The Conflict between Church and State Flashcards
1
Q
Which church dominates England in the medieval period?
A
Roman Catholic
2
Q
What is the structure of the Roman Catholic church?
A
Pope
Cardinals
Archbishops
Bishops
Priests
3
Q
What is the pope?
A
The leader of the Roman Catholic church
4
Q
Who elects the pope?
A
Cardinals
5
Q
What are cardinals?
A
They are the “elected government” of the Roman Catholic church
6
Q
What is an archbishop?
A
Chief bishops that rule over larger districts
7
Q
What is the land called in which archbishops rule over?
A
Archdioceses
8
Q
What are archbishops responsible for?
A
Making sure that bishops follow church rules and laws
9
Q
What is the land called in which bishops rule over?
A
Dioceses
10
Q
What is the diocese?
A
The main administrative unit of the Church
11
Q
What are the roles of bishops?
A
Supervise all activities of their church
Visits all religious institutions regular intervals
Educating the Christian faith
Arranging charity works in their area
Speak up for the poor
12
Q
How is each diocese divided up?
A
Into parishes
13
Q
Who is responsible for the local parishes?
A
Priests
14
Q
What are the responsibilities of priests?
A
They have the same responsibilities in their parish as bishops do in their diocese
15
Q
When did Henry II see an opportunity to reassert his authority in the Church?
A
When Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Bec, died
16
Q
Who did Henry appoint as the new Archbishop of Canterbury?
A
Thomas Becket
17
Q
Who is Thomas Becket?
A
A middle class nobleman with a Norman background
He was born in London 1118
He received a good education
18
Q
What was Beckets personality like?
A
Becket was known to be a good conversationalist, charming, energetic and versataile
19
Q
What was Becket’s religious background?
A
Becket was earmarked for advancement, sent on important missions to Rome and was well rewarded with titles
20
Q
How did A L Poole view Becket?
A
“He had certain virtues which led to a pure life which was rare however he appears as a vain and ambitious man”
21
Q
Who recommended Becket as the chancellor and why did they recommend him?
A
Archbishop Theobald of Bec recommended Becket hoping he might support the aims of the Church in his role which he didn’t
Whenever there was a clash between the church and crown, Becket always advocated the crown
22
Q
How was Henry and Beckets relationship during his role as Chancellor?
A
They were bestfriends
Henry allowed Becket to keep a splendid home to reflect the wealth of the state and represented this abroad too
23
Q
When did Becket resign as chancellor?
A
1162
24
Q
How did William Fitzstephen describe Henry and Thomas’s relationship?
A
“The king and Becket played together like little boys of the same age at court, in church in assemblies and in riding”
25
What was Henry's aims in relation to the Church?
To restore royal authority
26
What did Henry want to control within the Church?
Henry wanted control of his ancestral rights and the appointment of bishops,
He expected to be informed of communications with Rome
Henry also would not allow excommunications of Barons without assent from him
27
How did the Henry-Becket dispute start?
Beckets appointment of Archbishop of Canterbury
28
When was Becket elected as Archbishop?
May 1162
29
Why did Henry give Becket the Archbishop position?
Henry hoped Becket would defend the rights of the crown in church affairs
30
Why was Becket not suited to be Archbishop?
Becket was a royal wealthy clerk and normally royal clerks never interfered with the church
31
What happened when Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury?
He resigned as Chancellor and gave up his privileged life
He became deeply religious by praying, fasting, gave to the poor and read Latin books
Becket challenged and defied Henry over several issues most notably at church councils
32
What angered Henry about the Church?
Henry was angered and refused to accept the "legitimate" rights of the English church which he thought undermined royal authority
33
Which "legitimate" rights did Henry want?
Henry wanted to be able to control his ancestral rights, the appointment of bishops as well as all communications with Rome
34
What angered Henry about the ecclesiastical churches?
The issue of criminous clerks
35
What are criminous clerks?
