touch that would influence the greatest empire of Europe since the Holy Roman Empire. Geoffrey s attitude toward his parents was very nebulous and at times very hard to follow especially due to the fact of his owns manipulative and ever-changing personality. We saw Geoffrey as a clean-shaven man who instead of fighting in an army like Richard would; he would control the army from as far away as possible. Geoffrey was upset that not one of his parents mentioned Geoffrey and the throne in the same sentence.

Toward the beginning of “Lion in the Winter”, Henry wanted John to become the next king but it was obvious that John was not suited for the throne. In our days, John would have been considered one who had a mental handicap such as dyslexia and would also have been a likely candidate for sclerosis due to his hunched back. Both his parents loved John, but it was always odd to see him as the likely successor to the throne in the early part of the movie due to the fact that he was very simple-minded. He was bossed around by both his brothers and was tricked into the whole Geoffrey-Phillip fiasco. In the dungeon scene toward the end of the film, we saw John with his two other brothers try to attack Henry, but John was quickly cornered out and within seconds had the blade of Henry lined up with the skin of his throat. John was angry with his father around the time of the dungeon scene, but who wasn t then? Eleanor got her children to hate their father and she was blissful because of that.

Henry s children were always a bickering a lot, but before Succession, that was how most royal children were. They all wanted to rule because they all thirsted for power. Henry s children were very predictable in their traits and personalities though. For example, we always saw Richard wearing studded leather; thus we can figure out that he was a man who enjoyed violence and war. We saw Geoffrey in the dark purple attire, which suited his reserved, but highly manipulative attitude toward people, and lastly we saw John in his “peasant” garb. All in all, the relationship between Henry and Eleanor and their children not very stable. With Eleanor about to be annulled and Henry going to attempt to marry Alice, his three sons would never have a chance to get to the throne and would all be considered the bastard children of Henry, the second. Each child of Henry had a great hatred of him toward the time of the dungeon scene, however, after that and at the end of the film, the strong bickering between Henry and Eleanor seemed to have subsided, which brought about a time of peace, however short. Eventually, Henry would die and Richard would gain the throne, and the days of the sibling rivalry would come to a close and the legacy of Henry and Eleanor would live in song and tale.