The Struggle for Royal Authority, 1174-1189

Question 1

3 points of Treaty of Mont Louis regarding Henry’s sons

Answer 1

Henry gave Young Henry 2 castles in Normandy and annual revenue of £15,000
Richard was given control of 2 Poitevin castles and half revenues of Poitou
Geoffrey was given half revenues of Brittany

Question 2

How was Eleanor of Aquitaine treated after the Rebellion?

Answer 2

She was confined to Winchester Castle after July 1174 and was kept a prisoner for next 9 years

Question 3

When was the treaty of Mont Louis

Answer 3

30th September 1174

Question 4

2 points of treaty of Mont Louis regarding rebel barons

Answer 4

Those who surrendered were allowed to retain lands held 15 days before the rebellion began
Those who did not surrender were not granted these terms - Henry seized Ralph of Faye’s (Eleanor’s uncle) estates

Question 5

How many rebel barons/knights did Henry release all in all post-Rebellion

Answer 5

900

Question 6

2 points regarding William the Lion post-Rebellion

Answer 6

After his capture in July 1174, he was imprisoned in Falaise Castle, Normandy
He remained there for months until agreeing to release terms which made Scottish crown subordinate to English

Question 7

2 points of Treaty of Falaise

Answer 7

December 1174 imposed on William the Lion

Made Scotland effectively a suzerain state of England

Question 8

Summarise how Great Rebellion improves Anglo-Welsh relations

Answer 8

In 1175, Henry met with Rhys ap Gruffyd, leader of Welsh, and agreed a mutual assistance pact as he had sent 1000 Welshmen to aid Henry in Normandy in 1173
Treaty of Falaise also suppressed any Scottish threat upon Wales

Question 9

3 points regarding Henry’s relations with his sons post-Rebellion

Answer 9

From 1175, impressed by his determination, Henry granted Richard autonomy within Aquitaine to break resistance to Angevin rule - by 1179 he was recognised informally as Duke
Geoffrey was given more active role in governing Brittany
Young Henry, however, confirmed his father’s suspicions regarding his inability to rule - more rebellion between the two would follow due to permanent breakdown of trust

Question 10

2 points of Justices-in-Eyre reform

Answer 10

In 1170 Henry looked to reform Henry I’s system

Gradually implemented system where counties divided into 6 eyres, each with 3 royal justices and supporting sheriffs

Question 11

3 points of Assize of Northampton

Answer 11

Jan 1176
Forgery and arson added to crimes requires to be reported to royal justices and more crimes made liable to mutilation
Articles used to reinforce Assize of Clarendon and increase royal authority

Question 12

What were Henry’s three Petty Assizes?

Answer 12

Novel Disseisin, Mort d’ancestor and the King’s Bench

Question 13

2 points of Assize of Arms

Answer 13

Initiated Jan 1181
Military reform which created an independent militia for the Crown, permitting freemen in England to bear arms in defence of the realm

Question 14

3 points of the English Concordant

Answer 14

Agreement between Crown and papacy in 1176
Henry made concessions to the Church of England such as permitting ecclesiastical courts to deal with criminous clerks, however the agreement also gave Henry jurisdiction over the Church

Question 15

3 points regarding the Treaty of Windsor

Answer 15

Agreement in October 1175 between Henry and Rory O’Connor
O’Connor accepted the overlordship and Henry in exchange for retaining kingship as his vassal
O’Connor also accepted Norman control over Leinster, Dublin and Waterford

Question 16

What happened in 1176 with regard to Henry’s policy in Ireland?

Answer 16

Richard Strongbow died, leaving Henry to restore Hugh of Lacy as chief justiciar of Ireland

Question 17

What happened in 1185 with regard to Henry’s policy in Ireland?

Answer 17

In April Henry sent John to impose Angevin power over Ireland as a means of inheritance. However his eight month occupation as Lord of Ireland created hostilities with both the Cambro-Norman lords and the native Irish due to his abrasive nature

Question 18

What were the 2 major developments in France from 1179-80?

Answer 18

On 1 Nov 1179, Philip was crowned at Rheims Cathedral

On 18 Sept 1180, Louis VII died at 60

Question 19

What was the main consequence of Philip’s accession for Anjou-Capetian relations?

Answer 19

During the first few years of his reign, amidst near civil war, Philip turned to henry for counsel. Nevertheless, he was concealing deep animosity to the King of England, presumably instilled in him by his father

Question 20

How did Young Henry demonstrate animosity to his father between 1176-79

Answer 20

He twice defied his father’s orders to support Richard in suppressing rebellions in Aquitaine

Question 21

When did Young Henry’s son die after a premature birth?

Answer 21

1177

Question 22

What happened in 1182 to worsen relations between Henry and Young Henry?

