The world: historical and actual . a pet-ty kingdom which heclaimed to hold in thename of the Britishsovereign. The foot-hold thus gained wasthe Province of Lein-ster. From that timeto date England hasasserted a fictitiousclaim to rule a peoplepersistently unrecon-ciled to any interfer-ence with home usurpation datesfrom 1172. The reignof Henry the Secondcontinued forty years,during which timemuch was done, be-sides the abridgmentof clerical authority,to correct abuses. Therights of the baronswere respected, while their arrogance was re-stricted. It is safe to say that the principles
The world: historical and actual . a pet-ty kingdom which heclaimed to hold in thename of the Britishsovereign. The foot-hold thus gained wasthe Province of Lein-ster. From that timeto date England hasasserted a fictitiousclaim to rule a peoplepersistently unrecon-ciled to any interfer-ence with home usurpation datesfrom 1172. The reignof Henry the Secondcontinued forty years,during which timemuch was done, be-sides the abridgmentof clerical authority,to correct abuses. Therights of the baronswere respected, while their arrogance was re-stricted. It is safe to say that the principles of jus-tice found more recognition in him than in anyruler of that century. He was also a patron oflearning. It may lie remarked that it was aboutthis time that Nicholas Breakspear, an Englishprelate, was made pope, being the only Englishmanto hold the keys of St. Peter. He took the nameof Adrian IV. Henry had enough Saxon blood inhis veins to be satisfactory to that element of thepeople. With the Norman barons he was less popu-. lar. His reign was largely a struggle for the cur-tailment of baronial power. It was under him thatthe august judicial system, or, as Green calls it, thefabric of English judicial legislation, commenced,and a glimpse is afforded of the great charter grantedby his son John. His reign was an education, pre-paratory to the su-preme event at Run-nymede, of which weare presently to great king diedwith the clouds of ad-versity thick andthickening about hishead. His two eldersons were dead, andthe remaining two,Richard and John, en-gaged in a plot againsttheir royal father,whose last days weretilled with sadness. The older of thetwo sons of HenryII. is known in his-tory as Richard Coeurde Leon (Richard ofthe Lion Heart). Hewas a brave a romantic storyis told of his personalprowess. With a touchof poetry in his nature,he was a great patronof minstrels and trou-badours. But apartfrom the glamour ofromance,Richard lives; night-errant, an
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectworldhistory, bookyea
