CONSERVATIVE

John was widely believed to be behind the sudden
disappearance of his twelve-year old nephew and
pretender to the throne, Arthur of Brittany. His second
marriage to Isabelle d’Angoulême set in motion various
events which would lead to John’s loss of territories in
France and Normandy. He then developed plans for a
re-conquest of these territories and taxed his subjects
heavily in order to finance such a venture. However,
these military campaigns ended in defeat. And soon his
many misdemeanours became widely known.
Vincent chronicles a number of these misdeeds:
taking his sons and nephews as hostages, offering a
bounty for the murder of Welsh outlaws, his numerous
mistresses, his love for beer, and his perceived Christian
impiety. Indeed, John’s relationship with the church was
tumultuous. His reign coincided with the papacy of
Innocent III, a formidable canon lawyer, and the author
of numerous treatises on liturgy and asceticism. He was
also immovable in his belief that he had power over all
the crowned heads of Europe.
The first clash came over the appointment of
the Archbishop of Canterbury. Innocent III favoured
Stephen Langton, a noted scholar and lecturer at the
University of Paris; John favoured his counsellor, John
de Gray, Bishop of Norwich. Innocent proceeded
in consecrating Langton. John, however, refused
to recognise Langton’s new position and he exiled
Langton. Innocent III responded by placing an interdict
on England. Langton used his time in exile well. He
cemented the alliance between rebel barons and the
Church, and his exile became one of the rallying points
of resistance to royal tyranny.
In the medieval mind, these setbacks cemented
two widely held perceptions. First, the military defeats
enhanced the perception that John was losing God’s
favour. Second, arbitrary high taxation cemented
discontent among landowners. The standoff between
throne and altar led to various rumours of plots and
insurgencies; and there was wild speculation about
imminent Divine retribution and a sudden end to the
King’s reign.
John could ill afford such dissent. He was planning
yet another campaign for the re-conquest of lost
territory in France and needed all the support he could
muster. In 1213, a settlement between the Pope and the
King was negotiated; England and Ireland were declared
to be papal fiefs and Stephen Langton was installed at
Canterbury.
However, as John planned to go into battle, he
discovered that he had little support among the barons
who signalled their disapproval by either rejecting the
King’s call to arms or refusing to pay a tax to fund the
army. The barons also had the support of Londoners. In
essence, the King was now dealing with an open revolt.
TIM EVANSON/CC BY-SA 2.0
A close-up of one of the panels of the Canterbury Pulpit at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It depicts the
Magna Carta, King John, and the Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton. The stone pulpit was given as a gift by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, in 1907.
The European Conservative 13