Editing Stephen Langton (section)

==Archbishop==
[[File:Arms displayed by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the signing of Magna Charta.png|thumb|150px|Arms displayed by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the signing of [[Magna Carta]] in 1215: ''Argent, a cross quarter-pierced gules'']]
On the death of [[Hubert Walter]], Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1205, the election of a successor encountered difficulties: some of the younger canons of the cathedral chapter elected [[Reginald (sub-prior)|Reginald]], the subprior of Christ Church, Canterbury, as Archbishop while another faction under pressure from King John chose [[John de Grey]], [[Bishop of Norwich]]. Both elections were quashed on appeal to Rome, and sixteen canons of the chapter, who had gone to Rome with a mandate to act for the whole chapter, were ordered to proceed to a new election in presence of the Pope. The choice fell upon Langton and he was consecrated by the Pope at [[Viterbo]] on 17 June 1207.<ref name=Bartlett404>Bartlett, Robert ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075–1225'' Oxford: Clarendon Press 2000 {{ISBN|0-19-822741-8}} pp. 404–405</ref>

There followed a hard political struggle between John of England and Pope Innocent III. The King proclaimed as a public enemy anyone who recognised Stephen as Archbishop. On 15 July 1207, John expelled the Canterbury chapter, which was now unanimous in support of Stephen. In March 1208, Pope Innocent III placed England under [[Papal Interdict of 1208|an interdict]] and at the close of 1212, after repeated negotiations had failed, he passed sentence of deposition against John, committing the execution of the sentence to [[Philip II of France]] in January 1213.<ref name=Bartlett404/>

In May 1213 King John yielded and thus in July, Stephen and his fellow exiles returned to England. Till that moment, he had lived since his consecration at [[Pontigny Abbey]] in [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]].<ref>[https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0040571X2801709805?journalCode=tjxa Powicke, F.M., "Stephen Langton", ''Theology'', Volume 17, Issue 98]</ref> His first act as Archbishop was to absolve the King, who swore an oath (which he almost immediately violated) guaranteeing that unjust laws should be repealed and the liberties granted by [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] should be observed.

Stephen now became a leader in the struggle against King John. At a council of churchmen at [[Westminster]] on 25 August 1213, to which certain barons were invited, he read the text of the charter of Henry I and called for its renewal. In the sequel, Stephen's energetic leadership and the barons' military strength forced John to grant his seal to ''[[Magna Carta]]'' (15 June 1215).<ref name=Smith2000>{{citation |last=Smith |first=Esther |contribution=Langton, Stephen (c. 1155–1226) |title=Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature |url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/gwmedieval/langton_stephen_c_1155_1226 |year=2000 |publisher=Greenwood |edition=online |access-date=20 August 2010}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

[[File:John Thomas maquette 017.jpg|thumb|left|Plaster maquette of Stephen Langton by [[John Thomas (sculptor)|John Thomas]] at [[Canterbury Heritage Museum]]]]
Since King John now held his kingdom as a fief of the [[Holy See]] the Pope espoused his cause and excommunicated the barons. For refusing to publish the excommunication the king had Stephen suspended from all ecclesiastical functions by the papal commissioners<ref>{{cite web |url=http://magnacarta800th.com/schools/biographies/magna-carta-bishops/stephen-langton/ |last=Ambler |first=Sophie |author-link=Sophie T. Ambler |title=Stephen Langton |date=5 September 2014 |publisher=Magna Carta Trust}}</ref> and on 4 November this sentence was confirmed by the Pope, although Stephen appealed to him in person. He was released from suspension the following spring on condition that he keep out of England until peace was restored, and he remained abroad till May 1218. Meanwhile, both Pope Innocent and King John died and all parties in England rallied to the support of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].

Stephen Langton continued under Henry's reign to work for the political independence of England. In 1223 he again appeared as the leader and spokesman of the barons, who demanded that King Henry confirm the charter. He went to France on Henry's behalf to call on [[Louis VIII of France]] for the restoration of [[Normandy]], and later he supported Henry against rebellious barons. He obtained a promise from the new pope, [[Pope Honorius III|Honorius III]], that during his lifetime no resident papal legate should be again sent to England, and won other concessions from the same pontiff favourable to the English Church and exalting the see of Canterbury.

Of great importance in the ecclesiastical history of England was a council which Stephen opened at [[Osney]] on 17 April 1222; its decrees, known as the ''Constitutions of Stephen Langton'',<ref>[https://www.proquest.com/openview/280d5eaa997a7761/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1592 White, John William. "The Oxford Constitutions of Stephen Langton,...", ''The British magazine'', London Vol. 25,  (Jun 1844): 615–622]</ref> are the earliest provincial canons which are still recognised as binding in English Church courts.

In 1221 Langton approved the settlement of friars of the [[Order of Preachers]] (Blackfriars) in England. They were conveyed by [[Peter des Roches]], the Bishop of Winchester, to Canterbury where the leader of the first group of friars, Gilbert of Fresney, was asked to preach an impromptu sermon on the merits of his new order. Satisfied with his quality of preaching the friars were permitted to found priories across the country.<ref>{{cite book|last=Knowles|first=David|author-link=David Knowles (scholar)|year=1956|orig-year=1948|chapter=             ?            |title=Religious Orders Vol I: The Old Monastic Orders & the Friars 1216-1340 & the Monasteries in their World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9BjEJcCKyFAC|volume=1|edition=Third|publication-place=Cambridge, Great Britain|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=163|isbn=978-0-521-29566-6 }}</ref>