Runnymede and Lincoln Fair: A Story of the Great Charter

by John G. Edgar

  CHAPTER VI

  KING JOHN

  On the 27th of May, 1199, the Abbey of Westminster was the scene of animpressive ceremony. On that day, and in that edifice, a man ofthirty-two years of age was solemnly crowned King of England, and tookthe oaths to govern justly. He had seen much of life, enjoyedconsiderable experience in affairs of state, and was not deficient inintellectual culture. Moreover, he had the advantage of a healthy andvigorous frame, and of a countenance sufficiently well formed to bethought handsome. But on his face there appeared an expression, now ofdissolute audacity, now of sullen temper, which might have made anintelligent spectator presage that, ere long, the cry of “Long live theking!” would give way to the stern shout of “Death to the tyrant!”

  The personage who had the distinction of being on that memorableoccasion “the observed of all observers” was John of Anjou, the youngestof the five sons who sprang from the marriage of the second Henry andEleanor of Guienne. Of the five sons, four had gone the way of allflesh. William died in childhood; Henry died of fever while in rebellionagainst his father; Geoffrey was trampled to death while taking part ina tournament at Paris; Richard expired of a mortal wound inflicted bythe arrow of Bertrand de Gordon, while he was besieging the castle ofChalus; and John, as the survivor, claimed not only the kingdom ofEngland, but that vast Continental empire which the first of ourPlantagenet kings had extended from the Channel to the Pyrenees.

  Matters, however, did not go quite smoothly; nor was John without arival. Some months after his elder brother, Geoffrey, was killed in thetournament at Paris, Geoffrey’s widow, Constance of Brittany, gave birthto a son, to whom the Bretons, in honour of the memory of their mythicalhero, gave the name of Arthur. King Richard was well inclined towardshis nephew, and anxious to educate the boy to succeed him. ButConstance, a weak and somewhat vicious woman, refused to place her sonin the custody of Cœur de Lion, who, in consequence, recognised Johnas his heir. Nevertheless, on Richard’s death, the people of Anjou andBrittany proclaimed young Arthur as their sovereign; and Constance,carrying him to the court of Paris, placed him under the protection ofPhilip Augustus. But Philip, after making great professions, andpromising to give Arthur one of his daughters in marriage, concluded atreaty with John in 1200, and, without scruple, sacrificed all the boy’sinterests.

  And now John’s throne seemed secure; and both the crown of England andthe coronal of golden roses--the diadem of Normandy--sat easily on hisbrow; but at this juncture his indiscretion hurried him into amatrimonial project which cost him dear.

  It was the summer of 1200, and John made a progress through Guienne toreceive the homage of that province. In Angoulême, at a great festivalgiven in his honour, his eye was attracted and his imaginationcaptivated by Isabel, daughter of the count of that beautifuldistrict--a lovely nymph not more than sixteen. John became passionatelyenamoured; and as “maidens, like moths, are caught by glare,” Isabel tobe “a crowned queen” was “nothing coy.” It is true that there wereserious obstacles in the way of a matrimonial union. John had previouslybeen married to a daughter of the Earl of Gloucester, and Isabelaffianced to Count Hugh de la Marche. But the obstacles were not deemedinsuperable; for the Church had forbidden John to take home his bride,on account of their nearness of kin; and he, as sovereign of Angoulême,had power to break the link which bound the fair heiress to the man towhom she had been betrothed. Moreover, the parents of the young ladyencouraged John’s passion; and, all difficulties having been got overfor the time being, John and Isabel were united at Bordeaux, and sailedfor England. On their arrival a grand council was held at Westminster;and Isabel of Angoulême, having been acknowledged as queen, was formallycrowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

  So far all went smoothly. But, ere a year elapsed, the royal pair werealarmed with rumours of a formidable confederacy. Hugh de la Marche, whohad, not without indignation, learned that his affianced bride washanded over to another, first challenged John to mortal combat, and, onthe challenge being declined, took up arms to avenge the wrong he hadsustained. Accompanied by his tender spouse, John repaired to theContinent to defend his dominions, and visited the court of Paris.Philip Augustus received and entertained the King and Queen of Englandwith royal magnificence, and professed the strongest friendship. But nosooner had they turned their backs than Philip, who was a master ofkingcraft, resolved on John’s ruin, and allied himself closely withJohn’s foes.

