How Successful Was Henry In Restoring Royal Authority By 1170

How successful was Henry in restoring royal authority by 1170?
Henry had the essential and perilous task of restoring royal authority. Under Stephen it could be deemed that there was little or no royal authority in place so when Henry came to power he had to lay down the basic fundamentals before he made serious drastic changes.
A smooth running of the government was essential in restoring royal authority, it was imperative that the people knew there was an effective and powerful government in place in order for them to subject to royal authority. Under Stephen not only was the government weak due to the lack of control and organisation by Stephen but it was also severely disconnected. Sessions of the Exchequer had not been

Henry reformed, reshaped and fundamentally altered the law of the land creating a framework for English common law. Under Stephen thieves were left unpunished and many had escaped justice, church men did as they pleased without any implications, there was anarchy in terms of justice in Stephens reign. Henry created an impressive justice system which laid the precedent for the future. There was the Kings and County courts which dealt with land disputes and serious crimes and then there was the Hundred and Vill courts which dealt with small and less serious crime. Furthermore Henry created the Honourial court which was for barons and the Manorial courts which was for knights. They both dealt with land disputes between tenants and heard mostly petty crimes. Finally there was the Ecclesiastical court which dealt with crimes committed by the clergy, land disputes concerning the church and moral crimes. This effective structure ensured royal authority was restored. The question of proof combined with testifying under oath, introduction of juries and the Mort d’ ancestor changed the way how people were found guilt and convicted. For Henry the justice system was the most important and efficient way in asserting royal authority. However some parts of the system had been in place long before Henry II, the ordeal by iron, water and battle had been around since Henry I and William I, it was only that Stephen did not enforce the law but the creation of laws was already in place. Henry systematised the law, he did create some new procedures in an attempt to streamline and make the previous laws more effective. He also restored royal control over certain capital crimes to ensure the crown was involved in the most serious crimes. All the reforms of law and order led many to experience royal authority in some form