What is a reform? A reform is when you re-do or change something.

King Henry II's reign was from 1154-1189, a period of time called feudalism. This was a time when the feudal system of barons and lords ruled over peasants and required them to carry arms at a moment's notice to fight for their lords, much like the minute men during the Revolutionary War. Henry II changed much about how law worked. one of the ways he changed the law was to change the way to establish a person's guilt or innocence of a felony in criminal cases. He decided that the accused should pick up a red-hot bar of iron or a stone out of a boiling cauldron. If their hand healed within three days, the accused were declared innocent because God was on their side. If their hand had not started to heal within three days the person was 'proven' guilty. Later, Henry decided to change this way of judgement. Instead of a red-hot bar of iron, Henry II decided that it was more appropriate to have a judge and jury decide a person's guilt or innocence.

King Henry II was the first to create an organized court and jury. The jury consisted of 12 men. To this day, we still have 12 people serve on a jury to decide the guilt or innocence of accused criminals. Because of his jury idea, there were many squabbles between him and the churches. The churches preferred to rule by their idea of God's will. One of the squabbles between the church and Henry II resulted in bad blood between Henry and his good friend Thomas Abecket. In the middle of their squabble, four of Henry II's soldiers allegedly killed Abecket outside of Canterbury Cathedral, the center of religion in England.

Research Sources:

History Alive! The  Medieval World and Beyond Student Edition Copyright 2005 by Teachers' Curriculum Institute.

"Henry II and Thomas A'Beckett,"   http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Henry_II_and_Thomas_a_Becket.htm accessed on August 29, 2007

image sources: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MedHenry2.jpg & www.ronaldbrucemeyer.com/rantpix/becket-henry.jpg