History of the English Speaking Countries

The Angevins
  Law and order: Henry of Anjou (1154-1189)

Henry II was the first unquestioned ruler of the English throne for a hundred
years.

Henry II took the throne of England in 1154, after 19 years of anarchy, and
united under his rule England and western France, since his dominions were
Normandy, Anjou, and Maine, which he had inherited from his father, and Aquitaine,
which he had acquired through his marriage. And although Henry recognised the king
of France as the overlord of all his French lands, he actually controlled a greater area
than the king of France. Many of Henry's nobles held land on both sides of the English
channel.
 He was so powerful that
the English Barons accepted
him without protest. For Henry
II, England was another
province of the same cultural
realm. The Barons still spoke
French and cultivated French
culture and customs. However,
after Henry II became king of
England some of these
customs were radically
changed. The Barons were no
longer allowed to wage private
wars against one another (war
was the Barons’ favorite
pastime) and they had to pull
down unlicensed castles.
Gradually the Barons moved
into unfortified manor houses
where they had to take up
more peaceful hobbies such as
hunting, agriculture, politics or
art. With each decade, they were turning more and more into regular country
gentlemen.

Judicial Reforms

Henry II is also credited with laying the foundations for the jury system (1) by
making the famous bench of royal judges. After almost two decades of misrule, he
sent these royal judges to every corner of the country to enforce English Common
Law(2). He also stopped some barbarous procedures as trial by ‘ordeal’ or trial by
battle. He put the royal shield over all, even the most humble subjects, protecting
them from the abuse of the church or the lord alike.

Henry appointed Thomas Becket as his chancellor (son of a wealthy Norman

merchant living in London, born in 1118.). Becket's job was an important one as it
involved the distribution of royal charters, writs and letters. The king and Becket soon
became close friends. Becket carried out many tasks for Henry II including leading the
English army into battle.

Henry II made two important reforms in the administration of justice: (a) trial by
jury, and (b) itinerant judges. They were largely based on the two reforms of his
grandfather, Henry I-the development of the power of the sheriffs and the formation
of the Curia Regis.
 (a) Hitherto, accusations of crime had usually been tried by means of the Ordeal,
while disputes between landholders had been settled by Combat. Both the
Ordeal and the Combat were appeals to God to show which side was right, but
people were now becoming dissatisfied with them. Earlier kings had made a
practice of putting men upon oath to tell the truth about something-as, for
instance, in the Domesday Survey. Henry II now adapted this plan for trials. He
declared that either party to a dispute or an accusation could claim the Grand
Assize that is to say, he could demand to have the case tried by a jury. Then,
the sheriff would summon twelve men of the neighbourhood to declare what
they knew about the rights of the case.
(b) Henry I had sometimes sent the members of his Curia Regis to do justice in the
shire-courts; but these visits were irregular, and the barons often disputed the
powers of the judges. Henry II made the system much more regular and
definite.
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(1) The idea of a Jury goes back to the Viking in the Danelaw. Henry II used the jury in the second
part of the 12th century. Initially a jury was 12 people chosen by the accused to prove he was
innocent. Gradually, the role of the jury changed; the members did not testify but judged the
evidence given by witnesses.
(2) For example, a hot iron rod was put on the suspect’s tongue, if he was burned by it, he was
considered guilty.
(3) Men fighting with each other with archaic weapon – the one who won is the one who is right.

He sent experts in law round in pairs, to visit each shire-court in turn, two or three
times a year; and by the Assize of Clarendon (1166) he laid it down that these judges
on tour could preside even in the courts carried on by the great tenants-in-chief.

"Benefit of clergy "

We have seen that William I had granted the Church the privilege of trying in
her own law-courts all cases relating to wills and marriages, all cases concerning
Church property, and all cases in which clerics were concerned. This privilege upset
Henry's plans for establishing a uniform system of law throughout the country, for
these courts were independent of his authority. The aspect of the matter which
annoyed him most was the fact that it was not only priests who were protected by this
"Benefit of Clergy -thousands of men in minor orders, such as the servants of
monasteries and the clerks of the Curia Regis, could claim it if accused of crime. Even
when a man was caught red-handed in murder, for instance, if he could say a few
words of Latin it was assumed that he was a cleric and must be tried in a ‘Court
Christian’. And, the worst of it was that these courts could only inflict minor penalties,
such as fines or penances, or - in an extreme case -degradation from Holy Orders.

