Jean I 'Sans Terre' "King John of England" Plantagenêt Roi d'Angleterre (1167-1216) » Family tree Homs

Personal data Jean I 'Sans Terre' "King John of England" Plantagenêt Roi d'Angleterre

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Nickname is King John of England.
He was born on December 24, 1167 in Kings Manorhouse, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
{geni:event_description} Born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son and last of eight children born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Some authors, noting Henry's stay at Woodstock, near Oxford, with Eleanor in March 1166, assert that John was born in that year, and not 1167.[4][5]

John was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France, his mother's children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France, which was later annulled. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Leonora, Queen of Castile; and Joan, Queen of Sicily
He was christened in Worcester Cathedral.
Alternative: He was christened in King of England, 1199-1216.
Alternative: He was christened in King of England, 1199-1216.
Alternative: He was christened in King of England, 1199-1216.
Alternative: He was christened in Worcester Cathedral.
Alternative: He was christened in Worcester Cathedral.
Alternative: He was christened on March 31, 1167 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Alternative: He was christened on March 31, 1167 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Alternative: He was christened on March 31, 1167 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Alternative: He was christened on March 31, 1167 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on November 26, 1932.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on June 15, 1935.
Alternative: Baptized (at 8 years of age or later) by the priesthood authority of the LDS church on June 13, 1992.
He died on October 18, 1216 in Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, England, he was 48 years old.
{geni:event_description} Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This loss dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.
He is buried on October 19, 1216 in Worcester CathedralWorcester, England.
A child of Henri II 'Curtmantle' Plantagenêt and Aliénor d'Aquitaine
This information was last updated on March 5, 2012.

Household of Jean I 'Sans Terre' "King John of England" Plantagenêt Roi d'Angleterre

He is married to Isabelle d'Angoulême.

They got married on August 26, 1200 at Bordeaux, Gironde, France, he was 32 years old.

{geni:event_description} Annulled on the grounds of consanguinity.

Child(ren):

Henry III Plantagenet 1207-????

Notes about Jean I 'Sans Terre' "King John of England" Plantagenêt Roi d'Angleterre

Please find below a revised listing of the bastard children of King John. The list has been augmented by many new references, corrections, and additions since my last posting of this listing. The new listing includes Philip "Fiz Le Rey" [i.e., Philip the king's son]) found in a 1263 Sussex fine as a possible bastard child of King John.

Also, it appears there may be a link between Isabel, wife of Richard Fitz Ives, and another royal bastard, Eudes Fitz Roy. I've learned that in 1245, Isabel's son and heir, William Fitz Ives, sued Giles de Chanceaux regarding property in Cornwall. This is surely the same man who was granted Eudes Fitz Roy's properties in Essex on his death without issue in 1242. The Fitz Ives and Chanceaux link deserves further study.

Comments are invited.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

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REVISED LISTING OF BASTARD CHILDREN OF KING JOHN OF ENGLAND:

Legitimated child of John of England, by a mistress, Clemence _____:

i. JOAN OF ENGLAND, married LLYWELYN AP IORWERTH, Prince of North Wales [see WAKE 4].

Illegitimate child of John of England, by a mistress, _____ de Warenne, daughter of Hamelin, 5th Earl of Surrey, by Isabel, daughter and heiress of William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey [see WARENNE 2]:

i. RICHARD FITZ ROY (or DE WARENNE), Knt., Baron of Chilham, Kent, married ROSE DE DOVER [see ATHOLL 4].

Illegitimate child of John of England, by a mistress, Hawise _____:

i. OLIVER FITZ ROY. He defended Wolvesey Castle for Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, in 1216. In 1217 he was granted the lands formerly held by Peter Fitz Herbert to sustain him in the king's service. In 1218 he arrived with other English knights at Damietta in the company of Papal legate, Pelayo. He did not return. H.R. Luard, Chronica Majora 3 (1876): 40-41. C.P.R., 1216-1225 (1901), pp. 42-43,92. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. J.M. Powell, Anatomy of a Crusade (1986), pg. 235. N. Vincent, Peter des Roches (1996), pp. 71,175.

Illegitimate children of John of England, by an unknown mistress (or mistresses):

i. JOHN FITZ ROY, evidently a clerk, supported by the custodians of the see of Lincoln in 1201. D.M. Stenton, Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1201 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 14) (1936), pp. xix,192-193. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102.

ii. GEOFFREY FITZ ROY. In 1204 he received a loan by the pledge of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, and Peter de Stokes. In 1205 he led an expedition into Poitou and died the same year. Curia Regis Rolls 3 (1926): 321 (suit dated 1205: " ... quam diu predictus Radulfus [de Trublevill] fuerit in servicio nostro in Pictavia cum Gaufrido filio nostro"). D.M. Stenton, Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1204 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 18) (1940), pp. xxxv-xxxvj,xlj,33,60,87,131. D.M. Stenton, Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1205 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 19) (1941), pp. xviij-xix,19,79-80. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102.

iii. HENRY FITZ ROY, Knt., of Waltham, Ashby, Brigsley, Gonerby (in Hatcliffe), Hawerby, and North Coates, co. Lincoln, and Chilham, Kent. He was sent as a student to the Prior of Kenilworth in 1207. In 1215 he was granted the lands of Robert Fitz Walter in Cornwall. In 1217 he and Ralph de Raleigh were granted the manor of Waltham, co. Lincoln formerly held by Alan Fitz Count to sustain them in royal service. In 1231 he was granted all of the land of Henry de Avaugor, a Norman, in Waltham, co. Lincoln. He married before 1236 EVE DE BLANCHMINSTER (or WHITCHURCH), widow of William de Champernoun (living 1230), of Umberleigh (in Atherington) and High Bickington, Devon, and daughter and heiress of Reynold de Blanchminster (or Whitchurch) (living 1248), of Shrivenham and Winterbourne (in Chieveley), co. Berks, and Bolney, co. Oxford, by his 1st wife, Alice, daughter and co-heiress of Nicholas de Bolney. They had no issue. SIR HENRY FITZ ROY died shortly before 8 Apr. 1245. His widow, Eve, married (3rd) before 30 June 1252 Giles de Clifford (living 1276). C.Ch.R. 1 (1895): 137 (styled "Henry the king's brother"). J.L. Vivian, Visitations of the County of Devon (1895), pp. 160. C.P.R., 1216-1225 (1901), pp. 128, 574 ("Henricus filius regis"). C.C.R., 1227-1231 (1902), pg. 51. C.P.R., 1225-1232 (1903), pp. 311 ("Henricus frater regis"), 357,441. C.C.R., 1234-1237 (1908), pg. 219 ("Henrico fratri regis"). Book of Fees 1 (1920): 362 ("Henricus frater regis"), 617 ("Henricus filius regis"); 2 (1923): 660,675,1021 (instances of "Henricus filius Regis"). C.P.R., 1232-1247 (1906), pp. 20,296,450. C.C.R., 1237-1242 (1911), pg. 511 ("Henricum filium regis"). VCH Berkshire 3 (19??): 424; 4 (1924): 63,513,533. C.C.R., 1251-1253 (1927), pg. 116. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. C.P. 12 Pt. 2 (1959): 645 (sub Wilington). Curia Regis Rolls 13 (1959): 138,215,283 ("Henricus filius regis John"), 290,364-365,371,514,542; 15 (1972): 83,449 (styled "Henricum filium le Rey"). R.A. Brown, Memoranda Roll for the Tenth Year of the Reign of King John (1207-8) (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 31) (1957), pg. 137 (Henry called "our son" [filio nostro] by King John). NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. B.R. Kemp, Reading Abbey Cartularies 1 (Camden, 4th ser., vol. 31) (1986): 375. S.D. Church, Household Knights of King John (1999), pg. 127.

iv. OSBERT GIFFORD, Knt. In 1215 he received the lands of Thomas de Ardern in Oxfordshire. In 1216 he likewise received Ardern's lands in Bundes, Norfolk, and elsewhere in Suffolk, Essex, and Sussex, and the lands of Aumary Despenser, Roger Fitz Nicholas, and Ralph Bluet in Oxfordshire. SIR OSBERT GIFFORD died in 1248. Ancestor 3 (1902): 227 (his arms: Ermine two bars gules, on a chief gules a leopard or). Genealogist n.s. 28 (1922): 128-129. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. T.D. Tremlett, Rolls of Arms Henry III (Harleian Soc. Pub., vols. 113-114) (1967), pg. 47.

v. EUDES (or IVES) FITZ ROY, of Canewdon, Essex. In 1233 he was granted lands in Aldbury, co. Hertford. He had an exchequer fee of £20 granted to him in 1237. In the period, c. 1227/41, he witnessed a charter for his brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, to Launceston Priory in Cornwall. In 1240 he joined Earl Richard on a crusade to the Holy Land. EUDES FITZ ROY died there testate shortly before 21 Jan. 1241/2. His lands in Essex were granted to Giles de Chanceaux in 1242. No known descendants. G. Oliver, Monasticon Diocesis Exonienses (1846), pg. 23. C.C.R., 1231-1234 (1905), pg. 210 ("Eudoni filio regis"). C.P.R., 1232-1247 (1906), pp. 179 ("Eudo the king's brother"), 270 ("Eudo son of R. the king's brother"), 314 ("Eudo the king's brother"). C.C.R., 1237-1242 (1911), pp. 73 ("Eudoni fratri regis"), 386-387 ("Eudonis fratris regis"), 387 ("Ivonis fratris domini regis"), 532 ("Eudonis fratris nostri"). Cal. Liberate Rolls 1 (1916), pg. 263. N. Denholm-Young, Richard of Cornwall (1947), pp. 41,112. P.L. Hull, Cartulary of Launceston Priory (Devon & Cornwall Rec. Soc., n.s., vol. 30) (1987) 12 ("Yvo brother of the earl" [Richard, Earl of Cornwall]).

vi. BARTHOLOMEW FITZ ROY, clerk, papal chaplain, member of the order of Friars Preachers, living Aug. 1254. Papal Registers: Letters 1 (1893): 281,286,305.

vii. MAUD FITZ ROY, nun, elected Abbess of Barking 5 Aug. 1247; died shortly before 6 Feb. 1252. Sir William Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum 1 (1817): 437,441 ("Dame Maud la file le Roy John"). VCH Essex 2 (1907): 120.

Alleged illegitimate child of John of England, by an unknown mistress, _____:

i. ISABEL FITZ ROY, married RICHARD FITZ IVES, Knt., lord of Degembris (in Newlyn East), Cornwall. They had two sons, William Fitz Richard, Knt. (of Degembris and Penhallow [both in Newlyn East], Lanisley (in Gulival), and Rosneython and Trenoweth-Chammon [both in St. Keverne]) and Richard Fitz Richard (clerk), and one daughter, Isabel (wife of Belyn Hellegan, Knt.). He gave tithes in Gruguth (in St. Keverne), Cornwall. SIR RICHARD FITZ IVES allegedly died in 1207. Modern descendants (not traced). Herald and Genealogist 7 (1873): 229-231 (Isabel styled "filie Regis Joh'is"). Sir John Maclean, Parochial and Family Hist. of the Deanery of Trigg Minor 1 (1876): 317. J.L. Vivian, Visitations of Cornwall (1887), pg. 30. G.D. Stawell, A Quantock Family: The Stawells of Cothelstone and their Descendants (1910), pp. 44-45. J.H. Rowe, Cornwall Feet of Fines 1 (1914): 17,49,54-55,58-59,91-92,171,438-440. C.R.R. 11 (1955), pg. 473; 12 (1957): 189. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. C.R.R. 18 (1999): 362-363. Harleian MS. 4031, ff. 76b,81.

Possible illegitimate child of John of England, by an unknown mistress, _____:

i. PHILIP FITZ ROY (possible child). In 1263 he and his wife, Lavina, conveyed lands at Bignor, Pebmarsh, and Petworth, Surrey to Henry Fitz [le] Roy, perhaps their son. L.F. Salzman, Abstract of Feet of Fines Relating to the County of Sussex (Sussex Rec. Soc., vol. 7) (1908), pg. 45 ("Ph[illip]um Fiz Le Rey" [i.e., Philip the king's son]) (cf. W. Hudson, Three Earliest Subsidies for the County of Sussex in the Years 1296,1327,1332 (Sussex Rec. Soc., vol. 19) (1910), pp. 73,95 (references to "Henr[icus] fyz le Rey" on 1296 Sussex subsidy).

The following is a list of eleven bastard children of King John of England which I've assembled from a variety of sources. If anyone has any additions or corrections to this material, please let me know. The first two children listed, Richard Fitz Roy (or de Warenne), Baron of Chilham, Kent, and Joan, wife of Llywelyn ap Iowerth, Prince of North Wales, have many modern descendants.

Although sometimes questioned, I accept Isabel, wife of Richard Fitz Ives, Knt., as a bastard daughter of King John. Isabel appears to have modern descendants. Besides Isabel, I've also included a new bastard child for King John not commonly found on such lists, namely Maud Fitz Roy, Abbess of Barking, whose identity is proven by the sources cited below.

Sidney Painter, King John's historian, says of him: ".... cruel, lecherous, and deceitful." Surely the number of illegitimate children listed below for King John proves the lecherous part.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

E-mail: (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX)

- - - - - - - - - - - - BASTARD CHILDREN OF KING JOHN OF ENGLAND

Illegitimate child of John of England, by a mistress, _____ de Warenne:

i. RICHARD FITZ ROY (or DE WARENNE), Knt., Baron of Chilham, Kent, married ROSE DE DOVER [see ATHOLL 4].

Illegitimate child of John of England, by a mistress, Clemence _____:

i. JOAN OF ENGLAND, married LLYWELYN AP IORWERTH, Prince of North Wales [see WAKE 4].

Illegitimate child of John of England, by a mistress, Hawise _____:

i. OLIVER FITZ ROY. He defended Wolvesey Castle for Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, in 1216. In 1217 he was granted the lands formerly held by Peter Fitz Herbert to sustain him in the king';s service. In 1218 he arrived with other English knights at Damietta in the company of Papal legate, Pelayo. He did not return. H.R. Luard, Chronica Majora 3 (1876): 40-41. C.P.R., 1216-1225 (1901), pp. 42-43,92. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. J.M. Powell, Anatomy of a Crusade (1986), pg. 235. N. Vincent, Peter des Roches (1996), pp. 71,175.

