We hear of no reply to Innocent’s three former appeals, but in this case Philip answered briefly by a letter written in the King’s name by the Bishop of Paris. Whether any of his great vassals answered is not known, but if their decisions were essentially different from that of their overlord then they were certainly of no effect. The King’s answer was typical of the colder side of his character, for besides his ceaseless energy, his boldness where only boldness would serve him, and his gift for intrigue, he possessed a prudence that never ran unnecessary risks but made sure to get as many chances as possible on his side before he would move. As we say, he was a great “politician.” Three years before by taking Normandy he had cleared the mouth of the Seine, the only real navigable river in France, in the middle basin of which river the centre of his power lay. For the first time since the coming of the Danish invasion nearly three centuries before, northern Gaul held the keys of her own door so that her commerce could come and go at her own will. He had done more. He had settled himself in the rich lower valley of the shallow Loire and pushed back John almost to the Dordogne. Now, when he received Innocent’s letter, the campaigning season of 1207 had passed without incident thanks to a two years’ truce patched up in the previous autumn (of 1206), which had still about another year to run. Nevertheless the King of France knew that John had not given up the struggle but was making great efforts to raise money for the hiring of mercenaries and the bribing of possible allies. The Archbishop of York had just gone into exile in protest against unprecedented taxation of the English clergy for these pious objects. Also, it was common talk throughout Europe that John was refusing to recognize Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, in spite of strong pressure from Innocent to do so. A complete break had not yet come, but relations between the King of England and the Pope were getting more and more strained.