A member of the clergy who has committed a serious secular crime but gets trialed in an ecclesiastical court to avoid harsher punishments
36
Give an example of a criminous clerk
Phillip de Broi
37
Why were criminous clerk cases so frequent?
The English church had the exclusive right to try and punish these clerks in its own church courts and it cited canon law
38
How did Becket view the criminous clerk situations?
Becket supported the rights of the Church rather than his royal master
39
What else did Henry want from the Church?
The church to only excommunicate barons and royal officials with assent from the King
40
What does excommunication mean?
Action of officially excluding someone from participation in the sacraments and services of the Christian Church
41
Why did Henry argue for all excommunications to have approval?
Henry claims he was upholding the customs enjoyed by the Norman kings of England
42
Did Becket approve of excommunicating only with assent?
No Becket rejected it and used the theories of the church reform movement to support his position
He argued spiritual penalties were a matter for the church alone and had nothing to do with royal authority
43
What were the 4 councils in which the Becket and Henry dispute was discussed?
Council of Woodstock
Council of Westminster
Council of Clarendon
Council of Northampton
44
When was the council of Woodstock?
July 1163
45
At the council of Woodstock, what does Becket refuse to do?
He refuses to pay Sheriff's aid and led to the opposition of it
46
What is sheriff's aid?
A fee that has traditionally been paid to the sheriff by all tenants-in-chief (ecclesiastical and secular)
47
How did Henry feel about Becket's refusal to pay sheriff's aid?
Henry does nothing but is personally betrayed and humiliated
48
When was the council of Westminster?
October 1163
49
At the council of Westminster, what does Henry want from the church?
Henry II demanded that English bishops to uphold and observe the "customs of England" which were matters including excommunication, criminous clerks and appeals to Rome
50
How did Becket react to Henry's demands at the council of Westminster?
Becket refuses what he calls "ancient customs" and believes canon laws are superior
51
What did Henry do at the council of Westminster after Becket's refusal?
Henry stormed out of the council and swiftly removed all Becket's remaining royal honours and estates
Henry also favoured known rivals of Becket such as offering Roger (Archbishop of York) a papal legateship and backed Clarembald when he was disputing Becket over authority
52
After the council of Westminster, which castles did Henry remove from Becket?
Eye and Berkhamstead
53
When was the council of Clarendon?
January 1164
54
What did Henry want from the council of Clarendon?
The constitutions of Clarendon to be signed by Becket and the church
55
What was the constitutions of Clarendon?
16 articles in which Henry II insisted the English bishops agree to at the council of Clarendon. They extended royal authority over the English church
56
Did Becket sign the constitutions of Clarendon?
At first Becket refused but then surrendered and made the bishops swear to do so and reluctantly promised to observe them.
But then Becket resisted the constitutions of Clarendon, refused to attach his seal and sent the written customs to Pope Alexander III
57
What was Beckets attitude to the Constitutions of Clarendon?
In January 1164, Becket finally accepted the terms of the constitutions but as soon a he was in exile, he rejected them.
58
What happened after the council of Clarendon?
The gates of royal hunting lodge at Woodstock were shut in Becket's face when he attempted to meet the King in which Becket unsuccessfully tried to flee England to seek Papal support
59
What personal matter affected the relationship between Henry II and Becket between 1162 and 1164?
The death of Henry's II younger brother, William of Anjou.
William and Henry was close and William sought Isabelle de Warren, Stephen's wealthy widow, but William was blocked by Becket who refused to secure him a dispensation.
William died in January 1164 and it's claimed Henry blamed Becket for his death.
60
When was the council of Northampton?
October 1164
61
Why did Henry take Becket to court?
Becket was summoned to court and formally charged with a series of financial offences relating to his time as chancellor such as repaying loans etc
62
How much did Becket allegedly owe the crown?
£300
63
How much Becket allegedly owe Henry II?
500 marks
64
How did Becket respond to the alleged charges against him?
