12141 
THE ANGEVINS 
55 
he was only a boy, and the old Saxon custom of electing from 
the royal family a man’who could lead in battle, prevailed. 
John was so thoroughly hated in France that the people 
refused to acknowledge him and supported the claim of 
Arthur. As a vassal of the king of‘ France, Arthur called 
upon his lord to protect his rights in the French provinces, 
and King Philip placed an army at his disposal. In 
the war that followed, Arthur was captured, and is said to 
have been murdered by his uncle. Certain it is that he dis- 
Appecared and was not heard of afterwards. 
Whether John committed the murder or not, Philip 
accused him of it and summoned him to Paris to answer for 
the death of Arthur. According to the feudal law, as John 
and Arthur were both his vassals, so far as their French 
Provinces were concerned, Philip had a right to try John in 
his own court. As John refused to appear, Philip doclared 
his estates forfeited, and immediately took ‚possession of 
Anjou, Normandy, and the other provinces north of the 
Loire which had belonged to the English king. When the 
news was brought to John that Philip was taking one castle 
after another, and that the people were acecepting his rule, 
he said, “Eet Philip go on; whatever he takes, I shall 
retake in a single day.” By and by he tried, but his 
army was defeated in 1214 at the battle of Bouvines in 
Flanders, By this battle England and Normandy became 
Scparated. 
Since the Norman conquest, there had been two TACCc8 in 
England, Normans and English; henceforth there was to be 
but one. There had been two languages, but from this time 
they gradually began to blend. "The proud Norman could 
no longer point to the despised English as a conquered 
race, for his own country had now been conquered, and he 
must call himself an Englishman. “'Thus the two races, 50 
long hostile, found at last that they had common Interests 
and common enemies.” 
61. John’s quarrei with the church.—John’s second trouble 
Was with the ehurch. "The Archbishop <f Canterbury had 
died, and the king and the clergy disagreed as to who 
Should be his successor, "” Pone suggested Stephen