England had staked all and had lost. Most of the country gave up. William was crowned king. He divided the land among his nobles, and England, which was democratic under the Anglo-Saxon became aristocratic under the rule of William. The Normans built the huge castles and cathedrals that dot the face of England. From their castles they lorded it over the Anglo-Saxon. But slowly this condition changed. After many years Normans and Anglo-Saxons commenced to grow friendly and their sons and daughters began to marry one another. The fusion of these two classes made the English people a more hardy and daring race than before. [Illustration: A NORMAN CASTLE BUILT IN 1078, NOW PART OF THE TOWER OF LONDON] [Sidenote: =How the Anglo-Saxons conquered the Normans=] The local institutions which had grown up under the Anglo-Saxons now began to appear again. And in time the Normans may be said to have been conquered by the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon way of doing things belonged to the shire, the county, and the township. The people were called together in the different districts and practiced self-government. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE GREAT CHARTER [Sidenote: =Lawlessness of the nobles=] =306. Henry II a Great Ruler.= Nearly a hundred years had gone by since William the Conqueror ruled England. There was great confusion in England. The Norman nobles were doing about as they pleased. They rode forth from their castles with their little armies and attacked each other, or attacked the citizens of a town, sometimes murdering them. Then Henry II, the grandson of William the Conqueror, came to the throne. He was like his ancestor in many ways. He could brook no opposition. He was short and powerfully built. "He had red hair, a bull neck, and bow legs." He was careless about his dress, but was a hard worker. He saw that England needed order first. He therefore first of all compelled the nobles to behave by destroying some of their castles and driving the soldiers, which they had hired, back to France. [Sidenote: =Trial by jury=] He changed the way of finding out whether or not a man was guilty. Instead of employing the "ordeal by fire," by water, or by battle, he sent judges around to different places. These judges called together sixteen good men who told them about those who they thought had broken the law. These men made up the Grand Jury. Twelve other men were selected to examine into all the facts of a given case before the man was condemned or set free. This way of "trying men by jury" was a great improvement over the old way. In these ways Henry II brought the evildoers in England, whether high or low, to obey the law or be severely punished. England was now once more an orderly country. [Sidenote: =John a worthless king=] =307. King John and the Pope.= The son of Henry II, John, was about the worst king that England ever had. John was bad; he would not keep a promise, was a great liar, was cruel, was cowardly, was a traitor and a tyrant.