Becket refused to go to court then fled to Flanders fearing for his life
65
When did Becket flee England?
October 1164
66
How did Becket flee England in 1164?
In disguise
67
How did Henry II act when Becket had fled?
Henry II was swift and immediately sent ambassadors to make his case before Pope Alexander III in France and hinted that if the Pope didn't support him then he might seek the support of antipope Paschal III
68
Did Henry meet antipope Paschal III?
In May 1165, Henry sent one of his clerks, Richard to swear allegiance to him but was later disavowed by Henry II
69
How did Pope Alexander III respond to Henry's allegiance to Paschal?
In June 1165, Pope Alexander III quashed the sentence imposed on Becket at Northampton and wrote to Gilbert Foliot asking him to intercede with the King and remind him of his obedience to Canterbury
70
How did Gilbert Foliot react to the Pope's orders?
Foliot wrote to Alexander warning him not to excommunicate the King because the King would support Paschal
June 1166, foliot led an English church council that sent a joint letter from the bishops, informing him how unjustly Becket was acting and how reasonable Henry was being
71
How did Henry punish Becket directly?
By Christmas 1164, Henry ordered all the churches and revenues of Thomas Becket and the clerks who had joined him in exile
Henry also drove members of family into exile
72
What else did Henry do in terms of gaining support against Becket?
Henry II gained the support of the English church, most bishops in the country and most importantly secured the support of Roger, the archbishop of York, and Gilbert Foliot, the bishop of London
73
What did Henry do in June 1170?
He arranged the coronation of his son "Young Henry" and was performed by Archbishop of York despite it violating Canterbury's traditional rights and was a deliberate provocation
74
What did Becket do in spite of the constitutions of Clarendon?
June 1166, Becket formally denounced them, excommunicating his enemies in the proccess
75
What did Henry II do regarding the terms of Clarendon Constitutions in November 1167?
Henry offered a compromise on the constitutions with the backing of Papal legates and Becket rejected this
76
What attacks did Becket sneakily inflict upon Henry?
Becket excommunication close bishops of Henry including Bishops of London and Salisbury
77
What did Becket threaten to do in July 1170?
put England under an interdict
78
What is an interdict?
A spiritual penalty less severe than excommunication but blocked an individual or an area from participating in the rites of the Church
79
How did the dispute between Henry and the church end?
Essentially Henry and Becket came to an agreement which allowed him to come to England however Becket refused to life the excommunications of the close bishops but then Becket was murdered by 4 knights
80
Who else intervened in the Henry Becket argument?
Pope Alexander III
Gilbert Foliot
Beckets Allies
81
Who was Pope Alexander III?
Head of the Roman Catholic church
82
Why was Pope Alexander in a difficult position?
He was a reformer and most of the principles Becket claimed to be fighting for was also what Alexander himself believed in.
However the Pope wanted to defend Henry II as he didn't wanted Henry to go support the antipope Paschal
83
How did pope Alexander III participate in the Henry and Becket dispute?
1164, Pope refused to accept the constitutions of Clarendon
May 1166, He made Pope a papal legate but then stripped him of his powers temporarily in July 1168
1170, Alexander pardoned all those excommunicated by Becket
84
How did Alexanders input effect the dispute?
All of these situations show his desire to push rivals towards a settlement and how his intermittent support enabled both to remain in conflict
85
Who is Gilbert Foliot?
The Bishop of London
86
How did Foliot participate in the dispute?
June 1166, He led an English church council to get the Pope to act against Becket
He levelled a personal attack on Becket
87
How did Foliot's participation affect the dispute?
Without Foliot's support, it would've been hard for Henry II to continue to make his case, that it was becket out of step not Henry II
88
Who were Becket's supporters?
Louis VII of France provided a safe refuge
Herbert of Bosham taught Becket Theology and convinced him to continuing fighting
89
What initiated the murder of Becket?
