Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 128.djvu/756

746 founded on the same principle. The supreme civil power of Christendom was dependent on the supreme spiritual authority. The pontiffs created the Empire of the West: they conferred the imperial dignity by consecration; they were the ultimate judges of the emperor's acts; with power of deprivation and deposition. The Christian world at that day saw nothing disgraceful in this sacred Imperial jurisprudence.

Let us, however, understand what the feudal dependence involved. It did not create the liability to deposition, for John had been deposed already. All Christian princes by the jurisprudence then in force were liable to deposition. But the feudal relation is expressed in the form of oath taken by John. He promises fidelity to his liege lord, and binds himself to defend him against all conspiracy and danger of life and limb; and to reveal to him all plots, and to defend the patrimony of Peter.

A feudum is an immovable possession, held as to its dominium utile, or usufruct, of a superior, who has the dominium supremum, or suzerainty, with the condition of fidelity and personal service.

John therefore, by surrendering his crown, bound himself to exercise his royal power in conformity with law. The head of the Christian world became security for this obligation. But all Christian princes were bound to use their power in conformity to law. The submission of John did not deprive his people of the power of legislation, but he thereby bound himself to the pope to observe faithfully the laws of the land as made by them. His dependence upon the pope was for the conservation of the liberties of the people. It is acknowledged by all historians that, down to the surrender of the crown, the pope had supported the archbishop, the barons, and the people against the king. He had multipliciter et multoties, in a multitude of ways and seasons, as Matthew Paris says, admonished, counselled; expostulated, threatened John, to bring him to law and reason. But John persisted in spoiling, robbing, harrying, afflicting, outraging his people by private wrongs and public wars. All remedies had failed. Excommunication, interdict, deposition all had been tried in vain. At last John surrenders himself. Innocent for the first time prevailed. He thereby became the arbiter accepted by both contending parties. The barons, through the archbishop, and also directly in person, had long invoked his help. John would not listen. Now, at last, he submitted himself; and the barons were counselors and partakers of his act of submission. The great council of the barons united in the act. The cession of the crown was made by their advice, and with their consent. They had suffered under John and his ancestors until England had been wounded and torn by domestic strife, and desolated by civil wars. At last they, and the head of the Christian world, had brought John to submission to the law of Christendom. Their object was the salvation of England. It is clear as day that Innocent's motive was the protection of the people and of the laws and of the liberties of England against the tyranny, perfidy, and personal vices of the worst of kings. A thousand marks a year, or £6,000 — that is, 700 from England and 300 from Ireland — was required in acknowledgment of feudal dependence. When this sum is compared with the sum awarded to the bishops alone as indemnity, namely, 100,000 marks, or £600,000, it is a mere quit-rent.

And here it is of great importance that the action of the barons in this surrender of the crown should be put beyond doubt. They were the national party: they represented the people of England: they have been, in all histories great and small, represented as the partisans of the liberties of England. In them, we are told, the liberties of England were condemned at least, if not cursed, by the pope.

Now, as I have said, we have positive evidence that they were counsellers and partakers in the act of surrender.

First, we have the evidence of William Mauclerc, John's envoy to Rome, who writes to the king describing his interview with the pope in the Lateran, and states that after his interview four envoys of the barons came "deferentes litteras magnatum Angliæ." The substance of the letters Mauclerc gives as follows, that all the barons of the whole of England implored the pope to admonish, and, if need be; to compel the king to preserve inviolate their ancient liberties, confirmed b y the charters of John's ancestors, and by his own oath. He added further —


 * They implore the pope to aid them in this, as it was well known to him that they had boldly opposed the king in defence of the liberty of the Church, at the bidding of the pope, and that the annual payment which the