Shire Reeve : The Papal Interdict

William Blake, King John Absolved by Pandulph (after Henry Fuseli). Published in Charles Allen, History of England, 1798

"Nottingham , with the rest of the country , suffered much inconvenience from the " Interdict " laid upon the land by the Pope , in consequence of a controversy with the king about the appointment of Langton to the vacant see of Canterbury . The interdict , " according to Sir Richard Baker , " continued for the long space of six years , three months , and fourteen days ; during all which time there was no public exercise of religion , no churches open , no ecclesiastical sacraments administered , but to them only who were in danger of death , and baptism to children ; all that died were buried like dogs , in ditches and corners , but only such as had purchased or procured license from the Pope . " John , in revengeful retaliation for this interdict , poured a storm of fury upon the clergy , which , for a while , all but completely overwhelmed them . Their persons he proscribed , so that multitudes were obliged to quit the country ; their revenues he confiscated ; bishoprics , abbeys , and priories , he placed at the disposal of laymen ; so that everywhere they suffered wrongs without any protection from the laws , or regard to the injustice inflicted upon them. The king was , however , at length induced to tender his submission to the Pope ; which act of humiliation he perfected by taking the crown from his head , and laying it down at the feet of the legate from Rome , who , to show to the king that the Pope had the right and power to dispose of it as he pleased , took the crown away with him , detaining it in his possession for two or three days , after which he restored it to the king ."

Thomas Bailey, Annals of Nottinghamshire, 1853