[409] This charter, granted at the coronation of Henry I. in 1100, contained a renunciation of the evil practices which had marked the government of William the Conqueror and William Rufus. It was from this document mainly that the barons in 1215 drew their constitutional programme.
[410] The Knights Templars, having purchased all that part of the banks of the Thames lying between Whitefriars and Essex Street, erected on it a magnificent structure which was known as the New Temple, in distinction from the Old Temple on the south side of Holborn. Meetings of Parliament and of the king's council were frequently held in the New Temple; here also were kept the crown jewels. Ultimately, after the suppression of the Templars by Edward II., the Temple became one of England's most celebrated schools of law.
[411] This refers to the king's absolution at the hands of Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, July 20, 1213, after his submission to the papacy. At that time John took an oath on the Bible to the effect that he would restore the good laws of his forefathers and render to all men their rights.
[412] The exact day upon which John took the crusader's vow is uncertain. It was probably Ash Wednesday (March 4), 1215. The king's object was in part to get the personal protection which the sanctity of the vow carried with it and in part to enlist the sympathies of the Pope and make it appear that the barons were guilty of interfering with a crusade.
[413] On the southern border of Lincolnshire.
[414] On the Thames in Oxfordshire. This statement of the chronicler is incorrect. John was yet in London.
[415] Octave means the period of eight days following a religious festival. This Monday was April 27.
[416] Brackley is about twenty-two miles north of Oxford.
[417] Henry I.'s charter, 1100.
[418] Edward the Confessor, king from 1042 to 1066.