The main objective of this thesis is to offer an understanding of the nature and political importance of English royal councils in the reign of Henry II (1154 -- 1188), a subject that has never attracted historical attention before. While the analysis of particularly controversial meetings has been incorporated in several studies, the common features of councils have never been made a subject of historical enquiry. The present study has relied on the evidence provided in contemporary sources, such as the numerous chronicle and a large body of royal charters, treatises, and official documents which have been preserved for this period. It has also studied a number of political, legal, administrative and "seal treatises, all of which provide useful insights into the mentalities of the time and the Institutional makeup and governance of England under Henry II. The first chapter is a chronological narrative which aims to introduce the reader into the subject and to associate group of councils with the different phases in Henry's reign. Then the terminology employed in the sources to identify and describe these meetings is analysed so to understand how were these assemblies perceived in the political community. The third chapter deals with the circumstantial aspects of councils by offering a study of the places and buildings where assemblies take place, as well as the calendar and the frequency they followed. The following two chapters discuss the evidence for and the process of conciliar consultation, and the matters discussed at royal councils In this period. The following chapter studies the attendance and the social aspects of these meetings. The last chapter Is an essay which evaluates the place occupied by these councils within the early history of parliament. The central conclusion which brings together all these chapters is that the unprecedented frequency with which Henry II summoned great assemblies meant that most important decisions made during his reign are connected with conciliar activity and, therefore, assented by the nobles of the realm, and that gathering councils consequently became a very useful Instrument of royal governance and a most public occasion for baronial politics in this period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258347 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Cerda, Jos?? Manuel, History & Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. History & Philosophy |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Cerda Jos?? Manuel., http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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