1.Consolidation of Monarchy

William the Conqueror died in 1087.He left Normandy to his eldest son，Robert，and England to his second son，William Rufus.His third son，Henry，received no land but￡5，000of silver.Rufus was a wicked tyrant and was shot dead while hunting in the New Forest¹ in 1100.Henry then took his place and became known as HenryⅠ.During the reign of HenryⅠ，he introduced several administrative and judicial reforms.He was well liked by his people because he kept peace in the country，but he must bear part of the blame for the terrible years followed his death.

HenryⅠwas the last of the true Norman kings.When his only legitimate son was drowned in 1120he tried to make sure that his daughter Matilda would succeed him，but his death was followed by civil war between his nephew Stephen and Matilda.At last the two sides came to compromise.It was agreed that Stephen should reign as king for the rest of his life and at his death the position would be succeeded by Matilda’s son，Henry of Anjou.Then in October 1154Henry of Anjou，at age of 21，succeeded to the throne of England as King Henry Ⅱ.

Henry Ⅱ（1133-1189）

Henry had a strong will and a fierce temper；but he was well educated，especially in the study of the law.He was also the most powerful ruler in Europe.He received all northwest France from his father and all southwest France from his wife.He ruled，in fact，all land between Scotland and Spain.No lord could dare to disobey such power，and Henry soon brought order to his English kingdom.

The upper class in England at this time still spoke French，which united all parts of Henry’s empire.Free travel encouraged trade and the exchange of ideas.Arts，skilled trade，commerce and agriculture all made rapid progress as the land-owning classes became more settled.A knight’s feudal service of 40days was of little use to Henry，who needed regular soldiers to guard his French possessions.He encouraged his lords to pay a special tax instead of sending him their knights.This allowed him to hire professional soldiers while the knights remained at home and improved their manors.It suited the King and it suited the knights，who were already settling down to become country gentlemen.

But Henry Ⅱis best remembered for his reform of the courts and their law.He extended the practice，which his grandfather Henry I had begun，of sending“itinerant justices”of his royal court into every county of England to hold assizes—a system which continued until 1971.This made it easy for any freeman to take a case to the king’s justice.The King’s itinerant justices，as they traveled throughout England，applied the same law in all the counties；and as the law of the king’s courts was common to all England，it was known as the“common law”.This common law derived from acknowledged custom and was based on precedent judgements.

Perhaps the most important was Henry’s jury system.The jury was a group of people who helped a judge in court.In Henry’s day the members of the jury were witnesses themselves，and no man could be tried unless a jury of twelve men swore that there was a true case against him.This was real progress，for men had often tried with no witnesses at all.In criminal cases the trial itself was still made with a hot iron in front of a priest；if the man was burnt by holding the iron，he was guilty.This cruel practice went on until 1215，when the Pope forbade all priests to take part in it.

Henry’s attempts to extend the jurisdiction of his courts brought him into conflict with the church.Many practices of the church courts were an insult to Henry’s rule of law，for they often let even murderers go unpunished.Henry decided that criminal clerks must in future be tried by his own courts.To carry out his plan，Henry appointed his friend，Thomas Becket，Archbishop of the Canterbury Cathedral.When Becket became Archbishop，he stood firmly with the church and opposed the King’s plan to reform the church courts.This led to a bitter contest between them.Becket then fled abroad.Five years later he returned and preached against the King in Canterbury Cathedral.When Henry heard of this he became furious and cried out in the presence of his courtiers that he wished he had a loyal servant who would get rid of Becket.Four of his knights，hoping to earn his favor，set out at once for Canterbury and stabbed him to death on Dec.29，1170.

The murder of an archbishop in his cathedral outraged all Christendom.Becket was very soon worshiped as a martyr throughout Europe.He was buried at Canterbury and thousands of people made pilgrimages each year to worship at his tomb.Two hundred years after the death of Thomas Becket the poet Chaucer described in his Canterbury Tales how men still traveled there from all England to pray at Becket’s grave.