“Let him attempt it!” shouted John in thundering tones. “Hear you, my lords and knights! Philip may execute this summons, but he will not strike me. He will strike at England and England’s greatness. It is Philip’s purpose to wrest from us the country which is the birthplace of our ancestors, the land whence sprang our knighthood, majestic Normandy, beautiful Anjou and Maine. That is the explanation of all his virtuous anger over the death of the boy Arthur. What is that boy’s life, what is my own life, provided England’s greatness remain unimpaired? Which one of you, my knights, will hesitate when he is called upon to fight for English honor and English possessions?” John looked around the assembly confident of victory, took the summons, tore it in two, and threw the pieces on the floor. “There is the answer you shall take to Philip of France, Knight Mordant, and you may leave England in three days. For that length of time you have the privileges of an ambassador.” With a firm step John left the hall, and the nobles followed him with unsettled convictions. Chapter XXII The End The English army invaded France again, only to meet with defeat. England lost both fame and possessions: Philip wrested the latter from her. The entire population of Brittany rushed to arms after Arthur’s murder, and drove the enemy out of their country. Alan, their leader, continually roused them to resistance and incited them to avenge their murdered Duke. He would not tolerate any foreign ruler, and encouraged all classes to maintain their independence both against England and France. He demonstrated his patriotism and achieved victory, but at the cost of his life in defence of his fatherland. Arthur was avenged. The contempt of all England, worse even than death to bear, was visited upon John when he returned from France. Detested by his subjects, mistrusted by the nobles, shamefully begging help from the Pope to keep his throne, his life came to an end in an era of turbulence. His lords, joining hands with the commons, extorted from him that important concession of rights, Magna Charta,[22] and compelled this execrable despot to lay the foundations of the greatness of the English people. Old and worn out with sickness, believing himself poisoned, racked with remorse, harassed by rebellious leaders, John died in the midst of an insurrection. The derisive epithet, “John Lackland,” has branded him in history as a spurious and cruel sovereign. The figure of Arthur of Brittany, glorified in poetry, beautified with the immortal lustre of youth, stands out brightly against the dark background of those bloody days.[23] Appendix The following is a chronological statement of the principal events treated of in this volume: