Normans believed that all lands belonged to the king. He distributed properties to his barons according to their merit. Each baron then divided his lands among lesser lords. Despite all this allocation, the land yet belonged to the king. Bronwen knew she must answer, and she found it easy to choose between the two men Becket proposed. “I support Henry Plantagenet,” she said. “And which baron usurped your father’s lands?” “A man who supports neither Henry nor Stephen,” she told him. “Amounderness is in dispute. King Stephen has awarded it to the Scots, but they give it no heed and never set foot there. The original lords revile the Scots.” “If Henry were to become king and restore the lands to their original lords, would all serve him gladly?” “I have not spoken with each man, sir. But this I do know. My brother-in-law serves only himself.” “But you—if you were to regain your father’s holding— would you place yourself under the guardianship of the pretender to the throne, Henry Plantagenet?
