Wednesday 21 January 2015

Inquest of Sheriffs, 1170

In order to put an end to local and provincial corruption in 1170 King Henry II ordered a full investigation into the activities of the sheriffs of all the counties in England, and the bailiffs in the royal desmesnes .  There had been many complaints about the bailiffs. After the Inquest was complete a large number of sheriffs were replaced with more dependable agents: of course the new replacements were beholden to the king personally for their positions. In a real sense by this act King Henry was, once more, centralising his power and control over his kingdom. Others have seen this act as awarding those worthy of merit a chance of getting a position in the administration and governance of the kingdom. Henry was perhaps demonstrating by these appointments that loyalty and usefulness was far more important to him, and that merit could definitely overcome a lack of blue blood. 


References

James J. Spigelman (2004). Becket & Henry: The Becket Lectures. James Spigelman. pp. 210–. ISBN 978-0-646-43477-3.

George Lyttelton (1767). The History of the Life of King Henry the Second Book II. W. Sandby. p. 165.


Kate Norgate (1887) England Under the Angevin Kings Volume 2 pp. 126-


M. T. Clanchy (2012). From Memory to Written Record: England 1066 - 1307. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 101–. ISBN 978-1-118-29598-4.

The Constitutional History of Medieval England: From the English Settlement to 1485
By J. E. A. Jolliffe
(Jolliffe, 1937, p. 210)


David Charles Douglas; George William Greenaway (28 December 1995). English Historical Documents, 1042-1189. Psychology Press. pp. 482–. ISBN 978-0-415-14367-7. EHD 47
David Charles Douglas; George William Greenaway (28 December 1995). English Historical Documents, 1042-1189. Psychology Press. pp. 484–. ISBN 978-0-415-14367-7. EHD 48


The Governance of Mediaeval England from the Conquest to Magna Carta
By H. G. Richardson; G. O. Sayles
(Richardson & Sayles, 1963, p. 201)

The First Century of English Feudalism, 1066-1166: Being the Ford Lectures Delivered in the University of Oxford in Hilary Term 1929
By F. M. Stenton
(Stenton, 1932, p. 80)

Sanctuary and Crime in the Middle Ages, 400-1500
By Karl Shoemaker
(Shoemaker, 2011, p. 118)

Kings, Courts and Monarchy
By Harold Nicolson
 (Nicolson, 1962, p. 161)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.