Henry II was a dictator but he was just, therefore his subjects did not mind that
they were subjected to the will of one man. His reign was associated with the
restoration of law and order, which were preferable to general state of chaos, which
had preceded it.
When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1162, Henry chose Thomas Becket
as his next Archbishop. The decision angered many leading churchmen. They pointed
out that Becket had never been a priest, had a reputation as a cruel military
commander and was very materialistic. They also feared that as Becket was a close
friend of Henry II, he would not be an independent leader of the church. However,
after being appointed, Thomas Becket became a changed man. He began to show a
concern for the poor. Instead of wearing expensive clothes, Becket now wore a simple
monastic habit. And, he began to uphold the interests of the Church as energetically
as he had formerly upheld those of the King. This brought conflict between Becket and
the King.
The Martyrdom of T. Thomas
In 1164, the Archbishop of Canterbury was involved in a dispute over land.
Henry ordered Becket to appear before his courts. When Becket refused, the king
confiscated his property. Henry mentioned other charges, including treason, so Becket
decided to run away to France. Under the protection of Henry's old enemy, King Louis
VII, Becket organised a propaganda campaign against Henry. As Becket was supported
by the Pope, Henry feared that he would be excommunicated (expelled from the
Christian Church). Becket eventually agreed to return to England. However, as soon as
he arrived on English soil, he excommunicated the Archbishop of York and other
leading churchmen who had supported Henry while he was away. Henry, who was in
Normandy at the time, was furious when he heard the news and supposedly shouted
out: "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four of Henry's knights, who heard
Henry's angry outburst decided to travel to England to see Becket. When the knights
arrived at Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December 1170, they demanded that Becket
pardon the men he had excommunicated. When Becket refused, they hacked him to
death with their swords. The Christian world was shocked by Becket's murder. The
Pope canonised Becket and he became a symbol of Christian resistance to the power
of the monarchy. Henry admitted that his comments had led to the death of Becket,
however, he argued that he had neither commanded nor wished the man's death.
Henry quarrelled with his beautiful and powerful wife, and his sons, Richard and
John, took Eleanor's side. It may seem surprising that Richard and John fought against
their own father. But in fact they were doing their duty to the king of France, their
feudal overlord, in payment for the lands they held from him. In 1189, Henry died a
broken man, disappointed and defeated by his sons and by the French king.

Medieval Law and Order

Law and order was very harsh in Medieval England. It was believed that
people would only learn how to behave properly if they feared what would
happen to them if they broke the law. Even the ‘smallest’ offences had serious
punishments. Each accused person had to go through an ordeal. There were
three ordeals:

• Ordeal by fire. An accused person held a red hot iron bar and walked three
paces. His hand was then bandaged and left for three days. If the wound was
getting better after three days, you were innocent. If the wound had clearly
not got any better, you were guilty.

• Ordeal by water. An accused person was tied up and thrown into water. If
you floated you were guilty of the crime you were accused of.

• Ordeal by combat. This was used by noblemen who had been accused of
something. They would fight in combat with their accuser. Whoever won was
right. Whoever lost was usually dead at the end of the fight.

Henry II (1154-1189) did not think these methods were fair or

sensible. When Henry II came to the throne in 1154, his first job was to
restore order and make everyone in England obey his laws. Stephen had
allowed the barons to do as they pleased. They
What Henry II did to restore order:
had built castles without the King’s permission
1.Henry restored order by pulling
and had terrorised farmers and merchants so down illegal castles and bringing
that farming and trade were at a standstill. back the laws of Henry I.

By the time of Henry II, the system of law in 2. Henry brought in trial by jury
and did away with trial by ordeal
England had been improved because Henry
and battle.
sent out his own judges from London to listen
3. Henry sent his judges to
to cases throughout all England’s counties. In
different towns to try cases so
1215, the Pope decided that priests in everyone saw the law working.
England must not help with ordeals. As a
result, ordeals were replaced by trials by juries. To start with, these were not
popular with the people as they felt that their neighbours might have a grudge
against them and use the opportunity of a trial to get their revenge. After
1275, a law was introduced which allowed people to be tortured if they
refused to go to trial before a jury.

