King John, the evil brother of King Richard, becomes king after his brother is shot with an arrow in a siege. John wants to take back the French Provinces, but for that he needs money, which the bishops denied him. At that time the spot of the Archbishop of Canterbury was vacant. The pope had a man he wanted appointed, and the King had one. The pope, Innocent III, wanted a man named Stephen Langton. The King refused to let Langton into England, for at that time he was in Rome, and as you probably know “When in Rome… Come back to England to be the Archbishop ASAP”. 😛
Innocent threatened to issue an interdict on England, which means all holy services were to be stopped. Nobody could be married, or have a funeral. John was unmoving. So, the pope excommunicated the King. John finally gave in, and let Langton into England. Langton recommunicated (?) John, and became head of the bishops and the barons. One day, all the barons, including Langton, proposed to John a charter, which made some good rules and laws for everyone, including the King to follow. John postponed and postponed, but finally, all the people were against him. He agreed to sign the “Magna Charter”, and everyone was happy again. Langton was soon recalled to France, but it didn’t matter. He had done something great for England.