KS3 · History

Henry II and the murder of Thomas Becket

A king kneels at the shrine of the man he quarrelled with and lets the clergy whip him. Yet the bishops watching never defied him again. How? Whose law should rule?

History · Henry II and Thomas Becket

Was Becket's murder a disaster for Henry II?

The claim

Becket's murder was a disaster for Henry II.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

  1. Henry made enemies: the Pope, the Church and even some of his own family turned against him.

    Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?

  2. There were calls for Henry to be excommunicated, which means expelled from the Church.

    Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?

  3. Henry removed points from the Constitutions of Clarendon, the rules he had forced on the bishops, and did public penance: kneeling at Becket's shrine while the clergy whipped him.

    Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?

  4. Becket became a saint, and pilgrims came to his shrine, showing huge support for the Church rather than for Henry.

    Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?

  5. In the long term, no bishop was likely to oppose the king's will again.

    Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?

  6. Henry's reversal, giving ground after the murder, helped him secure the Pope's support after 1172.

    Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?

Justice before and after Henry's reforms

After the Anarchy: baronial courtsvsFrom the 1160s: Henry's Assizes

Four things changed. The note under each row tells you why it matters.

Focus

Who judged?

After the Anarchy: baronial courts

Local baronial courts, judging by local context.

From the 1160s: Henry's Assizes

Travelling royal courts, the Assizes.

The insight

This is the big switch: justice moves from the barons to the king.

Same crime, same treatment?

After the Anarchy: baronial courts

No. The same crime was treated differently in different places.

From the 1160s: Henry's Assizes

Yes. The Assizes gave a consistent law.

What could a victim do?

After the Anarchy: baronial courts

Barons abused the system to steal land.

From the 1160s: Henry's Assizes

Victims could appeal to the king's court, which carried a written order with the king's seal and ordered land to be returned.

Effect on the barons

After the Anarchy: baronial courts

Barons' courts held the power to judge.

From the 1160s: Henry's Assizes

Barons were angered, because their courts lost power.

How common law began

?

Reason it through

How did Henry's courts end up creating English common law?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

The Assize judges travelled round the country hearing cases. What did they do with each one?

2
Locked — reveal the link above first
3
Locked — reveal the link above first
4
Locked — reveal the link above first

History · The medieval Church

Why could the Church rival a king?

Which kind of power does each fact show?

Still to sort

Wealth (0)

Land, money and impressive buildings.

Where the line is: If it is about what the Church or its leaders owned or looked like, it is wealth.

Spiritual authority (0)

People's beliefs and their reliance on the Church for their soul.

Where the line is: If it is about what people believed or needed from the Church, it is spiritual authority, not wealth.

Legal independence (0)

Standing outside the king's justice.

Where the line is: If it is about which courts could judge the clergy, it is legal independence.

6 of 6 still to sort.

The Church's power came from three different places. Decide which one each fact belongs to.

History · Cause & effect

From friendship to murder

Tap an event to see what led to it and what it led to.

Causes ←

What led here

While Becket was in France, Henry the Young King was crowned in his absence
Becket returned and excommunicated the bishops involved
Henry's angry words, famously remembered as 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?'

Event

Becket returns, then is murdered

1170

The quarrel ends in the cathedral at Canterbury.

→ Consequences

What followed

Four knights went to Canterbury
They murdered Becket in the cathedral
Watch out: 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?' is only how Henry is famously remembered, not a recorded speech. Henry did not directly order the killing.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Whose law should rule: the barons', the Church's, or the king's?

What you need to know

  • After the Anarchy, local baronial courts judged by local context, so the same crime was treated differently in different places.
  • Barons also abused the system to steal land.
  • From the 1160s, Henry's Assizes sent travelling royal courts around the country with a written order carrying the king's seal.
  • Victims could now appeal to the king's court, which ordered land returned and gave a consistent law, angering the barons whose courts lost power.
  • Have a goYour friend says: 'Henry's Assize courts were just baronial courts with a posher seal.' What have they missed?

    The Assizes were travelling royal courts that gave one consistent law.

