Читать книгу Anglo-American Cultural Studies - Jody Skinner - Страница 77

In two words: Church, State. In his attempt to increase the powerpower of the church over that of the state Henry quarreled with the Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of Canterbury Thomas BecketBecket, Thomas, who was then murdered in his own cathedral supposedly at Henry’s request. While Henry didn’t succeed in subjugating the church, he did succeed in reforming the legal system and laid the groundwork for modern English common law. His reign is also seen as the beginning of English rule over parts of IrelandIreland. And what about Henry’s sons? Henry’s son Richard IRichard I, famously known as the Lion-Hearted, spent most of his time on Crusades in the Holy Land. Richard’s younger brother John eventually became King but also became so unpopular that the barons forced him to sign one of the most important documents of what would become the British ConstitutionConstitution, the Magna CartaMagna Carta ( 5). John’s nickname was LacklandLackland because of all the land he lost in his failed expeditions, and John is one of the few monarchs whose name wasn’t used again. Both John’s father, Henry IIHenry II, and his son, Henry IIIHenry III, had the far more popular royal name Henry (there will be more to come), and John’s grandson was one of many Edwards.