Lesson video

Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

I'm Mr. Newton, I've got a great lesson lined up for you today, and I'm basically here just to simplify any tricky concepts we may encounter.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How successfully did Henry reassert royal authority? In other words, how successful was Henry at showing he was still in power or in control of his land? When it looks like Henry's position is weak, was Henry effective at taking back control? This is what we mean by Henry reasserting royal authority.

We will continue to investigate Henry II through this question.

This is important, because kings in mediaeval times are the ultimate rulers of their land, but kings face challenges to this power, and that's the case with Henry.

We've previously seen that Henry became king after the anarchy, a very chaotic period.

He began his reign trying to reassert his royal authority, trying to rebuild his control over the Angevin empire.

We also saw how he expanded his empire into Ireland.

So, how will Henry reassert his authority over law and order? How would he take control over the law? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the importance of Henry II's legal reforms and how they centralised his control.

Before we begin, there are a few words we need to understand, legal, Assize, authority, reform, and common law.

Legal means connected to the law.

For example, legal advice.

An Assize was a royal court, which travelled across England Judging on local matters.

Authority is the power or ability to control or demand obedience.

Reform is when you make changes to improve something.

Common law is developed from previous judgments rather than laws made by politicians.

It can also mean the belief that justice is for everyone.

So, this lesson has two parts.

In the first part, we will look at problems in local law.

In the second part, we will look at common law.

So, let's start with the problems in local law.

So, our story begins with Henry II's weakened position within the law.

The chaos of the anarchy with the succession crisis and the Civil War had led to a breakdown in law and order.

There was a collapse in centralised royal control.

There was no one central person in charge of the kingdom.

Instead, many barons took advantage by setting up their own local areas of control.

Henry inherits a throne when people are used to living under powerful barons and a weak monarchy.

To restore power and ensure that the disorder of the anarchy would not be repeated, Henry set about reforming the English legal system.

These changes in law established the foundation of English common law, and it's this specific type of law, the common law, which is considered very important and is still in use today.

So, before we learn about the changes Henry will make to the law, we need to understand the problems in local law.

It's these problems that drove Henry to make his legal reforms. Traditionally, illegal matters were decided in local courts, local baronial courts, often overseen by a local baron.

So, what does that mean? If someone was accused of a crime they would be taken to the local court, trial will take place, where it is decided if someone is guilty or innocent.

In the image, you can see a prisoner in court with his hands tied and a judge pointing his finger at him.

These local baronial courts were often making judgements based on their local context.

This means that the way the crime was dealt with was influenced by the circumstances and the people of that local area or village.

This resulted in the various local courts across the country making different judgements on similar cases.

The same crime was dealt with differently depending where you were in England.

For example, someone stealing a cow in the south of England would be treated differently to someone stealing a cow in the north of England.

So, this system is not centralised.

It's all depended on the local baronial courts in each area.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

True or false, there were problems with the court system, because local courts made different decisions about similar cases.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, welcome back and well done, if you knew that was true.

Okay, so let's think a bit more deeply about that.

Why is it true? What is your justification for that answer? Is it because A, the same crime was dealt with differently depending where you were in England, or B, this was because of a centralised legal system across England? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, welcome back and well done, if you knew it was A.

Yes, the same crime was dealt with differently depending where you were in England.

The legal system was not centralised.

Okay, let's continue.

This system of local baronial courts was also abused.

As shown in the image, barons could potentially treat the people very cruelly and barons often stole the land of others.

During the anarchy, the barons took advantage by setting up their own local areas of control.

They built their own castles and almost acted like they had the powers of the king.

This was because during this time there was no royal authority or king to tell them what to do.

Many people, including barons, had stolen the land of others.

The problem was that if a knight or a minor landholder felt that a baron had unfairly taken their land away, they could hardly go to the local baron's court to complain about the baron himself.

Henry wanted to ensure that this land was returned to its rightful owner.

He wanted to restore his royal authority to all the local areas across England.

He wanted to reassert his royal authority.

This would give him central control of the English court system.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why were minor landholders often unhappy with barons being in charge of local courts? Select two linked reasons.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was B.

Their land had been stolen by barons during the anarchy, and C, complaints about stolen land were decided by the barons.

Okay, let's continue.

From the 1160s, Henry made some legal reforms. He established the Assizes.

So, these are Assizes eventually became royal courts, which travelled the country, hearing the complexities of individual cases and then making judgements.

The image shows an example of an Assize court.

We can see here the judges highlighted in purple, and they're hearing the case of a prisoner highlighted at the bottom of the image, and you can just see the chains wrapped around the prisoner's ankles.

So, the benefits of having royal courts was that, if an issue could not be resolved by the local baronial courts, the Assizes could step in to hear the case.

For example, if there was a victim, here at the bottom of the diagram, claiming to have land stolen from them by their baron, normally they would have to appeal to the local baronial courts.

However, they could hardly go to the local baron's court to complain about the baron himself.

The Assizes allowed the victim to appeal directly to the king's court instead of the local court of their baron.

Okay, let's delve deeper into the Assizes.

Here on the screen, you can see a royal order with the king's seal attached.

Usually, the king would have to carry out justice in person.

However, the Assizes carried a written royal order, which had the king's seal attached.

Look at the image.

The seal is the red circular mould attached to the bottom of the written order.

The seal proved that the order was from the king.

The seal was used instead of a signature.

This gave the Assizes the authority to hear the local cases and give their judgments.

Okay, let's zoom in on the king's seal.

What can you see? Pause the video, take a closer look, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So, the king's seal was a wax mould.

The first thing you may have noticed is that Henry is holding a sword.

This sword often symbolised justice.

The second thing you may have noticed is that Henry is mounted on a horse.

With this imagery, we can imagine the king like a warrior protecting his people, handing out justice and punishment to criminals.

This was further illustrated on the reverse of this seal where the king was shown seated like a judge.

The Assizes centralised royal authority.

On the map, we can see the king represented by the crown.

The power of the Assizes meant the king could control his land from the centre.

The king's justice could be carried out without the king being there in person.

The Assizes, armed with royal orders, enabled the king and his justice to be everywhere.

Under the authority of these Assizes, the king's officials were able to order land to be returned and settle local disputes.

The barons were understandably angered by this as it shifted power away from their local courts.

For Henry, it restored the central power of the king and delivered a consistent law within all the king's courts.

And this is the important bit, a common law for all of England.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Match the key words with the correct definitions.

Pause the video and come right back when you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check the answers.

So, legal is anything connected to the law.

Reform is to make changes to improve something.

Authority is the power or ability to control or demand obedience.

And then the Assizes is the name given to a royal court, which travelled across England.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

Fill in the missing words.

Use the words below to complete the text underneath.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done, if you knew these answers.

So, the text should have read, "The Assizes travelled the country and enabled a victim of land theft to appeal directly to the king's court, instead of the local court of their baron.

The king's officials had the authority to order land to be returned." Okay, let's move on to the second part.

I want you to apply all your knowledge from the first part of the lesson to answer this question.

Explain how Henry's reforms of the court system increased his royal authority in legal matters across England.

In your answer, include as many of the following words as you can.

Assizes, authority, baronial courts, king's courts, centralised, and control.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

How did you get along with that one? Well, there are many ways we could have answered this, but here's my example.

Check your answer with mine.

Henry reformed the court system when he established the Assizes.

These royal courts enabled the king's justice to be delivered across England.

This shifted legal authority away from the baronial courts towards the king's courts.

Henry's reforms had centralised his control and increased his authority in legal matters across England.

Well done.

Okay, so we're now on the second part of the lesson, common law.

Henry II's reforms to the English legal system established the foundation of English common law still in use today.

This is important, because common law is often considered to be a fairer legal system.

We have already seen that it delivered a consistent law across England, but there are other reasons why common law is considered a fairer legal system.

