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"The most important factor in the development of English central government in the period was competent royal officials. How far do you agree?" Model essay$7.75
"The most important factor in the development of English central government in the period was competent royal officials. How far do you agree?" Model essay
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Course
Unit 3 (Y303)
Institution
OCR
An A* grade, 25 mark model essay on developments in English central government in the period
The most important factor in the development of English central government in the period
1066-1216 was competent royal officials. How far do you agree?
The period 1066-1216 was one which saw increasing development in central government in a variety of
areas. There were 3 key areas of central government which saw significant development in this period:
delegation or the increasing importance of competent royal officials, changes in the financial system and
changes in the legal system. A closer examination of this time period shows that the most significant
development was undoubtedly competent royal officials as this impacted the other two factors because
competent royal officials led to increased centralisation which in turn led to improvements in both the
financial and legal systems.
The most significant development undeniably in central government was delegation or competent royal
officials. As a result of increasing absence of kings, with the Anglo-Norman kings (William I, William II and
Henry I) being absent for ½ of their reign and the Angevin kings (Henry II and Richard) being absent for 2/3
of their reign. This led to steady, increasing reliance on figures and central government departments to
cope with the absence of the king so they often delegated to royal officials. New roles such as chief justiciar
and chancellor developed to rule government in the king’s absence and these had increasing importance.
For example, William II delegated to Ranulf Flambard and he was given the title of “Chief Maximiser of the
King’s Revenues”, meaning he managed tax collection and royal lands/estates. Ranulf Flambard was
appointed as an itinerant justice as well as a chief minister involved in finance, justice and other areas.
Similarly, during Henry I’s reign, Roger or Salisbury was also left in charge of both the legal and financial
systems, being appointed as both chief judge on the bench and head of the Exchequer. Finally, Richard
appointed Hubert Walter to essentially rule the entire central government, being appointed as chief
justiciar, chancellor and Archbishop of Canterbury. This shows the significance of royal officials in the
development of central government. Many of these officials were in charge of both the legal and financial
systems so it was due to them that change occurred in these areas and these officials impacted all areas of
central government, therefore being the most important change.
Another important factor, though clearly not as important as competent royal officials, was centralisation,
which includes developments in both the legal and financial systems. This was significant as it led to
significant developments and central government being run more significantly and these two areas were at
the core of central government. One of the areas which developed as a result of centralisation was the
legal system. The basic legal system was initially established under William I which helped justice run
smoother and was further developed by Henry I and Henry II. Henry I developed the bench, meaning that
justice was itinerant and cases could be heard by justices rather than just the king, which led to swifter
justice. Henry I also established the idea of equality under the law, which lead to the legal system and
justice being fairer. Henry II further developed upon Henry I’s improvements, reintroducing and improving
the bench, with the headquarters being in Westminster. He also developed the concept of common law
which again helped justice to be more accessible. These were all significant changes in central government
as the legal system was one of the key aspects of central government so allowing it to be swifter, fairer and
more accessible was a major improvement.
Similarly, the financial system also faced significant developments with once again William I developing the
basic system which later kings expanded upon. William I developed the treasury which helped make
finance more effective. Henry I then developed the exchequer which helped improve the efficiency of tax
collection with tax collection increasing by 50%. Henry II then reintroduced and improved it. The system
was later put to the test during Richard and John’s reigns as the two had huge financial demands which put
strains on the financial system and due to these developments, it was able to cope. However, despite
growing centralisation being important, it was not the most significant development. Centralisation is
closely linked to delegation as kings delegated to these departments as a result of their absence. Also, it
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