ABSTRACT
If time-travelling medieval English barons were to land in modern Britain, they would probably be pretty chuffed right now. Back in the day, it must have seemed as if they had failed miserably in their attempts to restrain King John. No sooner had John conceded the Magna Carta on 15 June 1215, but Pope Innocent III annulled it, releasing the King from his oath to obey it. The Great Charter was legally valid for no more than three months, and England was effectively plunged into a civil war. To top it all, knowing King John would never be restrained by the Magna Carta, in a measure of desperation, the barons offered the crown of England to Prince Louis of France !
