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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.