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1. HENRY II

   Eleanor of Aquitaine Henry II KING OF ENGLAND (1154-1189) Henry the Young King Richard John Geoffrey
2. Henry 1stof England had two children Henry’s Heir Died - 1120
3. Stephen (Henry’s Nephew) seized the throne on Henry’s death Result Civil War Stephen of Blois Empress Matilda V In 1153 an agreement was reached whereby Stephen would keep the throne till he died, when he would be succeeded by Henry, the eldest son of Matilda
4. Succession Stephen died in October 1154 and Henry succeeded peacefully to the throne of England. He also had his mother’s inheritance of Normandy and his father’s of Anjou, Maine and Touraine. In 1152 he had become Duke of Aquitaine Henry had succeeded to a large and unwieldy empire with different traditions and forms of government which would make it difficult to control. The size of the continental part of the empire was a threat to the Kings of France
5. Government Before the civil war, Henry I had been using feudalism to enhance the power of the Crown in England. He had granted land to friends, introduced the exchequer to deal with the money Introduced Scrutage instead of military service He expanded Royal Justice Touring magistrates were introduced Henry’s main objective was financial but he increased royal authority greatly
6. Restoring order The late king’s mercenaries were dismissed He ordered the dismantling of castles built without licence Barons were forced to give up the custody of castles that belonged to the Crown. Some earls were required to forfeit their earldoms The criteria for appointment to Henry’s government team was ability Henry then began the process of rebuilding the power and authority of the monarchy
7. GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION A necessary for effective Government was the efficient administration of finance. Henry installed Nigel of Ely, a cleric to administer the Finances All sources of income were rigorously exploited under Henry II. In 1166 Henry instituted a detailed investigation into the knight service owed by tenants-in-chief to their king. If a baron had too many knights, he paid a levy on the excess. Henry used the information to collect scutage He made knight’s swear allegiance to himself as king, as well as to his immediate overlord. In 1170 Henry ordered an investigation into sheriffs and other local government officials, such as bailiffs and foresters. The inquest had been initiated in response to complaints about the abuse of power resulted in the dismissal of many who had inherited their positions
8. JUSTICE There were a number of reasons for reform Civil war little respect had been paid to law and Oder during the war Royal power Anglo-Saxon justice Criminal cases, guilt was decided by ordeal In civil cases, it was decided by the ability to get enough people to support him under oath. (This was called compurgation) Number of courts There were too many courts
9. Reform of civil law Writs were instructions to sheriffs to summon a jury where claimant had failed to get justice Novel Disseisin (1166): eviction of landholder for mistakes in landholding Mort d’Ancestor (1176): mistakes regarding inheritance of land Darrein Presentment (1179-80): the right of the local landowner to appoint a priest to the parish church. Jury of recognition met under a sheriff in Petty Assizes Jurors were required to state under oath the facts regarding most recent possession. their function was to give a verdict based on facts, not to make a judgment of guilt or innocence From 1179, local juries met in Grand Assize to decide on legal right to property as opposed to who had most recent possession.
10. Results of reform The writ system: enhanced the power of the Crown at the expense of the barons. Justice was increasingly centralisedand royal Written government required an elite corps to administer it: By the end of the reign, royal justices were a regular part of royal administration and the barons had a smaller part to play. By 1172 there was a permanent session of the Kings court at Westminster The Court of King’s Bench and the Court of Common Pleas.
11. What the historians say Henry II inherited the form of feudal government Maitland and Sayles (older view) Henry’s legal reforms were designed to increase the power of the Crown at the expense of the barons Henry achieved this by enforcing and expanding prerogative rights The barons lost many of the legal rights which had guaranteed their power in the feudal state The increasing centralisation of justice made Henry more a national monarch than a feudal one W L Warren and Richard Mortimer Henry was not pursuing an anti-baronial policy to enhance the power of the Crown. writs and assizes evolved in Henry’s reign because of the increasing need, in the aftermath of civil war, to sort out rival claims regarding land possession and ownership. The reforms may have resulted in royal courts undermining feudal courts, but it had not been the intention to do so
12. Conclusions The authority and power of the Crown increased as a result of these reforms. The Crown gained financially: justice meant money (fines, fees for writs etc). The barons’ feudal powers were eroded as royal justice became more popular; the King’s powers were increased The decisions of the King’s courts became the basis of English common law. The modern judicial system, which employs a jury interested in facts rather than reputations, has its origins in Henry’s reforms.