Page 261 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

Norman Conquest of England. The Bayeux (bah-YUH or bah-YUR) tapestry, a wall hanging of woolen embroidery on a linen backing, was made by English needlewomen before 1082 for Bayeux Cathedral. It depicts scenes from the Norman invasion of England. The first segment shows the Norman fleet beginning its journey to England. The second segment shows the Norman cavalry charging the shield wall of the Saxon infantry during the Battle of Hastings.
office of sheriff. William took a census and more fully developed the system of taxation and royal courts begun by the Anglo-Saxon kings of the tenth and elev- enth centuries. All in all, William of Normandy created a strong, centralized monarchy.
The Norman conquest of England had other reper- cussions as well. Because the new king of England was still the duke of Normandy, he was both a king (of England) and at the same time a vassal to a king (of France), but a vassal who was now far more powerful than his lord. This connection with France kept Eng- land heavily involved in continental affairs through- out the High Middle Ages.
HENRY II In the twelfth century, the power of the Eng- lish monarchy was greatly expanded during the reign of Henry II (1154–1189), the founder of the Plantagenet (plan-TAJ-uh-net) dynasty. The king was particularly
successful in strengthening the power of the royal courts. Henry increased the number of criminal cases tried in the king’s court and also devised ways of taking property cases from local courts to the royal courts. Henry’s goals were clear: expanding the jurisdiction of royal courts extended the king’s power and, of course, brought revenues into his coffers. Moreover, because the royal courts were now found throughout England, a body of common law (law that was common to the whole kingdom) began to replace the local law codes, which differed from place to place.
Henry was less successful at imposing royal control over the church. The king claimed the right to punish clergymen in royal courts, but Thomas 􏰀a Becket, arch- bishop of Canterbury and therefore the highest-ranking English cleric, claimed that only church courts could try clerics. Attempts at compromise failed, and in 1170 the angry king publicly expressed the desire to be rid of
The Emergence and Growth of European Kingdoms, 1000–1300 223
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Muse􏰁e de la Tapisserie, Bayeux/With special authorisation of the city
of Bayeux/The Bridgeman Art Library DEA/M. Seemuller/Getty Images