Illegitimate children of John of England, by an unknown mistress (or mistresses):

i. ISABEL FITZ ROY, married RICHARD FITZ IVES, Knt., lord of Degembris (in Newlyn East), Cornwall. They had two sons, William Fitz Richard, Knt. (of Degembris and Penhallow [both in Newlyn East], Lanisley, and Rosneython [in St. Keverne]) and Richard Fitz Richard (clerk), and one daughter, Isabel (wife of Belyn Hellegan, Knt.). He gave tithes in Gruguth (in St. Keverne), Cornwall. SIR RICHARD FITZ IVES died in 1207. Modern descendants (not traced in this book). Herald and Genealogist 7 (1873): 229-231. Sir John Maclean, Parochial and Family Hist. of the Deanery of Trigg Minor 1 (1876): 317. J.L. Vivian, Visitations of Cornwall (1887), pg. 30. J.H. Rowe, Cornwall Feet of Fines 1 (1914): 17,49,54-55,58-59,91-92,171,438-440. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. Harleian MS. 4031, ff. 76b,81 (not seen).

ii. JOHN FITZ ROY, evidently a clerk, supported by the custodians of the see of Lincoln in 1201. D.M. Stenton, Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1201 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 14) (1936), pp. xix,192-193. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102.

iii. GEOFFREY FITZ ROY. In 1204 he received a loan by the pledge of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, and Peter de Stokes. In 1205 he led an expedition into Poitou and died the same year. Curia Regis Rolls 3 (1926): 321 (suit dated 1205: "... quam diu predictus Radulfus [de Trublevill] fuerit in servicio nostro in Pictavia cum Gaufrido filio nostro"). D.M. Stenton, Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1204 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 18) (1940), pp. xxxv-xxxvj,xlj,33,60,87,131. D.M. Stenton Great Roll of the Pipe Michaelmas 1205 (Pipe Roll Soc., n.s., vol. 19) (1941), pp. xviij-xix,19,79-80. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102.

iv. HENRY FITZ ROY, Knt., of Waltham, Ashby, Brigsley, Gonerby (in Hatcliffe), Hawerby, and North Coates, co. Lincoln, and Chilham, Kent. He was sent as a student to the Prior of Kenilworth in 1207. In 1215 he was granted the lands of Robert Fitz Walter in Cornwall. In 1217 he and Ralph de Raleigh were granted the manor of Waltham, co. Lincoln to sustain them in royal service. In 1231 he was granted all of the land of Henry de la Vaugoz, a Norman, in the soke of Waltham, co. Lincoln. He married before 1236 EVE DE WHITCHURCH, widow of William de Champernoun (living 1230), of Umberleigh (in Atherington) and High Bickington, Devon, and daughter and heiress of Reynold de Whitchurch, of Shrivenham and Winterbourne (in Chieveley), co. Berks, by his 1st wife, Alice, daughter and co-heiress of Nicholas de Bolney. They had no issue. SIR HENRY FITZ ROY died shortly before 8 Apr. 1245. His widow, Eve, married (3rd) before 30 June 1252 Giles de Clifford (living 1276). C.Ch.R. 1 (1895): 137. J.L. Vivian, Visitations of the County of Devon (1895), pp. 160. Book of Fees 1: 362,617; 2 (1923): 660,675,1021. C.P.R., 1232-1247 (1906), pp. 20,296,450. C.C.R., 1237-1242 (1911), pg. 511. VCH Berkshire 4 (1924): 63,533. C.C.R., 1251-1253 (1927), pg. 116. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102. C.P. 12 Pt. 2 (1959): 645 (sub Wilington). Curia Regis Rolls 13 (1959): 514; 15 (1972): 83,449. S.D. Church, Household Knights of King John (1999), pg. 127.

v. OSBERT GIFFORD. In 1215 he received the lands of Thomas de Ardern in Oxfordshire. In 1216 he likewise received Ardern's lands in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex. In 1216 he and his wife received safe conduct to confer with King John. His subsequent history is unknown. Ancestor 3 (1902): 227 (his arms: Ermine, 2 bars gules, a chief gules with a leopard or in chief). Genealogist n.s. 28 (1922): 128-129. S. Painter, Reign of King John (1949), pp. 232-233. NEHGR 119 (1965): 94-102.

vi. EUDES FITZ ROY, of Canewdon, Essex. In 1233 he was granted lands in Aldbury, co. Hertford. He had an exchequer fee iof £20 granted to him in 1237. In 1240 he joined his half-brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall on a crusade to the Holy Land. EUDES FITZ ROY died there testate shortly before 21 Jan. 1241/2. His lands in Essex were granted to Giles de Chanceaus in 1242. No known descendants. G. Oliver, Monasticon Diocesis Exonienses (1846), pg. 23. C.C.R., 1231-1234 (1905), pg. 210. C.P.R., 1232-1247 (1906), pp. 179,270,314. C.C.R., 1237-1242 (1911), pp. 387,532. Cal. Liberate Rolls 1 (1916), pg. 263. N. Denholm-Young, Richard of Cornwall (1947), pp. 41,112.

vii. BARTHOLOMEW FITZ ROY, clerk, papal chaplain, member of the order of Friars Preachers, living Aug. 1254. Papal Registers: Letters 1 (1893): 281,286,305.

viii. MAUD FITZ ROY, nun, elected Abbess of Barking 5 Aug. 1247; died shortly before 6 Feb. 1252. Sir William Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum 1 (1817): 437,441. VCH Essex 2 (1907): 120.

Signed Magna Carta in 1215

The statement in the legitimization of Joan, daughter of king John and wife of prince Llywelyn, that each of her parents were unmarried at the time of her birth, does not imply she was born prior to John's first marriage, to Isabelle de Clare in 1189. This marriage had been annulled by the time of Joan's legitimization, and would have been considered by the clerics not to have occurred.

It might be that the legitimization does imply that, by the time of John's second marriage, to Isabelle of Angouleme, that Joan's mother was either dead or had become a nun, otherwise the legitimacy of king Henry III might have been called into question.

It might also be that the reference in Joan's obituary to her mother as "queen Clementia" implies that Clemence, mother of Joan, did not die or become a nun until after John's accession.

I suspect that in the minds of the monks and clerics who recorded things, these annulments and legitimizations created a virtual world in which annulled real world marriages did not exist, and appropriate legitimizing marriages did exist, with all appropriate side effect implications, including Clemence having been queen..

- Paul K. Davis - (XXXXX@XXXX.XXX)

King John had illegitimate children over the entire course of his adult life. He was a very busy man in the bedroom. One of his older bastard sons, Geoffrey, received a loan by the pledge of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, and Peter de Stokes in 1204. In 1205 he led an expedition into Poitou and died the same year. King John likewise had another illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married before 23 Mar. 1204/5 Llywelyn ap Iowerth, Prince of North Wales. Consequently, it is possible that King John was the father of Isabel, wife of Richard Fitz Ives, who allegedly died in 1207. By the way, I have reason to suppose that Isabel survived Richard Fitz Ives for many years and remarried.

Second, Isabel de Beaupre is not the same person as King John's bastard daughter, Isabel, wife of Richard Fitz Ives. As best I can tell, Isabel de Beaupre is a later day descendant and the senior heiress of the Fitz Ives family. I didn't mean to imply that the two Isabel's were the same person.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

GIVN John
SURN Plantagenet
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PUBL Release date: March 31, 1997
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PUBL Release date: March 31, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
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DATE 9 SEP 2000
TIME 13:17:24

(Research):John Encyclopædia Britannica Article born Dec. 24, 1167, Oxford died Oct. 18/19, 1216, Newark, Nottinghamshire, Eng. John of England, from an early 14th century illumination The Granger Collection, New York City byname John Lackland, French Jean Sans Terre king of England from 1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215). Youth and rivalry for the crown John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry's plan (1173) to assign to John, his favourite son (whom he had nicknamed Lackland), extensive lands upon his marriage with the daughter of Humbert III, count of Maurienne (Savoy), was defeated by the rebellion the proposal provoked among John's elder brothers. Various provisions were made for him in England (1174-76), including the succession to the earldom of Gloucester. He was also granted the lordship of Ireland (1177), which he visited from April to late 1185, committing youthful political indiscretions from which he acquired a reputation for reckless irresponsibility. Henry's continued favour to him contributed to the rebellion of his eldest surviving son, Richard I (later called Coeur de Lion), in June 1189. For obscure reasons John deserted Henry for Richard. On Richard's accession in July 1189, John was made count of Mortain (a title that became his usual style), was confirmed as lord of Ireland, was granted lands and revenues in England worth £6,000 a year, and was married to Isabella, heiress to the earldom of Gloucester. He also had to promise (March 1190) not to enter England during Richard's absence on his crusade. But John's actions were now dominated by the problem of the succession, in which his nephew, the three-year-old Arthur I, duke of Brittany, the son of his deceased elder brother Geoffrey, was his only serious rival. When Richard recognized Arthur as his heir (October 1190), John immediately broke his oath and returned to England, where he led the opposition to Richard's dictatorial chancellor, William Longchamp. On receiving the news in January 1193 that Richard, on his way back from the crusade, had been imprisoned in Germany, John allied himself with King Philip II Augustus of France and attempted unsuccessfully to seize control of England. In April 1193 he was forced to accept a truce but made further arrangements with Philip for the division of Richard's possessions and for rebellion in England. On Richard's return, early in 1194, John was banished and deprived of all his lands. He was reconciled to Richard in May and recovered some of his estates, including Mortain and Ireland, in 1195, but his full rehabilitation came only after the Bretons had surrendered Arthur to Philip II in 1196. This led Richard to recognize John as his heir. Accession to the throne. In 1199 the doctrine of representative succession, which would have given the throne to Arthur, was not yet generally accepted, and following Richard's death in April 1199 John was invested as duke of Normandy and in May crowned king of England. Arthur, backed by Philip II, was recognized as Richard's successor in Anjou and Maine, and it was only a year later, in the Treaty of Le Goulet, that John was recognized as successor in all Richard's French possessions, in return for financial and territorial concessions to Philip. War with France. The renewal of war in France was triggered by John's second marriage. His first wife, Isabella of Gloucester, was never crowned, and in 1199 the marriage was dissolved on grounds of consanguinity, both parties being great-grandchildren of Henry I. John then intervened in the stormy politics of his county of Poitou and, while trying to settle the differences between the rival families of Lusignan and Angoulême, himself married Isabella (August 1200), the heiress to Angoulême, who had been betrothed to Hugh IX de Lusignan. This politically conceived marriage provoked the Lusignans into rebellion the next year; they appealed to Philip II, who summoned John to appear before his court. In the general war that followed his failure to answer this summons, John had a temporary success at Mirebeau in August 1202, when Arthur of Brittany was captured, but Normandy was quickly lost (1204). By 1206, Anjou, Maine, and parts of Poitou had also gone over to King Philip. These failures, foreshadowed under Henry II and Richard, were brought about by the superiority of French resources and the increasing strain on those of England and Normandy. Nevertheless, they were a damaging blow to John's prestige, and, equally important, they meant that John resided now almost permanently in England. This factor, coinciding with the death (1205) of the chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, gave his government a much more personal stamp, which was accentuated by the promotion of members of his household to important office. His determination to reverse the continental failure bore fruit in ruthlessly efficient financial administration, marked by taxation on revenues, investigations into the royal forests, taxation of the Jews, a great inquiry into feudal tenures, and the increasingly severe exploitation of his feudal prerogatives. These measures provided the material basis for the charges of tyranny later brought against him. Quarrel with the church. John's attention was diverted and his prestige disastrously affected by relations with the papacy. In the disputed election to the see of Canterbury following the death of Hubert Walter, Pope Innocent III quashed the election of John's nominee in procuring the election of Stephen Langton (December 1206). John, taking his ground on the traditional rights of the English crown in episcopal elections, refused to accept Langton. In March 1208, Innocent laid an interdict on England and excommunicated John (November 1209). The quarrel continued until 1213, by which time John had amassed more than £100,000 from the revenues of vacant or appropriated sees and abbeys. But such a dispute was a dangerous hindrance to John's intention to recover his continental lands. In November 1212 he agreed to accept Langton and the Pope's terms. Apparently at his own behest, he surrendered his kingdom to the papal nuncio at Ewell, near Dover, on May 15, 1213, receiving it back as a vassal rendering a tribute of 1,000 marks (£666 13s. 4d.) a year. He was absolved from excommunication by Langton in July 1213, and the interdict was finally relaxed a year later. John thus succeeded in his aim to secure the papacy as a firm ally in the fight with Philip and in the struggle already pending with his own baronage. But his treatment of the church during the interdict, although arousing little if any opposition among the laity at the time, angered monastic chroniclers, who henceforth loaded him with charges of tyranny, cruelty, and, with less reason, of sacrilege and irreligion. Baronial rebellion and the Magna Carta. In August 1212 recurrent baronial discontent had come to a head in an unsuccessful plot to murder or desert John during a campaign planned against the Welsh. Pope Innocent's terms had included the restoration of two of those involved, Eustace de Vesci and Robert Fitzwalter, and, although the barons soon lost papal support, they retained the protection of Stephen Langton. John, skillfully isolating the malcontents, was able to launch his long-planned campaign against the French, landing at La Rochelle in February 1214. He achieved nothing decisive and was forced to accept a truce lasting until 1220. Returning to England in October 1214, he now had to face much more widespread discontent, centred mainly on the northern, East Anglian, and home counties. After lengthy negotiations in which both sides appealed to the Pope, civil war broke out in May 1215. John was compelled to negotiate once more when London went over to the rebels in May, and on June 19 at Runnymede he accepted the baronial terms embodied in the Magna Carta, which ensured feudal rights and restated English law. This settlement was soon rendered unworkable by the more intransigent barons and John's almost immediate appeal to Pope Innocent against it. Innocent took the King's side, and in the ensuing civil war John captured Rochester castle and laid waste the northern counties and the Scottish border. But his cause was weakened by the arrival of Prince Louis (later Louis VIII) of France, who invaded England at the barons' request. John continued to wage war vigorously but died, leaving the issues undecided. His death made possible a compromise peace, including the restoration of the rebels, the succession of his son Henry III, and the withdrawal of Louis. Assessment John's reputation, bad at his death, was further depressed by writers of the next generation. Of all centuries prior to the present, only the 16th, mindful of his quarrel with Rome, recognized some of his quality. He was suspicious, vengeful, and treacherous; Arthur I of Brittany was probably murdered in captivity, and Matilda de Braose, the wife of a recalcitrant Marcher baron, was starved to death with her son in a royal prison. But John was cultured and literate. Conventional in his religion rather than devout, he was remembered for his benefactions to the church of Coventry, to Reading Abbey, and to Worcester, where he was buried and where his effigy still survives. He was extraordinarily active, with a great love of hunting and a readiness to travel that gave him a knowledge of England matched by few other monarchs. He took a personal interest in judicial and financial administration, and his reign saw important advances at the Exchequer, in the administration of justice, in the importance of the privy seal and the royal household, in methods of taxation and military organization, and in the grant of chartered privileges to towns. If his character was unreliable, his political judgment was acute. In 1215 many barons, including some of the most distinguished, fought on his side.

Source #1: Frederick Lewis Weis, "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700" - Seventh Edition, with additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., assisted by Davis Faris (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1995), p. 3

Source #2: Douglas Richardson, "Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families" (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2004), pp. 520-521; 493

Weis, p. 82; 134. - Earl of Surrey; died c. Michaelmas, 1304.

Source #2: George Edward Cokayne, "The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant or Dormant," New Edition, Revised and Much Enlarged, Edited by The Hon. Vicary Gibbs and H. A. Doubleday (London: The St. Catherine Press, 1926), Vol XII (I), pp. 503-507.

Source #3: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey

John de Warenne (1231? – September 27, 1304), 7th Earl of Surrey or Warenne, was prominent during the reigns of Henry III and Edward I. During his long life he fought in the Second Barons' War and in Edward I's wars in Scotland.

He was the son of William de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Maud (or Matilda) Marshal. His mother was the daughter of William Marshal and widow of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. Thus Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, was his elder half-brother.

Warenne was a boy when his father died, and for the rest of his minority Peter of Savoy was the guardian of his estates. In 1247 he married Henry III's half-sister Alice de Lusignan. This marriage was to create resentment amongst the English nobility, who did not like seeing a wealthy English nobleman marrying a penniless outsider.

During the following years Warenne was closely associated with the court faction centering on his in-laws. In 1254 he accompanied the king's son Edward (the future Edward I) on Edward's journey to Spain to marry Eleanor of Castile.

During the conflicts between Henry III and his barons Warenne started as a strong supporter of the king, switched to support for Simon de Montfort, and then returned to the royalist party. He opposed the initial baronial reform plan of May 1258, but along with other opponents capitulated and took the oath of the Provisions of Oxford.

By 1260 Warenne had joined the party of Simon de Montfort, but switched back to the king's side in 1263. After the Battle of Lewes, which was fought near his castle at Lewes, he fled to the Continent, where he remained for about a year. He returned to fight in the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Evesham and the siege of Kenilworth Castle.

Warenne served in Edward I's Welsh campaigns in 1277, 1282, and 1283. In 1282 he received the lordships of Bromfield and Yale in Wales. A good part of the following years were spent in Scotland. He was one of the negotiators for the 1289 treaty of Salisbury and for the 1290 treaty of Birgham, and accompanied the king on Edward's 1296 invasion of Scotland.

On August 22, 1296 the king appointed him "warden of the kingdom and land of Scotland". However he returned to England a few months later claiming that the Scottish climate was bad for his health. The following spring saw the rebellion of William Wallace, and after much delay Warenne led an army northward, where they were defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

Nevertheless the king appointed Warenne captain of the next campaign against the Scots in early 1298. He raised the siege of Roxburgh and re-took the castle at Berwick. The king himself took the field later that year, and Warenne was one of the commanders at the Battle of Falkirk.

