Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216

28 Pages·2016·3.11 MB·English

Brighter Thinking
A/AS Level History for AQA
Written for the AQA A/AS Level English Language and Literature specification for first teaching from Royal Authority and the
2015, this Student Book supports learning at every stage of the new linear A/AS Level courses.
Building on the ethos behind the new qualifications, including the use of innovative research from
higher education, this resource focuses on the exam specification and allows for wider breadth and
Angevin Kings, 1154–1216
depth of learning.
• Includes a unique three-part structure with • Activities throughout the book focus on key
A /AS Level History for AQA
‘Beginning’, ‘Developing’ and ‘Enriching’ sections language topics, issues and concepts, and provide
helping to bridge the gap between GCSE and guidance on responding to examination
A level, develop knowledge and understanding of questions. Student Book
the specification and extend learning beyond the
• Cambridge Elevate-enhanced Edition features
curriculum.
additional rich digital content, including tutorial- Martin Evans
• Supports both AS and A Level teaching, with AS style videos covering key specification topics and
Series Editors: Michael Fordham and David Smith
content signposted throughout the book. interviews with writers and academics.
A
/
A
About the authors This book has been approved by AQA. S
L
E
Series Editor Marcello Giovanelli is Assistant Professor in V
E
English Education at the University of Nottingham and has L
H
published widely in the fields of applied linguistics and IS
stylistics. He has many years’ experience of teaching English T
O
Language and Literature in schools and in higher education. R
Y
F
Andrea Macrae is a Senior Lecturer in Stylistics at Oxford O
R
Brookes University, and researches and publishes work in A
Q
narratological, performative, cognitive and pedagogical
A
stylistics. She has also been a resource writer and trainer for S
T
A Level teaching. U
D
E
Felicity Titjen is a course leader at Oldham Sixth Form N
T
College and has been a resource writer, trainer and B
O
presenter across a range of professional development
O
courses for teachers on effective A Level teaching. K
Ian Cushing teaches English at secondary and sixth-form
levels. He has published a range of materials related to
language and linguistics, and presents training courses for
teachers, primarily on A Level English. His interests are in
integrated approaches to teaching grammar, language and
literature.
Visit www.cambridge.org/ukschools for full
details of all our A/AS Level English resources
and for information on the Cambridge Elevate
digital subscription service.
Contents
Contents
About this Series iv 6 The end of John’s reign, 1214–1216 113
Defeat in the war with France 113
e
Relations between King John and the barons 118
The First Barons’ War 123
Part 1 THE REIGN OF HENRY II,
‘King John’s legacy 128
1154–1189 1
l
Glossary 132
p
1 The Restoration of Royal Authority, 1154–1166 1
The political, economic and social condition Bibliography 134
m
England in 1154 1
The restoration of royal authority under
Henry II 7
Acknowledgements 135
The place of religion in society 12
Henry II and England’s overseas territories 16
a
2 The Crisis of Royal Authority, 1166–1174 23
Index 136
The conflict between Church and state 23
Henry II and Ireland, 1166–1174 34
s
The origins of the Great Rebellion 37
The course of the Great Rebellion 42

3 The Struggle for Royal Authority, 1174–1189 48
Attempts to consolidate royal authority
t
after the Great Rebellion 49
Relations between Church andf state,
1174–1189 55
England’s overseas territoaries 57
Social and economic developments in England 67
Part 2 ENGLAND UNDER HENRY II’S
r
SUCCESSORS, 1189–1216 70
D
4 Richard I, 1189–1199 70
The character and aims of Richard I 70
England without Richard, the absentee king 73
Relations with France and the conflict
between Richard and Philip II 79
Social and economic developments 84
5 King John, 1199–1214 90
Royal government under King John 91
Relations with the Church 96
The loss of Normandy and war with France 103
Scotland, Ireland and Wales 108
iii
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
A/AS Level History for AQA: Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
About this Series
Cambridge A/AS Level History for AQA is an exciting new Icons used within this book include:
series designed to support students in their journey
e
from GCSE to A Level and then on to possible further
historical study. The books provide the knowledge,
