“The excommunication of the King was the main consequence of the quarrel between King John
and Innocent III between 1205-1213.” How far do you agree?
The Interdict of England in March 1208 could be argued to be the main consequence of the quarrel
between King John and Pope Innocent III as it meant that the people of England were denied access
to the Christian sacraments that were an essential part of faith for example, Christian burial was
forbidden, so people worried that the souls of the dead wouldn’t go to heaven. This meant that the
people of England and King John were more likely to go to hell if they died then as no church
services were held at the start of the Interdict so people could not be forgiven for their sins which
could have lead to a revolt against King John as he was the cause of the Interdict and people would
want to rebuild their relationship with the church. However, it was not as operational as the Pope
would have wanted as John reacted by arresting the mistresses of some monks which would have
embarrassed the church as monks were not supposed to have any relationships. In conclusion, the
Interdict was not the main consequence of the quarrel between John and the Pope as by 1209,
Innocent had given permission for churches to hold services behind closed doors and to give Holy
Communion showing that the Interdict was ineffective as this meant that John’s subjects would not
be driven into opposition due to the banning of religious sacraments. Furthermore, at the time of
the Interdict, John managed to acquire a new source of income by claiming the profit made from
vacant bishoprics and abbacies; the extra revenue John was making meant that there was little
incentive for John to reconcile with the Pope.
Another main consequence of the quarrel between King John and Innocent III could be the royal
revenues John collected during the Interdict and the Excommunication from 1208-1209. In 1208,
when 3 bishops left England due to its Interdict, John claimed the income from their vacant
bishoprics and abbacies and it is estimated that John gained £13,500 annually from collecting the
profits of confiscated Church property and vacant bishoprics and abbacies which was a subsequent
amount of money considering that John’s annual income was £25,000. This meant that John was less
likely to reach an agreement with the Pope soon as if he did then the bishops would come back to
England and John could no longer claim those incomes and would therefore lose a substantial
amount of money that John needed due to most of the taxes gained were used to pay for Richard’s
ransom. However, in conclusion, they collection of royal revenues was not the main consequence of
the quarrel as in 1213 John was to pay £8,000 as an immediate compensation to the Pope and
£27,000 in total when the Pope decided to lift the interdict and excommunication meaning all the
profit John gained was basically given back to the church.
The excommunication of John in 1209 could be seen as the main consequence of his quarrel with the
Pope as it meant that John was completely cut off from the church and that he was basically
sentenced to hell. His subjects also did not have to obey him and this was serious as it meant they
did not have to perform their feudal duties. This reduced John’s authority and the Pope expected
that it would force John to obey him; however, it was not as effective as Innocent III had intended as
overall, most of his subjects remained loyal because they did not want to lose their lands. This meant
that John was largely able to ignore the excommunication. It did not have any more impact on him
than the Interdict as in 1208; his people were cut off from church services and sacraments.
Furthermore, after John’s excommunication it still took four more years before the quarrel ended,
and Innocent III between 1205-1213.” How far do you agree?
The Interdict of England in March 1208 could be argued to be the main consequence of the quarrel
between King John and Pope Innocent III as it meant that the people of England were denied access
to the Christian sacraments that were an essential part of faith for example, Christian burial was
forbidden, so people worried that the souls of the dead wouldn’t go to heaven. This meant that the
people of England and King John were more likely to go to hell if they died then as no church
services were held at the start of the Interdict so people could not be forgiven for their sins which
could have lead to a revolt against King John as he was the cause of the Interdict and people would
want to rebuild their relationship with the church. However, it was not as operational as the Pope
would have wanted as John reacted by arresting the mistresses of some monks which would have
embarrassed the church as monks were not supposed to have any relationships. In conclusion, the
Interdict was not the main consequence of the quarrel between John and the Pope as by 1209,
Innocent had given permission for churches to hold services behind closed doors and to give Holy
Communion showing that the Interdict was ineffective as this meant that John’s subjects would not
be driven into opposition due to the banning of religious sacraments. Furthermore, at the time of
the Interdict, John managed to acquire a new source of income by claiming the profit made from
vacant bishoprics and abbacies; the extra revenue John was making meant that there was little
incentive for John to reconcile with the Pope.
Another main consequence of the quarrel between King John and Innocent III could be the royal
revenues John collected during the Interdict and the Excommunication from 1208-1209. In 1208,
when 3 bishops left England due to its Interdict, John claimed the income from their vacant
bishoprics and abbacies and it is estimated that John gained £13,500 annually from collecting the
profits of confiscated Church property and vacant bishoprics and abbacies which was a subsequent
amount of money considering that John’s annual income was £25,000. This meant that John was less
likely to reach an agreement with the Pope soon as if he did then the bishops would come back to
England and John could no longer claim those incomes and would therefore lose a substantial
amount of money that John needed due to most of the taxes gained were used to pay for Richard’s
ransom. However, in conclusion, they collection of royal revenues was not the main consequence of
the quarrel as in 1213 John was to pay £8,000 as an immediate compensation to the Pope and
£27,000 in total when the Pope decided to lift the interdict and excommunication meaning all the
profit John gained was basically given back to the church.
The excommunication of John in 1209 could be seen as the main consequence of his quarrel with the
Pope as it meant that John was completely cut off from the church and that he was basically
sentenced to hell. His subjects also did not have to obey him and this was serious as it meant they
did not have to perform their feudal duties. This reduced John’s authority and the Pope expected
that it would force John to obey him; however, it was not as effective as Innocent III had intended as
overall, most of his subjects remained loyal because they did not want to lose their lands. This meant
that John was largely able to ignore the excommunication. It did not have any more impact on him
than the Interdict as in 1208; his people were cut off from church services and sacraments.
Furthermore, after John’s excommunication it still took four more years before the quarrel ended,
