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ABOUT JOHN, SURNAMED LACKLAND.-1200.

forty-second year of his age, and tenth of his reign, only fou months of which had been passed in England.

7. He had no children, and left all his dominions to his brother John. He had at one time appointed Arthur of Brittany, the son of his next younger brother, Geoffrey, to be his heir, but on his deathbed he altered his will, being influenced, as it is supposed, by Eleanor, who had a great hatred to Constance, the mother of Arthur.

CHAPTER LVIII.

Account of John, surnamed Lackland.-He takes his Nephew Arthur prisoner, and causes him to be murdered.-His Loss of Norm indy.

1. JOHN, surnamed Lackland, because he possessed no territory during the lifetime of his father, was the worst king and the worst man that ever wore the crown of England. Indeed, there are very few persons, whose lives are recorded, who possessed fewer redeeming qualities than King John. He was perfidious, cruel, and rapacious, and had neither personal bravery nor mental ability to make up for his faults.

2. He had early shown his incapacity for government; for his father, Henry II., intending that Ireland should be his inheritance, sent him thither to accustom the people to him. But he insulted

LVIII.-1. What is said of John? Why called Lackland? 2. What instance had he

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the Irish chiefs, ridiculed their customs and habits, and behaved with so much folly, that his father changed his purpose.

3. Philip of France, who was glad of an excuse for interfering in the affairs of England, undertook the cause of Arthur, which had been placed in his hands by Constance. But John found means to persuade Philip that it would be more for his advantage to abandon Arthur, who was accordingly given up to John, and would have been put to death, had he not found means to escape.

4. Three years afterwards, in 1202, Arthur married a daughter of Philip, who then in good earnest set about enforcing his right. Young Arthur broke into Poitou at the head of a small army. Passing near the castle of Mirabel, he heard that his grandmother, Eleanor, his own and his mother's most determined enemy, was in that place, and made haste to lay siege to it.

5. He had nearly got possession of the castle, when John, acting with a vigor quite unusual to him, came suddenly to his mother's rescue, and took the unfortunate Arthur prisoner, with his sister, called the Damsel of Bretagne, who was carried to England, and kept in perpetual imprisonment in Bristol Castle.

6. Arthur was taken to the castle of Falaise, and of his subsequent fate nothing is known with certainty. The most probable account of it is as follows: the king first proposed to William de la Bray, one of his servants, to murder Arthur, but William replied, that he was a gentleman, not a hangman, and he positively refused compliance.

7. Another instrument of murder was found, and was despatched to Falaise; but Herbert de Bourg, the governor, desirous to save the unhappy young prince, pretended that he would execute the king's order, and sent back the assassin. He placed the prince in concealment, and, announcing that he was dead, had the funeral service publicly performed for him.

8. But the Bretons were so much exasperated at the supposed murder of their prince, that Herbert found it necessary to inform them of his being alive. No sooner did John hear of it than he had Arthur removed to Rouen, where he himself resided. The prince being brought into the presence of his uncle, threw himself on his knees before him, and begged for mercy; but the barbarous tyrant, making no reply, stabbed him with his own hand.

9. All men were struck with horror at this inhuman deed, and John became an object of universal detestation. The people of Brittany laid their complaints before Philip, as their liege lord, and demanded justice for this violence committed on one of the chief vassals of the crown.

10. Philip received their application with pleasure, and summoned John to stand a trial before him. John did not appear, and, with the concurrence of the peers of France, he was pronounced guilty of murder, and all his territories in France were declared forfeit to his superior lord.

shown of incapacity to govern? 3. Whose cause did Philip espouse? Why abandon it? 4. Why resume the support of it? Relate the particulars of Arthur's capture 6.7, 3. What became of Arthur? 10. What did Philip do when he heard of Arthur's murder 11. What became of John's possessions in France?

106

JOHN QUARRELS WITH THE POPE.-1208.

11. Philip proceeded at once to execute his sentence. John could make but little opposition, because his barons refused to assist him. Normandy was severed from the crown of England, after it had been in the possession of the descendants of Rollo for three hundred years. His mother's inheritance, also, and nearly all the rest of John's territories in France, were yielded up to Philip.

CHAPTER LIX.

John quarrels with the Pope.-About the Jews.-John excommunicated. -He submits to degrading Terms.

1. IT would seem that John had difficulties enough to contend with already; but, in 1208, he must needs involve himself in a dispute with the pope, respecting the choice of an Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope, Innocent III., insisted on the election of Stephen Langton, an Englishman of very superior abilities, but John refused to recognize his right of dictation.

