Phil obviously needs to get his own blog... tag line: "Just like the Onion, Scrappleface and the Borowitz Report... but without the humor."

Angevin is the name applied to three distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire).

Plantagenet
The first Angevin dynasty, known from the 12th century as the Plantagenet dynasty, came (with its Lancastrian and Yorkist branches) to rule England (1154–1485), Normandy (1144–1204, 1346–1360 and 1415–1450), and Gascony and Guyenne (1153–1453), but lost Anjou itself to the French crown in 1206.

The name "Plantagenet" is derived from the broom flower (planta genesta). It originated with Geoffrey of Anjou, father of King Henry II of England, because he adopted the flower as his emblem, often wearing a sprig of it.

The surname "Plantagenet" has been retrospectively applied to the descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou without historical justification: it is simply a convenient method of referring to people who had, in fact, no surname. The first descendant of Geoffrey to use the surname was Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, father of both Edward IV and Richard III, who apparently assumed it about 1448. That said, it has been traditional when referring to the Plantagenets to call all descendants of Geoffrey by this surname.

Capet-Anjou (senior)
The second Angevin dynasty, known also as the house of Capet-Anjou, began with Charles, created count (from 1360 the family were dukes) of the western French province of Anjou by his elder brother king Louis IX of France in 1246; they were members of the French ruling house of Capet.

In 1266 Charles was granted the crown of Naples and Sicily by the Pope in return for overthrowing the territories' Hohenstaufen rulers. Charles was driven out of Sicily in 1282, but his successors ruled Naples until 1442.

Charles's descendants later ruled Hungary (1308–1395) and Poland (1370–1399) as well. The line became extinct with the death of Joan II of Naples in 1435.

Capet-Anjou (junior)
In the 1350s, a junior branch of the Capet-Anjou was originated when King John II of France, of Valois line of Capetians, whose grandmother had been a princess of the senior Angevin line (eldest daughter of Charles II of Naples), gave the Duchy of Anjou to his second son, Louis.

Within a couple of decades, Queen Joan I of Naples (of the senior Angevin line) realized that she would remain childless. Although there were extant heirs of the senior branch (for example, the Durazzo cadet line), she decided to adopt Louis as her final heir. Thus, in addition to the struggle of the Angevins with the Aragonese in Southern Italy, the two Angevin lines now began to contest with each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples. The extinction of the senior line in 1435 temporarily secured Naples for the junior, but they were driven from Naples by the Aragonese in 1442. The last duke of the junior line died in 1481, and Anjou reverted to the French crown.

I blame the Anjoooooooooous!

Wow, Dave. People have known about Western French dynasties for at least 600 years.

Seems like thats a pretty old post to me, pal.

Can I write Plameplameplameplame, 1199 times in a thread about midget porn? Would that annoy you Ace?

You're suppressing my speech.

Oh really?

Damn.

Dave,

lol.

Dave,

That was the most masterful thread-jack I've ever seen, heard of, or sensed with my Dark Force Powers. Truly awe-inspiring (and, unlike the lefty screeds dropped by phil, bean-o, et. al., it was actually accurate).

Dave, speaking of the Plantagenets:

The Plantagenet period was dominated by three major conflicts at home and abroad.

Edward I attempted to create a British empire dominated by England, conquering Wales and pronouncing his eldest son Prince of Wales, and then attacking Scotland. Scotland was to remain elusive and retain its independence until late in the reign of the Stuart kings.

In the reign of Edward III the Hundred Years War began, a struggle between England and France. At the end of the Plantagenet period, the reign of Richard II saw the beginning of the long period of civil feuding known as the War of the Roses. For the next century, the crown would be disputed by two conflicting family strands, the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.

The period also saw the development of new social institutions and a distinctive English culture. Parliament emerged and grew, while the judicial reforms begun in the reign of Henry II were continued and completed by Edward I.

Culture began to flourish. Three Plantagenet kings were patrons of Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry. During the early part of the period, the architectural style of the Normans gave way to the Gothic, with surviving examples including Salisbury Cathedral. Westminster Abbey was rebuilt and the majority of English cathedrals remodelled. Franciscan and Dominican orders began to be established in England, while the universities of Oxford and Cambridge had their origins in this period.

Amidst the order of learning and art, however, were disturbing new phenomena. The outbreak of Bubonic plague or the 'Black Death' served to undermine military campaigns and cause huge social turbulence, killing half the country's population.

The price rises and labour shortage which resulted led to social unrest, culminating in the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.

But if Dave wants to discuss the Capet-Anjou's, he should do so on his own blog and not hijack this post!

Hey, what are the odds? I had a plantagenet wart removed from my foot just last week!

Hey, what are the odds? I had a plantagenet wart removed from my foot just last week!

lol!

English culture

Oxymoron alert!

OK "Mark" if that's your real name.

You have to stop calling yourself "Mark". It's confusing me and I keep forgetting who I am.

Thanks,

Mark

You're way too liberal, Ace.

In the "permissive" non-ideological sense of the word, of course.

Hey, me too! I had some Planter's peanuts last night as a snack!