After William I’s death the throne went to his sons: William II Rufus (1087-1100) and Henry I (1100-1135)

They continued his job; their times were the days of relative peace.

After Henry’s death there were two candidates for the throne: Stephen and Matilda, both ready to fight for power.

Matilda had the support of the army, but she was a woman, so she wasn’t welcome on throne. She and Stephen were in a war, but she couldn’t fight him in a battle, so she decided to marry Jeffery of Anjou – a French province with Angers as a capital. In the end she accepted Stephen on the throne as long as he promised that after his death her son Henry would become the king – and in 1154 he did.

Henry II began the dynasty of Angevins (inhabitants of Anjou) or Plantagenets (comes from Planta Genista – gałązka janowca – a plant he used to wear in his hat. He was one of the most powerful monarchs in the history of England. He was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine; together they created one of the greatest empires of that time, spreading from Scotland to the Pyrenees. However, he is usually remembered as an author of a murder in the cathedral.

Henry II was a great reformer; he wanted to change the legal system to make it work, imposing a kind of limitation to his power:

- creation of professional courts -> either in Westminster or moving round the country

- specialization of judges

- creation of the first legal textbook in England

However, there was a conflict between the king and the Church based on different hierarchy of importance:

             Church:                                                                            King:

               God                                                                                 God

               Pope                                                                                King

               King                                                                                Pope

It turned out that there were two legal systems in England, the Church had its own law and wasn’t controlled by the monarch.

Thomas Becket – the first commoner in British history. He was a son of a merchant, but became the king’s friend, doing all the paperwork for him. Then he was made the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Henry II wanted Becket to be ‘his man in the Church’ and change the law for him. However, Becket became a great supporter of the Pope and church law.

29 XII 1170 – Murder in the Cathedral:

Thomas Becket was killed and fragmented by the king’s soldiers.

Two years later he was canonized and Canterbury became the place of miracles and numerous pilgrimages. The king himself also marched to Canterbury, wearing a cilice (włosiennica).

The Church remained strong.

In 1189 the throne went to Richard the Lionheart, Henry II’s son, known as ‘the absent king’. He was a warrior, one of the most charismatic and courageous ones, but during his 10 years ruling he spent in England only 6 months, spending time and money on the crusades. He left the treasure so empty that when he was kept hostage his mother was the only person who wanted to help him. She had to pay 34 tons of gold, which the country couldn’t afford.

The positive effect of his constant absence was that Henry II’s reforms became solid and internalized by the people.

Richard died in 1199, leaving the treasure completely empty. His brother John, who became the king, was bankrupt. He raised the taxes, but met resistance. His ruling can be described with a word lawlessness – those who didn’t pay the taxes were put in prison, both commoners and noblemen could be imprisoned without a trial.

He has awoken people to law consciousness – they got accustomed with the law and were able to use it to protect themselves.

Magna Carta Libertatum w następnym odcinku.