richards gov. Flashcards
Who did Richard place as chief justiciars
Hugh de Puiset, the bishop of Durham, and William Longchamp who had been his chancellor
How did Richard show William Longchamp was the dominant partner
- he controlled the offices of central government: the exchequer and the king’s bench came under Longchamps control
- Was given legatine authority to show his authority spread across the whole of England
What else did Richard set up to assist in running the country in his absence
- Richard established a council to assisst in the running of England and named William Marshal, William Brewer, Geoffery FitzPeter and Hugh Bardulf as justiciars
What did Richard do to most of the sherrifs and an example
Most sherrifs were replaced with those willing to pay the most
e.g. Gerald de Camville secured both the role of sheriff of Lincolnshire as well as constable of Lincoln Castle
What was the Quitclaim of Canterbury
An agreement that nullified the Treaty of Falaise for 10,000 marks
What do most Chroniclers assert about William Longchamp
William was enormously prideful and arrogant
What showed Longchamps arrogance
replacing 13 sheriffs with his own men and creating a perception of himself as a self-interested and corrupt rules.
What did William Longchamp do to Gerald de Camville
In spring 1191 Longchamp tries to force Gerard de Camville sheriff of Lincolnshire and castellan of Lincoln castle to give it up in favour of a supporter of Longchamp’s but he resists and appeals to John,
Gerad gave homage of his lands directly to John who then seized Tickhill and Nottingham castle from Longchamp
John gains control of London, forcing Longchamp to hide in the Tower.
How did Richard prevent John causing trouble when he was away
- award his brother numerous estates of significant value such as Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire
- Also made Lord of Gloucester by Marriage to Isabella
- made John promise to stay out of England and also prevented him from holding any positions on the Council of Regency or having access to the justiciars. Eleanor persuades him to relent on this, against his better judgement
How did Richard prevent a dynastic threat from his half brother Geoffrey
Geoffrey is made Archbishop of York and must take an oath of celibacy, risk of dynastic threat removed.
also made him take an oath to stay out of England
Why did people see William Longchamp as a mere opportunist
He had paid £3000 for the role of justiciar
How was Longchamp a capapble administrator in technical terms
- restoring order with the Jews
- adding concluding clause including date and place of issue to charters and writs.
who did Richard have to dispatch to solve John and others openly challenging Longchamp in spring 1191
- Richard has to dispatch Walter de Coutances from Sicily to deal with the dispute
- Brokered a peace settlement which was for Longchamp to leave alone Lincoln and for John to return Longchamp’s castles as long as Longchamp supported John’s claim to the throne should Richard die on crusade.
What did Longchamp do in September 1191 that allowed him to be challenged again
In September Longchamp tries to arrest Geoffrey illegitimate son of Henry II and archbishop of York.
Reminds people of the Becket tragedy
What is the consequence of Longchamp trying to arrest Geoffrey Archbishop of York
- He is placed on trial by the Council of Regency for abuse of Royal Power
- doesn’t attend his trial, instead fleeing for France and being replaced by de Coutances.
How did Walter of Coutances differ from Longchamp’s arrogance
He was more circumspect than Longchamp had been and more careful to act in Richards name with the support of regency council
Why was Richard captured
He had to go through vienna where Count Leopold was, the one he had disrespected, but he was too famous to disguise himself
What did John do upon hearing that Richard was captured
He declared that Richard was dead and his right to the throne, yet the council rejected his demands and even his own supporters were too afraid to publicly back him
What did John do with Phillip in 1193
- In 1193, John fled to Paris and forged an alliance with Phillip II and began hiring mercenaries
- promising to yield the Vexin to Phillip
How much was decided to be raised for Richard’s ranasom
Regency council worked from may to December 1193 to raise the gigantic 150,000 marks required to ransom Richard
Who did Richard nominate as chief justiciar in December 1193 to prepare for the king’s release
nominated his servant Hubert Walter, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, as the chief justiciar and preparations were made for the King’s imminent release.
What did Richard do upon returning to England
- Had a second coronation
- Held a council at Nottingham where he dismissed Johns followers and reinstated others such as the family of William Longchamp
What prinicpal job was given to Hubert Walter by Richard
raise revenue for his war with Phillip II
Who was Hubert’s uncle, whom he also grew up with
- Hubert was the nephew of the extremely competent justiciar Ranulf Glanvill who he grew up with; giving Hubert a background and education steeped in the adminstration of the English government
What positions (apart from Chief Justiciar) gave Hubert immense authority in England
He was both Archbishop of Canterbury and given legatine authority and chancellor
What did Hubert exploit to raise unprecedented amounts of money
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Feudal incidents including feudal reliefs, wardships and the marriages of baronial widows were all used to raise unprecedented amounts of money
- Forest Eyres did likewise and amercements reached record levels
What did Hubert do to ensure the safety of Jewish debts
Administrative reforms were put in place at the exchequer to regulate the wealth of the Jews and make sure the record of their debts were safely stored
One copy was retained by the lender and another placed in a chest, known as an archa, which was heavily secured
How did Hubert tackle potential corruption from sherrifs
in September 1194, sheriffs were forbidden to act as justices in their own shires or in other areas where they held significant personal interest
Hubert also set up the office of the coroner
What was the office of coroner
- a series of local officers, answerable to central government, independent of the sheriff and who could check up on their actions to ensure that more of the money raised reached the exchequer
- Also heard crown plea cases that the Sheriff was banned from hearing
- coroner had to be relatively wealthy to make him less susceptible to bribery
What was the Edictum Regium that Hubert Walter introduced
- a process was begin under which all men over the age of 15 were compelled to swear an oath to keep the peace
- knights were appointed for the special task of receiving these oaths - these became justices of the peace
What standardisation did Huber undertake in November 1196
Implements the Assize of Weights and Measures that ordered that weights and measures should be standardised , this was immensely popular and stimulated trade
What allowed Hubert to act with absolute authority in comparison to his predecessors
Richards close proximity enabled Hubert
What backlash did Hubert experience
- The financial exactions that he undertook were unpopular, In 1196 there was a revolt against them
- He was also defied by the English bishops in December 1197 when they rejected the claim that they had to provide military service overseas
- In 1198 faced with the accummulation of years of unpopular decisions and increased pressure from a new pope he resigned
What are the constables that Hubert creates
- 4 knights local to each area who would administer law and order in each area.
- He did this in order to give responsibility to junior nobles less likely to abuse their power than sheriffs.