Common law is based on real cases.

The decisions which the judges made in the Assizes became law and future judges must look back to those old laws to make new decisions.

Okay, let's simplify that.

Let's look at the process of how common law is made.

So firstly, a crime occurs such has land has been stolen.

It then goes to court, and let's say it's a complex case in which the judge must decide who legally owns a piece of land.

To try and work out who owns the land, the judge reviews the old laws.

This means the judge must look back to a previous law, a previous court decision, based on a similar case.

The judge's new decision then also becomes a law, and then common law continues in this loop so that when a future land theft happens, based on the one we just looked at, the new law, which was just created, may fit the specific nature of a future crime.

The judge will have a kind of legal textbook that they review full of previous judgments on which they can base their own decision on.

Okay, let's check your understanding, Starting with the earliest, sort these stages into the order required for common law.

Write your answers in the empty flow chart.

Pause the video, and come right back when you've finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check your answers.

So, you should have had the first stage is the crime occurs, then we have court case, then the judge will review the old laws trying to find a law that will fit this particular case, and then the judge's new decision also becomes law.

Okay, let's continue the story.

Henry II's legal reforms, the common law, are considered to be an important change in the English legal system.

Why is common law an important change in the English legal system? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, welcome back.

Now, you may have thought about how it was a fairer illegal system? I mean, there are many ways we could have answered this, but something about it being a fairer legal system may have popped into your mind.

You may have also thought that it delivered a consistent law across England, but now, let's delve a bit deeper.

It was also considered to be fairer, because it is based on real cases rather than a law made by a king or a parliament.

What that means is a king or a politician may write a general law and not know how the law would work in specific situations.

It's one big law for the whole of the land.

However, the common law process provides the judge with a legal textbook that they can look through full of previous judgements on which they can base their decision.

They can use a specific law to deal with a specific case.

Lastly, let's continue to delve a bit deeper here.

Henry's reforms were also important, because he increased the use of juries.

Now, you may be asking, what are juries? Let's have a closer look at the image on the left.

We've already mentioned the judges here at the top.

There are some people here recording the details of the case, which future judges can then refer back to.

We've have the accused, the prisoner here at the bottom of the image.

And if you look carefully, there is a group of people on the left, and this is the jury.

Eventually, a jury would, typically consist of 12 ordinary people chosen to attend courts to decide if a person was guilty or not guilty.

This was designed to be a fairer court system, because the judgement is decided by ordinary people and not a lord.

Overall, common law represented the idea that all the king's people should have access to the king's justice and the king's protection.

However, at this point in history, it is important to note that peasants were still excluded from this protection.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why do Henry's legal reforms represent an important change in the English legal system? Select the three correct reasons.

Is it A, the law is consistent across England.

B, the law is developed from actual cases.

C, jury trials produce judgements by a lord.

D, jury trials produce judgments by ordinary people.

Pause the video, select the three correct reasons, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check your answers.

Yes, that's right.

A, the law is consistent across England, B, the law is developed from actual cases, and D, jury trials produced judgments by ordinary people.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

Explain why the following two reforms introduced by Henry II were important developments in the English legal system, common law, increased use of juries.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

How did you get on with that? So, there are many ways that you could have answered this question.

Your answer may include, common law delivered a consistent law across England.

It's also developed from the decision of an actual case rather than a law made by a politician.

The increased use of juries means that judgments are decided by ordinary people and not a lord.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise the lesson, Henry II's legal reforms. Legal matters were inconsistently dealt with by local courts and barons.

Henry II established the Assizes to settle property disputes in local areas.

Henry's reforms restored and increased his royal authority in legal matters across England.

The judgments of the Assizes developed the English common law.

Henry II's legal reforms represent an important change in the English legal system.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

Thank you for joining me for this important story of Henry's legal reforms and the wider importance they have for today.

I will see you next time when we continue our investigation into how successful Henry was at reasserting royal authority.

See you in the next session.