John "Lackland" [King of] ENGLAND

                   SOURCES:
    1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
    2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
    3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup) 
HISTORICAL NOTES:
    This is King John of the Magna Charta.  The Magna Charta is recognized today as one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Coming near the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rule arbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 by imprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. King John threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their property by heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of his Nobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all England for a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasants to build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at one time he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none of the starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeated at the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took a solemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their liberties or had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Barons were not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of the United States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties were given the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power if he did not keep his pledges.