Having lured his father into a trap and then deposed, we now have a new king. Last week you heard the story from the father’s perspective, this time we look at it from Henry V’s perspective. Maybe he was not as much of a rotten apple as it looks?
For five years Henry can maintain the peace in Germany as well as with the papacy. But in 1110 he runs out of road. He needs to come to a lasting agreement with the intractable Pope Paschalis II. Paschalis himself is looking for a solution. And he comes up with a solution, so cunning, you can put a tail on it and call it a weasel..
In the meantime, the King of France transitions from sexually incontinent simoniac to papal pet. Something that will yield immense benefit to royal power in the long run. The King of France becoming the friend of the pope brings the King of England closer to the future emperor. Henry V marries the English king’s daughter, 8-year old Matilda. Matilda would later become famous as the Empress Matilda, adversary of King Stephen in the Anarchy, mother of King Henry II of England and founder of the Plantagenet dynasty..
A lot to get through but fun…check it out here
