interdict

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interdict is a papal prohibition which operated at various levels. A general interdict could be imposed only by the pope. Pope Alexander III placed Scotland under an interdict when William ‘the Lion’ rejected the papal nominee to the see of St Andrews in 1178, and Innocent III issued an interdict against England when John in 1206 refused to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. The Scottish interdict ended in compromise after ten years, when the royal nominee died and the pope's candidate accepted the see of Dunkeld instead. Innocent's interdict forbade all ceremonies save baptism of infants and confessions for the dying: it operated from 1208 and John was excommunicated in 1209. John resisted strongly but in 1213, beset by baronial opposition, he surrendered completely, agreeing to hold his kingdom as the pope's vassal. The interdict was lifted in 1214.

J. A. Cannon

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