e Norman state originally rested, united
himself in this matter as closely as possible with the nobles; among
all alike, without regard to their origin, whether from France or from
England, had arisen the wish to limit the crown, as it had been
limited in the Anglo-Saxon period.

Here, however, they had to discover that the Pope was minded to
protect the King, his vassal, not only against attacks from abroad,
but also against movements at home. The engagements which the barons
had formed, when he released them from their oath of fidelity to the
King, he now declared to be invalid and void. The legate in England
reported unfavourably on their proceedings, and it was seen that he
was intimately allied with the King. The war was still raging on the
continent, and the King had been again defeated, at Bouvines, July 27,
1214; he had returned disheartened, but not without bodies of
mercenaries, both horse and foot, which excited anxiety in the allied
nobles. This feeling was strengthened by the fact that, after the
death of a chancellor connected with them by family, and on good terms
with them, he raised a foreigner, Peter des Roches, to that dignity,
and it was believed that this foreigner would lend a hand to any
attempt at restoring the previous state of things. Acts of violence of
the old sort, and the King's lusts, which brought dishonour into their
families, added to their indignation. In short, the barons, far from
breaking up their alliance, confirmed it with new oaths. While they
pressed the King to accept the demands which they laid before him,
they sent one of the chief of their number, Eustace de Vescy, to Rome,
to win the Pope to their cause, by reminding him of the gratitude due
to them for their services in the cause of the Church. As lord of
England, for they did not hesitate to designate him as such, he might
admonish King John, and, if necessary, force him to restore unimpaired
the old rights guaranteed them by the charters of earlier Kings.[31]

But not so did Innocent understand his right of supreme lordship in
England; he did not side with those who had helped to win the victory
for him over the King, but with the King himself, to whose sudden
decision he owed its fruits--the acknowledgment of his feudal
superiority. He blamed the archbishop for concealing the movements of
the barons from him, and for having, perhaps, even encouraged them,
though knowing their pernicious nature: with what view was he st