Henry II

In this research assignment, I have set out to find out about Henry II, his major achievements, and whether he was a good or a bad ruler. I intended to find information in reference books and on electronic sources including the Internet, and Microsoft Encarta CD-ROM. I found several brief descriptions of his life in Encyclopaedias, but the next stage was in very technical explanations. I had to sift through many textbooks full of information, and only found one Internet site with an adequate amount of information to be included. I did not find as much information from the school library as I planned to originally, and most of the books of the catalogue were either overdue, or missing from the shelf. Most of the books I used as resources were books on all the kings and queens of England from 802 AD to the present. I was originally going to find out about several British Kings but found enough information to focus on Henry II.

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The King's Early Life

Henry II was born in Le Mans, France, on March 5th 1133. He was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Matilda, who was the granddaughter of William the Conqueror (see appendix A1). He grew up in Anjou, South France and was educated by scholars. However he traveled to England as early as 1142 to defend his mother's claim to the English throne. His mother should have received the crown after Henry I died, but it was decided that Maltilda's cousin Stephen, as a man, should inherit the throne. There was no laws regarding succession, although it was accepted that a relative of the king was an heir to the throne. In 1151 his father died leaving him Normandy and Anjou. In the same year, he married Eleanor Aquitane, ex-wife of Louis VII of France, and nearly doubled the amount of land he owned. Eleanor's marriage to Louis VII had been annulled for a variety of reasons, including the fact that she had failed to produce a male heir to the throne (French law permitted only a male to inherit the throne). Finally, Stephen agreed to give Henry the crown. Henry was crowned in 1154.

Changes to England

Henry's empire was much larger than the mere island named Britain. It extended to cover almost half of France, stretching from the Scottish Border to the Pyrenees in Northern Spain. In such a large kingdom, Henry had to travel energetically and extensively, to fend off invaders (see appendix A2). He defeated the Scots, and later made William the Lion pay homage to his country. He also felt the need to prove himself, as he was a short and thickset man, with bandy legs attributed to endless horse riding. He was described as 'short of body', and his small bustling figure was emphasized by the short cloak he habitually wore which earned him the nickname Curtmantle . He travelled so energetically, in fact, Henry's first major task was to re-establish the kings' authority and justice. He involved his barons in legislation and law-making. Henry set out to destroy all the illegal castles built by barons in the civil war. Generally, the building of castles was a royal prerogative, and many of the barons had taken advantage of the chaos and proved their own power by building castles. Henry II promptly set out to prove his power by having each to these illegal castles dismantled. Henry made many changes to how the government was run. He revitalised the English Exchequer, issuing receipts for tax payments. He kept written accounts on rolled parchment. He replaced incompetent sheriffs, and expanded the royal courts, which brought more funds into his coffers. Henry II, the man of genius-the word is not to strong- was by instinct a lawyer . Church courts became safe havens for criminals, and Henry wanted the trials transferred to royal courts (the only punishment open to church courts was demotion within the church. Slowly, the givers of evidence turned into judges and a unique system of trail by a jury of twelve men considered trustworthy of the job. These replaced the more traditional trials, with hot irons and hand to hand combat.

Thomas Becket

Henry's quarrels with Becket overshadowed many of the achievements of his reign. Thomas Becket was the good friend of King Henry. Both of them were outgoing and ambitious leaders. Becket was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. To discredit claims he was too close to the king, he vehemently opposed the weakening of the church courts. Henry had him thrown into exile in 1664. When he returned in 1170, he was greatly angered and opposed to every idea the king had to offer. Exasperated, Henry publicly announced a half-hearted desire to be rid of Becket, announcing the famous words, 'Why will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?'. Four ambitious knights took Becket and murdered him in his own Cathedral (see appendix A3). It is unclear whether Henry really wanted Becket killed or was merely being sarcastic about the matter. Henry was much critisised for the murder, however his realm was probably better off without the contentious Becket .

Henry's Sons

he major threat for Henry came from within his family. Henry's sons were never satisfied with the way he divided up his land when he died. His sons rebelled against him several times. Prince Henry wanted more than just a royal title. He was crowned in 1170 while Henry II was still king. However, he was given no power at all by his father. They were referred to as the 'old' and the 'new' king . In 1173, Young Henry rebelled, backed by his mother and her former husband, Louis VII. The rebellion was not particularly successful, and a truce was agreed in the autumn of 1173 that the young king should inherit just over half of Henry II's land. He divided the rest of the land between Richard and Geoffrey, two other sons. Henry thought this would stop the quarreling between them, but he forgot to include John (Henry's youngest son) in the will. The young Henry died suddenly in 1183 and again the old Henry had to redistribute his inheritances. In 1186 while fighting the Angevins, Richard told his father that he was going to marry Princess Alice of France, and would like to be recognised as an heir to the throne. Henry would not accept this, which started a bitter family quarrel. Henry did not surrender for fifteen years, until his last son, John- whom he had trusted- left him and joined the French. Henry surrendered, and died, very humiliated, in Chinon Castle in Anjou in July 1189, after crying, 'shame, shame on a conquered king'

Conclusion

Henry II (for picture, see appendix A4) was one of the greatest of British rulers ever, making many changes to the way the country was run, so many of which has been the basis of common law to the present day. He did not achieve his full goal of a total reform, but was very successful in over-hauling and clarifying the legal system. In answer to my original focus questions, I have decided he was a very good ruler, and made a significant contribution to the system of law we use today. A contemporary Chronicler summed up the general feeling about the departed Henry II: 'The man, who in his own times was hated by many, is now declared to have been a excellent and beneficial ruler.'

Bibliography

· Britannica Online, Britannia Internet Magazine, 1998- http://www.britannica.com/history/monarchs/

· Cannon, J. and Griffiths, R., The British Monarchy, Oxford Press, 1998

· Clanchy, M., England and its Rulers, Fontana Press, 1989.

· Marlow, J., Kings & Queens of Britain, Artus Publishing, 1977.

· Unstead, R., Kings, Barons and Serfs, Macdonald Educational, 1971.

· Weidenfeld, The Kings and Queens of England, Orion Publishing, 1995.

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