Warenne and Alice de Lusignan had three children:

Alice, who married Henry Percy and was the mother of Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick;
Isabella, who married John Balliol and was the mother of Edward Balliol;
William, who married Joanna, daughter of Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, and was accidentally killed at a tournament on December 15, 1286; his son John succeeded his grandfather as earl of Surrey.

Name Prefix: King Name Suffix: Of England & Duke Of Normandy "Lackland" Ruled 1189-1216 __________________ King Of England, was the youngest son of Henry II. by Eleanor of Guienne, and was born in 1166. Earlynamed governor of Ireland, he was sent over, in 1185, to complete its conquest, but such was his imprudence that it was found necessary to recall him; and onthe death of his father he was left without any provision, which procured forhim the name of Sans Terre, or Lackland. His brother Richard , on coming to the throne, conferred on him the earldom of Mortaigne in Normandy, andvarious large possessions in England, and married him to the rich heiress of the Duke of Gloucester. Notwithstanding this kindness, he had the ingratitude toform intrigues, in conjunction with the King of France, against Richard, during his absence in Palestine; but Richard magnanimously pardoned him, and at hisdeath (1199) left him his kingdom, in preference to Arthur of Brittany, the sonof his elder brother, Geoffrey. Some of the French provinces, however, revolted in favour of Arthur; but John ultimately recovered them, and his nephew was captured, in 1202, and confined in the Castle of Falaise, whence he was subsequently removed to Rouen, and never heard of more. Suspected of the murder of Arthur, the states of Brittany summoned John to answer the charge before his liegelord, King Philip; and upon his refusal to appear, the latter executed the sentence of forfeiture against him; and thus, after its alienation from the Frenchcrown for three centuries, the whole of Normandy was recovered. A quarrel with the Pope, Innocent III., who had nominated Stephen Langton to the see of Canterbury, added to the perplexity of the king, whom the Pope excommunicated, andwhose subjects he formally absolved from their allegiance (1212). At length John was induced not only to receive Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, but abjectly to resign his kingdom, by the hands of Cardinal Pandulph, to the holy see,in order to receive it again as its vassal. John had by this time rendered himself the object of such universal contempt and hatred, that the barons determined to limit his power and establish their privileges; and though the Pope censured them, they assembled in arms at Stamford, and immediately marched to London. They were received there without opposition, which so intimidated the king, that he consented to whatever terms they chose to dictate. Thus was obtained (June 1215) that basis of English constitutional freedom known as Magna Carta, which not only protected the nobles against the crown, but secured important privileges to every class of freemen. But while John appeared to be all-complying and passive, he was secretly purposing to disannul the charter. The Pope pronounced a sentence of excommunication on all who should attempt to enforce it; and John, having collected an army of mercenaries, carried war and devastation throughout the kingdom. The barons, taken by surprise, sent a deputation to Philip of France, offering the crown of England to the Dauphin, Louis; who, in May 1216, landed at Sandwich, and proceeded to London, where he was received as lawfulsovereign. John was immediately deserted by all his foreign troops, and most ofhis English adherents; but the report of a scheme of Louis for the extermination of the English nobility arrested his progress, and induced many to return totheir allegiance. while the king's affairs were beginning to assume a better aspect, he was taken ill, and died at Newark, October 19, 1216, in the 49th yearof his age, and the 17th of his reign.

Name Prefix: Sir Name Suffix: II, Earl of Warren and Surrey

Alias: /Lackland/ REFERENCE: 1936

King of England

[v37t1235.ftw]

Facts about this person:

Fact 1May 27, 1199
Acceded: Westminster Abbey, London, England

Fact 2
Interred: Worcester Cathedral

At his father's death he was left without any provision having been
made for him, which procured for him the name of San Terre, or
Lackland. It was from this John that the Barons secured the "Magna
Charta."

This is King John, evil villain in all the Robin Hood legends!

John (of England), called John Lackland (1167-1216), king of England (1199-1216), best known for signing the Magna Carta.

John was born in Oxford on December 24, 1167, the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. By 1186, however, only Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the Crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade: Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Brittany (1187-1203), the son of John's brother, Geoffrey (1158-86). Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Philip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207 John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated him and began negotiating with Philip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes, and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Carta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject, rather than superior, to the law. Shortly afterward John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire on October 19, 1216, while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III.

"John (of England)," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1993 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation

Matthew Paris wrote, 'Foul as it is, hell itself is defiled by the presence of King John', and this pretty well sums up John's reputation--until 1944, that is. For in that year Professor Galbraith demonstratedin a lecture to an astonished world that the chief chronicle source for the reign of John was utterly unreliable. Since then bad King John has been getting better and better, until now he is nearly well again,and a leading scholar in the field has seriously warned us that the twentieth century could well create it own John myth.
A man who can create so many myths, or rather have them created abouthim, is clearly outstanding in some way, but the myths hide the truth. Plainly the chroniclers who invented stories about him after his death can tell us little, and we should not take too much notice of people who condemned John for carrying out his father's (and his brother'sofficials'] policies and administratrive routines, nor indeed those who condemned him because of the bitter troubles that happened in the succeeding reign, troubles which were in no means entirely of John's making. Recent historians have turned to the administrative records of his reign, and found there a very different picture; but still the lingering doubts remain--were these records the result of John's skill andapplication or of those of his able staff?
John was a paunchy little man, five feet five inches tall, with erecthead, staring eyes, flaring nostrils and thick lips set in a cruel pout, as his splendid monument at Worcester shows. He had the tempestousnature of all his family, and a driving demoniac energy: Professor Barlow says that 'he prowled around his kingdom,' which is an evocative phrase, but it would be truer to say that he raced around it. He was fastidious about his person--taking more baths than several other medieval kings put together, and owning the ultimate in luxury, for that time, a dressing-gown. He loved good food and drink, and gambled a greatdeal, though he usually lost--the results of his typical impatience and carelessness are recorded on his expense rolls; above all things heloved women. Some say his 'elopment' was the cause of his loss of Normandy. He was generous to the poor (for instance, he remitted to them the penalties of the forest law), and to his servants; at the least hewent through the motions of being a Christian king. He was extortionate, though if one considers the terrific increase in his outgoings (a mercenary soldier cost him 200 per cent more in wages than he would have in Henry II's day) one can understand some of his actions in the field. He was deeply concerned about justice, took care to attend to court business, and listened to supplicants with sympathy; he had also anurgent desire for peace in the land, saying that his peace was to be observed 'even if we have granted it to a dog.' But for all that, he had two totally unredeeming vices; he was suspicious, and enjoyed a cloak-and-dagger atmosphere--simply he did not inspire trust in his subjects. Dr. Warren says of him with some justice that if he had lived in the twentieth centure he would have adored to run a secret police.
He was born at Oxford on Christmas Eve 1167. He was oblated for a monk at the abbey of Fontevrault at the age of one year, but was back atcourt by the time he was six--plainly he had no vocation, but he probably picked up at this early stage his fastidiousness and his passion for books: his library followed him wherever he went. He was his father's favourite, but he turned against the old man when his chance came,as he did against Richard (who had been very generous to his brother)when the latter was in captivity in 1193. The episode was a miserablefailure, but it possibly sowed the seeds of distrust for John in England, where they began to sprout luxuriantly in 1199 when Richard died and John came to the throne.
Immeditaely the challenge came: Philip Augustus, the wily King of France, was backing John's nephew, Prince Arthur of Brittany (son of John's elder brother Geoffrey) as a contender for the throne, and England's French possessions fell prey to civil war. John found grave difficultly in dealing with the situation for a number of reasons, but in 1202 he made the remarkable coup of capturing Arthur by force-marching his troups eighty miles in forty-eight hours; but then his prosecution of the war became listless, and he lost much sympathy by his brutal murder of Arthur whilst in a drunken rage. By 1204 Normandy was lost.
The loss of Normandy seemed to wake John up, and he now deployed his every energy in building up the coastal defences of Britain, now facedwith an enemy the other side of the Channel, instead of just more of her own territory. The navy was built up, and the army, and John poured a quarter of his annual revenue into defence. But he could not persuade the baronage to support him in a counterstroke to regain Normandy: the barons of the north country had never owned land in Normandy and did not see why they should pay to regain southerners's castles forthem. These 'Northerners' as they called themselves, were a hive of discontent, and more was to be heard from them. Meanwhile, John sailed angrily about in the Channel, cursing ineffectually.
Other troubles were to come first, however. In 1205 the Archbishop ofCanterbury, Hubert Walker, died, and John assumed that he would have the choice of the new archbishop. However, Pope Innocent III was no man to support secular control over church appointments, and supported the right of the monks of Canterbury to select their own archbishop. For two years the storms blew betwen England and Rome, then Stephen Langton was appointed. Meanwhile John had driven the monks into exile andappropriated the revenues of the archdiocese. He had fallen out also with his half-brother, Geoffrey Archbishop or York, over tax-collection, and he too fled abroad while John collected his revenues. Four bishops joined in his fight--tension was growing to the snapping point. In1208 the Pope put an Interdict on England, which in effect meant the clergy went on stike, or, in certain cases and areas, worked to rule. John began negotiations with Innocent, but, finding that he demanded unconditional surrender, stopped them and took over all ecclesiastical properties and incomes. He did leave the clergy sufficient to live, though barely; but he still gained a large increment to his usual finances. In November 1209 the Pope took the final step of excommjunicating the King, which, in that it made him an outlaw in Christendom, did farmore damage than the Interdict.
John used his enlarged treasury to restore order in Scotland, Irelandand Wales, and to rebuild the old alliance with Otto IV of Germany and the Count of Flanders against Philip Augustus. He planned a two-pronged attack on France, to take place in 1212. But that year turned outan unlucky one for John, for the barons again refused to serve abroad, and the army he had was needed to put down a revolt in Wales; the Pope was threatening to demote him, and Philip Augustus was planning a massive invasion of England. John had to give in in one direction, forthe prssure was much too great: he chose the Pope, and wisely so. He agreed to return to the status quo in the matter of church property and establishment, and to pay compensation; he further resigned his kingdom into the hands of the Pope, to receive it back in return for his homage and an annual tribute of 1,000 marks (a mark being two-thirds of a pound].
He had won a notable ally in Innocent III, who supported him faithfully throughout his troubles. Then his fleet, his own creation, had the good luck to find the French fleet at anchor and unprotected, destroyed it, and so made a French invasion impossible. On the crest of a wave, John determined to put his two-pronged invasion plan into action, but once more the northern barons refused to play, and he set off to punish them. Stephen Langton had arrived on the scene by now and managedto persuade John not to provoke the barons further.
In 1214 he finally managed to put his long cherished plan into action, but the two attacks were not properly coordinated; Otto was defeated at Bouvines, and John was deserted by his Poitevin knights.
In 1215 John faced a baronage in turmoil: they could point to the failure of his expensive schemes, he ascribed his failure to their total lack of support. The situation could not be more tense. John's nervousness can be seen in his taking of the cross, a blatant attempt to reinforce his alliance with the papacy. In April the Northerners met at Stamford; they were by now a mixture of northerners and southerners--thename was now merely a nickname--but by and large they were the younger element in the kingdom, roughnecks out for a spree. They moved south and were let into London by a faction, and received the expected encouragement from Philip Augustus in the form of siege engines brought over by one Eustace, a renegade monk turned pirate.
John offered arbitration, but the barons turned it down, and while heput his faith in an appeal to Rome, Stephen Langton, in cooperation with William Marshal and other more stable and sensible barons, were working on the Northerners' demands to incorporate them into a general charter, which would not only govern feudal relationships, but would also lay down a more general pattern of legality in government. On 15 June John fixed his seal to the draft of Magna Carta, and on 19 June attested copies were sent to all parts of the kingdom.
The King did his part thoroughly, though for how long he would have continued is another matter, but the barons continued to distrust him. They remained in arms, organising tournaments as their excuse, saying that the prize would be 'a bear a certain lady would send.' This was civil war, and John took to it with a fiendish glee. He reduced the north and the east, and was about to mop up the remainder of the opposition in London when Philip Augustus' son Louis landed in force to help the barons (May 1216). John had been riding hard for months, and was sick with dysentery after a bout of over-eating; whilst crossing the Wash, the whole of his baggage-train was lost. At Neward Castle on 18 October, he died, desiring to be buried near his patron saint Wulfstan inWorcester Cathedral.
He was by no means a good man, and his energies could well have been put to a better use, but in a different situation he might well have made a great king. His constant failure was discipline, over himself first, and others second. John reminds me of nothing so much as the typeof person who is brilliant in many ways, and has many gifts, but leaves after two terms 'not suited to teaching in this type of school.' [Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]

King John, also known as Lackland or Softsword, was the youngest son of Henry II. Between 1200 and 1204 he fought increasingly losing campaigns to hold onto his Continental possessions. In England he was responsible for refining the government and was instrumental in the spread of literacy. King John, despite his bad reputation, was possibly one of the most learned of all the English kings. He was a keen historian and lawgiver who enjoyed nothing more than to stand in judgment on his peoples. This keen sense of involvement in the running of the kingdom no doubt helped antagonize his baronage, who quite rightly thought that their many privileges were under threat. Magna Carta was the work of an admittedly unwilling King John and his impressive legal advisors, not the rag tag army of discontented barons who faced him at Runnymede. In 1216 when faced by the invasion of a French army he refused to fight them on the coast as, we are told, his history books well reminded him of the fate of a previous king in 1066 who did just that! John's refusal to risk all on one decisive battle led to the long civil war of 1216-8. He died of dysentery at Newark in October 1216 after the infamous loss of his treasure in the Wash.

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart after his birth; his youth was divided between his eldest brother Henry's house, where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten years and was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, bore him two sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended. The survival of the English government during John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, as John taxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.
The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashed in 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishes surrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within six months. After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vast estates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. John failed to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity and conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. Upon Richard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.
John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John actually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John's stubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury; the issue was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute for England as the Pope's vassal.
John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to the Irish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murder of his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he lost the last of his French possessions and returned to England. The final ten years of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain these territories. After levying a number of new taxes upon the barons to pay for his dismal campaigns, the discontented barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. At Runnymede in the following June, John succumbed to pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large, and signed the Magna Carta. The document, a declaration of feudal rights, stressed three points. First, the Church was free to make ecclesiastic appointments. Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only be collected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants. Third, no freeman was to be punished except within the context of common law. Magna Carta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, was the forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document as a means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principles compelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered the throne to Philip II's son, Louis. John died in the midst of invasion from the French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North.
John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: ". . .his works of piety were very many . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honor, nor left it peace."

He married Alice de Lusignan, Henry III's half-sister, and took Henry III's side against the barons in 1258. Their children were Alice who married into the Percy family, Isabella who married John Baliol and was mother of Edward Baliol, and Sir William de Warenne

King John, also known as Lackland or Softsword, was the youngest son of Henry II. Between 1200 and 1204 he fought increasingly losing campaigns to hold onto his Continental possessions. In England he was responsible for refining the government and was instrumental in the spread of literacy. King John, despite his bad reputation, was possibly one of the most learned of all the English kings. He was a keen historian and lawgiver who enjoyed nothing more than to stand in judgment on his peoples. This keen sense of involvement in the running of the kingdom no doubt helped antagonize his baronage, who quite rightly thought that their many privileges were under threat. Magna Carta was the work of an admittedly unwilling King John and his impressive legal advisors, not the rag tag army of discontented barons who faced him at Runnymede. In 1216 when faced by the invasion of a French army he refused to fight them on the coast as, we are told, his history books well reminded him of the fate of a previous king in 1066 who did just that! John's refusal to risk all on one decisive battle led to the long civil war of 1216-8. He died of dysentery at Newark in October 1216 after the infamous loss of his treasure in the Wash.

