HIST 107 Introduction to Medieval History Lecture 17 Experiments with Kingship Henry II and the Angevins Main Questions 1 What were the most significant developments in the reigns of King Henry II of England 1154 89 and his sons Richard I 1189 99 and John 1199 1216 2 What is the significance of Magna Carta 1215 Preliminary Remarks Recall from previous lectures the Norman Conquest of England 1066 introduces a new political and ecclesiastical elite and links England more closely to the Continent especially northern France The new Norman rulers exploit and adapt the pre existing structures of Anglo Saxon government Domesday Book 1086 is a monument to this synthesis Also recall kingship as an institution emerges in the transition from Roman rule to the successor states in western Europe The Carolingians enhance the status of kingship as part of their project of replacing the Merovingian dynasty e g they mimic Byzantine and Visigothic coronation ritual and crown wearing to emphasize the idea that royal authority is unique By our period therefore the idea is well established that royal status is divine in origin it therefore resembles the authority of the Church royal coronation ritual in fact resembles the rituals for consecrating bishops The idea of emperor is different and more contested is it something the pope grants to a subordinate or is it a continuation of the status of the emperors of the Roman era But with kings there is less ambiguity and thus even more scope for clashes over authority with the Church because both are widely considered ordained by God The immediate background to this lecture is a period of political and social disturbance in England after the death of the last of William the Conqueror s sons Henry I 1100 35 Henry left no surviving legitimate male heir The English throne is disputed between his daughter Mathilda and his nephew Stephen who is king between 1135 and 1154 The so called anarchy of Stephen s reign in essence see parts of England come to resemble more closely conditions in many parts of France central government is weak and in the localities warlords construct castles and build up lordships where the boundaries between public and private power become blurred The civil war ends when Stephen whose own son has just died agrees that he should be succeeded by Mathilda s son Henry of Anjou When Stephen dies Henry becomes king as Henry II This lecture follows the key events and processes of his reign and those of his sons culminating in John s granting of Magna Carta in 1215 1 Key Points Three main questions to address A What are the key events and processes in the reign of Henry II 1154 89 B What is at stake in the dispute between Henry II and Thomas Becket C What was Magna Carta and how much significance attaches to it A What are the key events and processes in the reign of Henry II 1154 89 Fundamental driver of Henry s reign cross Channel connections and interests Norman Conquest binds England to Normandy But Henry brings wider French orbit into play count of Anjou from his father duke of Normandy from his mother wife Eleanor is duchess of Aquitaine this brings in s w France number of attached claims to overlordship e g over Brittany Toulouse Power therefore extends from Scottish border to Pyrenees See map in Rosenwein Short History p 226 as king of England has further claims to overlordship over Scotland and Wales extends this further first English invasion of Ireland 1171 2 led by Henry This conglomeration of territories sometimes called the Angevin Empire Angevin is the adjective for Anjou Henry s paternal homeland this term probably exaggerates the cohesion of the various parts but it expresses the sheer extent and ambition of Henry s power What are the implications of this in practice For England main source of revenue the king of England must often be absent therefore royal government has to be semi autonomous proof Richard I only six months of ten year reign spent in England More immediate driver of Henry s reign undo losses of royal power during anarchy first task demolish adulterine i e unauthorized castles expel mercenary bands still at large in England longer term project create legal and administrative structures that make any reversion to the conditions of Stephen s reign impossible What does this involve Two main and related problems a breakdown of law and order b disputes among the property owning elites over rights to property a with law and order in 1160s and 1170s series of assizes legal enactments e g Assize of Clarendon 1166 see Rosenwein Reading pp 350 2 use of juries to flush out criminals in localities 2 no private criminal jurisdictions such as common on the Continent this hugely important in the subsequent trajectory of English history exploit old Anglo Saxon institutions of local government county shire and hundred foster collective responsibility assizes cleverly blend different contemporary notions of authority i royal power acting from above itinerant royal justices bring the royal presence to localities ii local communal solidarities are reinforced b property rights many claims to lands and rights tangled and disputed in the anarchy main response get disputes into royal courts don t let them become feuds principal instrument writ short written instruction from royal government ordering a local official to resolve a legal dispute Writs basic idea old Anglo Saxon even Carolingian antecedents But taken to a new level of volume under Henry II Writs become standardized possible because of growth of class of literate bureaucrats produced by growing schools see previous lecture e g novel disseisin use to get back into possession of property mort d ancestor use when your rights as an heir are not respected Again key is royal courts should be where important cases are resolved for free men serfs are subject to the jurisdiction of their own lords This common law i e shared by all free subjects basis of modern Anglo American jurisprudential model But for all his achievements Henry II s reign is also dogged by conflict and controversy The main dispute is that with the archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket So next question must be B What is at stake in the dispute between Henry II and Thomas Becket Key background Henry s interest in dealing with problem of criminality Flashpoint criminous clerks i e clergy accused of crimes can only be tried in ecclesiastical courts punishments relatively light Larger context Becket had been Henry s