of anarchy for unfortunate or weak kings. By the end of William's reign, a
small group of the King's tenants had acquired about half of England's
landed wealth. Only two Englishmen still held large estates directly from
the King. A foreign aristocracy had been imposed as the new governing
class. The expenses of numerous campaigns, together with an economic slump
(caused by the shifts in landed wealth, and the devastation of northern
England for military and political reasons), prompted William to order a
full-scale investigation into the actual and potential wealth of the
kingdom to maximise tax revenues. The Domesday survey was prompted by
ignorance of the state of land holding in England, as well as the result of
the costs of defence measures in England and renewed war in France. The
scope, speed, efficiency and completion of this survey was remarkable for
its time and resulted in the two-volume Domesday Book of 1086, which still
exists today. William needed to ensure the direct loyalty of his feudal
tenants. The 1086 Oath of Salisbury was a gathering of William's 170
tenants-in-chief and other important landowners who took an oath of fealty
to William. William's reach extended elsewhere into the Church and the
legal system. French superseded the vernacular (Anglo-Saxon). Personally
devout, William used his bishops to carry out administrative duties.
Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1070, was a first-class
administrator who assisted in government when William was absent in France,
and who reorganised the Church in England. Having established the primacy
of his archbishopric over that of York, and with William's approval,
Lanfranc excommunicated rebels, and set up Church or spiritual courts to
deal with ecclesiastical matters. Lanfranc also replaced English bishops
and abbots (some of whom had already been removed by the Council of
Winchester under papal authority) with Norman or French clergy to reduce
potential political resistance. In addition, Canterbury and Durham
Cathedrals were rebuilt and some of the bishops' sees were moved to urban
centres. At his coronation, William promised to uphold existing laws and
customs. The Anglo-Saxon shire courts and 'hundred' courts (which
administered defence and tax, as well as justice matters) remained intact,
as did regional variations and private Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions. To
strengthen royal justice, William relied on sheriffs (previously smaller
landowners, but replaced by influential nobles) to supervise the
administration of justice in existing county courts, and sent members of
his own court to conduct important trials. However, the introduction of
Church courts, the mix of Norman/Roman law and the differing customs led to
a continuing complex legal framework. More severe forest laws reinforced
William's conversion of the New Forest into a vast Royal deer reserve.
These laws caused great resentment, and to English chroniclers the New
Forest became a symbol of William's greed. Nevertheless the King maintained
peace and order. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1087 declared 'he was a very
stern and violent man, so no one dared do anything contrary to his will ...
Amongst other things the good security he made in this country is not to be
forgotten.' William spent the last months of his reign in Normandy,
fighting a counter-offensive in the French Vexin territory against King
Philip's annexation of outlying Normandy territory. Before his death on 9
September 1087, William divided his 'Anglo-Norman' state between his sons.
(The scene was set for centuries of expensive commitments by successive
English monarchs to defend their inherited territories in France.) William
bequeathed Normandy as he had promised to his eldest son Robert, despite
their bitter differences (Robert had sided with his father's enemies in
Normandy, and even wounded and defeated his father in a battle there in
1079). His son, William Rufus, was to succeed William as King of England,
and the third remaining son, Henry, was left 5,000 pounds in silver.
William was buried in his abbey foundation of St Stephen at Caen.
Desecrated by Huguenots (1562) and Revolutionaries (1793), the burial place
of the first Norman king of England is marked by a simple stone slab.
WILLIAM II (KNOWN AS WILLIAM RUFUS) (1087-1100)
Strong, outspoken and ruddy (hence his nickname 'Rufus'), William II
(reigned 1087-1100) extended his father's policies, taking royal power to
the far north of England. Ruthless in his relations with his brother
Robert, William extended his grip on the duchy of Normandy under an
agreement between the brothers in 1091. (Robert went on crusade in 1096.)