The Sons of Henry II (1189-1216)

 Richard I (1189 - 1199) and The Third Crusade

 Henry II was succeeded by his rebellious son Richard I. During his reign of ten
years he visited England only twice. His sole desire was to join the Crusades and win
glory in the Holy Land that is why he won the nickname Coeur de Lion (Lionheart). .
So, immediately after his succession, Richard began to raise money for joining the
Third Crusade. He sold high offices of the church and state to the highest customers.
He released William, the Lion of Scotland for which he got a big amount as ransom.
All the rest of his reign was spent in quarreling about his French provinces, and he was
eventually killed while besieging the castle of a rebellious Norman vassal.

 John Lackland: The End of the Angevin Empire

Richard had no children. His next younger brother, Geoffrey, was dead, leaving a
young son, Arthur, as heir. But the youngest of the sons of Henry II, John, took
advantage of being a grown man, and seized the inheritance for himself.
King John is generally considered the worst of English kings, and, on the whole, the
reputation was deserved. He was a capable soldier and an astute politician, but these
gifts were nullified by his uncontrolled passions and his total lack of moral sense. He
spent his reign in three great contests- with France, with the Pope and with his English
nobles- and he was worsted in them all.
The first of these quarrels began with a rebellion of the nobles of Normandy
and Anjou in favour of Prince Arthur. (Feudal nobles always liked to have a child as
their overlord , for this enabled them to become practically independent. They were
supported by King Philip Augustus, who had long aimed at getting control of the
Angevine provinces. In the war, which now broke out, John at first had the best of
matters, but he threw away his advantage by a cruel crime. In the course of the
struggle, his little nephew fell into his hands; he had him taken to a castle on the Seine
and murdered. He thought that he would now be safe, but the result was just the
opposite. All classes of people in Normandy and Anjou were horrified at the deed,
and were more determined than ever not to have such a man as their king. King John
unsuccessfully attempted to regain France for the rest of his reign. He kept raising
taxes to pay for his campaigns, but every time he went to France to fight, he lost.
When he came to the throne, his reign was full of trouble. The opposition grew
stronger and he gradually lost ground until he was driven out of France altogether
(1204).
In the long run, this defeat helped to build up the English nation. Since, now
England was separated from Normandy, and the families who had lands on both sides
of the Channel and were pride on their French speech and manners, had to split up,
the English estates going to one branch and the Norman estates to another.
He was also in a state of dispute with the Church because the Pope appointed the
Archbishop without the King’s consent. After this quarrel, England was placed under
an interdict in 1207, and King John was excommunicated in 1209.
By 1215, the nobility of England had enough of paying extra taxation. The
discontented barons rebelled and captured London in May 1215. In June, the King met
these barons to try and reach a peaceful settlement. The meeting took place at
Runnymede on the river Thames.
The King agreed to their demands by signing a document known as the Magna
Carta – Latin for 'Great Charter', which was an important symbol of political freedom. It
was modified and reissued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225.
Many people see the Magna Carta as a vital piece of English history where the
rights of individuals are protected against the power of the King or Queen. At the time,
the agreement was merely King John's way of obtaining peace between him and his
rebellious barons.
Important points that the Magna Carta covered were:
"The Church is free to make its own appointments."
Meaning: The Church had the final say who was appointed to Church positions of
power.
"No more than the normal amounts of money can be collected to run the government,
unless
the king's feudal tenants give their consent."
Meaning: The King was not allowed to demand more and more money from his
nobility.
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions...
except by the lawful judgement of his peers."
Meaning: Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
Although these statements may seem progressive for those times, the Chart
gave more freedom
to few people in the
country (serfs, who
were not freemen,
did not benefit from
it at all and they were
the largest class in
medieval society). Still
it was a turning point
in English history
because it marked
the beginning of the
decline of feudalism.

