Plantagenet

The Plantagenet dynasty (House of Plantagenet) was the family that ruled England for longer than any other, from the accession of the first, Henry II, in 1154 to the death of the last, Richard III in 1485. The name Plantagenet was not used as the family name until the time of Richard Duke of York, who claimed the throne in 1460 under it. (His son became Edward IV after that Richard's death at the battle of Wakefield.) Because of the length of its domination, it is convenient to subdivide the Plantagenet dynasty into three groups, and AWE prefers to do so. These are the Angevins (who ruled longest, some 250 years) followed by the two that disputed the rule through the Wars of the Roses.

• The Angevin (pronounced 'an^d-jevv-in', IPA: /ˈæn^d ʒɛ (or ɪ) ɪn/) dynasty, from Henry II (1154-1189), son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, count of Anjou, to the deposition of Richard II in 1399.

Angevin is the normal adjective meaning 'to do with [the French region of] Anjou, (pronounced 'on-ZHOU', IPA: /ˌɔ̃ ˈʒuː/) [or its principal town, Angers ('on-JER', IPA: /ɔ̃ ˈʒer/)]'. These are both forms of its Latin name, Andegavum, with the adjective Andegavin-us. The term 'angevin' currently means 'inhabitant of Anjou' - with no implication of nobility, or rule.

• The Lancastrian dynasty, from Henry IV to the death of his grandson Henry VI in 1471. (They were descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399).)

• Their Yorkist cousins, descended from Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (1341-1402), took over the throne in 1461 with Edward IV. The disputes of Yorkists and Lancastrians continued for some 80 years - the 'Wars of the Roses'.

The Yorkists, and the Plantagenets generally, came to an end with the death of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth in 1485. They were succeeded by the Tudors, in the person of Henry VII.

Etymological note: The word Plantagenet was the surname used by Geoffrey Count of Anjou (1113-1151). It probably began as a nickname: it is most likely to be from the Latin name of the plant which he wore in his helmet as a badge, planta genista, or common broom (Sarothamnus or Cytisus Scoparius to modern botanists).