Note 180 — Chapter II · FATHER AND SONS 1179-1183

“Vehementer excanduit, incongruum esse dicens, ut dicitur, cum eodem ex patre, cum eadem ex matre, traxisset originem, si fratrem primogenitum aliqua specie subjectionis superiorem agnosceret; sed sicut ipsi fratri suo regi lege primogenitorum bona debebantur paterna, sic in bonis maternis aequa lance successionem legitimam vindicabat,” R. Diceto, ii. 18, 19. That is to say, in fact, he claimed to hold Aquitaine, after his father’s death, as a direct underfief of the kingdom of France, and not as a part of the Angevin dominions at all. In other words, he claimed the right to break up the Angevin empire; which was precisely what Henry II was trying to prevent.