Answer 22

In the summer, YH demanded control of Normandy to which his father refused. He subsequently withdrew to the French royal court in Paris where he considered travelling to Outremer, taking the cross

Question 23

How did relations between Young Henry and Richard deteriorate in 1182

Answer 23

Dissident Aquitinian lords approached YH with a proposal to depose Richard in his stead
Richard heard of the conspiracy and seized Clairveux Castle, threatening an attack on Anjou

Question 24

3 points of the Christmas court at Caen

Answer 24

Held in 1182 between Richard, Young Henry and other family members
Henry, fearing that YH would either attack Aquitaine or travel to Jerusalem, ordered Richard to pay homage to his elder bother
YH refused this homage, provoking bitter dispute between the two, in which Richard asserted that his brother held no authority over Aquitaine and thus he was obligated to pay homage only to the king of France

Question 25

What occurred in Easter 1183?

Answer 25

Henry, dismayed by Geoffrey’s betrayal, travelled to Limoges where YH, Geoffrey and Aymer V were located. YH ordered archers to target his father, leaving Henry no choice but to side with Richard and place Limoges under seige

Question 26

When did Young Henry die?

Answer 26

11 June 1183, at 28

Question 27

How did Henry’s succession plans following Young Henry’s death provoke dispute between him and Richard?

Answer 27

Henry ordered Aquitaine to be ceded to John, to which Richard, having spent 9 years of his life fighting rebellion there, refused. Henry allowed John and Geoffrey to raid Poitou

Question 28

What occurred in June 1184

Answer 28

John and Geoffrey raided Poitou, but Richard responded with a counter-offensive against Brittany and holding off his two brothers

Question 29

2 points regarding Henry’s relations with Philip II 1180-83

Answer 29

During YH’s second revolt in 1182, after being refused autonomy over Normandy, Philip granted YH with shelter in his court and a merc force to attack Richard after the Christmas court
After YH’s death in 1183, Henry and Philip argued over the rightful owner of the Vexin - Philip extracted homage from henry in exchange for it remaining temporarily under Angevin control

Question 30

When did Geoffrey die and how?

Answer 30

18 August 1186, trampled whilst riding in a tournament in Paris

Question 31

3 reasons for the breakdown of Anjou-Capetian relations subsequent to Geoffrey’s death

Answer 31

The death of YH in 1183 and the death of Geoffrey meant that Philip could no longer exploit the animosity between the sons and father - provoked direct confrontation
Looked that Richard would become Henry’s principal heir which threatened Capetian autonomy in France after Henry’s death
By 1186 Philip had been king for 6 years, extrcted homage from most main vassals and had increased French wealth - was in a strong position to challenge Henry

Question 32

3 points regarding Henry’s conflict with Philip 1186-87

Answer 32

Henry, despite Geoffrey’s homage act in 1179, refused to relinquish Brittany to Philip and refused to release Geoffrey’s daughter Eleanor to his custody
Birth of Arthur of Brittany in march 1187 led to further refusal from Henry to allow his grandchildren to be wards for Philip
In May 1187, Philip entered Berry and besieged three Angevin castles

Question 33

3 points regarding relations between Henry and Richard 1186-87

Answer 33

Death of Geoffrey left only John, Henry’s favourite son, to be a rival successor - it was likely that Richard was to be disinherited for him
Part of the Peace of Montmirail betrothed Richard to Alys of France, however he felt a marriage to Berengaria of Navarre would be more beneficial to Aquitaine
By 1189 it was clear to Henry that Philip had at least partially won Richard to his cause

Question 34

What occurred in late August 1187?

Answer 34

Having left royal court in Paris, Richard travelled to Chinon and looted Henry’s treasury to fund the fortification of his castles in Poitou

Question 35

3 points regarding relations between Henry, Richard and Philip in 1188

Answer 35

Richard led a campaign against Raymond V in the summer, to which Philip was obliged to respond by invading Berry
Henry aided the assistance of Aquitaine, to which Philip responded by desperately attacking Normandy
In November, after failed peace talks in August, they met at Bonmoulins but Henry failed to meet Philip’s demands to name Richard his principal heir, so Richard paid formal homage to Philip for all lands Henry held from him

Question 36

What happened in June 1189?

Answer 36

Talks between the big three took place between 4th and 9th in La Ferte-Bernard, but Henry refused the reiterated demands of Philip from Bonmoulins plus for John to go on crusade
Henry withdrew to Le Mans, but Richard and Philip pursued him, sacking and burning the city on 12th, forcing the king to flee his birthplace

Question 37

What happened in July 1189?

Answer 37

The final meeting between the big three took place on 4th, where Henry agreed to practical unconditional surrender
The King of England died on 6 July at the 56, with his bastard Geoffrey and William Marshal. ‘The shame, the shame of a conquered king’ were documented as the last words of the man who had ruled England since 1154

Question 38

1 point re the position of the Jews in England by 1189

Answer 38

Despite only numbering around 5000 by 1189, money borrowing from Jews had extended to every social level. The wealth of Aaron of Lincoln was so great that a separate exchequer was established upon his death so the Crown could recover all the money owned (it has seized control oh dis assets)

Question 39

2 points re the social condition of England by 1189

Answer 39

Henry’s reign had been marked by an increase in literacy rates. By 1189 many more schools had opened up; in 1169 Henry had banned English students from going to Paris, causing the growth in Oxford
Growth of trade and wider economy was party facilitated by the legal reforms Henry made, yet the lives of peasants had not significantly improved