Despite
succeeding the throne of a country in turmoil due to his predecessor, Stephen, Henry
II was most certainly in a strong position as King of England by the end of
1154 as he had no potential threat to the throne, had support from the
Archbishop of Canterbury as well as the fact that there were mishaps which
worked to Henry II’s benefits. However, it would be false to state that Henry
II was in an entirely strong position as there were issues regarding the royal
finances, the royal demesne, adulterine castles as well
Henry
II’s claim to the throne had most certainly put him in a strong position as
King of England as his great grandfather was William the Conqueror and his
grandfather was Henry I. It is arguable that some barons were not as satisfied
with this claim to the throne simply because they disapproved of the Norman
conquest. However, Henry II had an additional claim to the throne as his grandmother,
Matilda of house of Wessex had also strengthened his claim to the throne and
thereby Henry II was automatically in a strong position as King of England. Not
only this but there were no rivals to the throne as Stephen’s son, Eustace had
died in 1153 and William of Boulogne, cousin of Stephen had no interest in becoming
king. This was because William was provided with rich inheritance, was married
to the heiress of Warenne and given many estates in Sussex and Normandy. Also,
since Malcolm IV, King of Scotland, had little to no experience of ruling due
to being 12 years of age, he couldn’t effectively challenge Henry II by
pressuring north England and thereby Henry II remained in a strong position as
King of England due to having no threat to the throne whatsoever. This was
further consolidated by the Treat of Wallingford and ‘Jure Hereditario’ whereby
Henry was confirmed to be the next King of England upon Stephen’s deathbed.
Henry II’s relationship with
the barons and sheriffs had also impacted his position as King of England since
royal authority had diminished when Stephen reigned and barons had established
their own power bases. A key example to exemplify this was in 1154, where
records had shown there were 225 baronial castles in contrast to the 49 royal
castles, 40 adulterine castles (built without royal consent by powerful barons
like Hugh Mortimer) as well as the fact that they had minted their own coinage,
demonstrating the increasing power which barons had and the diminishing royal
authority. Not only this but sheriffs were known to be corrupt as they were appointed
by powerful barons and it is seen when Geoffrey de Mandeville held sheriffdoms
of London-Middlesex and Essex-Hertfordshire in hereditary right, affecting the
royal demesne further and thus challenging Henry II’s position as King of
England. Furthermore, since most of the powerful and independent earls like
Ranulf of Chester and Gilbert de Clare of Pembroke, died during Stephen’s
reign, reducing the potential threats to Henry II’s position. However, arguably
it could be said that Henry II’s position still remained strong because he had
experience of ruling as he held Normandy, Anjou, Main, Aquitaine and Poitou
which was no doubt an advantage as Henry II could easily show up with an army and
demand barons to submit their castles as seen with William of Aumale and Roger
of Hereford who had initially refused to submit to Henry II.
Henry II remains in a strong
position as King of England by the end of 1154 because he had also support from
key individuals such as Robert de Beaumont, Richard de Lacy and Theobald of Bec
the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, it could be argued that since the Church
held 25% of land as they were given this by William the Conqueror, the Church’s
influence could effectively challenge Henry II’s royal authority and his
position as King of England. An example to signify this point would be with
Henry of Blois who was a powerful bishop whom held many castles and was also
the brother of Stephen. It could be arguably said that Henry of Blois posed a
temporary threat to Henry II’s position as King of England, however, since
Henry II had the backing of two nobles and the Archbishop of Canterbury, very
little could affect Henry’s position and thus Henry was in a strong position as
King of England by the end of 1154.
While
Henry II’s position as King of England remained strong, the state of England
was poor and could be said to have affected his position as Stephen had
alienated £3,000 worth of the royal demesne. Not only this but in attempt to
gain support from the barons, Stephan had sold off crown debts which had
amounted to £42,000 and by 1154 were at £500. However, this wasn’t a major
problem as Henry could borrow money from wealthy Jews and merchants as seen
between the years 1154-1166 where Henry borrowed from William Cade, a Flemish
merchant who became wealthy due to the wool trade. This thereby meant that
Henry could easily pay back the exchequer revenues despite it being undermined
in Stephen’s reign, still leaving Henry II in a reasonably strong position as
King of England.
To
conclude, although royal authority had diminished severely under Stephen as
seen by the number of adulterine castles built and the amount of which the
royal demesne was alienated, there was little to no threat to the throne and
Henry II secured the support of key individuals. Therefore, Henry II was in a
strong position as King of England by 1154.
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