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The Angevin Empire (; French: ''L'Empire Plantagenêt'') is, in modern usage, the collection of states once ruled by the Angevins of the House of Plantagenet. The Plantagenets ruled over an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland during the 12th and early 13th centuries. This "empire", originally established by Henry II of England, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy, extended over roughly half of medieval France, all of England, and parts of Ireland and Wales. However, despite the extent of Plantagenet rule, Henry's son, John, King of England was defeated in the Anglo-French War (1202–14) by Philip II of France of the House of Capet. This left the empire split in two with John having lost many French provinces, including Normandy and Anjou. This defeat, after which the ruling Plantagenets retained only their British territories and the French province of Gascony, set the scene for the Saintonge War and the Hundred Years' War. ==Origin of the term and its application== The term ''Angevin Empire'' is a neologism defining the lands of the House of Plantagenet: Henry II and his sons Richard I and John. Another son, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, ruled Brittany and established a separate line there. As far as historians know, there was no contemporary term for the region under Angevin control; however, descriptions such as "our kingdom and everything subject to our rule whatever it may be" were used. The term ''Angevin Empire'' was coined by Kate Norgate in her 1887 publication, ''England under the Angevin Kings''. In France, the term ''Espace Plantagenêt'' (Plantagenet Area) is sometimes used to describe the fiefdoms the Plantagenets had acquired. The adoption of the ''Angevin Empire'' label marked a re-evaluation of the times, considering that both English and French influence spread throughout the dominion in the half century during which the union lasted. The term ''Angevin'' itself is the demonym for the residents of Anjou and its historic capital, Angers; the Plantagenets were descended from Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou, hence the term. The demonym, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', has been in use since 1653.〔 The use of the term ''Empire'' has engendered controversy among some historians, over whether the term is accurate for the actual state of affairs at the time. The area was a collection of the lands inherited and acquired by Henry, and so it is unclear whether these dominions shared any common identity and so should be labelled with the term ''Empire''. Some historians argue that the term should be reserved solely for the Holy Roman Empire, the only Western European political structure actually named an empire at that time, although Alfonso VII of León and Castile had taken the title "Emperor of all Spain" in 1135. Other historians argue that Henry II's empire was neither powerful, centralised, nor large enough to be seriously called an empire.〔 There was no imperial title, as implied by the term ''Angevin Empire''. However, even if the Plantagenets themselves did not claim any imperial title, some chroniclers, often working for Henry II himself, did use the term ''empire'' to describe this assemblage of lands.〔 The highest title was "king of England"; the other titles of dukes and counts of different areas held in France were completely and totally independent from the royal title, and not subject to any English royal law. Because of this, some historians prefer the term ''commonwealth'' to ''empire'', emphasising that the Angevin Empire was more of an assemblage of seven fully independent, sovereign states loosely bound to each other. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Angevin Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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