William's relations with the Church were not easy; he took over
Archbishop Lanfranc's revenues after the latter's death in 1089, kept other
bishoprics vacant to make use of their revenues, and had numerous arguments
with Lanfranc's popular successor, Anselm. William died on 2 August 1100,
after being shot by an arrow whilst hunting in the New Forest.
HENRY I (1100-1135)
William's younger brother Henry succeeded to the throne. He was crowned
three days after his brother's death, against the possibility that his
eldest brother Robert might claim the English throne. After the decisive
battle of Tinchebrai in 1106 in France, Henry completed his conquest of
Normandy from Robert, who then (unusually even for that time) spent the
last 28 years of his life as his brother's prisoner. An energetic,
decisive and occasionally cruel ruler, Henry centralised the administration
of England and Normandy in the royal court, using 'viceroys' in Normandy
and a group of advisers in England to act on his behalf when he was absent
across the Channel. Henry successfully sought to increase royal revenues,
as shown by the official records of his exchequer (the Pipe Roll of 1130,
the first exchequer account to survive). He established peaceful relations
with Scotland, through his marriage to Mathilda of Scotland. Henry's name
'Beauclerc' denoted his good education (as the youngest son, his parents
possibly expected that he would become a bishop); Henry was probably the
first Norman king to be fluent in English. In 1120, his legitimate sons
William and Richard drowned in the White Ship which sank in the English
Channel. This posed a succession problem, as Henry never allowed any of his
illegitimate children to expect succession to either England or Normandy.
Henry had a legitimate daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V,
subsequently married to the Count of Anjou). However, it was his nephew
Stephen (reigned 1135-54), son of William the Conqueror's daughter Adela,
who succeeded Henry after his death, allegedly caused by eating too many
lampreys (fish) in 1135, as the barons mostly opposed the idea of a female
ruler.
STEPHEN AND MATILDA (1135-1154)
Though charming, attractive and (when required) a brave warrior, Stephen
(reigned 1135-54) lacked ruthlessness and failed to inspire loyalty. He
could neither control his friends nor subdue his enemies, despite the
support of his brother Henry of Blois (Bishop of Winchester) and his able
wife Matilda of Boulogne. Henry I's daughter Matilda invaded England in
1139 to claim the throne, and the country was plunged into civil war.
Although anarchy never spread over the whole country, local feuds were
pursued under the cover of the civil war; the bond between the King and the
nobles broke down, and senior figures (including Stephen's brother Henry)
freely changed allegiances as it suited them. In 1141, Stephen was captured
at Lincoln and his defeat seemed certain. However, Matilda's arrogant
behaviour antagonised even her own supporters (Angevins), and Stephen was
released in exchange for her captured ally and illegitimate half-brother,
Earl Robert of Gloucester. After the latter's death in 1147, Matilda
retired to Normandy (which her husband, the Count of Anjou had conquered)
in 1148. Stephen's throne was still disputed. Matilda's eldest son, Henry,
who had been given Normandy by his father in 1150 and who had married the
heiress Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine, invaded England in 1149 and again in
1153. Stephen fought stubbornly against Henry; Stephen even attempted to
ensure his son Eustace's succession by having him crowned in Stephen's own
lifetime. The Church refused (having quarrelled with the king some years
previously); Eustace's death later in 1153 helped lead to a negotiated
peace (the treaty of Wallingford) under which Henry would inherit the
throne after Stephen's death.
THE ANGEVINS
Henry II, the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Henry I's daughter
Matilda, was the first in a long line of 14 Plantagenet kings, stretching
from Henry II's accession through to Richard III's death in 1485. Within
that line, however, four distinct Royal Houses can be identified: Angevin,
Plantagenet, Lancaster and York.
The first Angevin King, Henry II, began the period as arguably the most
powerful monarch in Europe, with lands stretching from the Scottish borders
to the Pyrenees. In addition, Ireland was added to his inheritance, a
mission entrusted to him by Pope Adrian IV (the only English Pope). A new
administrative zeal was evident at the beginning of the period and an
efficient system of government was formulated. The justice system
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