Henry enraged that Becket wouldn't pardon the bishops he had excommunicated and shouted "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest"
90
Who overheard Henry II screaming and shouting?
4 knights
91
What were the names of the 4 knights?
Reginald FitzUrse
William de Tracy
Hugh de Morville
Richard le Bret
92
What did the 4 knights do after hearing "will no one rid me of this turbulent priest"?
They rode off to sail to England to deal with Becket at his cathedral
93
What did the knights accuse Becket of doing?
Betraying the king
94
What did the priests do after accusing Becket?
They stormed out of the Church and returned with swords and confronted Becket who refused arrest.
Eventually one of the knights slashed Becket and kept in hacking at Becket and one of his monks in the proccess
95
Why did Becket confront the knights rather than lock them out?
Becket believed everyone was welcome in church and shouldn't be locked out
96
What was Becket doing when confronted?
Praying
97
What did the knights do after killing Becket?
They shouted "King's men" and retreated to a nearby castle
98
When was Becket murdered?
29th December 1170
99
Who eyewitnessed the murder?
Edward Grim
100
Who was Edward Grim?
A monk
101
According the Edward Grim, how did Becket die?
"By first blow, he wounded his arm"
"He received a second blow to his head by Reginald FitzUrse"
"At the third blow, he fell on his knees and elbows"
102
According to Edward Grim, what did Becket's last words?
"For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church, I am ready to be embraced by death"
103
How did Henry II react to Becket's death?
He was said to have been grief-stricken and utterly apalled
104
How did the Pope react to Becket's death?
The news reached the Pope a month later and the Pope was shocked and went into a state of mourning
105
What was Henry II's initial reaction to Becket's death?
Henry wanted to control the news of the Archbishops death and his role in it
106
Why was it impossible to control the news of Becket's death?
French church had no interest in obscuring Henry's guilt
Henry's connection to the Knights was verified by many French prelates
107
Which mission did Becket's murder undermine?
Henry II had sent a mission to papal curia to protest against Becket's previous excommunications
108
How was Henry II pressured politically?
His rivals wrote to condemn the English king and demanded the punishment of those responsible
109
Who pressured Henry II politically?
King Louis VII of France
Theobald of Blois
110
What happened to Henry II's lands after Beckets death?
His lands were placed under an interdict with the unanimous support of the French prelates by William (Archbishop of Sens and brother of Theobald of Blois) despite the other commissioner (Rotrou) trying to prevent this
111
How did Henry II and William the Archbishop react to the interdicts?
They both wrote to the Pope to present their version of events
112
What did the French Archbishops letter include?
William presented Henry II as a wicked tyrant
113
What did the King's letter include?
The English Kings letter expressed his deep regret and upset by his contribution to the murder
114
How did Pope Alexander respond to the letters?
The Pope ignored all of Henry II's representatives and only averted the interdict due to the public submission but he insisted that the interdicts on his continental lands were to be honoured
115
What happened to the 4 knights that murdered Becket?
Excommunicated
116
What happened to Becket's excommunications?
The excommunications of the bishop of London and Salisbury and suspension of Roger of York were all confirmed
117
How did Henry II react to his political and spiritual penalities?
He travelled to England to invade Ireland which was smart as this is what the papacy wanted
118
How did Pope Alexander react to Henry's invasions on Ireland?
He lifted the suspension of the Archbishop of York and the excommunications of bishops of Salisbury and London
119
What did Henry do in order to be on good terms with the Church?
He was to pay 200 knights to defend Jerusalem for a year
He agreed to abolish all "evil customs" that he had introduced to the English church (Constitutions of Clarendon)
He was specifically forbidden to block appeals made to Rome through canon law and with the exception of treason, the secular courts did not have jurisdiction over the clergy
120
How did pope Alexander III feel about having a good relation with Henry?
The pope was keen to restore a good relation with Henry and even allowed him to have a greater control over the Church than previously