Key terms
concepts and skills needed for the two-year AQA History
A-Level course, but it is our intention as series editors l
that students recognise that their A-Level exams are
p
just one step on to a potential lifelong relationship with
Voices from the past/Hidden voices
the discipline of history. The book is thus littered with
further readings, extracts from historians’ works and
m
links to wider questions and ideas that go beyond the
scope of an A-Level course. With this series, we have
sought to ensure not only that the students are well Practice essay questions
prepared for their examinations, but also that they gain
access to a wider debate that characterises historical
study. a
The series is designed to provide clear and effective Chapter summary
support for students as they make the adjustment from
s
GCSE to A Level, and also for teachers, especially those
who are not familiar with teaching a two-year linear
course. The student books cover the AQA specifications About Cambridge Elevate

for both AS and A Level. They are intended to appeal to
Cambridge Elevate is the platform which hosts a digital
the broadest range of students, and they offer not only
t
version of this Student Book. If you have access to this
challenge to stretch the top end but also additional
support for those who need it. Every afuthor in this digital version you can annotate different parts of the
book, send and receive messages to and from your
series is an experienced historian or history teacher,
a teacher and insert weblinks, among other things.
and all have great skill both in conveying narratives
to readers and asking the kinds of questions that pull
We hope that you enjoy your AS or A Level History
those narratives apart.
course, as well as this book, and wish you well for the
r
journey ahead.
In addition to quality prose, this series also makes
extensive use of textual primary sources, maps,
D Michael Fordham and David L. Smith
diagrams and images, and offers a wide range
Series editors
of activities to encourage students to address
historical questions of cause, consequence, change
and continuity. Throughout the books there are
opportunities to critique the interpretations of other
historians, and to use those interpretations in the
construction of students’ own accounts of the past. The
series aims to ease the transition for those students
who move on from A Level to undergraduate study,
and the books are written in an engaging style that
will encourage those who want to explore the subject
further.
iv
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
2 The Crisis of Royal Authority, 1166–1174
e
l
p
m
a
s

t
f
The focus of this chapter is on the troubled middle years of the reign of Henry II.
a
In this traumatic period clashes with both the Church and with his own family
threatened to tear Henry’s empire apart. We will look into:
• the conflict between Church and state: Thomas Becket and the crisis of 1170;
r
the clash between Henry II and the papacy
• Henry II and Ireland: the invasions of 1169 and 1171; relations with the Irish
D
nobility
• the origins of the Great Rebellion: dynastic instability and Henry II’s relations
with the three rebellious sons, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their supporters; the
role of Louis VII of France
• the course of the Great Rebellion: political instability; the barons; William I of
Scotland; the re-establishment of Henry II’s rule.
The conflict between Church and state
Henry II was determined to exercise greater control of the English Church. His
driving ambition was to enjoy the royal authority he believed his grandfather,
Henry I, had wielded. Henry I had exercised considerable influence over the
English and Norman churches. In reality he had controlled the appointment of
prelates (bishops and abbots) even though he had surrendered the formal right to
23
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
A/AS Level History for AQA: Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
do so in 1107. Henry I had also controlled, to a degree, communications between
the Church in his possessions and the papacy in Rome. He had regulated visits to
his territories by papal legates and had continued to exercise control over Church
councils in both England and Normandy. Henry II was not in nearly as strong a
Key term
position regarding the English Church by 1154. Papal influence in England had
Papal curia: the ‘court’ of increased after 1135 along with the increasing development of canon laew, which
individuals that served the led to growing appeals to the papal curia in Rome.
