@dookie Said
Just reading bits and pieces from a book "Medieval London" (2 volumes) by Walter Besant. It begins with Henry II, who reigned from 1164:-
From the outset he gave the whole nation, barons and burgesses, to understand that he meant to be King. To begin with, he ordered all aliens to depart. The land and the City were full of them; they were known by their gait as well as their speech; the good people of London looked about the streets, the day after the proclamation of exile, for these unwelcome guests, whose violence they had endured so long. They were gone “as though they had been phantoms.”
<------ Donald Trump.
So easy in the Good Old Days, when "men were men" etc etc etc etc. No walls, no messing about, just "get out" and hey presto! "they" were gone.
(Fill in your own perceived "other" for "they" )
Hmmmm… So, Henry Plantagenet, or
Court Manteau to give him his regnal nickname, wanted to throw the foreigners out of England, eh..?
That would be the King who was born in France, was Duke of Normandy until he acceded to the English throne, who took the King of France's wife (Eleanor of Aquitaine) for himself, had four sons, all of whom were born in France.... who spent most of his life fighting wars in France to gain French possessions which would later become known as the Angevin Empire...… He imprisoned his wife in France (when he thought she was getting too powerful and became a threat)….. he died in France and is buried in France.
Yep. That King of England.
On the plus side, he was a great lawmaker and legal reformer. He invented the court system from which our present day justice system has evolved, creating travelling justices who travelled around the counties hearing cases and passing judgements on them. They were called
Shire Reeves, which in modern times has morphed into "Sheriff". He passed the law on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and also the right of silence.
He cracked down on crime, passing a law that enabled the seizing of belongings of thieves and fugitives.
He did try to reform the church, especially Canon Law, but came a cropper when he was constantly out-manoeuvered by Thomas Becket... and we all know how badly that ended.
Three of his sons became King. Henry the younger died in young age so never actually acceded to throne even though he was crowned in infancy (a sort of dynastic back up system that used to exist). However, two of his sons did: Richard I (Coeur de Lion: The Lionheart) and John (who lost the crown jewels and was forced to put his seal to Magna Carta).
All in all a pretty impressive reign. But I think it was a bit bare faced of him to tell all the foreigners to get out.