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DUKE HENRY

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displayed by the young duke during his short visit had made such an impression that, in the words of the Chronicler, "no man durst do other than good for the mickle awe of him."

AUTHORITIES.-William of Newburgh, lib. i., Gesta Stephani, Richard of Hexham, Robert of Torigni (in vols. i. iii. iv. of the Chronicles of Stephen and Henry, Rolls series), with Mr. Howlett's excellent prefaces. William of Malmesbury, Hist. Nov., The English Chronicle, Henry of Huntingdon, Gervase of Canterbury, vol. ii. (all in the Rolls series). Continuation of Flor. of Worcester (Engl. Hist. Soc.). Historia Pontificalis, ap. Rer. Germ. ss. vol. xx. ed. Pertz. For life of Archbishop Theobald, in addition to the above, John of Hexham, in vol. ii. of Symeon of Durham (Rolls series), Vita Theobaldi ap. opp. Lanfranci I., John of Salisbury's Polycraticus and Epistles, and G. Foliot's Epp., all three ed. Giles. For life of Bishop Henry of Blois, in addition to above, Ann. of Winton, Liber de Hyda (Rolls series), Ralph de Diceto, Peter the Venerable (Migne, pp. 189-204), Modern writers, Bishop Stubbs's Select Charters, Const. Hist. i., and Early Plantagenets, Miss Kate Norgate's Eng. under Angevin Kings, Round's Geoffrey de Mandeville, Dean Hook's Archbishops, vol. ii.

CHAPTER IX

HENRY II. AND THOMAS BECKET

THE reign of Henry II. was a turning-point in the history of the English nation, second only in importance to the Norman Conquest.

Henry was only twenty-two years of age at the time of his accession, yet he proved equal to the gigantic task that lay before him, which was nothing less than the reconstruction of a ruined State. He was endowed with great natural ability, and he had gained much valuable experience in the school of adversity. The vigour of his intellect and energy of his temperament were expressed in his outward form and demeanour-his large head, his thick-set frame, his eager countenance, his eyes which flashed fire when his anger was kindled, his restless activity. He was selfish, passionate, licentious, but he was not wantonly cruel or tyrannical, and he had the wisdom to see that the best way to secure a contented people was to administer just laws with a strong hand. His administrative reforms unfortunately brought him into conflict with the Church in the person of Thomas Becket; he was not less determined than William the Conqueror that the crown should be the supreme final authority in ecclesiastical matters, but he had less control over his temper than William, and he was opposed by a primate who had none of Lanfranc's sagacity and discretion.

His reign was a tragedy. A bright beginning was soon clouded by his strife with Becket, and the murder of the primate was followed by the rebellion of the king's sons. When Henry died his power and reputation in Europe were

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HENRY'S MINISTERS

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shaken, and his heart was broken; but he had not lived in vain. The administrative reforms which he effected survived the tyranny and weakness of the reign of John and Henry III., and formed the foundation of the strong government established by Edward I.

Henry landed in Hampshire near Lymington on December 8, 1154. He was received first at Winchester, then in London with transports of joy; and was crowned at His coronation. Westminster by Archbishop Theobald, on Sunday

December 19.

Henry Fitz-Empress, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, and Duke of Aquitaine, became King of England. His first business was to surround himself with able ministers. Richard de Lucy had been appointed justiciar near the end of Stephen's reign, and he retained the office for twenty-five years under Henry, who surnamed him Richard the Loyal. Nigel, Bishop of Ely, the only survivor of the great episcopal ministers who had served Henry I., was made chancellor for a short time, and then reinstated in his old position of treasurer. Archbishop Theobald was, by virtue of his office, the first adviser of the crown, and he had been Henry's staunch supporter amidst the distractions of the late reign; but he was now aged and infirm. A sense of responsibility weighed upon his mind, especially in regard to matters affecting the Church, for Henry was neither a moral nor a religious man, and he came of a stock which had hereditary prejudices against the clergy. The primate could not accompany the young king in his rapid and incessant journeyings about his vast dominions, but he felt that it was a matter of supreme importance to bring him into contact with some one who might regulate his strong impulses and guide his mind in the right direction.

Thomas

chancellor.

