A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

It was not without ulterior objects that John took this disgraceful step. He believed that he saw in it a way out of all his difficulties, and the means of revenging himself upon his enemies. He had no intention of allowing his new position to interfere with his continental alliances, and it was to their success that he looked to re-establish his power. When Philip of France was no longer the agent of Papal authority, he believed that it would be possible for him to resist the storm that was gathering round him. He expected that one great victory would go far to give him back his lost French dominions, when the prestige of success, the friendship of the Church, and the increase of power derived from his regained dominions, would make him master of the situation in England. At first all seemed to work as he wished. Pandulf immediately hurried to France, and forbade Philip to attack the Pope’s new vassal. The opportune attacks of Ferrand of Flanders diverted the French army towards the dominions of that prince; the English fleet which was sent to assist the Flemings destroyed the whole French shipping in the port of Damme; the Archbishop Langton was received with honour, John threw himself at his feet, reconciled himself with the Church, issued writs to all the churches to inquire into the amount of damages to be restored, and ordered a great council to meet at St. Albans to settle finally the restitution of the Church property. He then summoned his barons to meet him, and join him in an attack upon Poitou. But he was mistaken, both in the character of the Churchman, in whom he hoped to find an obedient servant of the Papal See, and in the amount of dissatisfaction among his nobles. The barons of the North refused to follow him, and the meeting at St. Albans resulted, not in a settlement of Church difficulties, but in the open declaration of the complaints of all classes. A few weeks after, Langton, who had seen through the character of John, and was full of hatred of his tyranny, met an assembly of malcontents at St. Paul’s in London, and there declaring that he had found documentary proof of their rights, produced the coronation charter of Henry I., which was at once accepted by the barons as the declaration of the views and demands of their party.

John hopes to remove them by victory in France. 1214.

Battle of Bonvines. 1214.

In the meantime, two events had happened disastrous to the royal cause. Nicholas of Tusculum had arrived as Papal Legate, and the justiciary Godfrey Fitz-Peter had died. The Legate, ignorant of the feelings of the English, and eager to support and make real the Papal authority, had thoroughly adopted the King’s cause. He threatened the clergy unless they at once accepted the arrangements which the King offered; and although it was the very thing which had before excited the anger of the Pope, he proceeded to fill vacant benefices with the devoted adherents of the royal party. In the place of the experienced Fitz-Peter, who, however far he might have strained the administrative power of the crown, had yet exercised a wholesome restraint on the King, Peter des Roches was raised to the office of justiciary, and appointed to be the representative of the crown during John’s absence in France. The people saw themselves, as they thought, both in spiritual and temporal matters in the hands of the tyrant. A great success abroad might yet have checked the growing disaffection. The King led an army to Rochelle. At first he was successful everywhere. He overran Poitou, and crossing the Loire captured Anger, but the Poitevin barons had been too deeply injured by him to be faithful friends; their disaffection soon compelled him to retire. But the great confederation was at work upon all sides. The Count of Flanders was pressing in upon the North, Otho was advancing from Germany. In July a junction was made at Valenciennes. Thither Philip now betook himself; he was followed faithfully by most of his great nobles, and by the militia of the chartered cities. The whole success of his policy was at stake. A defeat would ruin the object of his life—the establishment of the royal power in France. For Otho too the stake was high; the triumph of the Guelphic house in its long war against the Hohenstaufen would be the fruit of victory. For such prizes the battle of Bouvines was fought, at a small place upon the little river Marque. The fortune of the day was with the French; in all directions they were victorious. Both for Otho and John the defeat may be said to have been final; the Emperor withdrew to his hereditary dominions, in Brunswick, where, after some not very important fighting, he died in 1218. John returned, having lost his last hope of re-establishing his power at home by foreign conquests.

Insurrection in England on his return. 1215.

He returned to England to find himself in a worse position than ever; for Innocent had found out the errors his legate had committed, and recalled him; and John had lost another of his most trusty counsellors by the death of the Bishop of Norwich. Thus left to his own resources, with his usual folly he took the opportunity of demanding a heavy scutage from those barons who had not followed him abroad. The nobles of the North rose. A meeting was held in November at Bury St. Edmunds, and it was there determined that they would make their formal demands upon the King in arms at Christmas time. John was keeping his Christmas at Worcester; but having no doubt heard of the action of the barons, hurried to London, where they appeared before him in arms. He demanded till Easter for consideration. The time was given him. He used it in an attempt to sow dissension among his enemies. He granted to the Church the free right of election, hoping thereby to draw Langton from the confederation. He took the oaths of the crusader to put himself more immediately under the guardianship of the Church, and hastily summoned troops of mercenaries from Poitou.

Meeting at Brackley.

Capture of London.

Runnymede.

The barons at once reassembled at Brackley. At their head was Fitz-Walter, an old enemy of the King, and William Marshall, son of the Earl of Pembroke. Their strength consisted of the nobles of the North—and they were spoken of as the Northerners,—but many barons from other parts of England joined them, and in spite of various compromises offered by the King, they laid siege to the castle of Northampton. They there received messages of adherence from the mayor and citizens of London, into which city they were received in May; and thus masters of the greater part of England, and of the capital, they compelled John to receive them and hear their demands at Runnymede, a meadow by the Thames’ side not far from Staines. There was signed, on the 15th of June, the paper of forty-nine articles, which they presented, and which were afterwards drawn up into the shape of the sixty-three articles of the Great Charter.