Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/320

232 General History oj Europe II. HENRY II AND THE PLANTAGENETS 371. Henry II (1154-1189). After William's death there was a great deal of disorder for two generations, and when his great- grandson, Henry II, came to the throne in 1154 he found the kingdom in a melancholy condition. He had need of all his energy and quickness of mind to restore order in England and at the same time rule his wide realms in France, which he had either inherited or acquired by marriage with a French heiress. In order to put an end to the constant feuds and fighting he reorganized the courts, and his judges made regular circuits to try cases. The grand jury was introduced to bring accusations against criminals and disturbers of the peace. But the method of trial by a jury of twelve men, so familiar 'to us now, does not seem to have been introduced until a century later. The decisions of Henry's judges were based on old English customs, not on the Roman law, and the foundations of the English common law were laid in this way. 372. Henry II and Thomas Becket. Henry tried to reduce the powers of the Church courts, and in order to insure his con- trol of the English clergy he had a friend of his, Thomas Becket, made archbishop of Canterbury. But Becket refused to forward the king's plans for reducing the clergy's influence, and after a great deal of misunderstanding Becket was finally murdered in his own cathedral by some of Henry's knights, who thought that they were doing the king a favor. Henry was filled with remorse, and had to make terms with the papal legates by promising to return to Canterbury all the property of the Church he had con- fiscated and by pledging himself to go on a crusade. 373. The French Possessions of the Plantagenets. Henry II spent a great part of his time across the Channel in his French possessions. A glance at the accompanying map will show that rather more than half of his realms lay to the south of the English Channel. He controlled more territory in France than the French king himself. As great-grandson of William the