Question

1. why is it important for the catholic church to be able to control its own elections of archbishops? why shouldnt the king control both the crown (political) and the church (religious)?

background! for article 12!
the king was always in control of how much the people were taxed. generally he taxed depending on what he had to do for the realm. like, fighting wars, building castles, building bridges, churches, manors or other things. king john had fought many wars to retake the land him and his brothers lost and built excessive palaces and castles. these caused john to raise taxes on the lords, knights and especially serfs and commoners in order to pay for the wars and palaces. the income of lords and knights relied heavily on how much they could tax the peasants and give only a portion to the king, now they were giving almost all of what they taxed to the king.
article 12 (excerpt):
(12) noscutage or aid may be levied in our kingdom without its general consent... for these purposes only a reasonable aid may be levied. aids from the city of london are to be treated similarly.

• scutage: money paid to a lord to avoid military service - john to demand scutage during times of peace
• aid: in this context aid would be money demanded by john
• levied: imposing or collecting a tax by force
• general consent: a group in complete agreement

1. what is the subject of article 12? highlight keywords that tell us what the subject is.
2. who do you think wrote article 12? in other words who does it help most in society?
3. what is the purpose of article 12? what is it trying to do?
4. keep in mind article 61, who do you think are the trusted members of society to approve a taxes? explain why.

Explanation:

1. The subject of Article 12 is the levying of 'scutage' and 'aid' in the kingdom, with the key - words being "No 'scutage' or 'aid' may be levied", "general consent", "reasonable 'aid'".
2. Article 12 was likely written by those who were opposed to the king's arbitrary taxation, such as the barons. It helps the barons and other land - owning classes most as it restricts the king's power to levy taxes without their consent.
3. The purpose of Article 12 is to limit the king's power to impose taxes (scutage and aid) and to require the king to obtain general consent for such levies, thus curbing the king's fiscal authority.
4. The trusted members of society to approve taxes might be the barons and high - ranking church officials. The barons had a significant stake in the kingdom's finances and were directly affected by the king's tax policies. Church officials could also play a role as they had influence and landholdings, and their support could add legitimacy to tax - approval processes.

Answer:

1. The subject is the levying of 'scutage' and 'aid' with the need for general consent.
2. Likely written by barons; helps barons and land - owning classes most.
3. To limit the king's tax - levying power and require general consent for taxes.
4. Barons and high - ranking church officials; they have financial stakes and influence.