Download King Johns problems

The Church in England was part of the Catholic Church, which was run by the Pope in
Rome. The priests, Bishops, Abbots and Archbishops had their own systems of law, and
obeyed the Pope, rather than the King of England. The Church was very powerful, and
owned a great deal of land in England. Some of the Bishops were also related to the
powerful Barons. English kings had being trying to find a way to lessen the power of the
Pope in England, and to get control over church courts, and to choose who got important
jobs such as the Archbishop or Bishops.
The Barons were the most important families in England. As we have seen from our
feudal pyramid, they held most of the land in the Kingdom. In return for this land, they
promised loyalty to the King, and to give him knights in times of war. The King could
claim other feudal rights over the Barons. He could decide who a Baron, or his sons,
should marry, and at their deaths he took a kind of inheritance tax from their relatives.
The barons expected to help take decisions about how the country was run. They also
wanted to increase their lands, if they could. Barons had their own armies, their own
castles, and in some cases were nearly as powerful as the king. The king had to treat
barons well, to avoid rebellion. Meanwhile many of the English barons had grown used
to winning land, honour and riches in victories against France.
Henry II had created an empire by conquering parts of France, by inheriting other parts,
and by marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine. At the end of his reign Henry ruled lands from the
Scottish border all the way to the Pyrenees mountains in the south of France . King Philip
of France wanted to reclaim the land that Henry had gained. He was intent on causing
the French barons to rebel against Henry, who was finding it hard, and very expensive to
run an empire so huge, and to defend it from attack. Having such a large empire means
that English kings have to spend a lot of time and money travelling their lands. Henry and
Richard therefore spent a great deal of time away from England, making the Barons even
more independent.
Henry decided to give the important job of Archbishop of Canterbury to his good friend,
Thomas Becket. He hoped that Beckett would help him reduce the power of the church,
stop people from claiming the right to be tried in Church courts, and help him gain more
control over the English church. Becket disappointed the King, by taking his new job very
seriously and suddenly becoming very holy. Becket refused to help Henry II, and made
him so angry that, eventually Henry’s knights murdered Becket in the Cathedral at
Canterbury in 1170. The Pope forced Henry to accept a new Archbishop, and Henry
therefore did not have much success in limiting the pope’s power. Richard had much
better relations with the Pope, but only because he agreed to go on Crusade at the
Pope’s request. Richard went with other kings and Barons on this war to the Middle East,
to try and capture the Holy Land and Jerusalem from the Muslim Saracen Caliphate
(kingdom).
Henry II worked hard to control the barons. He built royal castles near the territories of
the most powerful barons, and made them take down some of their castles. He also
made sure that his judges travelled England to hear legal and criminal cases, so that the
Barons lost control of their local courts. However, not all the barons agreed with these
changes, and some of the most important barons rebelled, unsuccessfully, in 1173.
Richard’s military campaigns in France and in the Holy Land cost a great deal of money,
which the barons had to fund by paying higher taxes. Richard was also captured on
crusade, and the Barons had to pay a huge ransom to get him released. Richard’s skill as
a fighter meant that most of the Barons were too afraid to rebel against him.
Henry II made the French King cross by marrying his ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and
claiming all her territory in France. After his death relations improved, as Richard went
on Crusade with Philip of France, but then angered him by refusing to marry Philip’s
sister. In revenge Philip left the Crusade and decided to invade Richard’s land in France,
and to encourage John (whom Richard had left behind to run England in his place) to
rebel against Richard. When Richard returned from the crusade, he was able to fight
Philip and win back the lands that Philip had attacked.