Henry II Part II Trivia Quiz

Answer: only the penny

Henry recalled all the old currency and issued new pennies to replace those which had been debased in previous reigns. Although records indicate pounds, marks and shillings, they existed only as "coins of account" ie paper entities. The first pound was issued in 1487 and was called a sovereign due to the depiction of the enthroned king with crown, orb and sceptre.

The first shilling was minted in 1504. The mark, equal to 100 pennies, was never minted.

Answer: Duke of Aquitaine

Henry, the young king, received Normandy and Anjou as well as England. Richard, the favourite of his mother Eleanor, was made Duke of Aquitaine. Henry deposed Conrad Duke of Brittany for his failure to control his vassals. He then had Conrad's daughter, Constance, betrothed to his son, Geoffrey, with Brittany as her dowry. John was made Lord of Ireland - even more symbolic than the others since at that time England did not control Ireland.

Henry, although seemingly devolving authority upon his sons, in fact retained control himself with his sons as figureheads.

Answer: False

The right of sanctuary - the immunity of criminals whilst within the precincts of a religious house - was a problem, and Henry was unsuccessful in eliminating it. Indeed, in modern day Canada, some churches have given sanctuary to illegal immigrants - a situation the is government attempting to deal with.

In Henry's time, the problem was much more severe with popular sanctuaries such as St Martin's-in-the-Lane and Westminster Abbey being virtually infested with refugees from the secular authorities.

Answer: False

While chancellor, Becket supported the side of kingly authority. As a result of this consistent support, Henry felt that to have Becket assume the office of Archbishop of Canterbury, in addition to the chancellorship, potential conflict between Church and State could be avoided.

Answer: surrendered the Great Seal to Prince Henry

When Becket decided to resign as chancellor, he surrendered the Great Seal of England to Prince Henry, who was in Canterbury. Henry II was at the time in Rouen and Prince Henry, aged 12, was acting as his deputy. Some historians believe that if Becket had told Henry of his firm determination to resign as chancellor if elected Archbishop, Henry would not have instructed the monks of Canterbury to elect Thomas as archbishop, since his purpose was to combine the offices.

Answer: Rouen

Rouen was the capital of the duchy. It was in Rouen that Joan of Arc was tried and burned. Geoffrey of Anjou and his wife Matilda are buried in the cathedral there. Caen is the burial place of William the Conqueror and his wife, Matilda of Flanders. Falais was the birthplace of William the Conqueror and Le Mans was the birthplace of Henry II.

Answer: Woodstock

The legend of the fair Rosamonde usually ends with Rosamonde being poisoned by the jealous queen Eleanor. The whole relationship between Henry and Rosamonde is cloudy. Costain in "The Conquering Family" (a very readable history) states that Henry met Rosamonde prior to his marriage to Eleanor - during the civil war between the Empress Matilda and Stephen.

They had a child named William. Henry returned to France while Rosamonde remained in England. When Henry returned to England after his marriage to Eleanor, he resumed a relationship with Rosamonde and another child, Geoffrey, was born. Soon after Henry's crowning, Rosamonde retired to the convent of Godstow where she remained until her death some 20 years later.

Henry liberally endowed Godstow, gave lands to William and Geoffrey was raised at court, made bishop of Lincoln but did not take holy orders.

When in 1181 the pope demanded that Geoffrey take holy orders he resigned as bishop and was appointed chancellor, a post he retained until the death of Henry II.

Other historians say that the relationship with Rosamonde only commenced after Henry had imprisoned Eleanor following the first rebellion of his sons and that his two acknowledged illegitimate sons were not Rosamonde's children.

Answer: False

Although some of the hostility between Roger of Poit l'Eveque (Archbishop of York) and Gilbert Foliot (bishop of London) and Becket may have been due to resentment at his rapid clerical advancement, the clergy at the Council of Clarendon and afterwards did not support Becket's position - although that may have been partly due to Henry's pressure. Pope Alexander III alternated between support for Becket and support for Henry - he certainly was less than enthusiastic in his support of Becket.

Answer: it showed the leniency of clerical courts

Philip de Brois held a clerical office and was of Norman descent. He killed a man whose daughter he had raped. The local sheriff took him into custody; however the church intervened and took him into clerical custody. Henry attempted to be moderate and an agreement was made to hear the case in a clerical court, with a jury made up in equal parts of churchmen and laymen.

The verdict deprived Philip of the revenues of his clerical office for two years, and he was flogged naked by the sheriff. Henry felt that the sentence in no way reflected the severity of the offences and determined to ensure that all criminal cases be tried in civil courts.

Answer: all of these

The provisions of the Constitutions of Clarendon were accepted by all of the bishops attending and were verbally accepted by Becket. (In secret instructions from Pope Alexander III he had been ordered to be compliant). When Henry asked that Becket sign to indicate his acceptance, he refused.

Answer: the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny

Becket's exile lasted for more than seven years. He was given refuge initially at the Cistercian monastery at Pontigny. Henry then exerted pressure on the monks by threatening the English Cistercians with confiscation of their lands if their Pontigny brothers continued to harbour Becket. Becket then fled to Sens to live in proximity with Pope Alexander III - much to the pope's discomfort. William I was buried in the Abbaye aux Hommes at Caen. Both Cluny and Clairvaux were important abbeys in France but did not host Becket.

Answer: True

The crowning of a king was traditionally the right of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since Becket was in exile, Henry petitioned Pope Alexander III to permit the Archbishop of York perform the ceremony. The Pope agreed, although subsequently rescinded the permission.

It is said that the withdrawal of permission never reached the Archbishop of York - in any event the coronation took place with the Archbishop of York officiating. Shortly thereafter, Henry and Becket reached a rapprochement whereby Henry agreed to the return of Becket to England and a new coronation at which Becket would preside.

He may have agreed that the clergy who performed the first ceremony could be disciplined. Becket returned to England and immediately suspended the Archbishop of York and excommunicated the bishops of London and Salisbury. Becket then went on a triumphal journey to Winchester to see the Young King but was refused an audience. York, London and Salisbury fled to France where Henry agreed to see York but not London and Salisbury since they were under the ban of excommunication. Word of Becket's progress through England reached Henry who went into one of his famous rages provoked possibly by words uttered by Roger of York, "As long as Thomas lives, you will have neither good days nor peaceful kingdom nor a good life," and uttered the fatal words, "What cowards have I about me that no one will deliver me from this lowborn priest."

Answer: Reginald Fitzurse

Reginald de Fitzurse was part of Thomas's retinue at the Battle of Toulouse when Thomas, as chancellor, fielded a force of his own to support Henry's battle against Louis VII to support the claim of Eleanor and Henry to the overlordship of Toulouse.

Answer: William de Tracey

Although the first blow shattered Grim's arm, the point of the blade did strike the scalp of Becket and he began to bleed. A second blow, also by de Tracey was followed by blows from the others. The last words of Becket were reported to be "I am prepared to die for Christ and for His Church."

Answer: Richard Burton

Both films, although they do take some limited dramatic license with the facts, are a good depiction of the time and events.
Stay tuned for Henry II Part III.