Henry II And His Rule In The Years 1158-1163

 

In a previous blog, we looked at the early years of the reign of Henry II, beginning with his accession in 1154 up until the year of 1157. The first few years of his reign were successful but the following period would bring different challenges for Henry.

Trouble arose between Henry and Malcolm IV of Scotland early in 1158 after the king of Scots had given Henry reason to mistrust him which led to the English king refusing to knight the young Malcolm. Henry eventually knighted Malcolm 18 months later after the Scots’ king joined him on an expedition to France. The Welsh then went into rebellion which would not have been any great shock to Henry as they had been troublesome before and, after subduing them once again, he went one step further to ensure their good behaviour by taking hostages. Satisfied, Henry, that same month of August 1158, travelled to France to meet King Louis VII.

A marriage agreement was reached between the English and French crowns for Henry’s infant son, also called Henry, to marry Louis’ daughter, who was, at the time, literally a new born. Thankfully, they waited until the little girl has reached the grand old age of two before the ceremony actually takes place. Chancellor Thomas Becket played a key role in negotiations, travelling to Paris where he was greeted honourably. In September of 1158, Queen Eleanor gave birth to another son for Henry, this boy is named Geoffrey.

If things seemed fairly amicable between Henry and Louis at this stage, then things could have gone wrong in 1159. Henry laid claim to Toulouse which he proceeded to lay siege too. However, Louis intervened, acting on behalf of his brother in law who is also laying claim to Toulouse. Louis enters the town but this doesn’t stop Becket from urging his king to escalate the situation which could potentially threaten war. Henry keeps a cooler head, though, and in October of that year, he pulls back from Toulouse. However, Henry appears to bear a grudge against the French king and he attacks some of Louis’ lands near Beauvais in retaliation. The situation threatened to escalate again as Henry began to capture key fortresses. Louis, maybe considering he made a mistake interfering in Toulouse, has little option but to sue for peace. In 1160, hostilities began to simmer down and the two kings meet on numerous occasions, including at a council to discuss a disputed papacy. Henry’s son, Prince Henry, then paid homage to Louis for the Duchy of Normandy. Again, although on the surface it looked as though relations had been satisfactorily stabilised, it’s clear Henry didn’t trust his counterpart. Across the winter of 1160/1161, he built new fortifications in his French territories and completed extensive building work on already existing strongholds.

In April of 1161, Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Bec died.  Henry’s choice as his replacement is Chancellor Becket who is extremely reluctant to accept and it would take over a year before he is finally consecrated as Archbishop. This would prove to be one of the most fateful decisions in medieval history.

Whilst Henry attempted to persuade Becket, his rocky relationship with Louis continued and throughout 1161, they continued to bicker although they would patch things up in October of that year. Finally, in the Spring of 1162, Becket finally agreed to become Archbishop of Canterbury and he is consecrated in June of that year. At the time of Becket’s confirmed election, it would have been a boost to Henry. He had filled the most important position in the church in England with a close ally which, he hoped, would prove crucial in him rooting out the corruption in the church that had set in during the reign of King Stephen. He could not possibly have envisaged what was to follow.

In September of 1162, Henry and Louis meet with the pope to try and settle their differences. Relatively content, Henry returns to England a few months later and early in the New Year, he meets with his new Archbishop of Canterbury. In March of 1163, Henry oversaw a trial of a nobleman who is accused of spreading false rumours of the king’s death and the matter is resolved around a month later. Also, in March of that year, Henry held a council regarding the vacant bishopric of London. Pope Alexander approves of the election of Gilbert, Bishop of Hereford. However, Gilbert is reluctant and it takes some prompting from the king to finally accept a few weeks later.

Meanwhile, Becket and the Archbishop of York travel to the council of Tours where they meet Pope Alexander. In the summer of 1163, Henry has homage paid to him by Malcolm of Scotland. Tensions start to grow between the king and Becket in July 1163. A member of Becket’s clergy was stood accused by one of Henry’s justiciars of murder. The clergyman was, perhaps unsurpisingly, cleared by the church but the justiciar pressed the issue further, only to be met with hostility. Becket has the man tried for murder but he is again acquitted although found guilty of contempt. Henry is unamused by the sham trial and makes it known, during a speech, that Becket is not in his good books.

After a period of plotting his next move against Becket, Henry, in October 1163, holds a synod in which he makes abundantly clear that he is not happy with the state of the English church and the corruption of its clergymen. Henry then demands the right to try church clerks accused of committing crimes only for Becket and his bishops to point blank refuse. To say Henry is growing irritated is to put it mildly. The king withdraws his son, Prince Henry, from Becket’s supervision and also seizes two of Becket’s castles at Ely and Berkhamstead. The following day, Henry departs the synod in a furious mood. A meeting is held soon after the disastrous synod to try and patch things up between Becket and Henry but, again, tensions rise between and, again, a compromise fails to materialise.