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart after his birth; his youth was divided between his eldest brother Henry's house, where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten years and was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, bore him two sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended. The survival of the English government during John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, as John taxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.
The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashed in 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishes surrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within six months. After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vast estates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. John failed to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity and conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. Upon Richard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.
John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John actually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John's stubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury; the issue was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute for England as the Pope's vassal.
John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to the Irish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murder of his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he lost the last of his French possessions and returned to England. The final ten years of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain these territories. After levying a number of new taxes upon the barons to pay for his dismal campaigns, the discontented barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. At Runnymede in the following June, John succumbed to pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large, and signed the Magna Carta. The document, a declaration of feudal rights, stressed three points. First, the Church was free to make ecclesiastic appointments. Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only be collected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants. Third, no freeman was to be punished except within the context of common law. Magna Carta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, was the forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document as a means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principles compelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered the throne to Philip II's son, Louis. John died in the midst of invasion from the French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North.
John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: ". . .his works of piety were very many . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honor, nor left it peace."

He married Alice de Lusignan, Henry III's half-sister, and took Henry III's side against the barons in 1258. Their children were Alice who married into the Percy family, Isabella who married John Baliol and was mother of Edward Baliol, and Sir William de Warenne

Signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215. Reigned 1199-1216. His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died. Burke says he was born in 1160. King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. It is known that Agatha Ferrers was a mistress of John, but it is only supposition that she is the mother of Joan.

[s2.FTW]

King John was Henry II's youngest son, a thoroughly unpleasant character, disliked and distrusted by everyone. He succeeded in 1199, but some of his French subjects refused to recognize him, preferring his 12-year-old nephew Arthur. John captured Arthur, who was never seen again.

He had ongoing conflicts with the barons about taxation and with the Church, and he alienated ordinary people with his bad government. Eventually the barons forced him to sign a bill of human rights--the MAGNA CARTA--at Runneymede in 1215. John promptly reneged on the agreement, forcing the barons to seek help from France. He died a year later, leaving the country in a state of near anarchy.

From Nicholas Best, "The Kings and Queens of England" (Boston: Bullfinch, 1995).

Gen. source: Family tree of Edward Phipps, 39500 Stevenson Place #204, Fremont, CA 95439, 510-794-6850; email ((XXXXX@XXXX.XXX))King John was Henry II's youngest son, a thoroughly unpleasant character, disliked and distrusted by everyone. He succeeded in 1199, but some of his French subjects refused to recognize him, preferring his 12-year-old nephew Arthur. John captured Arthur, who was never seen again.

He had ongoing conflicts with the barons about taxation and with the Church, and he alienated ordinary people with his bad government. Eventually the barons forced him to sign a bill of human rights--the MAGNA CARTA--at Runneymede in 1215. John promptly reneged on the agreement, forcing the barons to seek help from France. He died a year later, leaving the country in a state of near anarchy.

From Nicholas Best, "The Kings and Queens of England" (Boston: Bullfinch, 1995).

Gen. source: Family tree of Edward Phipps, 39500 Stevenson Place #204, Fremont, CA 95439, 510-794-6850; email ((XXXXX@XXXX.XXX))

Basic Life Information

John was born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son and last of eight children born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Some authors, noting Henry's stay at Woodstock, near Oxford, with Eleanor in March 1166, assert that John was born in that year, and not 1167.

John was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France, his mother's children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France, which was later annulled. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Leonora, Queen of Castile; and Joan, Queen of Sicily.

Henry II had at first intended that John would receive an appropriate education to enter into the Church, which would have meant Henry did not have to apportion him land or other inheritance. In 1171, however, Henry began negotiations to betroth John to the daughter of Count Humbert III of Savoy (who had no son yet and so wanted a son-in-law.) After that, talk of making John a cleric ceased. John's parents had both received a good education - Henry spoke some half dozen languages, and Eleanor had attended lectures at what would soon become the University of Paris - in addition to what they had learned of law and government, religion, and literature. John himself had received one of the best educations of any king of England. Some of the books the records show he read included: De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England-potentially Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

Marriages and Children

In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and since her paternal grandfather was the illegitimate son of Henry I of England, John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan. Isabella bore five children:
King Henry III of England (1207-1272).
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1209-1272).
Joan (1210-1238), Queen Consort of Alexander II of Scotland.
Isabella (1214-1241), Consort of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Eleanor (1215-1275), who married William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and later married Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester.

Natural Children

John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured of Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children (unless otherwise stated by unknown mistresses):
Joan, Lady of Wales, the wife of Prince Llywelyn Fawr of Wales, (by a woman named Clemence)
Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)
Oliver FitzRoy, (by a mistress named Hawise) who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.
Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.

(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)

Civil Strife and Magna Carta

Death

Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This loss dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216-72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

Signed Magna Carta

1199-1259 By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou (John, Henry III )

King Of England, was the youngest son of Henry II. by Eleanor of Guienne, and was born in 1166. Early named governor of Ireland, he was sent over, in 1185, to complete its conquest, but such was his imprudence that it was found necessary to recall him; and on the death of his father he was left without any provision, which procured for him the name of Sans Terre, or Lackland. His brother Richard, on coming to the throne, conferred on him the earldom of Mortaigne in Normandy, and various large possessions in England, and married him to the rich heiress of the Duke of Gloucester. Notwithstanding this kindness, he had the ingratitude to form intrigues, in conjunction with the King of France, against Richard, during his absence in Palestine; but Richard magnanimously pardoned him, and at his death (1199) left him his kingdom, in preference to Arthur of Brittany, the son of his elder brother, Geoffrey. Some of the French provinces, however, revolted in favour of Arthur; but John ultimately recovered them, and his nephew was captured, in 1202, and confined in the Castle of Falaise, whence he was subsequently removed to Rouen, and never heard of more. Suspected of the murder of Arthur, the states of Brittany summoned John to answer the charge before his liege lord, King Philip; and upon his refusal to appear, the latter executed the sentence of forfeiture against him; and thus, after its alienation from the French crown for three centuries, the whole of Normandy was recovered.

A quarrel with the Pope, Innocent III., who had nominated Stephen Langton to the see of Canterbury, added to the perplexity of the king, whom the Pope excommunicated, and whose subjects he formally absolved from their allegiance (1212). At length John was induced not only to receive Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, but abjectly to resign his kingdom, by the hands of Cardinal Pandulph, to the holy see, in order to receive it again as its vassal. John had by this time rendered himself the object of such universal contempt and hatred, that the barons determined to limit his power and establish their privileges; and though the Pope censured them, they assembled in arms at Stamford, and immediately marched to London. They were received there without opposition, which so intimidated the king, that he consented to whatever terms they chose to dictate. Thus was obtained (June 1215) that basis of English constitutional freedom known as Magna Carta, which not only protected the nobles against the crown, but secured important privileges to every class of freemen. But while John appeared to be all-complying and passive, he was secretly purposing to disannul the charter. The Pope pronounced a sentence of excommunication on all who should attempt to enforce it; and John, having collected an army of mercenaries, carried war and devastation throughout the kingdom. The barons, taken by surprise, sent a deputation to Philip of France, offering the crown of England to the Dauphin, Louis; who, in May 1216, landed at Sandwich, and proceeded to London, where he was received as lawful sovereign. John was immediately deserted by all his foreign troops, and most of his English adherents; but the report of a scheme of Louis for the extermination of the English nobility arrested his progress, and induced many to return to their allegiance. while the king's affairs were beginning to assume a better aspect, he was taken ill, and died at Newark, October 19, 1216, in the 49th year of his age, and the 17th of his reign.

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to
whom he has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He
came into
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta.
His later
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17
during which
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN OF ENGLAND (1167-1216). Vicious, shameless, and ungrateful, King
John has been called the worst king ever to rule England. Yet the very
excesses of his reign proved positive in that they provoked such a
violent reaction that his subjects revolted and forced him to put his
seal on the Magna Carta. This document became the safeguard of English
liberty. John's nickname was Lackland because at first he owned no
land. Later his father, King Henry II, gave him castles, lands, and
revenues in both England and France. John plotted against his father,
however, and the discovery of this conspiracy was a factor in the
king's death. John's brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, became king and
added to John's possessions (see Richard, Kings of England). While
Richard was absent from England on the Third Crusade, John conspired
against him also.
When Richard died in 1199, the barons selected John to be their
king. This denied the royal claim of Arthur, son of another brother,
Geoffrey. Two French provinces fought for young Arthur, but the boy
fell into the hands of John and died soon after. During the war John
lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine. John then quarreled
with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as
archbishop of Canterbury. John was excommunicated, and England was
forbidden all religious services except baptism and extreme unction.
The growing discontent of his subjects finally forced John to recognize
the new archbishop.
When John went to France seeking to regain his lands in Normandy,
the barons marched against the king and demanded a charter of
liberties. All but a handful of followers deserted John. He was forced
to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the Great
Charter (see Magna Carta).
John had no intention of supporting the charter, however. He
recruited a new army and destroyed the estates of the barons. The
barons then offered the English crown to Louis, a French prince. In the
midst of a war for the throne, John died of a fever. The task of
restoring the torn kingdom fell to his nine-year-old son, Henry III
(see Henry, Kings of England).

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Acceded: 27 MAY 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England

Best known for signing the Magna Carta, at the insistence of the English
Barons; the youngest son of Henry II, along with Richard I, the Lion Hearted.
John was from the house of Anjou, or Plantagenet.

John of England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John
By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjou

Reign April 6, 1199 – October 18/19, 1216
Coronation May 27, 1199
Born December 24, 1167
Beaumont Palace, Oxford
Died October 18 / 19, 1216
Newark
Buried Worcester Cathedral
Predecessor Richard I
Successor Henry III
Consort Isabella of Angouleme
(c. 1187–1246)
Issue Henry III (1207–1272)
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
(1209–1272)
Joan of England (1210–1238)
Isabella of England (1214–1241)
Eleanor of England (1215–1275)
Royal House Plantagenet
Father Henry II (1133–1189)
Mother Eleanor of Aquitaine (1124–1204)

John (French: Jean) (December 24, c. 1166 – October 18/19, 1216) reigned as King of England from April 6, 1199, until his death. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I (known in later times as "Richard the Lionheart"). John acquired the nicknames of "Lackland" (Sans Terre in French) for his lack of an inheritance as the youngest son and for his loss of territory to France, and of "Soft-sword" for his alleged military ineptitude. He was a Plantagenet or Angevin King.

Contents [hide]
1 Life
1.1 Birth
1.2 Early life
1.3 Richard's absence
1.4 Reign
1.4.1 Dispute with Arthur
1.4.2 Dealings with Bordeaux
1.4.3 Dispute with the Pope
1.4.4 Dispute with the barons
1.5 Death
2 Reputation and overview
2.1 Depictions in fiction
3 Marriage and issue
4 Trivia
4.1 Alleged illiteracy
5 References
6 External links

[edit]
Life
[edit]
Birth
Born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was almost certainly born in 1166 instead of 1167, as is sometimes claimed. King Henry and Queen Eleanor were not together nine months prior to December 1167, but they were together in March 1166. Also, John was born at Oxford on or near Christmas, but Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas 1167 in Normandy. The canon of Laon, writing a century later, states John was named after Saint John the Apostle, on whose feast day (December 27) he was born. Ralph of Diceto also states that John was born in 1166, and that Queen Eleanor named him.

He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King, Matilda of England, Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine and Joan of England.

English Royalty
House of Plantagenet

John
Children
Henry III
Richard, Earl of Cornwall
Joan, Queen of Scots
Isabella, Holy Roman Empress
Eleanor, Countess of Leicester

[edit]
Early life
While John was always his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, with his older brothers all involved in rebellions against Henry. Eleanor was imprisoned in 1173, when John was a small boy. Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:

"The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons, who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others."
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months (see: John's first expedition to Ireland).

[edit]
Richard's absence
During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Hereward the Wake into Robin Hood, originally set a century before John's time.

While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. John is said to have sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible. But Richard's supporters paid a ransom for his release because they thought that John would make a terrible King. On his return to England in 1194, Richard forgave John and named him as his heir.

Other historians argue that John did not attempt to otherthrow Richard, but rather did his best to improve a country ruined by Richard's excessive taxes used to fund the Crusade. It is most likely that the image of subversion was given to John by later monk chroniclers, who resented his refusal to go on the ill-fated Fourth Crusade.

[edit]
Reign

John of England depicted in Cassell's History of England (1902)[edit]
Dispute with Arthur
When Richard died, John did not gain immediate universal recognition as king. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought with his uncle John for the throne, and enjoyed the support of King Philip II of France. The conflict between Arthur and King John had fatal consequences.

The war upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain terrorities on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the charges. John refused and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all those fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy), and betrothed him to his daughter Mary.

With this war to supply across the Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to be responsible for at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the Navy (the Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours at Sandwich, Kent). By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of 4 new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new Navy. During John's reign major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes accredited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this Navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, as these achievements are completely ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.

In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales whilst he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205 John created an alliance in which he married off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great.

As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what happened to Arthur after that. According to the Margam Annals, on 3 April 1203: :"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when [John] was drunk and possessed by the devil he slew [Arthur] with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine." However, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, Hubert de Burgh, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock. Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one ever saw Arthur alive again and the supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany and later Normandy to rebel against King John.

Besides Arthur, John also captured his niece Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner the rest of her life (which ended in 1241); through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.

[edit]
Dealings with Bordeaux
In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume-the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou. [1]

[edit]
Dispute with the Pope
When Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The monks of Christ Church chapter in Canterbury claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor, but both the English bishops and the King had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. When their dispute could not be settled, the monks secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. Innocent thus disregarded the king's rights in selection of his own vassals. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.

John expelled the Canterbury monks in July 1207 and the Pope ordered an interdict against the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by seizure of church property for failure to provide feudal service, and the fight was on. The pious of England were theoretically left without the comforts of the church, but over a period they became used to this deprivation. The pope, meanwhile, realized that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, and gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.

In November of 1209 John himself was excommunicated, and, in February 1213, Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate in 1213 (traditionally at the Templar Church at Dover [1]); in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland. With this submission, John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.

[edit]
Dispute with the barons

John of England signs Magna Carta – fanciful illustration from Cassell's History of England (1902)Having successfully put down the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines, which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France.

This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders at Runnymede, near London, on June 15, 1215, to sign the Great Charter called, in Latin, Magna Carta. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne).

Matthew Paris records how John was so desperate for support against the barons that he sent an emissary in 1213 to the North African Emir, Mohammed An-Nasir, offering to help Muslims in their campaigns in Spain against the Catholic king of Aragon and to convert to Islam in return for Islamic aid against his enemies.

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Death
Retreating from the French invasion, John crossed the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia and lost his most valuable treasures, including the Crown Jewels to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt him a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind, and he succumbed to dysentery, dying on October 18 or 19, at Newark (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, if fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches". He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester. His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

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Reputation and overview
King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history: it began with defeats—he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne—and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to sign Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered. Some have argued, however, that John's rule was no better or worse than those of kings Richard I or Henry III, adding that (unlike Richard) he spent the majority of his reign in England. Be that as it may, his reputation is a reason many English monarchs have refrained from giving the name John to their expected heirs.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he won the disapproval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by Feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a Judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an extremely able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records - the Pipe Rolls.

Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":

talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted. He was compared in a recent scholarly article, perhaps unfairly, with Richard Nixon. His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him—and the energy with which some of them opposed him.
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Depictions in fiction
These reflect the overwhelming view of his reputation:

King John was the subject of a Shakespearean play, King John.
King John is a central figure in the 1819 historical romance Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott.
Philip José Farmer, a science fiction author, featured King John as one of several historical figures in his Riverworld Saga.
John and one of his Justices in Eyre, the Sheriff of Nottingham, are portrayed as the villain and henchman in the Robin Hood legends. These usually place the Robin Hood stories in the latter part of Richard I's reign, when Richard was in captivity and John was acting as unofficial regent.
Among the screen incarnations of John in versions of the Robin Hood story are Claude Rains' portrayal in the 1938 film version, and the Prince John of the 1973 Disney animated movie Robin Hood, in which John is an anthropomorphic lion voiced by Peter Ustinov, who sucks his thumb and cries for his "mammy" whenever Robin Hood (a fox) steals his gold.
John was impersonated by Kamelion in a plot by the Master in "The King's Demons", a 1983 serial of the British science fiction series, Doctor Who.
John is a character in James Goldman's 1966 play The Lion in Winter, which dramatises Henry II's struggles with his wife and sons over the rule of his empire. John is portrayed as a spoiled, simpleminded pawn in the machinations of his brothers and Philip II. In the 1968 film he is portrayed by Nigel Terry. In the 2003 film he is portrayed by Rafe Spall.
Sharon Penman's Here Be Dragons deals with the reign of John, and the development of Wales under Llewelyn's rules, and his marriage to John's illegitimate daughter, Joanna.
The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay is a highly speculative but relatively sympathetic account.
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Marriage and issue
In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on April 6, 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on August 24, 1200, Isabelle of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancée, Hugh X of Lusignan. Isabelle eventually produced five children, including two sons (Henry and Richard), and three daughters (Joan, Isabella and Eleanor).

John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured with Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Her husband substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

Besides Joan, the wife of Llywelyn Fawr, his illegitimate daughter by a woman named Clemence, John had a son named Richard Fitz Roy by his first cousin, Adela, a daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne. By another mistress, Hawise, John had Oliver FitzRoy, who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned. By an unknown mistress (or mistresses) John fathered: Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there; John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201; Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245; Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216; Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241; Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers; Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252; Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives; and Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263. (FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)

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Trivia
According to records of payment made to King John's bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilised compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.
John is recorded to have dressed very well in coats made of fur from sable and ermine and other exotic furs such as polar bear.
In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton. (BBC)
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Alleged illiteracy
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You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations.
For a long time, schoolchildren have been told that King John had to approve Magna Carta by attaching his seal to it because he could not sign it, lacking the ability to read or write. This textbook inaccuracy ignored the fact that King John had a large library he treasured until the end of his life. Whether the original authors of these errors knew better and oversimplified because they wrote for children, or whether they had been misinformed themselves, is unknown. As a result of these writings, generations of adults remembered mainly two things about "wicked King John," both of them wrong. (The other "fact" was that, if Robin Hood had not stepped in, Prince John would have embezzled the money raised to ransom King Richard. The fact is that John did embezzle the ransom money, by creating forged seals. Robin Hood, on the other hand, may or may not have actually existed.)

King John did actually sign the draft of the Charter that the negotiating parties hammered out in the tent on Charter Island at Runnymede on 15–18 June 1215, but it took the clerks and scribes working in the royal offices some time after everyone went home to prepare the final copies, which they then sealed and delivered to the appropriate officials. In those days, legal documents were made official by seals, not by signatures. (Even today, many legal documents are not considered effective without the seal of a notary public or corporate official, and printed legal forms such as deeds say "L.S." next to the signature lines. That stands for the Latin locus sigilli ("place of the seal"), signifying that the signer has used a signature as a substitute for a seal.) When William the Conqueror (and his wife) signed the Accord of Winchester (Image) in 1072, for example, they and all the bishops signed with crosses, as illiterate people would later do, but they did so in accordance with current legal practice, not because the bishops could not write their own names.

Henry II had at first intended that John would receive an education to go into the Church, which would have meant Henry did not have to give him any land. In 1171, however, Henry began negotiations to betroth John to the daughter of Count Humbert III of Savoy (who had no son yet and so wanted a son-in-law.) After that, talk of making John a cleric ceased. John's parents had both received a good education — Henry spoke some half dozen languages, and Eleanor had attended lectures at what would soon become the University of Paris — in addition to what they had learned of law and government, religion, and literature. John himself had received one of the best educations of any king of England. Some of the books the records show he read included: De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England—potentially Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

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References
King John, by W.L. Warren ISBN 0-520-03643-3

The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216 by Frank Barlow ISBN 0-582-49504-0

Medieval Europe: A Short History (Seventh Edition), by C. Warren Hollister, ISBN 0-07-029637-5

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External links
Graphic of family tree of the children of John
King John at Find-A-Grave
Preceded by:
Richard I King of England
1199–1216 Succeeded by:
Henry III
Duke of Aquitaine
1199–1216
Count of Maine
1199–1203 Philip II of France
(annexed)
Duke of Normandy
1199–1204
Preceded by:
— Lord of Ireland
1185–1216 Succeeded by:
Henry III

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Isabella von Angouleme was Johns 2. marriage. ((*Her* marriages were also to Count Hugh de la Marche Le Brun (2.) and to Hugo X. von Lusignan (3.?). They had one son: Gottfried Herr von Lusignan, Herr von Jarnac -direct line-)) Contess Isabelle De Clare of Gloucester was Johns 1. marriage. John was a Plantagenet King of the House of Anjou; Reign 1199-1216. Best known for signing the ***Magna Charta***. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical. To support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and priviledges. John has little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215. This made him subject rather than superior to the law. Shortly afterwards John and the barons were at war. Medieval Sourcebook: ***Magna Carta 1215***. (This is a document that needs little introduction. While John claimed the royal prerogatives of his ancestors, his spiritual and temporal lords sought an efficient administration of the laws to prevent the anarchy of Stephen's reign from happening again.) John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects, greeting. Know that, having regard to God and for the salvation of our soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor of God and the advancement of holy church, and for the reform of our realm, by advice of our venerable fathers, Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William of London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of master Pandulf, subdeacon and member of the household of our lord the Pope, of brother Aymeric (master of the Knights of the Temple in England), and of the illustrious men William Marshall earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury,William earl of Warenne, William earl of Arundel, Alan of Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerald, Peter Fits Herbert, Hubert de Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip d'Aubigny, Robert of Roppesley, John Marshall, John Fitz Hugh, and others, our liegemen. 1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter confirmed for us and our heirs for ever that the English church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate; and we will that it be thus observed; which is apparent from this that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned most important and very essential to the English church, we, of our pure and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter confirmand did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent III., before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and this we will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our heirs for ever. Wehave also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us and our heirs for ever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs for ever. 2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in chief by military service shall have died, and at the time of his death his heir shall be of fullage and owe "relief" he shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancientrelief, namely the heir or heirs of an earl, 100 pounds for a whole earl's barony; the heir or heirs of a baron, 100 pounds for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, 100 shillings at most for a whole knight's fee; and whoever owes less let him give less, according to the ancient custom offiefs. 3. If, however, the heir of any of the aforesaid has been under age and inwardship, let him have his inheritance without relief and without fine when hecomes of age. 4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age, shall take from the land of the heir nothing but reasonably produce, reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that without destruction or waste of men or goods; and if we have committed the wardship of the lands of any such minor to the sheriff, or to any other who is responsible to us for its issues, and he has made destruction or waste of what he holds in wardship, we will take of him amends, and the land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall be responsible for the issues to us or to him to whom we shall assign them; and if we have given or sold the wardship of any such land to anyone and he has therein made destruction or waste, he shall lose that wardship,and it shall be transferred to two lawful and discreet men of that fief, who shall be responsible to us in like manner as aforesaid. 5. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the land, shall keep up the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, out of the issues of the same land; and he shall restore to the heir, when he has come to full age, all his land, stocked with ploughs and "waynage," according as the season of husbandry shall require, and the issues of the land can reasonably bear. 6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before the marriage takes place the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice. 7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and without difficulty have her marriage portion and inheritance; nor shall she give anything for her dower, or for her marriage portion, or for the inheritance which her husband and she held on the day of the death of that husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for fourty days after his death, with in which time her dower shall be assigned to her. 8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers to live without a husband; provided always that she gives security not to marry without our consent, if she holds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another. 9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any land or rent for any debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy the debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail to pay the debt, having nothing where with to pay it, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and let them have the lands and rents of the debtor, if they desire them, until they are indemnified for the debt which they have paid for him, unless the principal debtor can show proof that he is discharged thereof asagainst the said sureties. 10. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before that loan can be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum contained in the bond. 11. And if any one die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if any children of the deceased are left under age, necessaries shall be provided for them in keeping with the holding of the deceased; and out of the residue the debt shall be paid, reserving, however,service due to feudal lords; in like manner let it be done touching debts due to others than Jews. 12. No scutage nor aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for making our eldestson a knight, and for once marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there shall not be levied more than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be done concerning aids from the city of London. 13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs, as well by land as by water; furthermore, we decree and grant that allother cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs. 14. And for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom anent the assessing ofan aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) or of a scutage, we will cause tobe summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters; and we will moreover cause to be summoned generally,through our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others who hold of us in chief, for afixed date, namely, after the expiry of at least forty days, and at a fixed place; and in all letters of such summons we will specify the reason of the summons. And when the summons has thus been made, the business shall proceed on the day appointed, according to the counsel of such as are present, although not all who were summoned have come. 15. We will not for the future grant to any one license to take an aid from his own free tenants, except to ransom his body, to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall be levied only a reasonable aid. 16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement, than is due therefrom. 17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some fixed place. 18. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancester,and of darrein presentment, shall not be held elsewhere than in their own county courts and that in manner following,--We, or, if we should be out of the realm, our chief justiciar, will send two justiciars through every county four times a year, who shall, along with four knights of the county chosen by the county, hold the said as size in the county court, on the day and in the place of meeting of that court. 19. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, let there remain of the knights and freeholders, who were present at the county court on that day, as many as may be required for the efficient making of judgments, according as the business be more or less. 20. A free man shall not be amerced for a slight offense, except in accordance with the degree of the offense; and for a grave offense he shall be amerced in accordance with the gravity of the offense, yet saving always his"contenement;" and a merchant in the same way, saving his "merchandise;" and aville in shall be amerced in the same way, saving his "wainage"--if they have fallen into our mercy: and none of the aforesaid amercements shall be impsed except by the oath of honest men of the neighborhood. 21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their peers, and only in accordance with the degree of the offense. 22. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding except after the manner of the others aforesaid; further, he shall not be amerced in accordance with the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice. 23. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges atriver-banks, except those who from of old were legally bound to do so. 24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our Crown. 25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings (except our demesnemanors) shall remain at old rents, and without any additional payment. 26. If any one holding of us a lay fief shall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhibit our letters patent of summons for a debt which the deceased owed to us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and catalogue chattels of the deceased, found upon the lay fief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of law-worthy men, provided always that nothing whatever be thence removed until the debt which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be left to the executors to fulfil the will of the deceased; and if there be nothing due from him to us, all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to his wife and children their reasonable shares. 27. If any freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be distributed by the hands of his nearest kinsfolk and friends, under supervision of the church, saving to every one the debts which the deceased owed to him. 28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other provisions from any one without immediately tendering money therefor, unless he can have postponement thereof by permission of the seller. 29. No constable shall compel any knight to give money in lieu of castle-guard, when he is willing to perform it in his own person, or (if he cannot do it from any reasonable cause) then by another responsible man. Further, if we have led or sent him upon military service, he shall be relieved from guard in proportion to the time during which he has been on service because of us. 30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of any freeman for transport duty, against the will of the said freeman. 31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our castles or for any other work of ours, wood which is not ours, against the will of the owner of that wood. 32. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands of those who have been convicted of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be handed over tothe lords of the fiefs. 33. All kiddles for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames and Medway, and throughout all England, except upon the seashore. 34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future beissued to any one, regarding any tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court. 35. Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and one measure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit, "the London quarter;" and one width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or "halberget"), to wit, two ells within the selvages; of weights also let it be as of measures. 36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition of life or limbs, but freely it shall be granted, and never denied. 37. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, by socage, or by burgage, and holds also land of another lord by knight's service, we will not (by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage) have the wardship of the heir, or of such land of his as is of the fief of that other; nor shall we have wardship of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage, unless such fee-farm owes knight's service. We will not by reason of any small serjeanty which any one may hold of us by the service of rendering to us knives, arrows, or the like, have wardship of his heir of of the land which he holds of another lord by knight's service. 38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, putany one to his "law," without credible witnesses brought for this purpose. 39. No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in anyway destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawfuljudgment of his peers or by the law of the land. 40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice. 41. All merchants shall have safe and secure exit from England, and entry to England, with the right to tarry there and to move about as well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and right customs, quit from allevil tolls, except (in time of war) such merchants as are of the land at war with us. And if such are found in our land at the beginning of the war, theys hall be detained, without injury to their bodies or goods, until information be received by us, or by our chief justiciar, how the merchants of our land found in the land at war with us are treated; and if our men are safe there,the others shall be safe in our land. 42. It shall be lawful in future for any one (excepting always those imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the kingdom, and natives of any country at war with us, and merchants, who shall be treated as is above provided) to leave our kingdom and to return, safe and secure by land and water, except for a short period in time of war, on grounds of publicpolicy--reserving always the allegiance due to us. 43. If any one holding of some escheat (such as the honor of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other escheats which are in our hands and are baronies) shall die, his heir shall give no other relief, and perform no other service to us than he would have done to the baron, if that barony had been in the baron's hand; and we shall hold it in the same manner in which the baron held it. 44. Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before our justiciars of the forest upon a general summons, except those who are impleaded, or who have become sureties for any person or persons attached for forest offenses. 45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well. 46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold charters from the kings of England, or of which they have long-continued possession, shall have the wardship of them, when vacant, as they ought to have. 47. All forests that have been made such in our time shall forthwith be disafforested; and a similar course shall be followed with regard to river-banks that have been placed "in defense" by us in our time. 48. All evil customs connected with forests and warrens, foresters andwarreners, sheriffs and their officers, river-banks and their wardens, shalli mmediately be inquired into in each county by twelve sworn knights of the same county chosen by the honest men of the same county, and shall, within forty days of the said inquest, be utterly abolished, so as never to be restored, provided always that we previously have intimation thereof, or our justiciar,if we should not be in England. 49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to us by Englishmen, as sureties of the peace or of faithful service. 50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard Athee (so that in future they shall have no bailiwick in England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne, Peter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geofrrey of Martigny with his brothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood of the same. 51. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom all foreign-born knights, cross-bowmen, serjeants, and mercenary soldiers, who have come with horses and arms to the kingdom's hurt. 52. If any one has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will immediately restore them to him; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided by the five-and-twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the clause for securing the peace. Moreover, for all those possessions,from which any one has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which we retain in our hand (or which are possessed by others, to whom we are bound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised, or an inquest made by our order, before our taking of the cross; but as soon as we return from our expedition (or if per chance we desist from the expedition) we will immediately grant full justice therein. 53. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner in rendering justice concerning the disafforestation or retention of those forests which Henry our father and Richard our brother afforested, and concerning wardship of lands which are of the fief of another (namely, such wardships as we have hither to had by reason of a fief which any one held of us by knight'sservice), and concerning abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the lord of the fief claims to have right; and when we have returned, or if we desist from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to all who complain of such things. 54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman, for the death of any other than her husband. 55. All fines made with us unjustly and against the law of the land, and all amercements imposed unjustly and against the law of the land, shall be entirely remitted, or else it shall be done concerning them according to the decision of the five-and-twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the clause for securing the peace, or according to the judgment of the majority of the same,,along with the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he may wish to bring with him for this purpose, and if he cannot be present the business shall nevertheless proceed without him, provided always that if any one or more of the aforesaid five-and-twenty barons are in a similar suit, they shall be removed as far as concerns this particular judgment, others being substituted in their places after having been selected by the rest of the same five-and-twenty for this purpose only, and after having been sworn. 56. If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties, or other things, without the legal judgment of their peers in England or in Wales, they shall be immediately restored to them; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided in the marches by the judgment of their peers; for tenements in England according to the law of England, for tenements in Wales according to the law of Wales, and for tenements in the marches according to the law of the marches. Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours. 57. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed by King Henry our father or King Richard our brother, and which we retain in our hand (or which are possessed by others, to whom we are bound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised or an inquest made by our order before we took the cross;but as soon as we return (or if perchance we desist from our expedition), we will immediately grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welshand in relation to the foresaid regions. 58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales, and the charters delivered to us as security for the peace. 59. We will do toward Alexander, King of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his right, in the same manner as we shall do toward our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise according to the charters which we hold from William his father, formerly King of Scots; and this shall be according to the judgment of his peers in our court. 60. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the observance of which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains to us toward our men,shall be observed by all of our kingdom, as well clergy as laymen, as far aspertains to them toward their men. 61. Since, moreover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our barons, we have granted all these concessions, desirous that they should enjoy them incomplete and firm endurance forever, we give and grant to them the underwritten security, namely, that the barons choose five-and-twenty barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they will, who shall be bound with all their might, to observe and hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them by this our present Charter, so that if we, or our justiciar, or our bailiffs or any one of our officers, shall in anything beat fault toward any one, or shall have broken any one of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offense be notified to four barons of the foresaid five-and-twenty, the said four barons shall repair to us (or our justiciar, if we are out of the realm) and, laying the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression redressed without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the transgression (or, in the event of our being out of therealm, if our justiciar shall not have corrected it) within forty days, reckoning from the time it has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar, if we should be out of the realm), the four barons aforesaid shall refer that matter to the rest of the five-and-twenty barons, and those five-and-twenty barons shall, together with the community of the whole land, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving harmless our own person, and the persons of our queen and children; and when redress has been obtained, they shall resume their old relations toward us. And let whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the said five-and-twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters, and along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we publicly and freely grant leave to every one who wishes to swear, and we shall never forbid any one to swear. All those, moreover, in the land who of themselves and oftheir own accord are unwilling to swear to the twenty-five to help them in constraining and molesting us, we shall by our command compel the same to swearto the effect aforesaid. And if any one of the five-and-twenty barons shall have died or departed from the land, or be incapacitated in any other manner which would prevent the foresaid provisions being carried out, those of the said twenty-five barons who are left shall choose another in his place according to their own judgment, and he shall be sworn in the same way as the others. Further, in all matters, the execution of which is intrusted to thesetwenty-five barons, if perchance these twenty-five are present, that which the majority of those present ordain or command shall be held as fixed and established, exactly as if the whole twenty-five had concurred in this; and the said twenty-five shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that is aforesaid, and cause it to be observed with all their might. And we shall procure nothing from any one, directly or indirectly, whereby any part of these concessions and liberties might be revoked or diminished; and if any such thing has been procured, let it be void and null, and we shall never use it personally or by another. 62. And all the ill-will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen between us and our men, clergy and lay, from the date of the quarrel, we have completely remitted and pardoned every one. Moreover, all trespasses occasioned by the said quarrel, from Easter in the sixteenth year of our reign till the restoration of peace, we have fully remitted to all, both clergy and laymen, and completely forgiven, as far as pertains to us. And, on this head, we have caused to be made for them letters testimonial patent of the lord Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf as touching this security and the concessions aforesaid. 63. Wherefore it is our will, and we firmly enjoin, that the English Church be free, and that the men in our kingdom have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for themselves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in allrespects and in all places forever, as is aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as on the part of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be kept in good faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand--the above-named and many others being witnesses--in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenthday of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign. NOTE: translated in Albert Beebe White and Wallce Notestein, eds., Source Problems in English History (New York: Harper and Brothers,1915). King John was styled as *Joannes Rex Angliae et Dominus Hiberniae, Dux Normaniae et Aquitaniae et Comes Andigaviae*. He was crowned by Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury. His 1. marriage was annulled on the grounds of consanguinity. John was not particularly religious, even before being excommunicated. Once while John was hunting, a large stag was killed. *What a fine life that animal has had, and yet it has never heard Holy Mass*.John had a drooping left eye, as did his son Henry III, and grandson Edward I. He died of dysentery. King John was, of course, the title character in Shakespeare's play King John, which is better theatre than history but much better history than his Richard III. King Philipp of France says to John, during a parley: *But thou from loving England art so far, That thou hast under-wrought his lawful king. Cut off the sequence of posterity, Outfaced infant state, and done a rape, Upon the maiden virtue of the crown*. King John, Act 2, scene 1. Portrayed by Claude Rains in the 1938 film *The Adventures of Robin Hood*. Portrayed by Guy Rolfe in the 1952 film *Ivanhoe*. Portrayed, as Prince John, by Hubert Gregg in the 1952 film *The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men*. Portrayed by Hubert Gregg, Source: RoyaList

