2. May 27, 1199: John is crowned king of England
August 24, 1200: John married Isabel d’Angouleme
Spring 1202: Philip II summons John to court; John
refuses
May 1202: John captures his nephew, Arthur of
Brittany, who then disappears
August 1204: Philip seizes all of John’s French
holdings except the Aquitaine
October 1214: John lost his final battle against Philip
& resigned himself to his losses
3. 1205: Canterbury secretly elects a new archbishop and sends him
to Rome for papal confirmation
1205: John forces the Canterbury chapter to elect his candidate as
archbishop
1207: Pope Innocent III consecrates his own choice, Stephen
Langton, instead…who John then bans from England
1208: Innocent places an Interdict on England
1209: Innocent excommunicates John, who proceeds to seize all
church assets for his own
1213: John and Innocent reconcile, with John offering England as a
fief to the papacy. This made John the Pope’s vassal but also
won him the full support of the papacy against his enemies.
4. 1212: Plot to overthrow John failed
1214: Barons refused to supply troops for John’s
battle against Philip II
April 1215: Barons from the north & east organize against
John and seize control of London, Lincoln, and
Exeter
June 15, 1215: Langton organizes a truce between the
barons and John that forces John to sign the
Magna Carta
Fall 1215: The First Baron’s War begins when John
refuses to abide by the charter
October 18, 1216: John dies just as he was losing the war
5. Protection of church rights
Protection from illegal imprisonment
Access to swift justice
Baronial consent for any new taxes
A limit on feudal dues & payments
Most importantly, it established a council of 25
barons who would serve as a “check” on John’s
power. This was unheard of in medieval times.
6. John’s son, Henry
III, would reissue and
confirm the basic
articles of the
Magna
Carta…except the
council of barons. It
would continue to
reconfirmed by
Henry III
virtually every other
king until Henry VI.
7. Until the First Baron’s War & the Magna Carta, the power of the
kings of England had been virtually unchecked. Afterwards, the
English kings quickly learned that “if the barons ain’t happy, ain’t
nobody happy”!
Henry VI Richard III
Edward II Richard II
Deposed in 1327 Deposed in 1399 Deposed in 1461 &
Deposed in 1485
1471
8. England’s medieval kings were not the only ones to feel the brunt of
the nobles’ newfound empowerment. Over the years, more and
more checks were placed on the Crown’s power (including the
creation of Parliament) until it turned into the constitutional
monarchy that we see today.
9. The charter’s guarantees of due process and the freedom
of the church in England are not only still on the books
there today but their influence can also be seen in
America’s Bill of Rights.
The Magna Carta
The Bill of Rights
