[4] Educated at Bradford Grammar School, Holt's studies at The Queen's College, Oxford, were interrupted by war service with the British Army, including 14 months in north-west Europe in 1944–1945.
Several studies undertaken after the publication of the Second Edition have expanded on the turmoil between John and Pope Innocent III, most significantly the Albigensian Crusade.
Holt's original analysis noted similarties between the Statute of Pamiers and Magna Carta, but remained cautious and unwilling to claim a direct influence.
George Garnett and John Hudson write in the introduction of the Third Edition that "a picture of closer ties between the Crusade and developments in England can be sketched".
[9] Baronial leader Robert fitz Walter fled to France in 1212 where he was given the title "Marshal of the Army of God and of the Holy Church in England".