Pope, gave him advice and
In 1161 Henry II saw an opportunity to reassert some royal control over the English
helped him to run the Western
Church when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Becl, died. At Rouen,
Church.
in February 1162, he reissued the decrees of the Councilp of Lillebonne (1080)
that had established firm controls over the Norman Church. (At the Council of
Clarendon, two years later, he would demand similar measures for England.) He
was firmly established on the throne and pushed successfully for his close friend
m
and chancellor, Thomas Becket, to be elected. Thomas Becket was duly elected in
May 1162. However, if Henry hoped to use his close friendship with Becket to gain
stronger control over the English Church he was to be frustrated. Between 1162
and 1164 Thomas Becket challenged and defied the King over several key issues,
most notably at a series of church councils. The Archbishop then fled abroad into
a
exile and relations between the King and his former friend were acrimonious
between 1164 and 1170. When peace was finally re-established between them
Thomas Becket returned to Canterbury, where he was murdered by four of the
Figure 2.1: King Henry II of England in
king’s knights on 2s9 December 1170.
dispute with his former friend, Thomas
Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Why did relations between Henry II and Thomas Becket sour?

A matter of principle
Hetnry II refused to accept that many of the ‘freedoms’ enjoyed by the English
Church were legitimate rights. He saw many of them as undermining royal
f
authority. Perhaps the most famous of these was the issue of so-called ‘criminous
clerks’ – members of the clergy who had committed crimes. This was no small
a
matter. Technically as many as one in six adult males in England could claim to
be a clerk in holy orders. According to the English Church it had the exclusive
right to try and punish these clerks in its own church courts and it cited canon
r
law in defence of this position. Thomas Becket supported the rights of the Church
against his royal master. Henry II rejected this alleged monopoly of the Church
D
Key terms regarding justice over the clergy. He took his coronation oath to uphold justice
very seriously. This principled clash was exacerbated by the leniency which the
Excommunication: the church courts often showed to offenders, in stark contrast to the harshness of royal
most severe spiritual justice. Between 1162 and 1164 there were several high-profile cases in which
penalty possible. It placed a Henry believed the actions of the Church undermined royal authority and general
responsibility on everyone confidence in justice (see Chapter 1, ‘Ecclesiastical courts’).
to avoid those who were
excommunicated, and not to aid Another matter of principle concerned the excommunication of the king’s
them in any way. tenants-in-chief and royal officials. Given the importance of these individuals
to Henry II’s own government and authority he insisted that such men could
Tenant-in-chief: anybody who only be excommunicated with his approval. By claiming this he was upholding
held land directly from the king. the customs enjoyed by the Norman kings of England between 1066 and 1135.
Thomas Becket completely rejected this custom and used the theories of the
reform movement to support his position. He argued that spiritual penalties were
24
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
2 The Crisis of Royal Authority, 1166–1174
a matter for the Church alone and had nothing to do with secular royal authority.
This came to a head in summer 1163, shortly after the Council of Woodstock, when
Thomas Becket excommunicated William of Eynsford, a tenant-in-chief of the
king. The excommunication was disregarded by Henry II and the issue became
part of the quarrel that ultimately led to Becket’s murder in 1170.
e
A matter of personality
Henry II had secured Thomas Becket’s election to Canterbury because of the
personal trust that he had in him. Becket had shown conspicuous loyalty to his
l
royal master as chancellor between 1155 and 1162. He had acted for Henry II
in delicate situations including diplomacy at the French royal court as well as p
supporting the raising of substantial revenue from the English Church and the
wider realm to finance the king’s military campaigns. This added to the sense of
personal betrayal that Henry II felt when Becket first surrendered the office of
m
chancellor and then resisted Henry’s attempts to raise further sums of money.
