ABSTRACT
What Duke Henry's real intention in England was in 1153 is difficult to assess, but we can make some reasonable hypotheses. Euphoria may be assumed to have been part of the equation. He had recently confronted and temporarily mastered Louis VII. He had survived a co-ordinated assault on his domain by several of his enemies. He had acquired a second duchy by marriage. In that sort of mood, it might have seemed inevitable that England must fall into his hands. God was clearly with him. In his early years as king, Henry was to favour the bold, grand campaign, whether in 1159 against Toulouse or in 1165 against Gwynedd, Neither campaign was a particular success for him. But they may be later echoes of what he thought he was doing in 1153. Duke Henry may have been determined simply to give the tree an almighty shove, and see what fell out. Yet calculation must have informed his decision too. He knew that if he was in England, and Normandy was untroubled in its loyalty to him, then at least one of his enemies must follow him back across the Channel. Count Eustace had to hope for a personal victory over Henry in order to secure his chance of the English throne. Duke Henry must also have been well aware of the mood among the Angevin magnates; his uncle, Reginald of Cornwall, had been with him in Normandy in 1152. His own experience in England had been very recent, and his knowledge both of the country and of his party there was good. So, whether he was euphoric from recent successes, or whether he was possessed by the optimism of youth and self-confidence, he must have assessed as good his chances of coming away from England with something to his benefit.
