Editing John, King of England (section)

===Dispute with the Pope and excommunication===
[[File:Innozenz3.jpg|thumb|alt=A painting of Pope Innocent III, wearing his formal robes and a tall, pointed hat.|[[Pope Innocent III]], who excommunicated John in 1209]]
When the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], Hubert Walter, died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III that would lead to the King's [[excommunication]]. The Norman and Angevin kings had traditionally exercised a great deal of power over the church within their territories. From the 1040s onwards, however, successive popes had put forward a reforming message that emphasised the importance of the Church being "governed more coherently and more hierarchically from the centre" and established "its own sphere of authority and jurisdiction, separate from and independent of that of the lay ruler", in the words of historian Richard Huscroft.<ref>Huscroft, p. 190.</ref> After the 1140s, these principles had been largely accepted within the English Church, albeit with an element of concern about centralising authority in Rome.<ref name="HuscroftP189TurnerP121">Huscroft, p. 189; Turner, p. 121.</ref> [[Investiture Controversy|These changes]] brought the customary rights of lay rulers such as John over ecclesiastical appointments into question.<ref name=HuscroftP189TurnerP121/> Pope Innocent was, according to historian Ralph Turner, an "ambitious and aggressive" religious leader, insistent on his rights and responsibilities within the church.<ref>Turner, p. 119.</ref>

John wanted [[John de Gray]], the [[Bishop of Norwich]] and one of his own supporters, to be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, but the [[cathedral chapter]] for [[Canterbury Cathedral]] claimed the exclusive right to elect the Archbishop. They favoured [[Reginald (sub-prior)|Reginald]], the chapter's [[sub-prior]].<ref name="Turner, p. 125">Turner, p. 125.</ref> To complicate matters, the bishops of the [[province of Canterbury]] also claimed the right to appoint the next archbishop.<ref name="Turner, p. 125"/> The chapter secretly elected Reginald and he travelled to Rome to be confirmed; the bishops challenged the appointment and the matter was taken before Innocent.<ref>Turner, pp. 125–126.</ref> John forced the Canterbury chapter to change their support to John de Gray, and a messenger was sent to Rome to inform the papacy of the new decision.<ref name="TurnerP126">Turner, p. 126.</ref> Innocent disavowed both Reginald and John de Gray, and instead appointed his own candidate, [[Stephen Langton]]. John refused Innocent's request that he consent to Langton's appointment, but the Pope consecrated Langton anyway in June 1207.<ref name=TurnerP126/>

John was incensed about what he perceived as an abrogation of his customary right as monarch to influence the election.<ref name=TurnerP126/> He complained both about the choice of Langton as an individual, as John felt he was overly influenced by the Capetian court in Paris, and about the process as a whole.<ref name="TurnerP127">Turner, p. 127.</ref> He barred Langton from entering England and seized the lands of the archbishopric and other papal possessions.<ref name=TurnerP127/> Innocent set a commission in place to try to convince John to change his mind, but to no avail. Innocent then placed [[Papal Interdict of 1208|an interdict]] on England in March 1208, prohibiting clergy from conducting religious services, with the exception of baptisms for the young, and confessions and absolutions for the dying.<ref>Turner, p. 128; Harper-Bill, p. 304.</ref>

