The Angevin Empire's Greatest Treasure: The Royal Treasury at Westminster

When Henry II inherited the English throne in 1154, he also inherited a kingdom drained by civil war and a crown that was nearly bankrupt. Yet within a decade, the Angevin kings had built the most sophisticated financial administration in medieval Europe, centered on the Exchequer at Westminster. This episode follows the rise of the Exchequer from its Anglo-Saxon and Norman roots through the reforms of Henry II, the innovations of Richard I and John, and the creation of the Pipe Rolls — the continuous financial records that still survive today. We meet the Treasurer, the Chancellor, and the barons of the Exchequer, explore the famous chequered cloth that gave the court its name, and follow the money through the great campaigns of the Angevin Empire, from the Crusades to the loss of Normandy. Along the way, we uncover how the Exchequer's methods — from auditors to tallies — shaped the very concept of government, and how the same institutions that financed Richard the Lionheart's ransom also funded the Magna Carta. This is the story of how England learned to count, and how counting made England. #Exchequer #HenryII #PipeRolls #Westminster #MedievalFinance #Angevin #RichardI #KingJohn #Treasury #RoyalFinance #Domesday #NormanEngland #12thCentury #13thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #England #Medieval Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo