THE ORIGIN OF "PLANTAGENET"
Have you ever wondered how the name Plantagenet,originated?
I have and found out that this iconic dynastic name in medieval European history originated from Geoffrey the Duke of Anjou back in circa 1120. Geoffrey was married at 15 years old to Matilda, the widow of Henry V of Germany and daughter of Henry I.
He was a snappy dresser and loved beauty. Apparently he would always wear a sprig of Broom flower common to the area of Anjou in his cap. I can see why the flower is beautiful and smells like honey. Broom is known as planta genesta in Latin, genêt in French which is why the locals began referring to Geoffrey as the Plantagenet. Geoffrey took on the name Plantagenet and
incorporated into his Coat of Arms and motto.
Geoffrey and Matilda's son Henry II would become the first Plantagenet King of England, ruling over half of Western Europe.
Suggested reading:
Pillars of the Earth: Ken Follet
War of the Roses: Alison Weir
When Christ and His Saints Slept: Sharon Kay Penman
Oh Geoffrey! He was quite a little bugger n WHAHSS, wasn't he? He and Mathilda sure loved to hate each other!
ReplyDeleteI've read all three of those books and LOVED them!
Well, apparently he was quite the stud muffin. Mathilda was pretty ticked that she was fobbed off on a mere Duke after Henry V.
ReplyDeletePoor Mathilda! I didn't know that about the name- what a snappy trivia question- love it:)
ReplyDeletePenman probably said so which is why I remember :)
ReplyDeleteI found it most interesting that it's origin was not a traditional type of surname.
That is interesting and different way to come about a name. I'd love to actually see one of those flowers.
ReplyDeleteSo very interesting about the evolution of the name. Also I challege you to the Unimportant Meme Challenge at my blog http://themaidenscourt.blogspot.com/2009/06/unimportant-meme.html. Have fun!
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