  It would seem that the darling object of Philip Augustus was to makeFrance the great monarchy of Europe; and he was bent, therefore, onhumbling the pride and appropriating the Continental territory of thePlantagenets. In the days of Henry and of Richard, Philip’s efforts hadbeen almost barren of results. But against an adversary like John he hadlittle doubt of achieving substantial successes, and of being able toseize the territory which had gone from the kings of France with Eleanorof Guienne. While John, under the impression that Philip was his stanchfriend, was parading, with indiscreet bravado, before the eyes of hisContinental subjects, Philip recalled Arthur of Brittany, now fifteenyears of age, to the French court, and again espoused his cause.

  “You know your rights,” said Philip, “and you would like to be a king?”

  “Assuredly I would,” answered the boy.

  “Well,” said Philip, “I place two hundred knights under your command.Lead them into the provinces which are your birthright, and I will aidyou by invading Normandy.”

  At the head of a little army Arthur raised his banner, and, marchinginto Guienne, boldly attacked Mirabeau, where his grandmother, QueenEleanor, was then residing, and succeeded in taking the town. ButEleanor, retreating to the citadel, defied the besiegers, and sent toinform John of her peril.

  At that time John was in Normandy, and, without loss of a day, hemarched to his mother’s rescue, entered Mirabeau in the night, totallyrouted his enemies, and, having taken Arthur prisoner, conveyed him toFalaise. From Falaise he was removed to Rouen, and soon after the bodyof a youth was seen by some fishermen of the Seine, ever and anonrising, as it seemed, out of the water, as if supplicating Christianburial. On being brought ashore the body was recognised to be that ofArthur of Brittany, and it was secretly interred in the Abbey of Bec.

  Whether Arthur had been killed by King John and flung into the Seine, orwhether he had fallen into the river and been drowned while attemptingto escape from the castle of Rouen, remains an historic mystery. Butneither the Bretons nor Philip Augustus expressed any doubt on thesubject. Within a week after the tragical event the Bretons demandedjustice on the head of the murderer; and Philip summoned John, as one ofhis vassals, to appear before the Twelve Peers of France, and answer tothe charge. Without denying the jurisdiction of the court, John declinedto appear unless granted a safe conduct; and, the Twelve Peers havingpronounced sentence of death and confiscation, Philip took up arms toexecute the sentence, and seized cities and castles in such numbers,that, ere long, John retained little or nothing of the Continentalempire of the Plantagenets, save Bordeaux, and a nominal authority inGuienne. One effort he did make to redeem his fortunes. But, losingheart and hope, he abandoned the struggle, and, returning to England,entered on that contest with the Church which was destined to involvehim in ruin.

  In the year 1205, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, departed this life,and in his place the monks of Canterbury elected Reginald, their prior,to the vacant see. The king, however, far from sanctioning their choice,insisted on elevating John Grey, Bishop of Norfolk, to the primacy; andthe dispute between the monks and the crown was referred to InnocentIII., one of those popes who, like Hildebrand and Boniface VIII., deemedit their mission “to pull down the pride of kings.” In order at once toshow his impartiality and his power, Innocent set aside the mannominated by the monks and the man nominated by the king, and gave thearchbishopric to Stephen Langton, a cardinal of English birth, who wasthen at Rome. The monks, in consequence, found themselves in an awkwardpredicament. However, they were under the necessity of doing as the Popeordere
d. In vain they talked of their scruples and fears, and protestedthat they could do nothing without the royal sanction. When urged, onlyone monk stood firm; all the others, out of deference to the head of theChurch, confirmed the nomination of Stephen Langton.