Henry II was stunned at the council of Woodstock in July 1163 when Thomas
Becket refused to pay sheriff’s aid directly to the exchequer and led the opposition
to it. This fee had been traditionally paid by all tenants-in-chief (ecclesiastical and
secular) to sheriffs.
a
The public nature of this resistance by his former friend and the senior prelate
in England was profoundly humiliating to Henry II. Becket’s defiance of the king
continued at the council of Westminster in October 1163,s where Henry demanded
that the English bishops uphold what he considered to be the customs of England
regarding matters such as excommunication, criminous clerks and appeals
to Rome. Led by Thomas Becket, the bishops w ould only swear a partial and
conditional oath (‘saving their order’), and Henry II was furious.
t
Although the dispute at the Council of Westminster was arguably a principled
dispute primarily over ‘criminous clefrks’, Henry’s reaction to Becket’s continued
public opposition shows how personally he took the opposition from his former
a
friend. Henry stormed out of the council and immediately stripped Becket of all
his remaining royal honours, including the castles of Eye and Berkhamsted. Most
significantly he removed his son and heir, Young Henry, from Becket’s household.
He also began showring favour to known rivals of Becket within the English Church.
He sought a papal legateship for Roger, Archbishop of York, and backed the
abbot of St AuDgustine’s monastery in Canterbury, Clarembald, who was disputing
Becket’s authority over him.
At the stormy council of Clarendon in January 1164, Henry once again demanded
that the bishops unconditionally uphold the ‘customs of England’. Led by Becket,
the bishops at first refused, but then Becket surrendered and made the bishops
swear to do so. However, Becket then refused to attach his seal and sent the
written customs to Pope Alexander III for confirmation. After Clarendon, the
gates of the royal hunting lodge at Woodstock were shut in Becket’s face when he
attempted to meet with the king. It is clear that Henry II regarded Becket’s position
as a personal betrayal and acted accordingly.
Another personal matter that possibly impacted upon the relationship between
Henry II and Thomas Becket between 1162 and 1164 revolved around Henry’s
25
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
A/AS Level History for AQA: Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
youngest brother, William. William of Anjou was close to his royal brother but
he did not have any lands of his own. King Stephen’s younger son died childless
in 1159 and William sought Isabel de Warenne, his wealthy widow, as his bride
during 1162 and 1163. But William was blocked by Thomas Becket, who refused to
secure him a dispensation, which was needed because they were closely related.
William died in January 1164 and it is claimed that Henry II blamed Beceket for his
brother’s death.
At the council of Northampton in October 1164 Thomas Becket was summoned to
stand trial and formally charged with a series of alleged finanlcial offences relating
to his time as chancellor of England and as custodian of pthe castles of Eye and
Berkhamsted, for which it was claimed he owed the crown £300. He apparently
also owed Henry II 500 marks for money borrowed during the Toulouse campaign
of 1159. Given how much time had passed since then and the nature of Becket’s
m
activities in support of his royal master’s agenda between 1155 and 1162 it is
hard to escape the conclusion that the charges were trumped up due to Henry II’s
personal animosity and the resultant desire to ruin the Archbishop.
ACTIVITY 2.1 a
Use the chart to complete the table relating to responsibility for the breakdown of
relations between Henry II and Thomas Becket between 1162 and 1164.
s
Actions that contributed to the breakdown

Henry II
Thtomas
Becket
f
a
r Timeline: Events between 1162 and 1164
D 1162
February: Henry II reissues at Rouen the decrees of the Council of
Lillebonne (1080).
May: Thomas Becket’s election as Archbishop of Canterbury is
confirmed by the bishops.
June: Thomas Becket is officially installed as Archbishop of
Canterbury.
August: Thomas Becket receives his pallium of office from the
Pope.
Autumn: Thomas Becket resigns as Chancellor and returns the Great
Seal to Henry II.
26
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
2 The Crisis of Royal Authority, 1166–1174
1163
July: The Council of Woodstock: dispute over sheriff’s aid. Henry
II is humiliated and furious.
Summer: Increasing numbers of criminous clerk cases, notably Philip
de Broi. Becket excommunicates William of Eynsford. e
October: The Council of Westminster. Becket is stripped of honours,
and Young Henry removed from Becket’s household.
l
Winter: Henry II seeks a legateship for Roger of York and gives his
support to Gilbert Foliot and Clarembald. p
1164
January: The Council of Clarendon. Becket reluctantly accepts the
m
Constitutions of Clarendon, subject to papal approval.