2. The pope then laid the kingdom under an interdict. This, however, was not much regarded by the king, who employed himself in expeditions against the Welsh and Irish, and in extorting money from his own subjects by many unjust and cruel methods. One of his contrivances was to assemble all the abbots and abbesses at London; and when he had collected them together, he kept them there till they had paid a large sum of money.

3. But the Jews were the special objects of his cruelty. Ever since the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, in the year 72 after Christ, the Jews have been an outcast, though still a separate people. About the time of Henry II., many of them went over and settled in England; but they were treated with many indignities, and were obliged to wear a square yellow cap to distinguish them from Christians.

4. As they were cut off from all public employments, they devoted themselves to getting money; and the taking of interest for the loan of money being forbidden to Christians, the Jewish money-lenders, having all the business to themselves, became very rich. In order to distinguish their houses from those of the Christians, they were required to build them with the chimneys over the doors. Houses of this description are yet to be seen in England.

5. They were exposed to many cruelties to extort from them their wealth, as it was considered no sin to plunder or even murder a Jew, more especially if the object was to get money for a crusade; it being deemed that the cause justified the crime.

6. The pope, finding that his interdict made no impression, now resorted to the more severe mode of bringing John to obedience. He

LEX. 1. What new quarrel was John involved in? 2. How did he get money? 3,4, 5. What of the Jews? 6. What measure did the pope adopt, when he found his inter

JOHN SUBMITS TO THE POPE.-1208.

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excommunicated him, absolved his subjects from their oath of allegiance, and published a sort of crusade against him, exhorting all Christian princes and barons to unite in making war upon and dethroning him.

7. The pope made particular application to Philip, who, as we may believe, was not slow to avail himself of the opportunity, and assembled a numerous fleet and army for the invasion of England. John now summoned his subjects to take up arms in defence of their country, and the call was promptly obeyed, for their fear of being conquered by the French was greater than their hatred of the king.

8. But the pope had no desire to increase the power of Philip; his only wish was to humble John. Whilst he threatened the use of force, he did not neglect the use of artifice. By his directions, Pandulf, his representative or legate in France, crossed over to Dover, under pretence of treating with the barons in favor of the King of France, but in reality to induce John to submit to the pope. 9. This artful priest found means to destroy the confidence which John should have felt for his own troops, and to persuade him that his only hope of safety lay in entire submission to the pope. Having excited the king's fears to the utmost, he then proposed the terms upon which the pope's protection should be granted to him. These were very severe, and such as no high-minded man would have submitted to.

10. The legate required him not only to acknowledge Langton as archbishop, but also to resign his crown to the pope, promising that it should be restored to him. John, regardless of everything but the present danger, agreed to these ignominious terms. So, taking his crown from his head, he placed it on the ground before the legate, and that haughty prelate, to show his contempt for his majesty, actually placed his foot upon it.

11. John then knelt down, and placing his hands between those of the legate, (which was the mode in which a vassal swore fealty to his lord,) acknowledged that he held his crown as vassal to the pope, and swore to serve him faithfully, and to pay him an annual tribute. The sentence of excommunication was then revoked, and Philip was forbidden to invade the territories of the church, as the pope now called England. He was highly incensed at this disappointment, but was obliged to submit.

dict of no effect? 7. What did the English do? 8, 9, 10, 11. How was the quarrel between the king and the pope settled? What degrading ceremony did John ga through?

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CONDUCT OF THE BARONS.-1208-1210.

CHAPTER LX.

Magna Charta signed.-The Nobles excommunicated by the Pope. They invite the Assistance of the French, who invade England. Death of John.

1. JOHN, relieved from the fear of his foreign enemies, found fresh cause for disquietude in the conduct of his own barons. Tired out by his weakness and wickedness, they had long been conspiring against him. They were now joined by Langton, the new archbishop, who, having discovered a concealed copy of the charter granted by Henry I., drew up from it a declaration of rights, which the barons in full assembly approved of.

2. The king was called upon to sign this, but refused to do so. He was now deserted by all who had hitherto professed to support the royal authority, and was left with a retinue of only seven knights. After trying various expedients, he was at last compelled to yield at discretion.

3. He met the barons on Friday, the 15th of June, 1215, in a large meadow, between Windsor and Staines, called Runimede, which means the meadow of council, and which was so called because it had been used by the Saxons as a place for public meetings.

4. At this meeting was signed the famous Magna Charta, which has since been considered as the foundation of English liberty. By it

LX.-1. What new cause of disquietude had John? 3. Where was his meeting with the barons held? Whence the name Runimede? 4. What was done at this meeting!