Survey of the reign of Henry II, offering a range of new evaluations and interpretations.Henry II is the most imposing figure among the medieval kings of England. His fiefs and domains extended from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and his court was frequented by the greatest thinkers and men of letters of his time,besides ambassadors from all over Europe. Yet his is a reign of paradoxes: best known for his dramatic conflicts with his own wife and sons and with Thomas Becket, it was also a crucial period in the evolution of legal and governmental institutions. Here experts in the field provide significant reevaluations of its most important aspects. Topics include Henry's accession and his relations with the papacy, the French king, other rulers in the British Islesand the Norman baronage; the development of the common law and the coinage; the court and its literary milieu; the use of Arthurian legend for political purposes; and the career of the Young King Henry, while the introduction examines the historiography of the reign. CONTRIBUTORS: MARTIN ALLEN, MARTIN AURELL, NICK BARRATT, PAUL BRAND, SEAN DUFFY, ANNE DUGGAN, JEAN DUBABIN, JOHN GILLINGHAM, EDMUND KING, DANIEL POWER, IAN SHORT, MATTHEW STRICKLAND CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILL and NICHOLAS VINCENT are Professors of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia.

Introduction: Henry II and the HistoriansThe Accession of Henry II - Edmund KingHenry II and Louis VII - Jean DunbabinDoing Homage to the King of France - John B GillinghamHenry, Duke of the Normans [1149/50-1189] - Daniel PowerHenry II and England's Insular Neighbours - Sean DuffyHenry II, the English Church and the Papacy, 1154-1176 - Anne J. DugganOn the Instruction of a Prince: The Upbringing of Henry, the Young King - Matthew J StricklandHenry II and the Creation of the English Common Law - Paul BrandFinance and the Economy in the Reign of Henry II - Nick BarrattHenry II and the English Coinage - Martin AllenThe Court of Henry II - Nicholas VincentLiterary Culture at the Court of Henry II - Ian ShortHenry II and Arthurian Legend - Martin AurellIndex