August: Becket is refused access to the king at Woodstock and
unsuccessfully attempts to flee England to seek papal
support.
October: Thomas Becket is summoned to stand trial at the Couancil
of Northampton. He rejects the charges of embezzlement
and then flees.
Winter: Henry II’s representatives and Becket boths appeal in
person to the Pope.
Henry II seizes of all churches and revenues of Thomas and

his clerks, and exiles his relatives and household.
t
Thomas Becket and the crisis of 1170
f
In October 1164, Becket fled England in disguise. Exacerbated by the actions of
both Henry and Thomas Beckeat, and by the intervention of others, the conflict
between the King and the Archbishop dragged on for six years.
Henry II’s appeals to the Pope
r
Henry II was swift to act against his former friend when Thomas Becket fled. He
immediately sent ambassadors to make his case before Pope Alexander III at Sens
D
in France, and hinted that if Alexander III failed to support him in his dispute with
the Archbishop he might recognise the authority of his rival, the antipope Paschal
III. In May 1165 one of Henry’s clerks, Richard of Ilchester, even swore allegiance
to Paschal. It was a tactic, and was later disavowed by Henry II, but the threat
was clear. In June 1165, Alexander quashed the sentence imposed on Becket at
Northampton, and wrote to Gilbert Foliot asking him to intercede with the King,
reminding him of his obedience to Canterbury. Gilbert Foliot, however, wrote to
the Pope warning him not to excommunicate the King for fear that Henry II would
throw his support behind the antipope. In June 1166, Gilbert Foliot led an English
church council in London that sent a joint letter from the bishops to Alexander III
asserting how reasonable Henry II had been and how unjustly Thomas Becket had
been acting.
27
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
A/AS Level History for AQA: Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
Henry II’s personal quarrel with Becket
By Christmas 1164 Henry II had ordered the seizure of all the churches and
revenues of Thomas Becket and the clerks who had joined him in exile. He also
drove many members of Thomas Becket’s family and household into exile.
He forbade them from appealing to the Pope. Henry’s actions over the next
six years clearly prolonged the conflict, as he was in no mood to comproemise
with his former friend and often took actions which made it harder for Becket
to compromise.
l
In 1166 Henry II summoned Becket’s loyal clerks to his court. They reiterated their
loyalty to the renegade archbishop, and Henry refused tpo pardon them and restore
their possessions. Henry II also stirred up the English Church against Becket. He
gained the support of most of the bishops and in particular secured the backing
of Roger, Archbishop of York, and Gilbert Foliot, the respected bishop of London.
m
In June 1170 the King arranged for the coronation of his eldest son, Young Henry,
as King of England. This was performed by Roger, Archbishop of York, in violation
of Canterbury’s traditional rights. It was a deliberate provocation that made
reconciliation even harder.
a
Thomas Becket’s attitude to the Constitutions of Clarendon
In January 1164 Thomas Becket had eventually (although with deep reluctance
and only subject to papal approval) accepted the terms of the Constitutions of
Clarendon. Howesver, as soon as he was safely in exile he rejected them completely
and in June 1166 he formally denounced them, excommunicating some of his
enemies in the process. His opposition to areas that were crucial to Henry II’s

Voices from the past: Thomas Becket
t
Thomas Becket, former royal chancellor, and
f
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his violent Would that your ears, my dear friend, were open to the
death in December 1170, was the key player in the mouths of our people and might hear what is being
a
dispute between Henry II and the Church in the 1160s. chanted to the shame of the Roman church. For by the
Becket had been a loyal servant to Henry II and he Apostolic mandate the bishops of London and Salisbury
had also enjoyed the favour of Theobald of Bec, his are absolved, although it is well known that the former
r
predecessor at Canterbury. Becket shifted to become has been from the first the instigator of schism and the
an outspoken advocate of the rights of the Church author of all evil. He it was who seduced the bishop of
D
after he became archbishop. He wrote many letters to Salisbury, along with all whom he could influence, into
secure the support of the papacy or to chastise those the crime of disobedience. I know not how it is that in
in England who did follow his instructions. The extract the papal curia the Lord’s side is always sacrificed. We
below is from a letter written by him to Cardinal Albert cannot defend the liberty of our Church, because the
de Morra, a member of the papal curia whom Becket Apostolic See has now prolonged our exile to the end of
had most probably known when he was a law student the sixth year.1
in Bologna. It was written in April 1170 as a response
to the absolution of Gilbert Foliot by the papal legate
Discussion points
which lifted the excommunication placed upon him by
1. Who does Thomas Becket blame for his inability to
Becket in 1169.