Magna Carta and the decline of feudalism

 Magna Carta marks a clear stage in the collapse of English feudalism. Feudal
society was based on links between lord and vassal. At Runnymede the nobles were
not acting as vassals but as a class. They established a committee of twenty-four lords
to make sure John kept his promises. That was not a "feudal" thing to do. In addition,
the nobles were acting in co-operation with the merchant class of towns. In forcing the
king to sign this document the nobles for the first time acted not as the king’s vassals
but as a self-conscious class, and the organization of society into classes was typical of
modern, not feudal, times.
Another extraordinary thing about this mutiny was the unprecedented
cooperation between upper and middle classes. For the first time in history people
sided with the Barons and against the Crown.
There were other small signs that feudalism was changing. When the king went
to war he had the right to forty days' fighting service from each of his lords. But forty
days were not long enough for fighting a war in France. T he nobles refused to fight
for longer, so the king was forced to pay soldiers to fight for him . (They were called
"paid fighters") At the same time, many lords preferred their vassals to pay them in
money rather than in services. Vassals were gradually beginning to change into
tenants. Feudalism, the use of land in return for service, was beginning to weaken. But
it took another three hundred years before it disappeared completely.
King John signed the document to keep peace with the rebel barons - to buy
time - and did not keep to what he agreed to. Civil war thus broke out in England. The
nobility called on the French to invade. John proved himself an able soldier, but died
in October 1216, leaving a divided country - still occupied with French invaders - to his
nine-year-old son, King Henry III.

KING VERSUS BARONS (1216-1272)

 Henry III: Misgovernment

The death of King John placed on the throne his nine-ear-old son Henry. For the
next 15 years the government was carried on by a number of great nobles, acting as
regents. But when the King grew up he fell under the influence of foreign friends, such
as the Bishop of Winchester, who came from Poitou, and the relatives of his Queen,
Eleanor of Provence.
In 1232, Henry took the government into his own hands, whose result was
disastrous. He annoyed the barons by giving titles and wealth to the relatives of
Queen Eleanor. Henry´s relationship with the church was closer. He annoyed the
English clerics also, moreover, by giving way to the Pope’s incessant demands for
money and he gave offices in the English Church to his supporters among the Italian
clergy.
At 1258, the barons and the church leaders of England got irritated with the king´s
incompetence; and, since he resisted the Magna Carta, the rebellion started
encouraged by Simon de Montfort.
 Simon De Montfort was one of the angry barons with Henry policies. He also
began the revolutionary movement against the king policy over high taxations. The
barons established a baronial council which did not give Henry advice, but, orders.
Seven of the angriest barons led by Simon de Montfort, asked Henry to sign a
document “The Provision of Oxford” that dismissed the power of the king and gave
more power to the barons. Henry III signed the document but his furious son, Prince
Edward wanted revenge. In 1264, the king´s army and the barons went into battle. The
barons defeated the king´s army and took him and his son as their prisoners. Simon
decided that the king had made too many mistakes and needed help and advice to
reign, so in 1265 he summoned a council that he called the First Parliament (from the
French word parlement, meaning talking shop or discussion meeting).
To solidify his position, Simon called for a meeting represented by barons,
bishops, nobles and representatives of every borough, city and town in England, even
the burgesses (a new class that had appeared) were invited.
The Provision of Oxford is considerated as the first English written Constitution.
This provision forced the king to accept a new form of government in which power
was placed in the hands of the council of 24 members, 12 selected by the crown, and
12 selected by barons. These 24 members had to control all the king´s decisions; the
provisions had a significant effect upon the development of the English Common Law
System.
However, the barons began to quarrel among themselves and Henry took
advantage of this situation. He asked for help to the Pope and to the king of France to
support his war against the barons. Both agreed to help Henry and the civil war broke
out at 1264.
In 1265 the royal army led by Prince Edward, defeated the rebellious nobles and
killed Montfort. The revolutionary idea of abolishing monarchy had failed. Even though
Simon de Montfort was eventually defeated and killed, the gains of Magna Carta were
left intact.
In 1272, king Henry III died.
NOTES ON THE LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES PERIOD
Edward the 1st 1272 – 1307
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