King John and Religion PDF
Preview King John and Religion
King john has been perceived as one of England’s most notorious K monarchs. Medieval writers and later historians condemn him King John i as a tyrant, seeing his long-running dispute with the church n as evidence of a king who showed little regard for his faith. This g book takes issue with orthodox opinion, arguing that in matters of and religion, the critique obscures the evidence for a ruler who realized that J o outward manifestations of faith were an important part of kingship. It demonstrates that John maintained chapels and chaplains, prayed at h Religion shrines of the saints, kept his own collection of holy relics, endowed n masses, founded and supported religious houses, and fed the poor – providing for his soul and emphasising his aura of authority. In these a areas, he ranks alongside many other medieval rulers. n Paul WebsteR d The book also presents a major reassessment of the king’s dispute with the church, when England was subject to a general interdict, and the king R was excommunicate, the severest sanctions the medieval church could e impose. It reveals the lasting damage to the king’s reputation, but also l shows how royal religious activity continued whilst king and pope were i g at loggerheads. Furthermore, despite his vilification since his death, there were those prepared to honour John’s memory, during the medieval i o period and beyond. n Dr Paul Webster is a Teaching Associate at Cardiff University, in the Cardiff School of History, Archaeology and Religion. W Cover image; King John holding the Cistercian abbey of Beaulieu, from the Historia e b Anglorum, probably composed and written by the St Alban’s monk Matthew Paris, s c.1250-55. © The British Library Board. British Library, MS Royal C. VII, f. 9r. t e R Studies in the History of Medieval Religion an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF (GB) and 668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester NY 14620–2731 (US) www.boydellandbrewer.com Studies in the History of Medieval Religion VOLUME XLIII KING JOHN AND RELIGION Studies in the History of Medieval Religion ISSN 0955–2480 Founding Editor Christopher Harper-Bill Series Editor Frances Andrews Previously published titles in the series are listed at the back of this volume KING JOHN AND RELIGION Paul Webster THE BOYDELL PRESS © Paul Webster 2015 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Paul Webster to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2015 The Boydell Press, Woodbridge ISBN 978–1–78327–029–3 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mount Hope Ave, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate This publication is printed on acid-free paper For My Parents Contents List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations x Introduction 1 1 The Mass 19 2 The Saints 37 3 Powerhouses of Prayer 61 4 Family 85 5 Charity and Almsgiving 110 6 Religion, Politics, and Reputation: The Interdict and King John’s Excommunication 131 7 Peace with the Pope: Diplomacy, Personal Religion, and Civil War 153 8 King John’s Deathbed and Beyond 173 Conclusion 193 Bibliography 201 Index 233 Illustrations Maps 1 Royal Chapels maintained by King John 25 2 Foundations associated with King John 72 3 Nunneries in receipt of alms 1212–13 121 4 Locations associated with posthumous provision for King John 182 Figure 1 The Angevin dynasty in the twelfth century 91 Tables 1 John’s non-observance of fasts on Friday feast days, the eve of feast days, or the day following a feast day 116 2 Suggested religious calendar of King John’s court 194 Acknowledgements Any project of this nature creates a long list of thanks and debts of gratitude, which it is my pleasure to acknowledge here. Firstly, my thanks to what was then the Arts and Humanities Research Board, who provided financial assistance for the work on which my initial project was based. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Carl Watkins, for his patient help and advice in steering my way through the mass of material accumulated in pursuit of the religious interests of King John. My thanks also to Nicholas Vincent for his detailed advice, and for sending copies of his forthcoming collection of the letters and charters of John as lord of Ireland and count of Mortain, and his unpublished paper on the career of Master Simon Langton. In the course of the research, and in developing it as a book, many people have offered encouragement and support, responded generously to my questions, shared their knowledge, commented on ideas, joined in the organisation of confer- ence sessions, and sent copies of published or forthcoming articles and chapters, collections of source material or theses. Here, I thank Alison Alexander, Colette Bowie, Elma Brenner, Stephen Church, Julie Crockford (née Kanter), David Crouch, Kathryn Dutton, Judith Everard, Katherine Harvey, Leonie Hicks, Rose- mary Horrox, Jitske Jasperse, Nicholas Karn, Nigel Ramsey, and Paolo Virtuani. At Cardiff University, the Cardiff School of History, Archaeology and Reli- gion provided financial support which enabled me to give some of my findings a trial run at conferences. The Arts and Social Studies Library in Cardiff obtained obscure sounding inter-library loans at critical moments. In the History Depart- ment, I am especially grateful to Helen Nicholson, who has provided a great deal of encouragement and advice that have helped this project to reach the finish line. Further support and advice, opportunities to present findings and discuss the reign of King John, and useful nuggets of information, have been provided by Peter Edbury, Dave Wyatt, James Jenkins, Chris Dennis, Rachel Reese, and Piero Tassinari. I thank you all. I am also grateful to the anonymous reader at Boydell and Brewer for his or her recommendation and helpful observations, and to Caro- line Palmer and her team, for patiently and skilfully navigating me through the publishing process. Away from the library and computer, numerous friends have provided hospi- tality and encouragement that have been of great benefit in seeing this project to its conclusion, knowing when to ask about progress, and when to seek the consoling comforts of the curry house. In Cardiff and its environs, thanks here to Peter Webber, Ian Harris, and David and Joanna Keir. Elsewhere, I thank Helen Bartlett and Tom Catchesides, Emma Beddoe and Gianluca Raccagni, the Dyer family, Rudi and Beth Eliott Lockhart, Simon Elliston Ball, and Paul Huggins. I am above all grateful to my parents. Without their unstinting love, support, and interest in the Angevin world in which I am so often immersed, the comple- tion of what follows would not have been possible. This book is for them.
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