Although the medieval rulers set common goals, a common method could not be used to achieve them. Diverse situations required a different approach in each region. After the death of the English king, Edward the Confessor, the Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne was defeated in the battle of Hastings by the Duke of Normandy, also known as William the Conqueror. William replaced the previous Anglo-Saxon sheriffs with Normans. The Norman sheriffs were responsible for keeping the peace in the shire as well as collecting taxes from the feudal lords. Contrary to England, France lacked royal authority over the existing provinces. Each province was virtually independent and was hostile towards a king. However, basing his strength in the Ile-de-France, The French King, Philip Augustus, sought to extend his ro

Vast improvement took place in England, France, and Germany, but in order to continuously advance their bureaucracy, they must encourage constant change. In England, Common Law made the law apply to everyone. A further advancement was the Magna Carta, which made the law apply to the government as it did the people. Along with the English judiciary system, its financial situation must also be improved. In order to increase tax revenues, England needed information. William the Conqueror issued the Norman Inquest as a solution to his lack of knowledge. With the information gathered from the Norman Inquest, William was able to more efficiently tax the people by creating England’s first bureau of finance - The Exchequer. The revenue the Exchequer collected came from both traditional sources such as scutage and from new sources such as the Danegeld and the Dona. The English military was financed by the taxes collected from the people; therefore, the people supported the military. In France, Philip Augustus introduced the Royal Judiciary system. He created courts in each of the French provinces to settle disputes, and a royal parliament to hear the appeals of the feudal lords. Unlike England, France was slow to develop a bureau of finance due to the concept of Just War. The French people believed that without a just war, the King had no right to issue taxes.

Some topics in this essay:
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