Using these four sources in their historical context, assess how far they agree that John
did not benefit from the agreement with the papacy
In 1213, John made a Settlement with the papacy in which he agreed that England would become a papal
fief and himself a papal vassal, meaning he accepted the Pope as his feudal overlord, and in return, Pope
Innocent III lifted the interdict previously placed on England. Sources A, B, D and to some extent C seem to
agree with the view that John did not benefit from the 1213 Settlement whereas to some extent source C
seems to disagree and argues that John did somewhat benefit from this agreement.
Sources A, B, D and partly C all agree that John did not benefit from his agreement with the papacy
however they seem to adopt slightly different viewpoints on this with source A focusing on John losing the
right of investiture of senior church men whereas other sources seem to focus on how he now had to pay
homage to the pope and was a papal vassal. Source A is from the Ecclesiastical Charter, an official
document written by John to the church and this clearly makes it one of the most reliable sources,
meaning it is likely to be more accurate than some of the others and thus be more useful in assessing
whether John benefitted from the agreement. This source outlines some of the terms John agreed with
and we can trust these terms due to being in an official document. This source mentions how “electors
should, whenever they wish, chose a bishop”, taking away John’s right over investiture of senior church
men. Prior to the 1213 Settlement, traditionally Kings had held caesaro-papist powers which meant they
were in charge of both church and state matters and were able to appoint bishops. However, the
settlement meant that it was now up to the papacy to elect the bishops and other senior church men, with
John agreeing to “not deny or defer”. This source clearly supports the view that John did not benefit from
his agreement with the papacy due to now loosing his traditional right of investiture, not just for him but
for future kings. However, due to being an official document, this source only focuses on one area of the
agreement and thus is not a complete source as it fails to comment on other aspects of the agreement and
ways in which John benefitted from the agreement, for example with Pope Innocent lifting the interdict
and excommunication. Therefore, source A clearly agrees with the view that John did not benefit from his
agreement with the papacy.
Similarly to source A, source B also seems to adopt the view that John did not benefit from his agreement
with the papacy but focuses more on how he “performed liege homage to Nicholas”, a papal legate, rather
than focusing on his loss of the right of investiture like source A does. Source B mentions how John had to
“fulfil the promise he had made to the Holy Roman Church” which refers to how in the 1213 Settlement,
John agreed to become a papal vassal and England a papal fief, meaning that he no longer owned England
but rather held it on behalf of the pope and accepted the pope as his feudal overlord, hence why he
“performed liege homage” to papal legate Nicholas on behalf of the pope. This clearly demonstrates how
John did not benefit from the 1213 Settlement because he had now lost a lot of the power he once held
and no longer had full control over ecclesiastical matters in England. In addition, source B also mentions
how the King had to give the pope “one thousand marks” which is also mentioned in sources C and D and
this again shows how John did not benefit from the Settlement because he had lost a lot of money which
angered his barons. Due to this source being written in 1213, it is very useful as it is more likely to be
accurate and reliable because the chronicler is less likely to have forgotten the event. However, the year
this source was written also poses an issue as because the Settlement was in 1213, the author lacks wider
perspective and is unable to see how the settlement may have actually benefitted John in the future, for
example the Pope annulling Magna Carta in 1215. Therefore, it is clear that similar to source A, this source
also agrees with the viewpoint that John did not in fact benefit from his agreement with the papacy.
Source D, much like the previous two sources, also seems to agree that John did not benefit from his
agreement with the church as he now had to be “more pacifying and conciliating to the bishops”. Prior to
the agreement with the pope, John had harshly treated his bishops and the church as a whole, heavily
