churches were all closed, and to the men of that time
the closing of the church-doors was like the closing of the very gate
of heaven. In the choice of the punishment inflicted there was some
sign that the Papacy was hardly as strong in the thirteenth as it had
been in the eleventh century. Gregory VII. had smitten down kings by
personal excommunication; Innocent III. found it necessary to stir up
resistance against the king by inflicting sufferings on the people.
Yet there is no evidence of any indignation against the Pope. The
clergy rallied almost as one man round Innocent, and songs proceeded
from the monasteries which mocked the few official bishops who took
John's side as money-makers who cared more for marks than for Mark,
and more for lucre than for Luke, whilst John de Grey was branded with
the title of 'that beast of Norwich.' John taking no heed of the
popular feeling, seized the property of the clergy who obeyed the
interdict. Yet he was not without fear lest the barons should join the
clergy against him, and to keep them in obedience he compelled them to
entrust to him their eldest sons as hostages. One lady to whom this
order came replied that she would never give her son to a king who had
murdered his nephew.

10. =John Excommunicated. 1209.=--In =1209= Innocent excommunicated
John himself. John cared nothing for being excluded from the services
of the Church, but he knew that if the excommunication were published
in England few would venture to sit at table with him, or even to
speak with him. For some time he kept it out of the country, but it
became known that it had been pronounced at Rome, and even his own
dependents began to avoid his company. He feared lest the barons whom
he had wearied with heavy fines and taxes might turn against him, and
he needed large sums of money to defend himself against them. First he
turned on the Jews, threw them into prison, and after torturing those
who refused to pay, wrung from them 40,000_l._ The abbots were next
summoned before him and forced by threats to pay 100,000_l._ Besides
this the wealthy Cistercians had to pay an additional fine, the amount
of which is uncertain, but of which the lowest estimate is 27,000_l._
In =1211= some of the barons declared against John, but they were
driven from the country, and those who remained were harshly treated.
Some of their sons who had been taken as hostages were hanged or
starved to death.

[Illustration: Parsonage hou