Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III
Image of Pope Innocent III, British Library

Biography

Pope Innocent III (c. 1160 – 1216) played a major role in the events surrounding Magna Carta, including its annulment in August 1215. He had previously made many attempts to enforce papal authority over secular rulers, and his determination to impose his judicial authority over the whole Latin Church culminated in the reforms of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.

Pope Innocent received messengers from King John in the summer of 1215, asking him to annul Magna Carta. The Pope issued a papal bull, which survives in the British Library, declaring Magna Carta to be ‘null and void of all validity for ever’, on the grounds that it was ‘illegal, unjust, harmful to royal rights and shameful to the English people’.

Name
Pope Innocent III
Born
Died
Gender
Male

This person is featured in:

Related articles

The origins of Magna Carta

The origins of Magna Carta

Article by:
Nicholas Vincent
Theme:
Medieval origins

Professor Nicholas Vincent explores the medieval context in which the historic agreement at Runnymede was created, examining King John’s Plantagenet heritage, his loss of French territory and his relationship with the Church and the barons.

Medieval kingship

Magna Carta and kingship

Article by:
Dan Jones
Theme:
Medieval origins

When Magna Carta was created, England had endured 16 years of John’s kingship – a rule based largely on extortion, legal chicanery, blackmail and violence. Here Dan Jones discusses King John's infamous reign.

Magna Carta timeline

Timeline of Magna Carta and its legacy

Article by:
Themes:
Legacy, Medieval origins

Stretching from 979 to 2015, this simple timeline charts the key events leading up to the declaration of Magna Carta in 1215, and explores the legacy of the document up to the present day.

View all related articles