[411] This refers to the king's absolution at the hands of Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, July 20, 1213, after his submission to the papacy. At that time John took an oath on the Bible to the effect that he would restore the good laws of his forefathers and render to all men their rights. [412] The exact day upon which John took the crusader's vow is uncertain. It was probably Ash Wednesday (March 4), 1215. The king's object was in part to get the personal protection which the sanctity of the vow carried with it and in part to enlist the sympathies of the Pope and make it appear that the barons were guilty of interfering with a crusade. [413] On the southern border of Lincolnshire. [414] On the Thames in Oxfordshire. This statement of the chronicler is incorrect. John was yet in London. [415] Octave means the period of eight days following a religious festival. This Monday was April 27. [416] Brackley is about twenty-two miles north of Oxford. [417] Henry I.'s charter, 1100. [418] Edward the Confessor, king from 1042 to 1066. [419] In the county of Northampton, in central England. [420] Engines for hurling stones. [421] About twenty miles southeast of Northampton. [422] The commander of Bedford Castle. [423] The loss of London by the king was a turning point in the contest. Thereafter the barons' party gained rapidly and its complete success was only a question of time. [424] Runnymede, on the Thames. [425] The charter referred to, in which the liberties of the Church were confirmed, was granted in November, 1214, and renewed in January, 1215. It was in the nature of a bribe offered the clergy by the king in the hope of winning their support in his struggle with the barons. The liberty granted was particularly that of "canonical election," i.e., the privilege of the cathedral chapters to elect bishops without being dominated in their choice by the king. Henry I.'s charter (1100) contained a similar provision, but it had not been observed in practice. [426] Tenants _in capite_, i.e., men holding land directly from the king on condition of military service. [427] The object of this chapter is, in general, to prevent the exaction of excessive reliefs. The provision of Henry I.'s charter that reliefs should be just and reasonable had become a dead letter. [428] During the heir's minority the king received the profits of the estate; in consequence of this the payment of relief by such an heir was to be remitted. [429] Scutage (from _scutum_, shield) was payment made to the king by persons who owed military service but preferred to give money instead. Scutage levied by John had been excessively heavy. [430] The General, or Great, Council was a feudal body made up of the king's tenants-in-chief, both greater and lesser lords. This chapter puts a definite, even though not very far-reaching, limitation upon the royal power of taxation, and so looks forward in a way to the later regime of taxation by Parliament.