John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John de Warenne (1231? – September 27, 1304), 7th Earl of Surrey or Warenne, was prominent during the reigns of Henry III and Edward I. During his long life he fought in the Second Barons' War and in Edward I's wars in Scotland.

He was the son of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey or Warenne, and Maud (or Matilda) Marshal. His mother was the daughter of William Marshal and widow of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. Thus Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, was his elder half-brother.

Warenne was a boy when his father died, and for the rest of his minority Peter of Savoy was the guardian of his estates. In 1247 he married Henry III's half-sister Alice de Lusignan. This marriage was to create resentment amongst the English nobility, who did not like seeing a wealthy English nobleman marrying a penniless outsider.

During the following years Warenne was closely associated with the court faction centering on his in-laws. In 1254 he accompanied the king's son Edward (the future Edward I) on Edward's journey to Spain to marry Eleanor of Castile.

During the conflicts between Henry III and his barons Warenne started as a strong supporter of the king, switched to support for Simon de Montfort, and then returned to the royalist party. He opposed the initial baronial reform plan of May 1258, but along with other opponents capitulated and took the oath of the Provisions of Oxford.

By 1260 Warenne had joined the party of Simon de Montfort, but switched back to the king's side in 1263. After the Battle of Lewes, which was fought near his castle at Lewes, he fled to the Continent, where he remained for about a year. He returned to fight in the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Evesham and the siege of Kenilworth Castle.

Warenne served in Edward I's Welsh campaigns in 1277, 1282, and 1283. In 1282 he received the lordships of Bromfield and Yale in Wales. A good part of the following years were spent in Scotland. He was one of the negotiators for the 1289 treaty of Salisbury and for the 1290 treaty of Birgham, and accompanied the king on Edward's 1296 invasion of Scotland.

On August 22, 1296 the king appointed him "warden of the kingdom and land of Scotland". However he returned to England a few months later claiming that the Scottish climate was bad for his health. The following spring saw the rebellion of William Wallace, and after much delay Warenne led an army northward, where they were defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

Nevertheless the king appointed Warenne captain of the next campaign against the Scots in early 1298. He raised the siege of Roxburgh and re-took the castle at Berwick. The king himself took the field later that year, and Warenne was one of the commanders at the Battle of Falkirk.

Warenne and Alice de Lusignan had three children:

Alice, who married Henry Percy and was the mother of Henry Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick;
Isabella, who married John Balliol and was the mother of Edward Balliol;
William, who married Joanna, daughter of Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, and was accidentally killed at a tournament on December 15, 1286; his son John succeeded his grandfather as earl of Surrey.

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to
whom he has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He
came into
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta.
His later
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17
during which
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN OF ENGLAND (1167-1216). Vicious, shameless, and ungrateful, King
John has been called the worst king ever to rule England. Yet the very
excesses of his reign proved positive in that they provoked such a
violent reaction that his subjects revolted and forced him to put his
seal on the Magna Carta. This document became the safeguard of English
liberty. John's nickname was Lackland because at first he owned no
land. Later his father, King Henry II, gave him castles, lands, and
revenues in both England and France. John plotted against his father,
however, and the discovery of this conspiracy was a factor in the
king's death. John's brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, became king and
added to John's possessions (see Richard, Kings of England). While
Richard was absent from England on the Third Crusade, John conspired
against him also.
When Richard died in 1199, the barons selected John to be their
king. This denied the royal claim of Arthur, son of another brother,
Geoffrey. Two French provinces fought for young Arthur, but the boy
fell into the hands of John and died soon after. During the war John
lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine. John then quarreled
with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as
archbishop of Canterbury. John was excommunicated, and England was
forbidden all religious services except baptism and extreme unction.
The growing discontent of his subjects finally forced John to recognize
the new archbishop.
When John went to France seeking to regain his lands in Normandy,
the barons marched against the king and demanded a charter of
liberties. All but a handful of followers deserted John. He was forced
to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the Great
Charter (see Magna Carta).
John had no intention of supporting the charter, however. He
recruited a new army and destroyed the estates of the barons. The
barons then offered the English crown to Louis, a French prince. In the
midst of a war for the throne, John died of a fever. The task of
restoring the torn kingdom fell to his nine-year-old son, Henry III
(see Henry, Kings of England).

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Acceded: 27 MAY 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England

Best known for signing the Magna Carta, at the insistence of the English
Barons; the youngest son of Henry II, along with Richard I, the Lion Hearted.
John was from the house of Anjou, or Plantagenet.

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to
whom he has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He
came into
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta.
His later
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17
during which
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN OF ENGLAND (1167-1216). Vicious, shameless, and ungrateful, King
John has been called the worst king ever to rule England. Yet the very
excesses of his reign proved positive in that they provoked such a
violent reaction that his subjects revolted and forced him to put his
seal on the Magna Carta. This document became the safeguard of English
liberty. John's nickname was Lackland because at first he owned no
land. Later his father, King Henry II, gave him castles, lands, and
revenues in both England and France. John plotted against his father,
however, and the discovery of this conspiracy was a factor in the
king's death. John's brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, became king and
added to John's possessions (see Richard, Kings of England). While
Richard was absent from England on the Third Crusade, John conspired
against him also.
When Richard died in 1199, the barons selected John to be their
king. This denied the royal claim of Arthur, son of another brother,
Geoffrey. Two French provinces fought for young Arthur, but the boy
fell into the hands of John and died soon after. During the war John
lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine. John then quarreled
with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as
archbishop of Canterbury. John was excommunicated, and England was
forbidden all religious services except baptism and extreme unction.
The growing discontent of his subjects finally forced John to recognize
the new archbishop.
When John went to France seeking to regain his lands in Normandy,
the barons marched against the king and demanded a charter of
liberties. All but a handful of followers deserted John. He was forced
to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the Great
Charter (see Magna Carta).
John had no intention of supporting the charter, however. He
recruited a new army and destroyed the estates of the barons. The
barons then offered the English crown to Louis, a French prince. In the
midst of a war for the throne, John died of a fever. The task of
restoring the torn kingdom fell to his nine-year-old son, Henry III
(see Henry, Kings of England).

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Acceded: 27 MAY 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England

Best known for signing the Magna Carta, at the insistence of the English
Barons; the youngest son of Henry II, along with Richard I, the Lion Hearted.
John was from the house of Anjou, or Plantagenet.

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.---------------

==========================

JOHN (r. 1199-1216) John was an able administrator interested in law and government but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by the Pope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. This treaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement to control the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clauses established the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'. The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure that the Sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him if he did not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, Magna Carta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of English law, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the English people. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216 England was in the grip of civil war.

Source: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page64.asp

A biography of King John I

Family:

Spouse: Ferrers, Agatha de (Concubine)
Birth: ABT 1168 Charlty, Stafford, England
Gender: Female
Parents:

Father: Ferriers, William I (Walkeline) de E/Derby
Mother: Toni, Goda de Countess/Derby

Children:

FitzRoy, Richard Pr/England
Plantagenet, Joan Princess/England & Wales

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to
whom he has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He
came into
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta.
His later
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17
during which
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN OF ENGLAND (1167-1216). Vicious, shameless, and ungrateful, King
John has been called the worst king ever to rule England. Yet the very
excesses of his reign proved positive in that they provoked such a
violent reaction that his subjects revolted and forced him to put his
seal on the Magna Carta. This document became the safeguard of English
liberty. John's nickname was Lackland because at first he owned no
land. Later his father, King Henry II, gave him castles, lands, and
revenues in both England and France. John plotted against his father,
however, and the discovery of this conspiracy was a factor in the
king's death. John's brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, became king and
added to John's possessions (see Richard, Kings of England). While
Richard was absent from England on the Third Crusade, John conspired
against him also.
When Richard died in 1199, the barons selected John to be their
king. This denied the royal claim of Arthur, son of another brother,
Geoffrey. Two French provinces fought for young Arthur, but the boy
fell into the hands of John and died soon after. During the war John
lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine. John then quarreled
with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as
archbishop of Canterbury. John was excommunicated, and England was
forbidden all religious services except baptism and extreme unction.
The growing discontent of his subjects finally forced John to recognize
the new archbishop.
When John went to France seeking to regain his lands in Normandy,
the barons marched against the king and demanded a charter of
liberties. All but a handful of followers deserted John. He was forced
to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the Great
Charter (see Magna Carta).
John had no intention of supporting the charter, however. He
recruited a new army and destroyed the estates of the barons. The
barons then offered the English crown to Louis, a French prince. In the
midst of a war for the throne, John died of a fever. The task of
restoring the torn kingdom fell to his nine-year-old son, Henry III
(see Henry, Kings of England).

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Acceded: 27 MAY 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England

Best known for signing the Magna Carta, at the insistence of the English
Barons; the youngest son of Henry II, along with Richard I, the Lion Hearted.
John was from the house of Anjou, or Plantagenet.

!DESCENT: Gary Boyd Roberts, The Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants to the
American Colonies or the United States, at 305 (1992).

John (24 December 1167 – 19 October 1216)[1][2] reigned as King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death. He was a Plantagenet or Angevin king and succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I. John acquired the nickname of "Lackland" (French: Sans Terre) for his lack of an inheritance as the youngest son of Henry II, probably while supporting Phillip II against his father alongside Richard, and for his loss of the territory of the duchy of Normandy to Phillip II king of France which occurred with his signing the ill-made Treaty of Le Goulet. He also had the nickname of "Soft-sword" for his alleged military ineptitude in the twelve years long War of Bouvines[3] which followed when he broke his word concluding with the battle of Bouvines in the county of Flanders.

These events taken together led directly to his clash with the English nobility and his signing of the great charter (Magna Carta).[4]

As a historical figure, John is best known for acquiescing to the nobility and signing the Magna Carta ("the Great Charter"), a document that limited his power and that is popularly regarded as an early first step in the evolution of modern democracy. He has often appeared in historical fiction, particularly as an enemy of Robin Hood.[5]

Born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son and last of eight children born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Some authors, noting Henry's stay at Woodstock, near Oxford, with Eleanor in March 1166, assert that John was born in that year, and not 1167.[6][7]

John was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France, his mother's children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France, which was later annulled. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; Matilda, Duchess of Saxony; Richard I of England; Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Leonora, Queen of Castile; and Joan, Queen of Sicily

[edit] Early life
While John was his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance, and thus came to receive the surname Lackland, before his accession to the throne. His family life was tumultuous, as his mother and older brothers all became involved in repeated rebellions against Henry. Eleanor was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was a small boy.

As a child, John was betrothed to Alys (pronounced 'Alice'), daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps because, through the marriage contract, John was promised the inheritance of Savoy, the Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his youngest son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey, which was for some time a bone of contention between King Henry and his son Geoffrey. Alys made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court, but she died before the marriage occurred.

Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:

The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons, who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others.
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months.

[edit] Education and literacy
Henry II had at first intended that John would receive an appropriate education to enter the Church, which would have meant that Henry would not have had to apportion him land or any other inheritance. In 1171, however, Henry began negotiations to betroth John to the daughter of Count Humbert III of Savoy, who had no son yet and so wanted a son-in-law. After that, talk of making John a cleric ceased. John's parents had both received a good education — Henry spoke some half dozen languages, and Eleanor had attended lectures at what would soon become the University of Paris — in addition to what they had learned of law and government, religion, and literature. John himself had received one of the best educations of any king of England. Records show that, among other books, he read De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England — maybe Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

Some schoolchildren were taught that King John had to approve the Magna Carta by attaching his seal to it because he lacked the ability to read or write. Not so: he had a large library he treasured until the end of his life.[8] The authors of these errors either oversimplified because they wrote for children or were simply misinformed. As a result, generations of adults mainly remembered two things about "wicked King John", both of them wrong: his illiteracy and his supposed association with Robin Hood.

