Henry the Second

HENRY THE SECOND WAS BIG TROUBLE!

He was short and stocky with a neck like a bull and

blazing grey eyes that flashed about in a fiery face. His
huge head was topped with a short crop of vivid red
hair and when he was in a rage he would throw himself
on the floor and gnash the rushes that covered it in his
teeth. But he was also brilliantly clever. In fact, he was a
bit of genius.

His reign started well. He got his barons under control and made the English Empire
bigger and stronger. He set up new, fairer law courts and money rolled into the royal
treasure chest. The country hadnt been so well ruled for years. But Henry had a terrible
temper, and tended to take it out on his family. He didnt go in for little quarrels about what
time the children should go to bed. These were full-scale blazing rows that often left people
without their land, and sometimes without their heads. He was horrible, to his beautiful,
clever wife, Eleanor, who was then horrible back to him. He was just as horrible to his
children, so they rebelled against him. The country was crumbling again simply because the
kings family life was such a mess.

Eleanor was just as wilful as her husband. When she met Henry she was already
married to King Louis of France. But she was so taken with the new young English king that
she decided she would rather be married to him. So she divorced her first husband, married
Henry and became queen of England. She was beautiful and clever.

Henry Plantagenet

Henrys father, Geoffrey, was

French. He was famous for
wearing a piece of broom in his
hat. This doesnt mean he had
stiff bristles tickling his forehead
or a big pole dangling down his
back. Broom is a plant with
yellow flowers. The French word
for broom is genet, so Geoffrey
was known as Plantagenet. It may
be rather difficult to spell, but its
an unusual nickname and it stuck.
Geoffreys whole family became known as the Plantagenets, including Henry and his children. The Plantagenet
family now replaced the Normans as rulers of England, just as one hundred years before, the Normans had
replaced the Saxons.
 1. Look at the text in the box below.
Underline the phrase of four words that tells us that Henry the Second was not a
very nice father.

These were full scale blazing rows

that often left people without their
lands, and sometimes without their
heads. He was horrible to his
beautiful, clever wife Eleanor, who
was then horrible back to him. He
was just as horrible to his children,
so they rebelled against him. The
country was crumbling again, simply
because the kings family life was
such a mess.

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2. His reign started well.

What does this mean? Tick one.

Overall, he is remembered as a good king.
Overall, he is remembered as a bad king.
He had some successes when he first became king.
He had some successes and failures as king.

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3. In what ways was Henry a good king?

Tick Two

He made Britain bigger. He was wise.

He made money. He set up fairer law courts.

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4. Find and copy another name for a broom plant.

__________________________________________________

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 5. Look at the paragraph about Queen Eleanor.
Find and copy two words that best tell us that something about her personality.

1._______________

2._______________

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6. Draw four lines to show which word matches each definition.

Broom A French word for broom

Genet A plant with yellow flowers

Plantagenet Former rulers of England

Normans Geoffreys familys nickname

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7. Put ticks to show which statements are true and which are false.

Statement True False

Henry was Eleanors third husband.
Henry allowed people to keep their lands but lose their heads.
Henry was short with a long neck.
Henry took his bad temper out on his family.

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8. Look again at the text.

Show the order in which the following aspects are presented in the text by
numbering them from 1 to 5. One has been done for you.

The history of the name Plantagenet. 5

Henrys early successes as King.
The idea that Henry had good and bad personality traits.
Information about his wife.
How Henry punished people who made him angry.
___________________________________________________________________________
9. Choose the best word or group of words to fit the passage and tick your choice.

The passage is about King Henry the Second, his reign, his personality and his family.
The main purpose of the passage is to

a) provide information. convince us that he was a totally bad king.

convince us that he was a good king. make us dislike kings.

It presents a selection of

b) scientific guessed factual assumed

statements which may interest the reader depending on

c) whether they if they agree if they want to

believe them or not. with them. know about the
past.