Editing Henry III of England (section)

== Henry as king ==
=== Kingship, government and law ===
[[File:Heinrichus tercius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|Engraving of Henry's [[Great Seal of the Realm|great seal]]]]

Royal government in England had traditionally centred on several great offices of state, filled by powerful, independent members of the baronage.<ref name=Carpenter2004P353>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=353}}</ref> Henry abandoned this policy, leaving the post of justiciar vacant and turning the position of [[Chancellor of the Exchequer|chancellor]] into a more junior role.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|pp=407–408}}</ref> A small royal council was formed but its role was ill-defined; appointments, patronage, and policy were decided personally by Henry and his immediate advisers, rather than through the larger councils that had marked his early years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=409}}</ref> The changes made it much harder for those outside Henry's inner circle to influence policy or to pursue legitimate grievances, particularly against the King's friends.<ref name=Carpenter2004P353/>

Henry believed that kings should rule England in a dignified manner, surrounded by ceremony and ecclesiastical ritual.<ref name="Jobson 2012 2">{{Harvnb|Jobson|2012|p=2}}</ref> He thought that his predecessors had allowed the status of the Crown to decline, and sought to correct this during his reign.<ref name="Jobson 2012 2"/> The events of the civil war in Henry's youth deeply affected him, and he adopted [[Anglo-Saxon]] king [[Edward the Confessor]] as his [[patron saint]], hoping to emulate the way in which Edward had brought peace to England and reunited his people in order and harmony.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=76, 97–99}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=353}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> Henry tried to use his royal authority leniently, hoping to appease the more hostile barons and maintain peace in England.<ref name=ODNB/>

As a result, despite a symbolic emphasis on royal power, Henry's rule was relatively circumscribed and constitutional.<ref name=ODNBCarpenter1996PP7699>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=76, 99}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> He generally acted within the terms of the charters, which prevented the Crown from taking extrajudicial action against the barons, including the fines and expropriations that had been common under John.<ref name=ODNBCarpenter1996PP7699/> The charters did not address the sensitive issues of the appointment of royal advisers and the distribution of patronage, and they lacked any means of enforcement if the King chose to ignore them.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1990|p=3}}</ref> Henry's rule became lax and careless, resulting in a reduction in royal authority in the provinces and, ultimately, the collapse of his authority at court.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|p=105}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> The inconsistency with which he applied the charters over the course of his rule alienated many barons, even those within his own faction.<ref name=ODNB/>

[[File:1351065-Great Hall, Winchester Castle (2).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Great Hall of [[Winchester Castle]], constructed by Henry]]

The term "[[Parliament of England|parliament]]" first appeared in the 1230s and 1240s to describe large gatherings of the royal court and parliamentary gatherings were held periodically throughout Henry's reign.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=382–383}}</ref> They were used to agree upon the raising of taxes which, in the 13th century, were single, one-off levies, typically on [[movable property]], and intended to support the King's normal revenues for particular projects.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=355}}</ref>{{Efn|In addition to taxes, the other main source of royal income was the royal manors, which produced revenue through a system called the county farms, traditionally collected through the local sheriffs.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jobson|2012|pp=2–3}}</ref> In 1236 this system was reformed, to avoid the risk of money being misappropriated by the sheriffs; revenues increased by roughly 10 per cent but were still inadequate to support Henry's policies in Europe.<ref name="Jobson 2012 3">{{Harvnb|Jobson|2012|p=3}}</ref>}} During Henry's reign, the counties began to send regular delegations to these parliaments and came to represent a broader cross-section of the community than simply the major barons.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=390–391}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=356}}</ref>

Despite the various charters, the provision of royal justice was inconsistent and driven by the needs of immediate politics: sometimes action would be taken to address a legitimate baronial complaint, and on other occasions, the problem would simply be ignored.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=26, 29, 37, 43}}</ref> The royal [[Eyre (legal term)|eyres]], courts which toured the country to provide justice at the local level, typically for those lesser barons and the gentry claiming grievances against the major lords, had little power, allowing the major barons to dominate the local justice system.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|p=105}}</ref>

The power of royal sheriffs also declined during Henry's reign. They were now often lesser men appointed by the exchequer, rather than coming from important local families, and they focused on generating revenue for the King.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=153–155, 177–181}}</ref> Their robust attempts to enforce fines and collect debts generated much unpopularity among the lower classes.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=352–353}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> Unlike his father, Henry did not exploit the large debts that the barons frequently owed to the Crown, and was slow to collect any sums of money due to him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=343}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|pp=88–89}}</ref>

=== 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>}}

=== Religion ===
[[File:Henry3ostatky.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|Henry carrying the [[Westminster blood relic|Relic of the Holy Blood]] to Westminster in 1247, by Matthew Paris]]

