Unit 8. The Angevin Empire. Thomas Becket
Stephen died in 1154 and Henry Plantagenet succeeded to the throne under the name of Henry II. He ruled for 35 years and died in 1189. His father came from Anjou, a French province. The emblem of the family was a plant called "planta genesta", so since Henry`s times they started speaking about the dynasty of the Plantagenets.
Henry was 22 when he succeeded to the throne. The territory of his country made him one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. He ruled Normandy, Brittany, some parts of Italy. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, a former French queen, brought him some other provinces of France. His domains are sometimes called the Angevin Empire. He led wars in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Henry II reestablished the authority of the central power and tried to overcome the conflicts between the landlords. He created the Common Law system, according to which every free man had a right to appeal to the royal Court. It was he who created a sort of Jury, as he established the rule according to which all land disputes were to be solved by a council of 12 noble men. Henry II is also remembered by his quarrel with Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket was a man of interesting origin. According to the legend, his mother was a Moslem girl who fell in love with her father`s captive Englishman, helped him to escape and then followed him to England. She miraculously found him in London, was converted to Christianity and then married him. Thomas was an educated man of high mental abilities. He was brought up under the care of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. Thanks to his talents, Thomas, a young man, was appointed the tutor of Henry, when the latter was a boy. Becket became the king`s friend. He was rich, powerful and arrogant and shared Henry`s pleasures in life. There are legends that they went off on a spree together. Becket became the king`s Chancellor and helped him to rule the country and make reforms. In 1162 Thomas Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury and soon after it Thomas changed his life. He left his luxurious palace, started to profess moderate life and stood at the head of the Church in its opposition to the king`s reforms. He condemned the king for his actions against the Church as he aimed at taking the power of appointing bishops. In 1164 Henry exiled Thomas, who found refuge in France. 6 years later Becket returned to England and continued his struggle against the king. His return was a kind of national holiday, and crowds of people greeted him in the streets. He was much loved and respected both by simple people and nobility. The king did his best to reconcile with the cleric and his former friend, but in vain. When the king went to Normandy Becket excommunicated several clergymen of high rank for their obedience to the king and tried to set people against Henry. The legend says that when Henry got the report about it he exclaimed in despair, he wished somebody could help him to get rid of the "tiresome priest". Four of his courtiers went to Canterbury, where the Archbishop was cruelly stabbed on the threshold of the cathedral. The king did not mean to order Thomas`s murder. When he guessed what his knights were going to do he sent a message to prevent them from doing it. Either the message came too late or the servants said they got it too late. The murder was so cruel that the archbishop`s blood stayed on the stones of the cathedral for centuries. He was canonized later and was considered to be one of the most powerful English saints. Another legend says that the problems Henry II had to deal with at the end of his reign were a sort of atonement for the tragic death of Thomas Becket. Henry led some war with Scotland and France for the territories each country claimed. Several years later Henry took a pilgrimage to Canterbury and on the knees prayed for Thomas`s soul. Henry had 4 sons, who did not get on well together. Somewhere about 1180 his sons with the support of their mother Queen Eleanor raised a rebellion, each of them trying to seize the throne. Henry managed to suppress the revolt and forgave the rebels, but the attempt was made again. The king`s belief in life disappeared. He left the court for a small town in France, where he died. Two of his rebellious sons, Henry and Geoffrey, died in 1883 and 1886. His son Richard was said to remonstrate at his father`s grave and lament over him and his attitude to him.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions: