Hubert Walter

1. Hubert Walter “One of the most outstanding government ministers in English History.” John Gillingham Hubert Walter was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. He held the positions of chief Justiciar of England, archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter began the keeping of the Charter Roll, a record of all charters issued by the chancery. Walter was not noted for his holiness in life or learning, but historians have judged him one of the most outstanding government ministers in English history. He had served under Henry II as Bishop of Salisbury. He then accompanied Richard on Crusade. He raised much of the ransom when Richard was captured in Germany. The ransom was said to be as high as 150,000 marks which would be several millions of pounds today. As reward for his loyal service, Walter became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1193 and also Justiciar an office he held until 1198. In 1199 following Richards death he was to help Richards brother John succeed him as King.

2. Hubert Walter the Crusader Eleanor of Aquitaine Saladin He acted as Richard’s principal negotiator with Saladin for a peace treaty. After the conclusion of the treaty with Saladin, Walter was in the first band of pilgrims that entered Jerusalem. Saladin entertained Walter during his stay in Jerusalem, and the Englishman succeeded in extracting a promise from Saladin that a small group of Western clergy would be allowed to remain in the city to perform divine services. He had led Richard soldiers from Palestine back to England stopping to try and raise the Kings ransom whilst in prison. Whilst imprisoned Richard wrote to his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine to suggest that Hugh be made AB of C which he duly was without the consent of the Bishops in the Nov of 1193. In the December of 1193 he became the Kings Judiciar.

3. Hubert Walter the Justiciar After Richard was freed, he spent little time in England, instead concentrating on the war with King Philip II of France. Walter remained in England, raising money for the king's wars and overseeing the administration of the kingdom. The constant warfare forced Walter to find new means of raising money through taxation. The historian Doris Stenton wrote that the Pipe Rolls, or financial records, during Walter's time as justiciar "give the impression of a country taxed to the limit". Walter also was responsible for choosing royal justices, and many of his choices were connected with, or had previously worked with, the archbishop in the royal administration. Because of Richard's absence from England, Walter was able to exercise more authority as justiciar than any of his predecessors. All that Walter needed to do was keep Richard's monetary needs satisfied. Combined with Walter's position as archbishop,

4. Hubert and the rebellious John One of Walter's first acts as justiciar was in February 1194, when he presided over a feudal judgement of John, Richard's younger brother and the later King John that he would assist. After Richard's release from captivity, John, intending to begin a rebellion, had prepared his castles for defence. His letters ordering the preparations were intercepted and John was deprived of his lands. When John showed no signs of submitting, Walter called an ecclesiastical council at Westminster for the purposes of excommunicating John unless he submitted. John refused to submit, and was excommunicated. To defeat the rebellion, Walter was required to lay siege to Marlborough Castle himself. Walter employed his brother Theobald in similar actions in Lancaster, and rewarded him with the office of sheriff of Lancaster. Eventually in May 1194, John made peace with Richard, and was restored to favour, although the restoration of his lands did not occur until late in 1195.

5. Hubert Walter the Administrator Walter's chief administrative measures were his instructions to the itinerant justices of 1194 . In 1194 the justices were ordered to secure the election of four coroners by each county court. The coroners were to "keep", or register, royal pleas, which had previously been a duty of the sheriff. Thus the money that was usually extracted from the peasantry by the Sheriffs was now being diverted into the Kings funds. The juries were to be chosen by a committee of four knights, also elected by the county court. This introduction of coroners and constables eventually led to a change in the role of sheriffs, it reduced their importance and influence. In 1195 Walter was responsible for the setting up of justices of the peace which saw the selection of 4 knights in each hundred to govern peace. This would be taking power away from the sheriffs. In 1198, Hubert introduced his plan of 1198 for the assessment of a land tax. This was called a curacage or plough tax- 5 shillings plough land under cultivation. A hundred was an area, like a shire. The hundred courts progressed from holding court 12 times a year to in some cases fortnightly and were instrumental in establishing the common law.

6. Hubert Walter the foreign diplomat In 1189, Scotland was officially declared independent of England raising £6,000 in the process. Known as the Quitclaim of Canterbury Hubert negotiated on behalf of Richard a settlement with the Scots and their leader William the Lion and their right to Northumbria in 1195. Whilst the negotiations weren’t a complete success it did preserve the peace. William the Lion Hubert also negotiated with the Welsh in 1197 Rhys ap Gruffydd was threatening to invade England due to expansion into Wales Rhys ap Gruffydd