royal government & finances

• royal government in the middle ages was focused on maintaining law and order, and providing taxes to help the king defend his kingdom
• a medieval king was expected to only call upon his subjects for taxation in times of extraordinary need
• both richard and john demanded vast sums of money from their subjects
• richard taxed his subjects because he needed money to fund his crusade
• subjects were taxed because richard needed money to be ransomed from captivity in 1194
• both richard and john taxed their subjects because they needed huge sums to pay for their wars against france
• the payment of taxes was never popular and the heavy demands made by john, in particular, is one reason why he was regarded as a bad king
• the sums of money that the king could collect from his lands and through taxes might seem small by modern standards, but at that time, the english kings were amongst the wealthiest monarchs in europe
• between 1194 and 1198, richard had an annual income of about £25,000
• john's income was usually between £22,000 and £25,000, but sometimes he was able to gather in huge incomes; the accounts for 1211 suggested that he collected £83,291
• richard was only present in england for 6 months during his 10 year reign, and in 1189, he came to england to be crowned and to raise money for his crusade
• to fund his crusade, richard sold lands and titles to the highest bidders and even said he would sell london if he could find a buyer
• richard managed to raise over £31,000 to fund his crusade
• richard also had to consider how england would be governed in his absence
• it was not unusual for a king to be absent from his kingdom, but the most important thing was to make sure that the kingdom would be well governed and at peace while he was away
• before leaving, richard needed to make sure it was protected from the claims of his rivals
• to protect his kingdom from the claims of rivals, richard made an agreement with the scottish king, william the lion, where he was freed from his obligation to do homage to richard, and in return william abandoned his claim to lands in the north of england
• to protect his kingdom from the claims of rivals, richard provided his brother john and half-brother geoffrey with lands and titles, and banned them from england for 3 years
• richard needed to appoint trusty officials who could manage the government in his absence
• richard chose a loyal, royal servant, william longchamp to be his chancellor, making it longchamp's duty to manage the government by the use of charters and writs, which outlined the decisions of the king and enabled the chancellor to role on the king's behalf when he was absent
• william longchamp was also made justiciar, making him responsible for justice and having to travel from shire to shire hearing cases in the courts and giving royal judgement
• after 3 months, richard had settled the government of his kingdom and he departed on crusade
• charter 


  a document that outlines rights, especially poverty rights. royal charters carried the royal seal which meant the rights would be enforced with royal authority
• writ


  a document that granted authority or issued a command
• justiciar


  an officer of the kings court who heard law cases and made judgements on the king's behalf. he had the authority of a king during the king's absence from the kingdom
• by 1191, john was allowed into england and it was not long before the peaceful government that richard established broke down
• during john's rebellion, he set up his own court and was soon collecting taxes on his own behalf, then he seized control of nottingham and tickhill castles
• john was helped in his rebellion by a number of barons who despised william longchamp because he had paid £3,000 to be appointed chancellor and because he was arrogant in his treatment of them
• in october 1191, at a meeting in london, the barons decided that john should be regent while richard was absent, replacing william longchamp as chancellor with walter of coutances
• regent


  a person who is appointed to rule a kingdom because the king is either absent, a minor or incapable of ruling
• richard's return to england from crusade was delayed by his capture and imprisonment in 1192-94, and during this period, john ruled as regent with his actions making him very unpopular
• whilst richard was imprisoned, heavy taxes were imposed to pay his ransom, and also to pay for john's campaigns in france
• whilst richard was imprisoned, john announced that richard was dead and that he was the legitimate king, only to be caught out when a letter arrived announcing that richard was alive and being held prisoner in germany
• whilst richard was imprisoned, john allied with philip II to seize richard's lands in france
• in february 1194, richard was released and john had to throw himself on the mercy of his brother
• richard forgave john after being released, but humiliated him by saying 'have no fear, john, you are but a child. it is those who led you astray who will be punished'
• richard appointed hubert walter, the archbishop of canterbury, as justiciar, and after 3 months, richard departed for the continent and did not return to england again
• hubert walter established an effective system of justice by selecting four knights in every hundred to take charge of the system of justice in their area
• england was governed peacefully until richard's death in 1199
• in the first 6 years of john's reign, his main focus was on defending his lands in france, meaning there was no significant change in the system of government in england because the country had been governed without the king's presence for most of richard's reign