ENGLAND UNDER HENRY II, 1154-1189 A.D.; ROYAL JUSTICE
AND THE COMMON LAW
HENRY II, PLANTAGENET Henry II, who ascended the English
throne in 1154 A.D., was a grandson of William the Conqueror and the first of
the famous Plantagenet [2] family, Henry spent more than half of his reign
abroad, looking after his extensive possessions in France but this fact did not
prevent him from giving England good government. Three things in which all
Englishmen take special pride—the courts, the jury system, and the Common
law—began to take shape during Henry's reign.
[2] The name comes from that of the broom plant (Latin planta
genesta), a sprig of which Henry's father used to wear in his hat. The
family is also called Angevin, because Henry on his father's side descended
from the counts of Anjou in France.
THE KING'S COURT
Henry, first of all, developed the royal court of justice.
This had been, at first, simply the court of the king's chief vassals,
corresponding to the local feudal courts. Henry transformed it from an
occasional assembly of warlike nobles into a regular body of trained lawyers,
and at the same time opened its doors to all except serfs. In the king's court
any freeman could find a justice that was cheaper and speedier than that
dispensed by the feudal lords. The higher courts of England have sprung from
this institution.
