The second volume of Kate Norgate's work on England under the Angevin kings explores the turbulent era of King Henry II between the years eleven hundred and sixty-two and eleven hundred and seventy-two. The narrative opens with the elevation of Thomas Becket to the archbishopric of Canterbury, a promotion that instantly transformed a loyal royal chancellor and secular companion into an unyielding defender of church privileges. Becket's passionate devotion to his new office and his resistance to royal authority created a profound constitutional breach with the king.
The core of the conflict centered on the administration of justice and the division between temporal and spiritual power. Henry II sought to curb ecclesiastical immunities and enforce royal jurisdiction over criminal clerks, culminating in the formulation of the Constitutions of Clarendon. Becket's initial hesitation, followed by his fiery opposition and dramatic appeal to the papal court, plunged both men into a bitter struggle that drew in the papacy, the king of France, and the feudal baronage of England.
As the dispute widened into European politics, Becket endured years of exile in France, appealing unceasingly to Pope Alexander III while Henry struggled to maintain his continental empire against constant rebellions and French intrigues. Despite temporary reconciliations and papal mediations, the fundamental disagreements remained unresolved. The tension reached its climax when the king caused his eldest son to be crowned by the archbishop of York in direct defiance of papal prohibitions and Canterbury's exclusive privileges.
Returning to England after a formal reconciliation, Becket pressed forward with suspensions and excommunications against the prelates who had participated in the coronation. These actions provoked angry outbursts from the king in Normandy, which four knights tragically misinterpreted as a warrant for murder. The assassination of the archbishop inside his own cathedral sent shockwaves through all of Christendom and forced Henry into a humiliating diplomatic retreat to secure papal absolution.
Parallel to the ecclesiastical strife, the text details the vast expansion of Angevin power, including the administrative and legal reforms initiated by Henry II and the historic first steps of the English conquest of Ireland. Through Dermot Mac-Murrough's appeal for aid and the daring expeditions of Norman-Welsh adventurers, the king crossed the Irish Channel to receive the submission of native princes and bishops, thereby extending his sovereignty across the sea while fighting to preserve his domestic authority.
