Today's King is John. AKA "Bad" King John.
But was he really bad? Popular culture like Robin Hood stories and film paint him out to be a petty, cruel tyrant desperately hanging on to his power.... but the reality is more complex.
So, on to John!
-Being the fifth son of Henry II, he was an unlikely heir and inherited no lands. He was often called "John Lackland," a name he hated.
- A name he hated even more was that of "John the Soft Sword," a name given to him by some barons due to his lack of war victories (compared to Richard... a tough act to follow,) and rumors of his impotence in bed.
- Was the favored son of his father, being given some small amounts of land, but betrayed his father in the end.
- Was left to administer a severely drained economy when his brother, Richard, left on crusade. He was not taken seriously by the barons, who grew powerful and corrupt in the King's absence. There's evidence that John supported his brother, working against the barons, and even putting down a rebellion. However, after years of running the kingdom himself, John rebelled against Richard.
- Allied himself with the King of France in order to try to keep England's French holdings intact. This made him unpopular with the barons and the people, but the idea was that if Richard died, John would not lose Anjou, Brittany, Normany, and Aquitaine. Currying favor with the French was necessary, but unpopular.
- Richard returned, throwing everything into disarray, but forgave his brother... then left and promptly died. John ascended to the throne anyway... but now had his brother's war with France to deal with.
- Though he did well initially against the French, the Barons did not like John like they had Richard. Many Barons turned against John and helped the French. Soon, John had lost almost all the French land to Phillip, the King of France... only Aquitaine remained.
- Was known to have many mistresses, some of whom were already married. This did not endear him to the church nor the nobles. However, when he married Isabella of Angouleme, he seems to have sworn off his philandering entirely. Regardless, his liaisons with married noblewomen was one of the primary "complaints" the barons had when they rebelled against him. (We know now that most of the contemporary historians who slandered John were in league with barons who wished for sympathy.)
- Was king during one of the worst harvest seasons the British Isles had seen in centuries. Food prices shot up, villages dried up. John was notoriously frugal, and held his silver coins in order to save them up for war... this caused inflation in England that would get progressively worse.
- This of course, was all blamed on John. The Barons were outraged and humiliated, and many had lost land. To try to keep the war going, John had raised taxes and taken lands from rebellious or disloyal barons. The barons rebelled against John.
- Wound up in a fight against the Pope, again, over the appointment of bishops. Pope Innocent, an extremely pushy and ambitious pope, excommunicated John. John responded by reaching out to the Muslims for support. Some even say that John offered to make England switch to Islam. Needless to say, this arrangement went nowhere.
- In the wake of the Baron's war, the Pope and the Barons asked Prince Louis of France (son of Phillip) to come be king. Louis was accepted by the barons and became King Louis of England for a time, though it is unclear if he was ever actually crowned. He remained a rival for the throne until John's death.
- John lost, and in 1215, was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a document that limited the King's powers to being under the law of the land.... it gave powers to the nobles. (Not the English people, as some think. Just the lords, all things told.)
- Neither John nor the Barons stuck to their agreements. The Barons fell on each other, some joining John, some standing firmly against him. John regrouped and started building another army.
- John surprised many when, instead of fighting the Barons, he resumed his war against France in order to get Normandy back. But before he could do so, the Barons rebelled again, forcing John to fight his own people instead.
- Before anything could happen, however, John headed north along the coast. En Route, his baggage train was lost to a fast rising tide. John lost most of his stuff, including the crown jewels.
- John then headed west, but dysentery did what the barons could not... John died, unlamented. The Barons decided to back his son, Henry, who was only 9 years old, and would be easier to control. King Louis was unceremoniously told to go home.
So, wicked king? Or a king slandered by ungrateful barons? You be the judge!
But was he really bad? Popular culture like Robin Hood stories and film paint him out to be a petty, cruel tyrant desperately hanging on to his power.... but the reality is more complex.
So, on to John!
-Being the fifth son of Henry II, he was an unlikely heir and inherited no lands. He was often called "John Lackland," a name he hated.
- A name he hated even more was that of "John the Soft Sword," a name given to him by some barons due to his lack of war victories (compared to Richard... a tough act to follow,) and rumors of his impotence in bed.
- Was the favored son of his father, being given some small amounts of land, but betrayed his father in the end.
- Was left to administer a severely drained economy when his brother, Richard, left on crusade. He was not taken seriously by the barons, who grew powerful and corrupt in the King's absence. There's evidence that John supported his brother, working against the barons, and even putting down a rebellion. However, after years of running the kingdom himself, John rebelled against Richard.
- Allied himself with the King of France in order to try to keep England's French holdings intact. This made him unpopular with the barons and the people, but the idea was that if Richard died, John would not lose Anjou, Brittany, Normany, and Aquitaine. Currying favor with the French was necessary, but unpopular.
- Richard returned, throwing everything into disarray, but forgave his brother... then left and promptly died. John ascended to the throne anyway... but now had his brother's war with France to deal with.
- Though he did well initially against the French, the Barons did not like John like they had Richard. Many Barons turned against John and helped the French. Soon, John had lost almost all the French land to Phillip, the King of France... only Aquitaine remained.
- Was known to have many mistresses, some of whom were already married. This did not endear him to the church nor the nobles. However, when he married Isabella of Angouleme, he seems to have sworn off his philandering entirely. Regardless, his liaisons with married noblewomen was one of the primary "complaints" the barons had when they rebelled against him. (We know now that most of the contemporary historians who slandered John were in league with barons who wished for sympathy.)
- Was king during one of the worst harvest seasons the British Isles had seen in centuries. Food prices shot up, villages dried up. John was notoriously frugal, and held his silver coins in order to save them up for war... this caused inflation in England that would get progressively worse.
- This of course, was all blamed on John. The Barons were outraged and humiliated, and many had lost land. To try to keep the war going, John had raised taxes and taken lands from rebellious or disloyal barons. The barons rebelled against John.
- Wound up in a fight against the Pope, again, over the appointment of bishops. Pope Innocent, an extremely pushy and ambitious pope, excommunicated John. John responded by reaching out to the Muslims for support. Some even say that John offered to make England switch to Islam. Needless to say, this arrangement went nowhere.
- In the wake of the Baron's war, the Pope and the Barons asked Prince Louis of France (son of Phillip) to come be king. Louis was accepted by the barons and became King Louis of England for a time, though it is unclear if he was ever actually crowned. He remained a rival for the throne until John's death.
- John lost, and in 1215, was forced to sign the Magna Carta, a document that limited the King's powers to being under the law of the land.... it gave powers to the nobles. (Not the English people, as some think. Just the lords, all things told.)
- Neither John nor the Barons stuck to their agreements. The Barons fell on each other, some joining John, some standing firmly against him. John regrouped and started building another army.
- John surprised many when, instead of fighting the Barons, he resumed his war against France in order to get Normandy back. But before he could do so, the Barons rebelled again, forcing John to fight his own people instead.
- Before anything could happen, however, John headed north along the coast. En Route, his baggage train was lost to a fast rising tide. John lost most of his stuff, including the crown jewels.
- John then headed west, but dysentery did what the barons could not... John died, unlamented. The Barons decided to back his son, Henry, who was only 9 years old, and would be easier to control. King Louis was unceremoniously told to go home.
So, wicked king? Or a king slandered by ungrateful barons? You be the judge!