"Given the framework within which Henry II chose to operate, his achievement is remarkable... He overcame the old disintegrating force of baronial separatism, and resisted the newer ones of municipal independence and clerical exclusiveness, not in order to destroy – for Henry II was fundamentally a conservative – but in order to bring all into balance under royal control. Much of his skill, and wisdom, and ingenuity which went into the work doubtless derived from those who were known as the king's familiares; but the will to do it was the will of one man, Henry of Anjou. It was a will which refused to accept that any problem was insoluble. If a frontal assault failed he would find a way in through the back door, of, if necessary, via the sewer. He was an irresistible force demonstrating – and relishing the demonstration – that immovable obstacles could be moved."
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W. L. Warren, Henry II (1973), pp. 628-629
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England
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Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled England, substantial parts of Wales and Ireland, and much of France (including Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou), an area that together was later called the Angevin Empire, and also held power over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.
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