| ![Show Contents]() Plantaganet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Plantaganet is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is a name for a gardener as the name was originally derived from the Old English word plant meaning plant, or young tree. Early Origins of the Plantaganet familyThe surname Plantaganet was first found in London where they held a family seat being descended from Fulk, the Count of Anjou, whose descendants were exemplified by the Emperor, Henry V of Germany. Geoffrey Plantagenet (1113-1151), Count of Anjou, was the father of Henry II of England. Henry ascended the English throne and thus began the Plantagenet dynasty. He bore the three royal lines which continued until the time of Edward III who added a crest of another lion. The eventual heiress of this house was the Princess Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, and Queen of Henry VII. Many junior lines abounded. The parish of Great Sandall in Yorkshire has an interesting footnote about this illustrious family. "This place is of high antiquity, and was long the baronial seat of the lords of Wakefield, of whom John Plantagenet, the last Earl of Warren, erected a strong castle here about the year 1320, which in the reign of Edward III. was occupied by Edward Balliol, one of the competitors for the throne of Scotland. The castle became the property of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, who fell in the battle of Wakefield, in 1460; and was subsequently the residence of his son, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III. During the war in the reign of Charles I., it was held for the king, but was ultimately surrendered to the republican forces in 1645, and in the following year was demolished by order of parliament; the remains are very inconsiderable, scarcely serving to point out the site." 1 Early History of the Plantaganet familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plantaganet research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1533 is included under the topic Early Plantaganet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Plantaganet Spelling VariationsAnglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Plantaggenett, Plantagenet, Plant, Plante and others. Early Notables of the Plantaganet familyMore information is included under the topic Early Plantaganet Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Plantaganet family to Ireland
Some of the Plantaganet family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Plantaganet familyBecause of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Plantaganet name or one of its variants: Thomas Plant who settled in Virginia in 1670; Elizabeth Plant settled in Maryland in 1723; Matthew Plant settled in Virginia in 1635; James Plant settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1841.
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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England
France
Ireland
Scotland
