CHAPTER XXIII.

JOHN AND THE GREAT CHARTER.

Accession of John--His Position--Arthur of Brittany--Peace between John and Philip of France--John's Marriage with Isabella of La Marche--Rupture with France--The Struggle Begins--Capture of Arthur--The Stories of his Death--The Loss of Normandy--Peace with Philip--Quarrel with the Pope--The Kingdom Laid under an Interdict, and Excommunication of John--John's Desperate Measures--Expedition to Ireland--John is deposed--Arrival of Pandulph in England--Surrender of the Kingdom to the Pope--Successes of John--Langton Arrives in England--He Becomes Leader of the Baronial Party--The Battle of Bouvines--Insurrection in England--The Barons Confront John--His Intrigues--Meeting at Brackley--Occupation of London--The Meeting at Runnymede--Greatness of the Occasion--Provisions of the Charter--Duplicity of John--Siege of Rochester--John in the North--His Cause Supported by the Church--The Crown offered to Louis of France--He Enters London--Sieges of Dover and Windsor--Reported Conspiracy--John's Disaster at the Wash--His Death and Character 251