| The Anglo-Norman Territories |
10 |
The last of the Normans |
On the death of Henry II 'Plantagenet', Richard the Lion Heart was crowned Duke of Normandy in Rouen on 20 July 1189 and King of England in London on 3 September. The power of the Plantagenet State seemed to have been rebuilt to his advantage, and thus survived his long absences during the episodes of the crusade and his captivity (1190-1194).
For about fifteen years, the King of France, Philip Augustus applied himself to the dismantling of the feudal unit created by Henry II, by concentrating his efforts upon Normandy. The accidental death of Richard in 1199 removed one of his most formidable adversaries and he was able to take advantage of the bad judgement of King John 'Lackland'.
However, it was also through the eminent position conferred upon him by feudal rights that King Philip Augustus was able to impose his will over the continental fiefs of the King of England.
The period of Norman expansion ended in 1204 with French victory and the attachment of the Principality to the domain of the King of France. The Norman families who had contributed to the construction of Anglo-Norman institutions, art and civilisation on both sides of the Channel now had to divide themselves between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England whose mutual conflicts were far from over.