Henry was known for his public demonstrations of [[piety]] and appears to have been genuinely devout.<ref name=ODNBCarpenter2004PP338>{{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=338–339}}</ref> He promoted rich, luxurious Church services, and, unusually for the period, attended [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] at least once a day.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=35–36}}; {{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=338–339}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref>{{Efn|Henry was well known among his contemporaries for attending mass frequently; one chronicler account, probably exaggerating, suggested that he attended mass three times a day, and in 1259 Henry was said to have stopped at every church he passed in Paris that was holding mass, to take part. He probably did not receive the [[sacrament]] at each mass.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=35–37}}</ref>}} He gave generously to religious causes, paid for the feeding of 500 paupers each day, and helped orphans.<ref name=ODNB/> He fasted before commemorating Edward the Confessor's feasts and may have [[Maundy (foot washing)|washed the feet]] of [[leper]]s.<ref name=ODNBCarpenter2004PP338/> Henry regularly went on [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimages]], particularly to the abbeys of [[Bromholm Priory|Bromholm]], [[St Albans Abbey|St Albans]] and [[Walsingham Priory]], although he appears to have sometimes used pilgrimages as an excuse to avoid dealing with pressing political problems.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|p=97}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref>

Henry shared many of his religious views with Louis of France, and the two men appear to have been slightly competitive in their piety.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cole|2002|p=230}}</ref> Towards the end of his reign, Henry may have taken up the practice of curing sufferers of [[scrofula]], often called "the King's evil", by [[royal touch|touching them]], possibly emulating Louis, who also took up the practice.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2005|p=28}}</ref>{{Efn|Historian David Carpenter presents the case for Henry touching to cure "the King's evil" as evenly balanced; Nicholas Vincent is more doubtful.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2005|p=28}}; {{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=193–194}}</ref>}} Louis had a famous collection of [[Relics associated with Jesus|Passion Relics]] which he kept in the [[Sainte-Chapelle]] in Paris, and he paraded the [[True Cross|Holy Cross]] through Paris in 1241; Henry took possession of the [[Westminster blood relic|Relic of the Holy Blood]] in 1247, marching it through Westminster to be installed in Westminster Abbey, which he promoted as an alternative to the Sainte-Chapelle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=7–9}}</ref>{{Efn|Henry's attempts to promote the relic of the Holy Blood and Westminster Abbey as a popular pilgrimage shrine and place of devotion largely failed, despite considerable financial investment by the King.<ref>{{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|pp=189}}</ref>}}

Henry was particularly supportive of the [[mendicant orders]]; his [[confessor]]s were drawn from the [[Dominican friar]]s, and he built mendicant houses in [[Canterbury]], [[Norwich]], [[Oxford]], [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], and [[York]], helping to find valuable space for new buildings in what were already crowded towns and cities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Robson|2010|p=125}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> He supported the [[Military order (society)|military crusading orders]] and became a patron of the [[Teutonic Order]] in 1235.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tyerman|1996|p=112}}</ref> The emerging universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] also received royal attention: Henry reinforced and regulated their powers, and encouraged scholars to migrate from Paris to teach at them.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=463}}; {{Harvnb|Senocak|2012|pp=58–59}}</ref> A [[University of Northampton (13th century)|rival institution at Northampton]] was declared by the King to be a mere school and not a true university.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|p=464}}</ref>

The support given to Henry by the Papacy during his early years had a lasting influence on his attitude towards Rome, and he defended the mother church diligently throughout his reign.<ref name=MayrHarting2011P260>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=260}}</ref>{{Efn|Henry was not alone in having been a young ward of the Church; his contemporary, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, was also a ward and historian Henry Mayr-Harting notes that, despite the exigencies of international politics, he retained a deep affection for the institution of the Papacy.<ref name=MayrHarting2011P260/>}} Rome in the 13th century was at once both the centre of the Europe-wide Church and a political power in central Italy, threatened militarily by the Holy Roman Empire. During Henry's reign, the Papacy developed a strong, central bureaucracy, supported by benefices granted to absent churchmen working in Rome.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=261}}</ref> Tensions grew between this practice and the needs of local parishioners, exemplified by the dispute between [[Robert Grosseteste]], the [[bishop of Lincoln]], and the Papacy in 1250.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=264–266}}</ref>

Although the Scottish Church became more independent of England during the period, the Papal Legates helped Henry continue to apply influence over its activities at a distance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|pp=263–264}}</ref> [[Pope Innocent IV]]'s attempts to raise funds began to face opposition from within the English Church during Henry's reign.<ref>{{Harvnb|Weiler|2012|pp=99–100}}</ref> In 1240, the Papal emissary's collection of taxes to pay for the Papacy's war with [[Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II]] resulted in protests, ultimately overcome with the help of Henry and the Pope, and in the 1250s Henry's crusading [[tithe]]s faced similar resistance.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=273}}</ref>{{Efn|The account of the protests against the emissary Pietro Rosso stem mainly from the chronicler Matthew Paris, who may well have been biased.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mayr-Harting|2011|p=274}}</ref>}}

