Editing Henry III of England (section)

=== Court ===
{{Main|List of nobles and magnates of England in the 13th century}}
[[File:England longcross penny Henry III Canterbury mint.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|A Long Cross penny, showing Henry's head]]

The royal court was formed round Henry's trusted friends, such as [[Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester]]; the brothers [[Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)|Hugh Bigod]] and [[Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk]]; [[Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford]]; and Henry's brother, Richard.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=342–343}}</ref> Henry wanted to use his court to unite his English and continental subjects, and it included the originally French knight [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester]], who had married Henry's sister Eleanor, in addition to the later influxes of Henry's [[County of Savoy|Savoyard]] and [[County of La Marche|Lusignan]] relatives.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=95, 98, 220}}</ref> The court followed European styles and traditions, and was heavily influenced by Henry's Angevin family traditions: French was the spoken language, it had close links to the royal courts of France, [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], and Henry sponsored the same writers as the other European rulers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=150–151}}; {{Harvnb|Weiler|2012|p=2}}</ref>

Henry travelled less than previous kings, seeking a tranquil, more sedate life and staying at each of his palaces for prolonged periods before moving on.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=97, 209}}</ref> Possibly as a result, he focused more attention on his palaces and houses; Henry was, according to architectural historian [[John Goodall (author)|John Goodall]], "the most obsessive patron of art and architecture ever to have occupied the throne of England".<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodall|2011|pp=170–171}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=208–209}}</ref> Henry extended the royal complex at [[Palace of Westminster|Westminster]] in London, one of his favourite homes, rebuilding the palace and the abbey at a cost of almost £55,000.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodall|2011|p=187}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|p=209}}</ref>{{Efn|name=Money}} He spent more time in Westminster than any of his predecessors, shaping the formation of England's capital city.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=184}}</ref>

He spent £58,000 on his royal castles, carrying out major works at the [[Tower of London]], [[Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] and [[Dover]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodall|2011|pp=170–178}}</ref>{{Efn|name=Money}} Both the military defences and the internal accommodation of these castles were significantly improved.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodall|2011|p=187}}</ref> A huge overhaul of [[Windsor Castle]] produced a lavish palace complex, whose style and detail inspired many subsequent designs in England and Wales.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodall|2011|pp=178, 187}}</ref> The Tower of London was extended to form a concentric fortress with extensive living quarters, although Henry primarily used the castle as a secure retreat in the event of war or civil strife.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=200–202}}</ref> He also kept a [[menagerie]] at the Tower, a tradition begun by his father, and his exotic specimens included [[Elephant of Henry III|an elephant]], a leopard, and a camel.<ref name="Kalof 2007 66">{{Harvnb|Kalof|2007|p=66}}; {{Harvnb|Weiler|2012|p=71}}</ref>{{Efn|Henry's elephant was a present from Louis of France in 1255 and was kept in a specially designed elephant house, only to die within two years; it was famously sketched by Matthew Paris. His leopard and camel were gifts from [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref name="Kalof 2007 66"/>}}

[[File:DEV-C34DA6 Medieval coin, gold penny of Henry III (crop).jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|[[Gold penny]], with Henry III enthroned holding [[globus cruciger|orb]] and [[sceptre]], inscribed {{small|''HENRICUS REX III''}}]]
Henry reformed the [[History of the English penny (1154–1485)|system of silver coins]] in England in 1247, replacing the older [[History of the English penny (1154–1485)|Short Cross silver pennies]] with a new Long Cross design.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eaglen|1992|p=20}}</ref> Due to the initial costs of the transition, he required the financial help of his brother Richard to undertake this reform, but the recoinage occurred quickly and efficiently.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eaglen|1992|pp=20–21}}; {{Harvnb|Bolton|2012|p=153}}</ref> Between 1243 and 1258, the King assembled two great [[hoard]]s, or stockpiles, of gold.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=107–108}}</ref> In 1257, Henry needed to spend the second of these hoards urgently and, rather than selling the gold quickly and depressing its value, he decided to introduce [[gold penny|gold pennies]] into England, following the popular trend in [[Italy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Spufford|1989|p=185}}; {{Harvnb|Eaglen|1992|p=19}}; {{Harvnb|Bolton|2012|p=155}}</ref> The gold pennies resembled the [[History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)#Edgar's reform, c. 973 and the late Anglo-Saxon coinage|gold coins]] issued by Edward the Confessor, but the overvalued currency attracted complaints from the [[City of London]] and was ultimately abandoned.<ref>{{Harvnb|Spufford|1989|p=185}}; {{Harvnb|Eaglen|1992|p=19}}; {{Harvnb|Jobson|2012|p=28}}</ref>{{Efn|The 52,480 gold pennies minted were each valued by the Crown as being worth 20 silver pennies, but in practice their market value was much less, making them unattractive to own. The complaints from the London merchants appear to have been motivated by the minting of the coins depressing the value of gold held by the City traders. Gold coins were not minted again in England until the reign of Edward III in the 14th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eaglen|1992|p=19}}; {{Harvnb|Bolton|2012|pp=154–155}}</ref>}}