King John and the Abbot of Canterbury

Anonymous, England (before 1665)

Literal Comprehension:

This is a story about King John of England and the Abbot of Canterbury. The rule of the king was not good, but the abbot was highly respected. So the King was jealous of him. He feared that the abbot was plotting against him. So the king called the abbot in his palace He threatened the abbot that he would be killed if he could not answer his three questions. The questions were: what was the king worth? How quickly could the king ride the whole world? And what did the king think at the moment? The questions were very deep. So, he asked for 15 days to answer them. The abbot went to Oxford and Cambridge Universities but could not find any wise person to answer him. At last, he went to his shepherd. The shepherd, disguising as the abbot, went to the king and answered all the questions. He replied to the king that Christ was sold for 30 pence and that he was worth 29 pence because he was 1 penny worse than Christ. In answer to the second question, he said that if he rose and rode with the sun, he could travel the world in 24 hours. Answering the third question, he said the king thought the abbot of Canterbury was replying, but he was the abbot’s shepherd. The king was

pleased with his answers and so forgave the shepherd as well as the abbot. He also offered the shepherd 4 nobles a week as a reward.

Interpretation:

This old balled is trying to say that rulers are cruel, jealous and corrupt who want to rule by anyway. King John wanted to dominate the Abbot and rule the kingdom. Besides, it tells us that bookish knowledge only can’t make us intellectual and matured but a man of practical knowledge can perform well. A fool may teach wit to Wiseman. The shepherd, although he was illiterate saved the Abbot from death. Further, it may be trying to teach us that absolute power corrupts the mind. There should be a balance of power so that rulers rule fairly. Here, the king has misused the power. If there was not total power, he wouldn’t threaten the Abbot.

Critical Thinking:

The balled is a piece of humor. It teaches us certain thing under the grab of satire and humor. It is suggestive with the well-balanced plot with a beginning, middle and ending with a solution. Honking critically, I like to raise some questions. Does the king have the right to kill the Abbot asking rude questions? Can a shepherd be wiser than the scholars? Can’t the king recognize whether he is Abbot or shepherd? Can a man ride around the world in 24 hours? Except for these points, I like the poem (story in the form of poem).

Assimilation:

This fable is interesting and thought provoking. It has taught me that rulers are corrupt and drunk of power and wealth. They don’t understand the desire and difficulties of people. Under absolute power, people can’t feel secure. Further, I learned that practical knowledge is as important as the knowledge of the book.


 “King John” recounts a conflict between the king and the Abbot.

a) Describe this conflict

b) Explain the reason for this conflict.

c) How is this resolved?

a) Ans.: Being jealous, King John asked Abbot to give the answers of his three different questions and threatened to take his life and property if he couldn’t give the answers in a fortnight’s period. But the Abbot couldn’t find the answers of his questions even going to Cambridge and Oxford University.

b) Ans.: The Abbot of Canterbury had good housekeeping and high popularity. King John couldn’t bear this popularity because of jealousy. That’s why he accused him of treason against his crown.

c) Ans.: The conflict is resolved when the Abbot’s shepherd disguised himself as the Abbot and went to London to answer the questions asked by King John.