There was one man who, in the judgment not only of Theobald but of all who knew him, was eminently fitted for this duty Thomas of London, Archdeacon of Canterbury. Theobald recommended him for the Becket, office of chancellor. His recommendation was warmly seconded by Bishop Henry of Winchester, together with the Bishops of Bayeux and Lisieux ; and the king, knowing his merits, willingly appointed him, early in the year 1155.

history.

Thomas Becket, as he is commonly called, or Thomas of London, as he always called himself, even after he became archbishop, was born at his father's house in CheapHis early side, in or about the year 1118. His father, Gilbert Becket, who came of a Norman family of knightly rank, had been a merchant at Rouen before he settled in London. Young Thomas was educated as a boy at the school of Merton Priory in Surrey, and afterwards studied at Paris up to the age of twenty-two, when he was compelled to return to England to earn his own living, his father being aged and reduced from affluence to poverty. He found employment as clerk to a kinsman, Osbern Huitdeniers, or Eightpenny, as he might be called in English, who was one of the sheriffs of London.

Two of Archbishop Theobald's clerks, who had once been guests in the house of Gilbert Becket, introduced Thomas to the primate. He quickly recognised his ability, and added him to the number of clever young men whom he trained up in his household. He soon became one of Theobald's most confidential friends and counsellors. He accompanied him to Rome in 1143, when he went to try and obtain the legatine commission, and to the council of Reims in 1148, and the refusal of Theobald to crown Stephen's son, Eustace, was largely due to his influence. He was only in minor orders at this time, and his habits and tastes were not clerical; but, after the custom of the age, he was remunerated for secular services with ecclesiastical preferment. In 1143 he held the livings of St. Mary-le-Strand, London, and Otford, Kent; in 1154 he was made prebendary of Lincoln and of St. Paul's, and finally, having been ordained deacon, he had been preferred to the archdeaconry of Canterbury, the most dignified and lucrative post, next to that of a bishop or abbot, in the Church of England.

The new chancellor was a striking and commanding figure -tall, well-made, handsome, dignified, with eyes singularly bright and piercing. He could not fail to be His career as popular, for he spent much of his great wealth in chancellor. bountiful almsgiving and splendid hospitality. Technically the chancellor ranked below the justiciar and the treasurer, but as chief secretary to the sovereign, keeper of

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the royal seal, custodian of vacant benefices, and superintendent of the royal chaplains and clerks, he was brought into closer personal contact with the king than any other official, and wielded very great power.

Between Henry and his chancellor there grew up the closest intimacy. They were of one heart and of one mind. "Who knows not," writes Peter, Abbot of Celle, to Thomas, "that thou art second only to the king in the four realms." Henry frequently visited his chancellor. Sometimes on his return from hunting, when the chancellor was dining with guests, the king would suddenly burst into the room, vault over the table, seat himself beside the host, and after taking a few mouthfuls of food, and tossing off a glass of wine, would remount his horse and ride away. The king consulted him on all affairs of State, and if most of the administrative reforms were devised by Henry himself, the chancellor was his most trusted agent in carrying them into effect. He combined indeed the qualities of lawyer, diplomatist, and soldier. In 1156 he acted as justice-itinerant in three counties; in 1157 he was trying the question of the rights of Hilary, Bishop of Chichester, over Battle Abbey. The following year he acted as ambassador to the court of the French king, Louis VII., to arrange a marriage between his daughter and Henry's eldest son, when the splendour of his retinue was such that the French exclaimed, "If this is the chancellor, what must the king himself be! In the war with Toulouse he was foremost in every battle, at the head of a body of picked knights, and for some time he successfully defended the Norman frontier against the French with troops which he maintained at his own cost. But however secular the tone of his life, it was unsullied by vice. Impurity and dishonesty were abhorrent to him. His moral uprightness in an immoral court, while it earned him the respect of many, provoked the malice of others, and there were times when he longed for retirement from the world.

By the year 1159 the older generation of bishops was dying out. Richard of London was stricken with paralysis. Henry of Winchester had retired to Cluny. The sees of Worcester, Exeter, and Lichfield were vacant. Archbishop Theobald's life was drawing to an end. The king and the chancellor were absent in Normandy.

Abp. Theo bald's last days, 1161.

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