Pope’s feet, promising to be his vassa] and pay him a sum of money yearly in token of his supremacy. By this act John put himself under the Pope’s protection and Philip had to withdraw. John now felt free to give full vent to all his wicked passions, and the barons were powerless to stop his outrages. Fortunately for them and for England, Langton the new Archbishop, was a true patriot, and determined to do all he could to free the people from John’s oppressive rule. The nation now was becoming more united; English and Norman met at the Universities as equals, and in many other ways the old distinctions between the two peoples were fading away. It was well that this was so, for now all classes had to unite against a cruel and tyrannical king.
11. Magna Charta, A.D. 1215.—Langton now became the leader of the barons. He brought forth the charter containing the laws of Henry I., and urged the barons to demand that John should agree to be bound by them. John delayed his consent, hoping to collect his foreign troops, and then crush his opponents. But the barons were much in earnest, and hearing of John’s treachery, took up arms, and forced John, who was quite unprepared for a war, to sign the Great Charter, or ‘‘Magna Charta.” This famous charter was signed at Runnymede on the Thames, on the 15th June, 1215. Most of its provisions were old, and had been in other charters, such as that of Henry I. But the Great Charter is important because it was wrung from an unwilling king, and because it states very clearly and positively the rights of the people. It contains a great many clauses, of which the principal are: first, that the king could levy no taxes without the consent of the bishops and the barons; second, that no man could be imprisoned, dispossessed of his land, or otherwise punished, without a fair trial by his peers or equals. Its two great principles are the right of the people to control their own taxation, and the right to be free from the king’s arbitrary arrest and punishment.
12. Death of John, 1216.—The Barons were so anxious to have the Charter carried out, that they appointed twenty-five of their own number to watch the king, and if he refused to do as he had promised, they were authorized to seize the king’s castles. But John did not intend to keep his word, and putting off the barons with excuses, he managed to get his paid troops together, and then began a civil
