Government (pre-great rebellion)

How many times did Henry have to invade Wales before the Welsh princes submitted to him at the council of Woodstock in 1163?

3 times. Shows he was determined to expand his territory into wales so that he’d have more control.

Officials from the Chancery and Exchequer met with the chief justiciar twice a year to support the running of government. The Chancery and Exchequer became fixed at Westminster.

Highlights how the exchequer is becoming more of an official process now, and that the Chief justiciar role is becoming increasingly important in overseeing the rest of government, due to government becoming more complex, necessitating the need for chief justiciar role to expand in significance.

When did Henry seize the castles of William Boulogne and Hugh Bigod?

in 1157. Henry siezed the adulterine castles from william bologne and Hugh Bigod, both being quite influencial opposition. Highlights Henry making efforts to reassert authority that was lost during Stephen’s reign, and the ‘succession crisis’, where barons took advantage of Stephens lack of royal authority in the outer zones, and built castles in these areas to assert their own authority. This is due to castles being significant for controlling land, which therefore highlights the factor of Reaction to Strong Government.

What were the names of Henry’s chief justifiers?

Roger Beaumont and Richard de Lucy. Beaumont was one of the most influential landowners, and Lucy was a previous chief justiciar in Stephen’s reign, this highlight how Henry appointed officials who were influential and experienced to hold the position of chief justiciar in order to help reestablish his lost royal authority. Also, highlights the role of Chief justiciar becoming official as now distinct and separate people have been appointed as CJ.

Who did Henry appoint to re-establish the exchequer system?

Nigel of Ely. Nigel of Ely was a nephew of roger of salisbury, this, similar to Richard de Lucy becoming CJ, means that Nigel would have experience, therefore the running of the exchequer would become more efficient. Moreover, the exchequer becoming official now meant that it would not travel with the royal household anymore.

When did Henry restore confidence in Englands coinage?

in 1158. During Stephen’s reign, coinage was different, where barons would place the kings face on the coins, moreover, Stephen lost control of coinage in some areas, where they would mint the faces of David of Scotland and empress matilda. Moreover, higlhughts Henry reasserting royal auhtority in areas it had been lost from stephen’s reigb, moreover, the symbol of cross and crosslets highlights Henry’s attemtpt to directly link his image to the church to seem pious and devoted/ establish good relations.

What did Henry introduce to ensure he received the correct levels of knight service or scutage?

Carta Baronum. Henry is trying to reassert control over the barons (by making knight service/scutage more efficient), in order to make more revenue from scutage. However, feudal customs are harder to change, and knight service/scutage had been an already established custom, which therefore led to some resistance from barons, as they were unwilling to comply.

How much did Henry borrow from 1154-1166?

£12,000. Shows that at the start of Henry’s reign, the Exchequer was still broken down from Stephen’s reign, (1139 Roger of Salisbury arrested = breakdown of exchequer as no one oversaw it). Due to this breakdown, Henry’s main/prioritised source of revenue at the start of his reign was borrowing money, until the exchequer became a fixed process.

What percentage of sheriffs were dismissed in 1155?

2/3 of sheriffs. In 1162, another ½ were removed, and in 1170, the inquest of the sheriffs was held. Shows Henry’s effort to control the barons and limit their authority through replacing corrupt sheriffs, however this was not efficient and shows while he made an effort, it was still hard to control the sheriffs/ took several attempts.

What type of writ did Henry introduce?

returnable writ. (sheriffs actions were recorded and sent back to itinerant justices), Highlights Henry wanting transparency/ to know the sheriffs are doing their jobs properly, also asserting royal authority, centralisation.

What was the name given to the set of laws Henry introduced in 1166?

Assize of Clarendon. (created 2 new types of writs, known as petty assizes:

Novel disseisin- legal action to recover land dispossessed.

Darrein presentment- legal action to question who had the right to appoint priests to churches)

This limited sheriffs. Petty assizes were also known as appeal processes, which improved the centralisation of common law, as this shifted disputes to the royal court