Sign In

This 1717 map integrates a genealogical visualization of the English monarchy with a political map of Europe and British Isles and dense accompanying commentary. It aims to clarify the historical and dynastic claims of the English crown—particularly in relation to France and other European territories—through both geographical and hereditary frameworks. 

On the left, the family tree begins with Guillaume le Conquérant (William the Conqueror), Duke of Normandy and King of England in 1066, and traces his descendants through Henry I, Matilda, and Henry II, establishing the Anglo-Norman and Plantagenet lines. From there, the tree follows through Richard I, John Lackland, and Henry III, branching into the Lancastrian and Yorkist houses. Notable figures such as Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV are given special prominence. The left panel also includes a “Remarque” noting how English claims to French territories are not simply martial but often grounded in dynastic inheritance and intermarriage.

On the right, the tree continues from the Tudor dynasty into the Stuarts, culminating with Anne, Queen of Great Britain, who began her reign in 1702. It highlights succession through figures such as Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James VI and I. Interspersed in this panel is a charted distinction between the Branche de Lancastre ou de Roze Rouge and the Branche d’Yorc ou de Roze Blanche, referring to the opposing houses in the Wars of the Roses. These divisions are key to understanding the transfer of claims across branches, leading ultimately to the unification of competing lines under the Tudors. The text "Droits de la maison de Yorck" underlines the Yorkist rationale for their dynastic claims.

Beneath the central map is a table of European states (“Table des Principaux États de cette Carte”) paired with an index of their geographic coordinates. A parallel table titled “Table des États qui ont été assujettis à la domination de la Monarchie Angloise…” lists various regions and cities over which England asserted sovereignty or military success, such as Calais, Normandy, Gibraltar, and even symbolic claims like Jerusalem and Ptolemaïde. These entries are set against a colored grid corresponding to locations on the central map.

The final panel on the bottom right, “Table des Principalles Villes de cette Carte,” is a detailed alphabetical listing of cities, from Amsterdam and Edinburgh to Warsaw and Vienna, serving as a geographic index. A central textual note above these tables narrates the death of Henry V and the regency of England in France, asserting how English governance and alliances shaped the European political landscape—especially with the aid of Joan of Arc restoring French fortunes. It also references the eventual conflicts between the York and Lancaster houses and the transitions of territorial control, emphasizing succession, alliance, and inheritance as the foundations of English power abroad.

Together, the map and accompanying genealogies form a politically charged didactic tool, demonstrating how England's historical claims to dominion over parts of Europe—especially France—rest on documented lines of royal descent, inheritance rights, and martial precedent.