Henry II
Author(s): Louis Francis Salzman
Genre(s): Biography & Autobiography
Narrators: Pamela Nagami
Number of Chapters: 22
Length: 06 hours and 36 minutes
Language: English
Born in 1133, King Henry II of England reigned from 1154 until his death in 1189. Before he was forty, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland and, thanks to his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine, the western half of France. He famously fought with his former friend, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, with Eleanor, and with his rebellious children. But Henry was one of England's greatest kings. He replaced feudal anarchy with strong central government, laid the foundations of British common law and the jury system, and greatly increased the efficiency of the Exchequer. (Pamela Nagami, M.D.)