control the English Church?
2. Why does Thomas Becket complain about the
conduct of the Pope at this time?
28
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending
2 The Crisis of Royal Authority, 1166–1174
perception of his own royal authority, notably regarding ‘criminous clerks’ and the
excommunication of tenants-in-chief and royal officials, was a major stumbling
block to any reconciliation. In November 1167 Henry offered a compromise on the
Constitutions; although the papal legates accepted this, Becket refused.
Thomas Becket’s personal quarrel with Henry II
e
In November 1167, Gilbert Foliot was summoned to Normandy to meet with
papal legates and the King. Roger of York, Hilary of Chichester, and Roger of
Worcester were also summoned. Henry appears to have agreed that the papal
l
legates could judge his case and that of his bishops against Becket, but Becket
refused to accept their intercession. Becket wrote relentlessly to Pope Alexander III p
in defence of his position between 1164 and 1170 and secured papal protection
from Henry II. His exile in France was only possible with the support of Louis VII
of France, and his closeness to Henry II’s royal rival was a provocation to the
m
English king.
In July 1168, Alexander III wrote to both Henry and Becket. He suspended Becket’s
power to inflict any harm on Henry II and the English bishops until March 1169,
but promised to restore Becket’s authority in full at that point. Henry would not
a
be permitted any further appeals. The very next month, in April 1169, Becket
made another thinly disguised attack on Henry II by excommunicating the bishops Key term
closest to him, including Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, and Joscelin, Bishop of
Salisbury. He not only excommunicated the bishops but salso some royal officials Constitutions of Clarendon:
and Hugh Bigod, an English earl, underlining his determination to ignore Henry II’s sixteen articles which Henry II
insistence that such actions required his consent. had insisted that the English
bishops agree to at the Council

In July 1170, Becket threatened to put the whole of England under an interdict. of Clarendon in January 1164.
Henry and Becket met at Freteval, and camte to an agreement that allowed Becket They extended royal authority
to return to England, but did not address the Constitutions of Clarendon or the over the English Church.
other outstanding issues. One of Becfket’s first actions on returning in November
1170 was, once again, to excommunicate Roger of York, Joscelin of Salisbury and Interdict: a spiritual
Gilbert of London for their roleas in the coronation that Henry had asked them penalty less severe than
to perform. excommunication but which
blocked an individual or an area
In December, havingr arrived in England, Becket refused to lift the three bishops’ from participating in the rites of
excommunications and refused to allow them to appeal to the Pope to have them the Church.
lifted. Roger, Joscelin and Gilbert left England to report to Henry II at Christmas
D
in Normandy. On 29 December, four of the King’s household knights arrived at
Canterbury and murdered Becket in his cathedral.
The interventions of Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III’s actions clearly played an important role in prolonging the
conflict. Alexander III was in a difficult position. He was a reformer and many of the
principles that Becket claimed to be fighting for were ones that he too sought to
defend. However, there were rival claimants to be pope – between 1164 and 1170,
Paschal III and Calixtus III in turn. Alexander III could not risk totally alienating
Henry II for fear that the English king might recognise his papal rival and reject his
authority. Furthermore, it was clear that Becket did not enjoy the support of the
English bishops.
29
© Cambridge University Press Third party permissions pending