    Baronial courts judged by local context, so the same crime was treated differently in different places; the king's courts did not.

  • Assize judges' decisions became law, and later judges looked back to them: that is how common law developed.
  • The Church was powerful: it owned up to a third of England's land, and clergy were tried only in Church courts, escaping the king's justice.
  • Have a goA priest is accused of a crime. Why is that awkward for a king who wants his law to rule everywhere?

    The priest is tried only in a Church court, so he escapes the king's justice.

    Clergy were tried only in Church courts, so royal justice could not reach them.

  • Becket, Henry's close friend and adviser, became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 and then became loyal to the Church.
  • In 1164 the Constitutions of Clarendon said guilty clergy should be punished in the king's courts, and Becket fled to France.
  • In 1170 Becket excommunicated the bishops involved, and Henry's angry words led four knights to murder him; Henry did not directly order it.
  • Have a goYour friend says, very confidently: 'So Henry ordered the knights to kill Becket.' Is that right?

    Not quite: his angry words led the knights to Canterbury, but he did not directly order the killing.

    The famous words are only how Henry is remembered, so the knights acted on his anger, not on a direct order.

  • The murder damaged Henry in the short term, but in the long term no bishop was likely to oppose the king's will again.

The big picture

Henry II rebuilt royal authority after the Anarchy by sending travelling royal courts, the Assizes, around the country, and over time this created English common law. When he tried to bring the Church under the same law, his old friend Thomas Becket resisted, and Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. The murder damaged Henry at first, but in the long term no bishop was likely to oppose him again.

Key points

1After the Anarchy, justice varied from place to place and barons abused it; Henry's Assizes gave consistent royal law.
2Assize decisions became law that later judges looked back to, so common law grew from past judgements.
3The Church could rival the king through wealth, spiritual authority and legal independence.
4Becket resisted Henry's attempt to bring the Church under the same law, and was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
5The murder damaged Henry at first but strengthened his control over the Church in the long term.

Worked example

Problem

Explain why the Constitutions of Clarendon pushed Becket into open conflict with Henry.

⚠ Watch out

Don't call Becket's murder simply a defeat for Henry: penance and a new saint were the short term, but later no bishop was likely to oppose the king again. And Henry did not directly order the killing; his angry words led the knights to Canterbury.

🧠

Memory hook

Whose law rules? Barons' courts, then the Church's courts, then the king's. Henry knelt at the shrine, but the bishops never defied him again.

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back, write two sentences: one saying why Becket's murder looked like a disaster for Henry, and one saying why it may have made him stronger.

Flashcards

(12)
Anarchy
The troubled period before Henry II rebuilt royal authority. Afterwards, local baronial courts were open to abuse by barons stealing land.
Royal authority
The king's power to rule and have his law obeyed. Henry II rebuilt it after the Anarchy through legal reform.
Assizes
Travelling royal courts, from the 1160s, carrying a written order with the king's seal. They let victims appeal to the king's court.
Common law
Law built from past judgements. Assize decisions became law and later judges looked back to them, rather than politicians making the laws.
Jury
A group of ordinary people used more widely in Henry's courts, eventually typically 12. Peasants were still excluded.
Archbishop of Canterbury
A very senior Church job. Henry made his friend Becket Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, and Becket became loyal to the Church.
Constitutions of Clarendon
16 rules of 1164 forced on all bishops. They said bishops could write to the Pope only with the king's permission, and guilty clergy would be punished in the king's courts.
Excommunication
Expulsion from the Church by Church authority. Becket excommunicated the bishops involved in 1170.
Martyr
Someone killed for their beliefs and honoured for it. After his murder Becket became a saint and martyr.
Penance
A public act to show sorrow. Henry knelt at Becket's shrine and was whipped by the clergy.
Why were baronial courts a problem after the Anarchy?
They judged by local context, so the same crime was treated differently in different places, and barons abused them to steal land.
Three sources of the Church's power
Wealth, spiritual authority and legal independence, with the Pope and God as its ultimate authority.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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