=== Jewish policies ===
{{Details|topic=the Jews in 13th century England|History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)#Increasing persecution, 13th century}}
[[File:Henry-the-iii-of-england.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Henry III]]
The [[Jews in England]] were considered the property of the Crown, and they had traditionally been used as a source of [[Economy of England in the Middle Ages#Jewish contribution to the English economy|cheap loans and easy taxation]], in exchange for royal protection against [[Antisemitism#Persecutions during the Middle Ages|antisemitism]].<ref name="Jobson 2012 3"/> The Jews had suffered considerable oppression during the First Barons' War, but during Henry's early years the community had flourished and became one of the most prosperous in Europe.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|pp=41, 48}}; {{Harvnb|Hillaby|2003|p=37}}</ref> This was primarily the result of the stance taken by the regency government, which took a range of measures to protect the Jews and encourage lending.<ref name=Hillaby2004P37/> This was driven by financial self-interest, as they stood to profit considerably from a strong Jewish community in England.<ref name=Hillaby2004P37/> Their policy ran counter to the instructions being sent from the Pope, who had laid out strong anti-Jewish measures at the [[Fourth Lateran Council]] in 1215; William Marshal continued with his policy despite complaints from the Church.<ref name=Hillaby2004P37>{{Harvnb|Hillaby|2003|p=37}}</ref>

In 1239 Henry introduced different policies, possibly trying to imitate those of Louis of France: Jewish leaders across England were imprisoned and forced to pay fines equivalent to a third of their goods, and any outstanding loans were to be released.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jobson|2012|p=3}}; {{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|p=49}}</ref> Further huge demands for cash followed – £40,000 was demanded in 1244, for example, of which around two-thirds was collected within five years – destroying the ability of the Jewish community to lend money commercially.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|pp=49–50}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> The financial pressure Henry placed on the Jews caused them to force repayment or sale of loans, fuelling anti-Jewish resentment.<ref>{{Harvnb|Huscroft|2006|pp=93–96}}</ref> The sale of Jewish bonds was a particular grievance among smaller landowners such as knights, as bonds were bought at low prices and used by richer barons and members of Henry's royal circle as a means to acquire lands of lesser landholders, through payment defaults.<ref name=hillaby2013p5353>{{Harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|pp=52–53}}</ref>{{Efn|Baronial or royal bond owners could simply wait for a default, or worse, deliberately evade being paid and then claim the lands.<ref name=hillaby2013p5353/>}}

Henry had built the ''[[Domus Conversorum]]'' in London in 1232 in an attempt to convert Jews to Christianity, and efforts intensified after 1239. As many as 10 per cent of the Jews in England had been converted by the late 1250s<ref>{{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|p=51}}</ref> in large part due to their deteriorating economic conditions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|pp=48–49}}</ref> Many anti-Jewish stories involving [[Blood libel|tales of child sacrifice]] circulated in the 1230s–50s,<ref>{{Harvnb|Huscroft|2006|p=96}}</ref> including the account of "[[Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln]]" in 1255.<ref name="Stacey 2003 52">{{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|p=52}}</ref> The event is considered particularly significant, as the first such accusation endorsed by the Crown.<ref name="Huscroft 2006 102">{{Harvnb|Huscroft|2006|p=102}}</ref>{{Efn|The story entered the historical record through [[Matthew Paris]], literature through [[Geoffrey Chaucer]], was quoted as fact by [[Thomas Fuller]] and became the subject of a popular ballad ''[[Sir Hugh]]'' that survived into the twentieth century.}} Henry intervened to order the execution of Copin, who had confessed to the murder in return for his life, and removed 91 Jews to the Tower of London. 18 were executed, and their property expropriated by the Crown. At the time, the Jews were mortgaged to [[Richard of Cornwall]], who intervened to release the Jews that were not executed, probably also with the backing of [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] or [[Franciscan friars]].<ref name=HHLang>{{Harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|pp=656–657}}; {{Harvnb|Langmuir|1972|pp=478–9}}</ref>{{Efn|Two Jews had been released in December and January, the remainder in May 1256 sometime after their trial had condemned them to death. The incident as a whole brings Henry's judgement into question.<ref name=HHLang/>}}

Henry passed the [[Statute of Jewry]] in 1253, which attempted to stop the construction of synagogues and enforce the wearing of [[Jewish badge]]s, in line with existing Church pronouncements; it remains unclear to what extent the King actually implemented the statute.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hillaby|Hillaby|2013|p=104}}; {{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|pp=51–52}}</ref> By 1258, Henry's Jewish policies were regarded as confused and were increasingly unpopular amongst the barons.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stacey|2003|pp=51–52}}</ref> Taken together, Henry's policies up to 1258 of excessive Jewish taxation, anti-Jewish legislation, and propaganda caused a very important and negative change to the status and security of Jews in England.<ref name="Huscroft 2006 102"/>