Henry II's campaigns and client rule

The review turns Henry II's reign into a lesson in the limits of direct force and the uses of indirect rule. His 1157 expedition fought at Tal-y-Foel and Hawarden Wood, lost its fleet, and still forced Owain Gwynedd from the Perfeddwlad and into homage. A much larger campaign in 1165 then collapsed in the Berwyn Mountains under rain, broken logistics, and Welsh attacks. Henry subsequently exploited succession disputes, dynastic marriage, homage, and royal offices to cultivate clients in Gwynedd and South Wales. The contrast shows why medieval authority could expand through political dependency even when armies failed to secure permanent conquest.