[[File:RochesterCastle.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|left|alt=A photograph of a tall stone castle keep; most of the towers are square, but one, rebuilt after a siege, is circular.|[[Rochester Castle]] in Kent, one of the many properties owned by the disputed [[archbishopric of Canterbury]], and an important fortification in the final years of John's reign]]
John treated the interdict as "the equivalent of a papal declaration of war".<ref name="Turnerp128">Turner, p. 128.</ref> He responded by attempting to punish Innocent personally and to drive a wedge between the English clergymen who might support John and those allying themselves firmly with the authorities in Rome.<ref name=Turnerp128/> John seized the lands of the clergymen unwilling to conduct services, as well as estates linked to Innocent himself; he arrested the illicit concubines that many clerics kept during the period, releasing them only after the payment of fines; he seized the lands of members of the church who had fled England, and he promised protection for those willing to remain loyal to him.<ref name=Turnerp128/> In many cases, individual institutions were able to negotiate terms for managing their own properties and keeping the produce of their estates.<ref>Poole, pp. 446–447.</ref> By 1209 the situation showed no signs of resolution, and Innocent threatened to excommunicate John if he did not acquiesce to Langton's appointment.<ref name="TurnerP131">Turner, p. 131.</ref> When this threat failed, Innocent excommunicated the King in November 1209.<ref name=TurnerP131/> Although theoretically a significant blow to John's legitimacy, this did not appear to worry the King greatly.<ref name=TurnerP131/> Two of John's close allies, Emperor Otto IV and Count [[Raymond VI of Toulouse]], had already suffered the same punishment themselves, and the significance of excommunication had been somewhat devalued.<ref name=TurnerP131/> John simply tightened his existing measures and accrued significant sums from the income of vacant sees and abbeys. One 1213 estimate, for example, suggested the church had lost an estimated 100,000 marks (equivalent to ~£67,000 at the time) to John.<ref>Harper-Bill, p. 306.</ref> Official figures suggest that around 14% of the annual income from the English church was being appropriated by John.<ref>Harper-Bill, p. 307.</ref>

Innocent gave some dispensations as the crisis progressed.<ref name="HarperBillP304">Harper-Bill, p. 304.</ref> Monastic communities were allowed to celebrate Mass in private from 1209 onwards, and late in 1212 the [[Holy Viaticum]] for the dying was authorised.<ref>Harper-Bill, pp. 304–305.</ref> The rules on burials and lay access to churches appear to have been steadily circumvented, at least unofficially.<ref name=HarperBillP304/> Although the interdict was a burden to much of the population, it did not result in rebellion against John. By 1213, though, John was increasingly worried about the threat of a French invasion.<ref name="TurnerP133">Turner, p. 133.</ref> Some contemporary chroniclers suggest that in January of that year, Philip II of France had been charged with deposing John on behalf of the papacy, although it appears that the Pope had merely prepared secret letters in case he needed to claim the credit if Philip successfully invaded England.<ref>Bartlett, pp. 404–405; Turner, p. 133.</ref>

Under mounting political pressure, John finally negotiated terms for a reconciliation, and the papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the [[papal legate]] [[Pandulf Verraccio]] in May 1213 at the [[Knights Templar in England#Churches|Templar Church]] at [[Dover]].<ref>Turner, p. 133; Lloyd, p. 213.</ref> As part of the deal, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to the papacy for a feudal service of 1,000 marks (equivalent to ~£700 at the time) annually; 700 marks (~£500) for England and 300 marks (~£200) for Ireland, as well as compensation to the Church for any revenue lost during the crisis.<ref>Turner, p. 133; Harper-Bill, p. 308.</ref> The agreement was formalised in the {{Lang|la|Bulla Aurea}}, or Golden [[Papal bull|Bull]]. This resolution produced mixed responses. Although some chroniclers felt that John had been humiliated by the sequence of events, there was little public reaction.<ref>Turner, pp. 133–134.</ref> The Pope benefited from the resolution of his long-standing English problem, but John probably gained more, as Innocent became a firm supporter of John for the rest of his reign. Backing him in both domestic and continental policy issues.<ref name="TurnerP134">Turner, p. 134.</ref> Innocent immediately turned against Philip, calling upon him to reject plans to invade England and to sue for peace.<ref name=TurnerP134/> John paid some of the compensation money he had promised the Church, but he ceased making payments in late 1214, leaving two-thirds of the sum unpaid; Innocent appears to have conveniently forgotten this debt for the good of the wider relationship.<ref>Harper-Bill, p. 308.</ref>