KING JOHN was so selfish and
cruel that all the people in his
kingdom both feared and hated
him.
One by one he lost the
dominions in France which the
former kings of England had held.
Men called him Lackland, because
in the end he had neither lands nor
castles that he could rightfully call
his own.
He robbed his people. He
quarreled with his knights and
barons. He offended all good men.
He formed a plan for making war
against King Philip of France, and
called upon his barons to join him.
When some of them refused, he
burned their castles and destroyed
their fields.
At last the barons met
together at a place called St.
Edmundsbury to talk about their
grievances. "Why should we submit
to be ruled by such a king?" said
some of the boldest. But most of
them were afraid to speak their
minds.
Stephen
Langton,
the
Archbishop of Canterbury, was with
them, and there was no bolder
friend of liberty than he. He made a
stirring speech that gave courage
even to the most cowardly.
"Are you men?" he said. "Why
then do you submit to this falsehearted king? Stand up and declare
your freedom. Refuse to be the
slaves of this man. Demand the
rights and privileges that belong to
you as free men. Put this demand in
writing—in the form of a great
charter—and require the king to
sign it. So shall it be to you and
your children a safeguard forever
against the injustice of unworthy
rulers."
The barons were astonished at
the boldness of this speech. Some
of them shrank back in fear, [120]
but the bravest among them
showed by their looks and gestures
that they were ready to make a
bold stand for liberty.
"Come
forward!"
cried
Stephen Langton. "Come, and
swear that you will never rest until
King John has given you the rights
that are yours. Swear that you will
have the charter from his hand, or
that you will wage war upon him to
the very death."
Never before had Englishmen
heard such a speech. The barons
took the oath which Stephen
Langton prescribed. Then they
gathered their fighting men
together and marched upon
London. The cowardly king was
frightened.
"What do these men want?"
he asked.
They sent him word that they
wanted their rights as Englishmen,
and that they would never rest until
he had given them a charter of
liberties signed by his own hand.
"Oh, well! If that is all, you
shall surely have it," he said.
But he put them off with one
excuse and another. He sent a
messenger to Rome to ask the Pope
to help him. He tried, by fine
promises, to persuade Stephen
Langton to abandon the cause he
had undertaken. But no one knew
the falseness of his heart better
than the Pope and the Archbishop
of Canterbury.
said; "and there shall be no peace
until you grant them."
The people from all parts of
the country now came and joined
the army of the barons. Of all the
knights in England, only seven
remained true to the king.
"Let the time be the 15th of
June," they said, "and let the place
be Runnymede."
The barons made out a list of
their demands; and Stephen
Langton carried it to the king.
"These things we will have," they
Oh, how angry was King John!
He raved like a wild beast; he
clenched his fists; he stamped upon
the floor. But he saw that he was
helpless. At last he said that he
would sign the charter at such time
and place as the barons might
name.
Now Runnymede was a green
meadow not far from the city of
London, and thither the king went
with his few followers. There he
was met by the barons, with an
army of determined men behind
them.
The charter which Stephen
Langton and his friends had drawn
up was spread out before the king.
He was not a scholar, and so it was
read to him, line by line. It was a
promise that the people should not
be oppressed; that the rights of the
cities and boroughs should be
respected; that no man should be
imprisoned without a fair trial; that
justice should not be delayed or
denied to any one.
Pale with anger, the king
signed the charter, and then rode
back to his castle at Windsor. As
soon as he was in his own chamber
he began to rave like a madman. He
rolled on the floor; he beat the air
with his fists; he gnawed sticks and
straws; he foamed at the mouth; he
cursed the barons and the people
for treating their king so badly.
But he was helpless. The
charter was signed—the MAGNA
CHARTA, to which Englishmen still
point as the first safeguard of their
rights and liberties.
As might have been expected,
it was not long before John tried to
break all his promises. The barons
made war upon him, and never
again did he see a peaceful day. His
anger and anxiety caused him to
fall into a fever which nothing could
cure. At last, despised and shunned
as he deserved to be, he died. I
doubt if there was an eye in
England that wept for him.
King John and
the Magna Carta
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