  When John learned what steps had been taken in contravention to hisauthority, his rage knew no bounds; and, in his excitement, he bethoughthim of punishing the monks for their servility to the Pope. Accordinglyhe sent two knights to seize the convent and drive the monks out oftheir cloisters; and the unfortunate men were expelled at the point ofthe sword. But the king soon discovered that this had been rashly done.Indeed, the Pope no sooner became aware of his wishes being treated withsuch disrespect than he sent three bishops to threaten John and hiskingdom with an interdict if he did not yield; and all the other bishopscoming to the king, implored him on their bended knees to save himselffrom the evil that was threatened by accepting Stephen Langton asprimate, and allowing their monks to return to their convent and takepossession of their property. John stood upon his dignity, and refusedto bend an inch. In vain Innocent demanded redress, and indulged inthreats of bringing spiritual artillery into play. The king, whobelieved he had justice and law on his side, and who believed also that,if supported by his subjects, he had little to fear in a contest withthe court of Rome, boldly answered with defiance; and at length, in1208, Innocent laid the kingdom under interdict, preparatory toexcommunicating the king, in the event of his continuing refractory.

  The papal interdict plunged England in gloom, and caused the utmostconsternation. The churches were closed; no bell was tolled in theirsteeples; no services were performed within their walls; and thesacraments were administered to none but infants and the dying.Marriages and churchings took place in the porches of churches; sermonswere preached on Sundays in the churchyards; and the bodies of the deadwere interred silently and in unconsecrated ground. No bells summonedthe living to their religious devotions, and no mass or prayer wasoffered for the souls of the departed. After this had continued for sometime, Innocent finding that John gave no indications of a desire toyield, formally excommunicated the king, absolved his subjects fromtheir allegiance, and exhorted all Christian princes to aid indethroning him. Philip Augustus did not require much prompting.Willingly and readily he assembled a fleet at the mouth of the Seine,and mustered an army to invade England. John was exceedingly nervousabout the future. Indeed, it is said that, in his alarm, he sentambassadors to ask the aid of the Moorish King of Granada. If so, themission came to nought. However, an English fleet crossed the Channel,and, after destroying the French squadrons in the Seine, burned the townof Dieppe, and swept the coast of Normandy. Even at that early period ofour history, the naval power of England was not to be resisted.

  It was, no doubt, regarded as a great triumph over the Pope and the Kingof France. Nevertheless, John was in no enviable frame of mind; forInnocent was bent on vengeance, and Philip Augustus showed the utmosteagerness to be the instrument of inflicting it. At the same time anenthusiast, known as Peter the Hermit, who fancied he had the gift ofprophecy, predicted that, ere the Feast of Ascension, John should ceaseto reign; and the king, menaced by his barons, gave way to doubt anddread, and began to entertain the idea of saving himself by submitting.A way of reconciliation was soon opened.

  It was the month of May, 1213, and John, then suffering from anxiety andill health, was residing at Ewell, near Dover, when Pandolph, the papallegate, arrived in England, and sent two Knights of the Temple to ask aprivate interview with the king. “Let him come,” replied John; andPandolph, coming accordingly, made such representations that the kingpromised to obey the Pope in all things, to receive Stephen Langton asprimate, and to give complete satisfaction for the past. Of course,Pandolph expressed his gratification at the turn affairs were taking;and, after John had, in the Temple Church, at Dover, surrendered hiskingdom to the Pope, and agreed to hold it as a fief of the Holy See,the legate passed over to France, and intimated to Philip Augustus thatthe King of England was under the special protection of the Church, andthat he was not to be meddled with. In fact, it now appeared that Johnhad, by yielding to the papal power, freed himself from his troubles;and perhaps he flattered himself that he should henceforth govern inpeace, and have everything his own way. If so, he was very muchmistaken. Between the Plantagenet kings and the Anglo-Norman baronsthere had never existed much good feeling; and between John and thebarons, in particular, there existed a strong feeling of hostility. Evenwhen he was engaged in his contest with the Pope, the great feudalmagnates of England gave indications of their determination to set theroyal authority at defiance; and, ere the inglorious close of thatcontest, they had made up their minds either to rule England as theyliked, or to plunge the country into a civil war. Affairs were rapidlyapproaching a crisis at the Christmas of 1214--that Christmas when Hughde Moreville conducted Oliver Icingla as a hostage to the Tower ofLondon.