earticle

영어

Henry II(1154～89), the first of the Plantagenet kings, is known to have been successful in strengthening the royal power through the reform of the English judicial system, but to have encountered major setbacks in his policy to gain more control over the church. He intended to tighten his grip on the church by nominating Thomas Becket, his trusted henchman and Chancellor, archbishop of Canterbury. As Becket immediately changed character and vehemently opposed Henry posing as champion of church rights and subsequently was murdered by the king's knights, Henry was brought to bay, with the final result being that the church of England came to be completely subordinated to the Roman canon law. In this paper I have attempted to clarify that Henry had not been very adamant in view of the feudal customs of that time in his policy towards the church of England, and that his influence on the church did not decrease greatly, although he had great difficulties dealing with the papacy in the wake of Becket's murder. On the basis of these arguments I have tried to reappraise the traditional view that Henry's policy toward the church ended up in failure. With this purpose in mind I have reexamined the following issues. First, what was the background of the issuance in 1164 of the Constitutions of Clarendon that can be said to have been the core of Henry II's policy towards the church? Second, how did Henry envisage the kingly power over the church should be strengthened? Third, how was Henry's grip on the church of England after the retraction of certain provisions of the Constitutions of Clarendon subsequent to the murder of Becket, and what was the real significance of the Constitutions?