The Black Sheep - Part II

One of John's worst faults, as a person and as a sovereign, was his inability to act appropriately in difficult situations. Though backed by the English nobility in taking the crown from Arthur, the rightful heir, John miscalculated by having the boy murdered. The backlash of this act was only the beginning of John's troubles, though.

The youngest Plantagenet prince, now king, had been denied few things by his over-indulgent father, Henry II. One consequence of this was John's inability to compromise or use tact. Opposition infuriated him, but he lacked the personal force of character to bend men to his will, a trait that had served his father so well. He would push men to the end of their endurance, until they rose against him in fury. Then he would scurry off - leaving posterity with the impression of a coward. John's quarrel with the church is a case in point.

The kings of England had often found themselves at odds with the Church over various issues. Henry II's dispute with Becket, which led to such tragedy, is probably the best known. However, Henry was willing to suffer the consequences if he miscalculated. He did public penance for his part in Becket's murder, accepting ultimate responsibility for it. John was not so brave.

In 1205 Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury was dying. The junior Canterbury monks took it upon themselves to select another archbishop and sent him off to Rome to get papal approval. When the senior monks and the king discovered this, they nullified the improper election and elected the Bishop of Norwich, who was John's choice for the post. The Pope, however, nullified both elections and sent Stephen Langton to assume the See of Canterbury. http://www.magnacharta.com/articles/arti... The monks submitted to the Pope, but John was furious. He banished the monks for treason, and the Pope sent three bishops to place John under Interdict, which meant that he could not receive communion, nor associate with other Christians. Ostensibly, this meant that John couldn't govern, but the interdict had little visible effect. John threatened the three with death, but the bishops published the Interdict and promptly fled to the Continent. http://britanica.com/bcom/eb/article/7/0...

After a year passed,with the English nobility virtually ignoring the interdict, the Pope excommunicated the king. This not having the desired effect, the Pope then ordered John to be deposed, and absolved John’s vassals from their allegiance. He sent Stephen Langton to Phillip Augustus, to tell him that the Pope would absolve all his sins if he would invade England. However the English may have hated their king, they would not submit quietly to invasion by a foreign power. Thousands of freemen flocked to Dover, intending to contest a French landing. Of course, John misinterpreted the English reaction to the impending invasion as an expression of loyalty to him. Feeling secure in his people's love, John felt free to alienate the nobles who had remained loyal to him, and was genuinely surprised when they rose in revolt yet again.

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