King Henry 2 Essay

Henry II, first of the Angevin kings, is regarded as one of the most effective English monarchs in history. Henry came into power during the chaos that followed and plagued Stephen’s reign before him, with his goal of refining Norman government and creating a sustainable bureaucracy in mind. One of the most important and relevant ways Henry II tried to work towards his goal, was through a series of Assizes, such as the Assize of Clarendon (1166) and the Assize of Northampton (1176). These assizes established many of the basic principles that make up English common law, and they changed forever the relationship of the King to the Church and his state. Although Henry’s regime was not necessarily the most powerful of the great Anglo-Saxon or Norman

After the death of Abbot Roger of Abingdon, King Henry II appointed the abbey to a man Thomas de Husseburne, who promised to put all possessions of the abbot in the king’s possession. However this action also included the potential seizure of the possessions of tenants. Stating that he was following orders of the justices of the lord king, the prior and the men of the church pleaded with Thomas to postpone this seizure until they could speak to the lord king’s justices to show them their old customs and rights, dating back to the time of King Edward, in order to bring judgement in their favor. The brethren sent their prior, Nicholas, with some of their own to Ranulf de Glanvill at the exchequer at Westminster, who at the time held the power of justiciar throughout the kingdom, in order to plead with him that their “customs and liberties” should be changed or disturbed for any reason. Ranulf then deliberated with the bishops and other justices of the exchequer, who decided that no rights or customs of the church be changed. He also made clear to Thomas de Husseburne, who had been present, that he only had power over what belonged to the chamber of the deceased abbot, and that the church maintained rule over their tenures and