King John did actually sign the draft of the Charter that the negotiating parties hammered out in the tent on Charter Island at Runnymede on 15 June–18 June 1215. But after the meeting was dissolved, it took the royal clerks and scribes some time to prepare the final copies, which they then sealed and delivered to the appropriate officials. In those days, legal documents were made official by seals, not by signatures. When William the Conqueror (and his wife) signed the Accord of Winchester (Image) in 1072, for example, they and all the bishops signed with crosses, as illiterate people would later do, but they did so in accordance with current legal practice, not because the bishops could not write their own names.

[edit] Richard's absence
During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. John was more popular than Longchamp in London, and in October 1191 the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while Longchamp was confined in the tower. John promised the city the right to govern itself as a commune in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive.[9] This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood.

While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Eleanor was forced to pay a large ransom for Richard's release. On his return to England in 1194, Richard forgave John and named him as his heir.

[edit] Reign

[edit] Dispute with Arthur
When Richard died, John failed to gain immediate universal recognition as king. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought his uncle for the throne, with the support of King Philip II of France. The conflict between Arthur and King John had fatal consequences. By the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet, Philip recognised John over Arthur, and the two came to terms regarding John's vassalage for Normandy and the Angevin territories. However, the peace was ephemeral.

The war upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain territories on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer to certain charges, one of which was his kidnapping and later marriage to Isabella of Angoulême, who was already engaged to Guy de Lusignan. John was called to Phillip's court after the Lusignans pleaded for his help. John refused, and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all those fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy) and betrothed him to his daughter Marie.

Needing to supply a war across the English Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy. (The Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours constructed on the south coast at Sandwich, and most importantly, Hastings.) By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, since these achievements are ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.

In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205, John formed an alliance by marrying off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great.

During the conflict, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what ultimately happened to Arthur. According to the Margam Annals, on 3 April 1203:

After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when [John] was drunk he slew [Arthur] with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine.
However, Hubert de Burgh, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King who had been sent to castrate him. He reported that Arthur had died of shock. de Burgh later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one saw Arthur alive again. The supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany, and later Normandy, to rebel against King John.

In addition to capturing Arthur, John also captured Arthur's sister, his niece Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner until her death in 1241. Through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.

Dealings with Bordeaux
In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume, which was the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou.[10]

Dispute with the Pope
When Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The Canterbury Cathedral chapter claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor and favoured Reginald, a candidate out of their midst. However, both the English bishops and the king had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. The king wanted John de Gray, one of his own men, so he could influence the church more.[11] When their dispute could not be settled, the Chapter secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections, and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.

John expelled the Chapter in July 1207, to which the Pope reacted by imposing the interdict on the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by seizure of church property for failure to provide feudal service. The Pope, realizing that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.

In November 1209 John was excommunicated, and in February 1213, Innocent threatened England with a Crusade led by Philip Augustus of France. Philip had wanted to place his son Louis, the future Louis IX on the English throne. John, suspicious of the military support his barons would offer, submitted to the pope. Innocent III quickly called off the Crusade as he had never really planned for it to go ahead. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 (according to Matthew Paris, at the Templar Church at Dover);[12] in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1,000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland.[13] With this submission, formalised in the Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull), John gained the valuable support of the pope in his new dispute with the English barons.

Dispute with the barons
Having successfully put down the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (1214), which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France. (Not until 1420 under King Henry V of England would Normandy and Acquitaine come again under English rule.)

The defeat finally turned the largest part of his barons against him, although some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated by the Pope. The nobles joined together and demanded concessions. John met their leaders at Runnymede, near London on 15 June 1215 to seal the Great Charter, called in Latin Magna Carta. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne). John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, including a personal two month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle.

Death

John's tomb effigyRetreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel-held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This loss dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history: it began with defeats—he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne—and ended with England torn by civil war (The First Barons' War), the Crown Jewels lost and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to agree to the terms of the Magna Carta in 1215.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the continuation of the administrative records of the English exchequer - the Pipe Rolls.

Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":

...talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted. He was compared in a recent scholarly article, perhaps unfairly, with Richard Nixon. His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him—and the energy with which some of them opposed him.

Winston Churchill summarised the legacy of John's reign: "When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[14]

In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton.[15]

[edit] Marriage and issue
In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and since her paternal grandfather was the illegitimate son of Henry I of England, John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan.

Isabella bore five children:

King Henry III of England (1207-1272).
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1209-1272).
Joan (1210-1238), Queen Consort of Alexander II of Scotland.
Isabella (1214-1241), Consort of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Eleanor (1215-1275), who married William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and later married Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester.
John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured of Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children (unless otherwise stated by unknown mistresses):

Joan, Lady of Wales, the wife of Prince Llywelyn Fawr of Wales, (by a woman named Clemence)
Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)
Oliver FitzRoy, (by a mistress named Hawise) who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.
Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.
William de Forz(A Son of the wife of Baldwin de Bethune)

(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)

[F560.ftw]

Ruled 1189-1216

John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. His parents drifted apart after his birth, and his youth was divided between his eldest brother's house where he learned the art of knighthood, andthe house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government.
As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland.
His first marriage, to Isabel of Gloucester, lasted but ten years and was fruitless; Isabella of Angouleme, his second wife, bore him two sons. He also had an illegitimate daughter, also named Joan, who married Lywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended.
The Angevin family feuds left quite a mark on John - he proved his betrayal to both his father and his brother Richard . He and Richard clashed in 1184 when the elder refused to turn Aquitane over to theyounger brother, as dictated by Henry II. The following year Henry sent
John to rule Ireland, but John alienated the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure, and John returned home within six months.
Richard, after acceding to the throne in 1189, gave John vast estates to appease his younger brother, but to no avail. He tried to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity, but failed. He conspired with Philip II in another attempt, which again failed. Upon Richard's release in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon, and spent the next five years in his brother's shadow, staying out of trouble long enough to be named heir to the crown.
John's reign was full of trouble. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John excommunicated two years later. The dispute, centered around John's refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury, and was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Innocent III, one of the greatest medieval popes.
A succession dispute with his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, ultimately resulted in the loss of French territories, as the king's French vassals preferred Arthur. By Spring 1205, John had crossed the Channel back into England as the last of his French possessions fell out of his hands. From 1206 to the end of his reign, John was preoccupied with regaining these territories, levying a number of new taxes upon the landed barons to pay for his campaigns. This would have been satisfactory had John been winning battles, but he was continually trounced by the French.
The discontented rebel barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. In June, at Runnymeade, John met with the barons and signed the Magna Carta, a feudal rights document stressing three points: 1) the Church was free to make its own appointments, 2) no more than the normal amounts of money could be collected to run the government, unless the king's feudal tenants gave their consent, and 3) no freeman was to be punished except in concert with the common law. This document proved to be the forerunner of modern constitutions. John signed the document as a means of buying time, and failed to keep his word. The nobility called for French assistance, and John died in the midst of an invasion.
John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England : "...his works of piety were very many... as far his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace." John's treacherous nature was the cause of the greatest loss of English continental territory until Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).

[From "The British Monarchy", www.royal.gov.uk/history.angevin.htm]

John and Magna Carta

John (reigned 1199-1216) was an able administrator interested in law and government but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by the Pope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms.
This treaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement to control the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clauses established the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.

The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure that the Sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him if he did not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, Magna Carta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of English law, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the English people.

As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216 England was in the grip of civil war.

Ruled England from 1199-1216

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart soon after his birth leaving his childhood divided between his eldest brother Henry's house, where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government.
As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten years and was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, bore him two sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs descended.
The survival of the English government during John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, Henry II, as John taxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.
The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashed in 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishes to surrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who had emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within six months.
After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vast estates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. John failed to overthrow Richard's administrators during Richard's German captivity and conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. Upon Richard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.
John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John actually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John's stubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury. The issue was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute for England as the Pope's vassal.
John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to the Irish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murder of his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he had lost the last of his French possessions to Philip II and returned to England.
The final ten years of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain the lost territories from Philip. His ever increasing demands for money and fighting men for his dismal campaigns aroused the ire of the barons. Finally, in 1215 the barons came together and demanded John's written guarantee of certain rights and priviliges in exchange for their military support. At first John refused to sign the document offered and the discontented barons revolted. They captured London in May 1215 and held the city until John relented.
At Runnymeade in June 1215, John succumbed to pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large, and set with his seal on June 15 a draft of stipulations known as Articles of the barons (now lost). On June 19 a document was finalized as the Magna Carta (Great Charter). The document, a declaration of feudal rights, stressed three points:
"First, the Church was free to make ecclesiastic appointments.
"Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only be collected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants.
"Third, no freeman was to be punished except within the context of established common law.
Magna Carta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, was the forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document as a means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principles compelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered the throne to Philip II's son, Louis.
John died, 18 October 1216 at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, from battle wounds received in a two-front war: an invasion from the French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North. He was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England:
". . . his works of piety were very many . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace."
Other Information:
Born: 24 December 1167 at Beaumont Palace, Oxford
Died: 18 October 1216 at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire
Buried: Worcester Cathedral, Worcester
Parents: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane
Siblings: William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, and Joan
Crowned: 27 May 1199 at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex
Married:
(1st) 29th August 1189 at Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire
(2nd) 24 August 1200 at Bordeaux Cathedral
Spouse:
(1st) Isabella daughter of William, Earl of Gloucester
(2nd) Isabella daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme
Offspring:
(1st) None
(2nd) Henry, Richard, Joan, Isabella, and Eleanor
(Illegitimate) At least twelve
Contemporaries:
Philip II (King of France, 1180-1223)
Innocent III (Pope, 1198-1216)
Llywelyn the Great (King of Wales, 1208-1240)
________________________________________

In 1215, when King John confirmed Magna Carta with his seal, he was acknowledging the now firmly embedded concept that no man--not even the king - -is above the law. That was a milestone in constitutional thought for the 13th century and for centuries to come. In 1779 John Adams expressed it this way: "A government of laws, and not of men." Further, the charte r established important individual rights that have a direct legacy in th e American Bill of Rights. And during the United States' history, these rights have been expanded. The U.S. Constitution is not a static document . Like Magna Carta, it has been interpreted and reinterpreted throughout the years. This has allowed the Constitution to become the longest-lasting constitution in the world and a model for those penned by other nations. Through judicial review and amendment, it has evolved so that today Americans--regardless of gender, race, or creed--can enjoy the liberties a nd protection it guarantees. Just as Magna Carta stood as a bulwark again st tyranny in England, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights today ser ve similar roles, protecting the individual freedoms of all Americans aga inst arbitrary and capricious rule.

AFN: 8XJ4-1K

(Research):>Death note: Death Surety:2

The following is from the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Online. Grolier Interactive Inc. <http://gi.grolier.com/encyclopedial>. January 2, 1998:

The youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, John, b. Dec. 24, 1167, succeeded his brother Richard I as king of England on May 27, 1199. John's reign is notable for his difficulties with the church and the barons; the king's conflict with the latter resulted in the Magna Carta.
John's character was not attractive--he was hedonistic, mercurial, personally unstable, suspicious, and unforgiving. Yet he had many commendable qualities--he was highly intelligent, well versed in law and government, efficient, and sophisticated. His greatest shortcoming, in view of his contemporaries, was that he was no warrior, in an age when kings were expected to be great fighters. Moreover, John's difficulties stemmed largely from the policies of his father and brother. Richard had bequeathed financial bankruptcy and a ruinously expensive war in France. John also bore the brunt of baronial reaction to the centralization of government, a policy initiated by his predecessors, though continued with enthusiasm by him.
Early in his reign John lost most of the English possessions in France; by 1206, Philip II of France had conquered Anjou, Normandy, and Brittany. In that year John also became embroiled in a quarrel with the church by refusing to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. The pope placed England under interdict (in effect, closing the churches) until John abandoned the fight in 1213 and accepted papal vassalage.
The king took this step to strengthen his hand against the barons, with whom trouble had been building since 1208. The failure of John's expedition to Poitou in 1214, however, coupled with the defeat of his ally, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, in the Battle of Bouvines, gave the English barons their excuse for rebellion. In June 1215 the barons forced the king to accede to their demands for the restoration of feudal rights in the famous document called Magna Carta. The civil war was resumed soon after, however, and continued at the time of John's death on Oct. 18-19, 1216. John was succeeded by his young son, Henry III.

Author: James W. Alexander

John (of England), called John Lackland (1167-1216), King of England (1199-1216), best known for signing the Magna Carta.

John was born in Oxford on December 24, 1167, the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. By 1186, however, only Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the Crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's brother, Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Philip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207 John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated him and began negotiating with Philip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes, and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Carta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject, rather than superior, to the law. Shortly afterward John and the barons were at war.

He divorced his first wife after 10 childless years of marriage; the 34 year-old king soon after wed Isabella, the 12-year old daughter of Count Audemar of Angouleme; after John's death, Isabella wed the son of her first fiance. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire on October 19, 1216, while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III.

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Notes for Isabella Taillefer:

She was betrothed to Hugh before she married John. After John's death she

retired to her native city and eventually married Hugh after about three years. Countess of AngoulÅe 1202. She had five childen to the first marriage with John, and eleven more with her second husband, Hugh.

Children of Lackland John and Isabella Taillefer are:

+ 30 i. Henry6 III, King of England, born 1 Oct 1207 in Winchester, England; died 16 Nov 1272 in St. Edmundsbury, England.

31 ii. Princess of England Joan, born 22 Jul 1210 in Gloucester, England; died 4 Mar 1238/39 in Havering-atte-Bower, Essex, England. She married Alexander II, King of Scotland 19 Jun 1221.

Notes for Alexander II, King of Scotland:

Alexander II (of Scotland) (1198-1249), king of Scotland (1214-49), the son of William the Lion. He supported the English barons in their rebellion against King John, helping them to secure the Magna Carta (1215), but in 1217 he recognized John's successor, Henry III, as his overlord, and in 1221 he married Henry's sister, Joan. After Joan's death in 1238, he took a second wife, Mary of Coucy, who bore him a son in 1241. By the Peace of York (1237), Alexander and Henry established the permanent boundary between England and Scotland. At home, Alexander imposed his rule over outlying parts of Scotland and strengthened the power of the monarchy.

Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia

ENGLAND, John I 'Lackland' of (King of England (1199-16)) 22nd gt. grandfather. He was born 24 Dec 1167 in Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England and died 19 Oct 1216 in Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England, buried at Worcester Cathedral; son of Henry II 'Curtmantle' of England55 (King of England (1154-89)) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (Dutchess), the daughter of William X 'The Toulousan' of AQUITAINE (Duke of Aquitaine); 1st associated with Suzanne DE WARENNE (the daughter of Hamelin of Anjou Plantagnet De Warenne (Earl of Surrey) and Isabel de Warenne, the daughter of William de Warenne (III; Earl of Warren & Surrey)) before 1186. Child: i. Richard of Dover FITZJOHN (Baron of Chilham) 60. He 2nd associated with Agatha DE FERRERS (the daughter of William (Walkelin) de Ferrers (Earl of Derby) and Sibyl de Braose, the daughter of William II de Braose (Sheriff of Herefordshire)) about 1188. No known issue. He 3rd married Isabella of Angouleme TAILLEFER (the daughter of Aymer 'Taillefer' de Valence (Count of Angouleme) and Alice de Courtenay, the daughter of Peter I de Courtenay (Prince of France)) on 24 Aug 1200 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Children: ii. Henry III of (King of England (1216-72)) 61, iii. Richard of CORNWALL (Earl of Cornwall) , iv. Isabella of, v. Eleanor (Alianor) of (m. William 'The Younger' MARSHALL, Simon V DE MONTFORT). He 4th associated with Constance (Clementia) of BRITTANY (the daughter of Conan IV 'The Small' of Brittany (Duke of Brittany) and Margaret de Huntingdon, the daughter of Henry of Huntingdon (Prince of Scotland)) before 1201. Child: vi. Joan of (Princess of England) . He 5th associated with Hawise DE TRACY after 1201. Children: vii. Oliverof England , viii. Osbert GIFFORD, ix. Geoffrey FITZROY, x. John FitzJohn COURCY, xi. Odo (Eudo) FITZROY, xii. Ivo FITZROY, xiii. Henry FITZROY, xiv. Richard (Constable) , xv. Matilda (Abbess of Barking) , xvi. Isabella LA BLANCHE. He 6th married Isabella of GLOUCESTER (the daughter of William of Gloucester Fitzrobert (Earl of Gloucester) and Hawise de Beaumont, the daughter of Robert II 'Bossu' de Beaumont) on 29 Aug 1189 in Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, England. No known issue.
Notes: John (jn)
Known as John Lackland.
1167?-1216
King of England (1199-1216). The youngest son of Henry II, he schemed against his father and his brother Richard I. During his reign, the English lost most of their possessions in France. The nobility rose against John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta (June 15, 1215), a cornerstone of English freedom.
Source:
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.
------------
John, 1167-1216, king of England (1199-1216); youngest son of HENRY II. After his brother RICHARD I left on the Third CRUSADE, John conspired unsuccessfully with PHILIP II of France to supplant Richard as king. On Richard's death, John ascended the throne to the exclusion of his nephew ARTHUR I of Brittany, who, with the aid of Philip II, began a revolt in France. Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his French possessions to Philip. John's refusal to accept a new archbishop of Canterbury led to his excommunication (1209). To regain papal favor, he surrendered (1213) his kingdom to Pope INNOCENT III, and received it back as a papal fief. In England his abuse of feudal custom in raising money aroused intense opposition from the barons. They rebelled in 1215 and compelled John to set his seal to the MAGNA CARTA. He was succeeded by his son HENRY III.
Source:
The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia is licensed from Columbia University Press. Copyright 1995 by Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
---------------
John was born on Christmas Eve 1167, the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane. His parents drifted apart after his birth, and his youth was divided between his eldest brother's house where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage, to Isabel of Gloucester, lasted but ten years and was fruitless; Isabella of Angouleme, his second wife, bore him two sons (Henry and Richard) and three daughters (Joan, Isabella, and Eleanor). He also had an illegitimate daughter, also named Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended.

The Angevin family feuds left quite a mark on John - he proved his betrayal to both his father and his brother Richard. He and Richard clashed in 1184 when the elder refused to turn Aquitane over to the younger brother, as dictated by Henry II. The following year Henry sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure, and John returned home within six months. Richard, after acceding to the throne in 1189, gave John vast estates to appease his younger brother, but to no avail. He tried to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity, but failed. He conspired with Philip II in another attempt, which again failed. Upon Richard's release in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon, and spent the next five years in his brother's shadow, staying out of trouble long enough to be named heir to the crown.

John's reign was full of trouble. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John excommunicated two years later. The dispute, centered around John's refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury, and was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Innocent III, one of the greatest medieval popes.

A succession dispute with his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, ultimately resulted in the loss French territories, as the king's French vassals preferred Arthur. By spring 1205, John had crossed the Channel back into England as the last of his French possessions fell out of his hands. From 1206 to the end of his reign, John was preoccupied with regaining these territories, levying a number of new taxes upon the landed barons to pay for his campaigns. This would have been satisfactory had John been winning battles, but the French continually trounced him. The discontented rebel barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. In June, at Runnymeade, John met with the barons and signed the Magna Carta, a feudal rights document stressing three points:

1) the Church was free to make its own appointments,

2) no more than the normal amounts of money could be collected to run the government, unless the king's feudal tenants gave their content, and

3) no freeman was to be punished except in concert with the common law. This document proved to be the forerunner of modern constitutions. John signed the document as a means of buying time, and failed to keep his word. The nobility called for French assistance, and John died in the midst of an invasion.

John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: "...his works of piety were very many ... as far his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace." John's treacherous nature was the cause of the greatest loss of English continental territory until Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).
Source:
www.britannia.com

From Plantagenet Ancestry:

JOHN OF ENGLAND (nicknamed Lackland), youngest son, born at Oxford about 27 Dec. 1166. In 1172 he was contracted to marry Alice of Maurienne, eldest daughter of Humbert III, Count of Maurienne, Marquis of Italy. This marriage scheme failed in 1173, when his older brother, Henry, as count of Anjou, refused their father's proposal to give John the castles of Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau. In 1174 it was agreed that John should have Nottingham and Marlborough Castles in England and certain castles and rents in France. In 1177 his father declared him King of Ireland, and arranged his succession to the earldom of Gloucester. In March 1185 his father knighted him at Windsor, and sent him to govern Ireland. John treated the Irishmen with such insolence, they deserted the English cause and kept the Kings of Limerick, Cork, and Connaught from coming to do fealty to him. He was recalled from Ireland by his father in Sept. 1185. His father's continued favor to him contributed to the rebellion of John's older brother, Richard, though at the end of Henry's reign, John deserted his father to support Richard. On Richard's accession as king in 1189, he made John Count of Mortain in Normandy, and granted him the castles and honours of Marlborough, Ludgershall, Lancaster, Bolsover, and the Peak, the town of Nottingham, the honours of Tickhill and Wallingford, and the county of Derby, with the honour of Peverel. John married (1st) at Marlborough, Wiltshire ... ISABEL OF GLOUCESTER, Countess of Gloucester, lady of Glamorgan .... Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, protested against the marriage, John and Isabel being related in the 3rd degree of kindred. They had no issue. He was present at the Coronation of his brother, King Richard I, in Sept. 1189. By the end of 1189, John was further granted the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, with all rights of jurisdiction. In 1191, while Richard was on crusade, John broke his promise not to enter England during Richard's absence, and, on learning of Richard's imprisonment in Germany, attempted unsuccessfully to seize control of England. On Richard's return in 1193, John was deprived of his English lands and excommunicated. In May 1193 Richard and John were reconciled by the mediation of the queen-mother. In 1195 Richard granted him the county of Mortain, the honour of Eye, and earldom of Gloucester. In the beginning of April 1199, as Richard was dying, he named John his successor in England and all his dominions. On the death of Richard, 6 April 1199, John ascended the throne and was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey 27 May 1199. In 1199 he obtained a divorce from hsi wife, Isabel, on grounds of consanguinity. She was subsequently kept a state prisoner until 1214. John married (2nd) ... ISABEL OF ANGOULÊME .... She was born in 1188, and was previously contracted to marry Hugues IX le Brun (died Nov. 1219), Count of La Marche, seigneur of Lusignan and Couhé. She was crowned queen 8 Oct. 1200. They had five children. By various mistresses, King John had a large number of illegitimate children .... War with France followed John's refusal to appear before King Philippe Auguste of France concerning the grievance of the Lusignans. At first John was successful in defending his French lands, capturing his nephew, Arthur (who died in custody), but, in 1204, he lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine to the French king. For the next ten years, John resided almost permanently in England (the first such Angevin king) and attempted to restore his finances for further warfare in France by determined taxation and exploitation of his feudal prerogatives (later the basis for the charge of tyranny). In 1205 he began a quarrel with the Church when he refused to accept Pope Innocent III's nomination of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. His intransigence in the matter led the Pope to impose an interdict on England in 1208, suspending all religious services, and excommunicating King John. In 1210 he went to Ireland, where he took Carrickfergus, seized the lands of the Lacys and banished the Earl of Ulster, built several fortresses, appointed sheriffs and other officers to carry out the English system of law, and coined new money. He arrested all the Jews in England, and made them pay 66,000 marks. In 1211 he made an expedition into North Wales, compelled the submission of Llywelyn, and raised fortresses. In 1213, after five years of amassing the revenues of vacant or appropriated sees and abbeys, John agreed to become a vassal to the Pope for an annual tribute of one thousand marks, with absolution from excommunication and the lifting of the interdict. In 1214 John conducted another campaign in France, and suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Bouvines on the river Margne. An alliance of barons took advantage of this defeat to launch a rebellion which was succesful in forcing John to agree to a comprehensive and humiliating agreement at Runnymede near Windsor 19 June 1215 called the Magna Carta [Great Charter]. This charter defined the rights of the Church, barons, and the people. John soon repudiated the charter, claiming he acted under duress, and civil war ensued. JOHN, King of England, died testate suddenly at the Bishop of Lincoln's castle at Newark 19 Oct. 1216, and was buried at Worcester Cathedral.

John was a Plantagenet king of the House of Anjou; Reign: 1199-1216; Best known for signing the Magna Charta. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical. To support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force his to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Charta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215. This made him subject rather than superior to the law. Shortly afterward John and the barons were at war.

Kinship II - A collection of family, friends and U.S. Presidents
URL: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2902060&id=I575150202
ID: I575150202
Name: John "Lackland" PLANTAGENET
Given Name: John "Lackland"
Surname: Plantagenet
Sex: M
Birth: 24 Dec 1166 in Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England 1 1 1
Death: 19 Oct 1216 in , Newark, Nottinghamshire, England 1 1 1
Burial: Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England
Change Date: 10 May 2004 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1
Note:
Name Prefix: King
Ancestral File Number: 8XJ4-1K

Father: Henry II PLANTAGENET b: 5 Mar 1133 in , Le Mans, Sarthe, France
Mother: Elbeonore Of AQUITAINE b: 1122 in Chcateau De Belin, Bordeaux, Aquitaine

Marriage 1 Agatha De FERRERS b: Abt 1168 in Of, Charltey, Staffordshire, England
Married: Abt 1187 in of London, London, England
Note: _UIDFA92C952B6E10B4CBAB7E00CCA5733E62C69
Children
Joan PLANTAGENET b: Abt 1188 in Of, London, Middlesex, England

Marriage 2 Isabella TAILLEFER b: 1188 in Angouleme, France
Married: 24 Aug 1200 in , Bordeaux, Gironde, France 1 1 1
Note: _UID0217256CE3CCA149821571416185AB07243C
Children
Henry PLANTAGENET b: 1 Oct 1207 in , Winchester, Hampshire, England
Richard PLANTAGENET b: 5 Jan 1208 in Winchester, Hampshire England
Joane PLANTAGENET b: 22 Jul 1210 in , Coucy, Alsne, France
Isabella PLANTAGENET b: 1214 in Of, Winchester, Hampshire, England
Eleanor PLANTAGENET b: 1215 in , Winchester, Hampshire, England
Isabella PLANTAGENET
Eleanor PLANTAGENET

Marriage 3 Isabella DE CLARE
Married: 29 Aug 1189 in Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, England 1
Note: _UID4B14BC7D4CA65945A182A5DF932BA9508654

Sources:
Title: janet skelton.FTW
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Repository:
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Title: Ancestral File (R)
Publication: Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998
Repository:

Matthew Paris wrote, 'Foul as it is, hell itself is defiled by the presence of King John', and this pretty well sums up John's reputation--until 1944, that is. For in that year Professor Galbraith demonstrated in a lecture to an astonished world that the chief chronicle source for the reign of John was utterly unreliable. Since then bad King John has been getting better and better, until now he is nearly well again, and a leading scholar in the field has seriously warned us that the twentieth century could well create it own John myth. Recent historians have turned to the administrative records of his reign, and found there a very different picture; but still the lingering doubts remain--were these records the result of John's skill and application or of those of his able staff?
John was a paunchy little man, five feet five inches tall, with erect head, staring eyes, flaring nostrils and thick lips set in a cruel pout, as his splendid monument at Worcester shows. He had the tempestous nature of all his family, and a driving demoniac energy. Professor Barlow says that 'he prowled around his kingdom,' which is an evocative phrase, but it would be truer to say that he raced around it. He was fastidious about his person--taking more baths than several other medieval kings put together, and owning the ultimate in luxury, for that time, a dressing-gown. He loved good food and drink, and gambled a great deal, though he usually lost--the results of his typical impatience and carelessness are recorded on his expense rolls; above all things he loved women. Some say his 'elopment' was the cause of his loss of Normandy. He was generous to the poor (for instance, he remitted to them the penalties of the forest law), and to his servants; at the least he went through the motions of being a Christian king. He was extortionate, though if one considers the terrific increase in his outgoings (a mercenary soldier cost him 200 per cent more in wages than he would have in Henry II's day) one can understand some of his actions in the field. He was deeply concerned about justice, took care to attend to court business, and listened to supplicants with sympathy; he had also an urgent desire for peace in the land, saying that his peace was to be observed 'even if we have granted it to a dog.' But for all that, he had two totally unredeeming vices; he was suspicious, and enjoyed a cloak-and-dagger atmosphere--simply he did not inspire trust in his subjects. Dr. Warren says of him with some justice that if he had lived in the twentieth centure he would have adored to run a secret police.
He was born at Oxford on Christmas Eve 1167. He was oblated for a monk at the abbey of Fontevrault at the age of one year, but was back at court by the time he was six--plainly he had no vocation, but he probably picked up at this early stage his fastidiousness and his passion for books: his library followed him wherever he went. He was his father's favourite, but he turned against the old man when his chance came, as he did against Richard (who had been very generous to his brother) when the latter was in captivity in 1193. The episode was a miserable failure, but it possibly sowed the seeds of distrust for John in England, where they began to sprout luxuriantly in 1199 when Richard died and John came to the throne.
Immeditaely the challenge came: Philip Augustus, the wily King of France, was backing John's nephew, Prince Arthur of Brittany (son of John's elder brother Geoffrey) as a contender for the throne, and England's French possessions fell prey to civil war. John found grave difficultly in dealing with the situation for a number of reasons, but in 1202 he made the remarkable coup of capturing Arthur by force-marching his troups eighty miles in forty-eight hours; but then his prosecution of the war became listless, and he lost much sympathy by his brutal murder of Arthur whilst in a drunken rage. By 1204 Normandy was lost.
The loss of Normandy seemed to wake John up, and he now deployed his every energy in building up the coastal defences of Britain, now faced with an enemy the other side of the Channel, instead of just more of her own territory. The navy was built up, and the army, and John poured a quarter of his annual revenue into defence. But he could not persuade the baronage to support him in a counterstroke to regain Normandy: the barons of the north country had never owned land in Normandy and did not see why they should pay to regain southerners's castles for them. These 'Northerners' as they called themselves, were a hive of discontent, and more was to be heard from them. Meanwhile, John sailed angrily about in the Channel, cursing ineffectually.
Other troubles were to come first, however. In 1205 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walker, died, and John assumed that he would have the choice of the new archbishop. However, Pope Innocent III was no man to support secular control over church appointments, and supported the right of the monks of Canterbury to select their own archbishop. For two years the storms blew betwen England and Rome, then Stephen Langton was appointed. Meanwhile John had driven the monks into exile and appropriated the revenues of the archdiocese. He had fallen out also with his half-brother, Geoffrey Archbishop or York, over tax-collection, and he too fled abroad while John collected his revenues. Four bishops joined in his fight--tension was growing to the snapping point. In 1208 the Pope put an Interdict on England, which in effect meant the clergy went on stike, or, in certain cases and areas, worked to rule. John began negotiations with Innocent, but, finding that he demanded unconditional surrender, stopped them and took over all ecclesiastical properties and incomes. He did leave the clergy sufficient to live, though barely; but he still gained a large increment to his usual finances. In November 1209 the Pope took the final step of excommjunicating the King, which, in that it made him an outlaw in Christendom, did far more damage than the Interdict.
John used his enlarged treasury to restore order in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and to rebuild the old alliance with Otto IV of Germany and the Count of Flanders against Philip Augustus. He planned a two-pronged attack on France, to take place in 1212. But that year turned out an unlucky one for John, for the barons again refused to serve abroad, and the army he had was needed to put down a revolt in Wales; the Pope was threatening to demote him, and Philip Augustus was planning a massive invasion of England. John had to give in in one direction, for the pressure was much too great: he chose the Pope, and wisely so. He agreed to return to the status quo in the matter of church property and establishment, and to pay compensation; he further resigned his kingdom into the hands of the Pope, to receive it back in return for his homage and an annual tribute of 1,000 marks (a mark being two-thirds of a pound].
He had won a notable ally in Innocent III, who supported him faithfully throughout his troubles. Then his fleet, his own creation, had the good luck to find the French fleet at anchor and unprotected, destroyed it, and so made a French invasion impossible. On the crest of a wave, John determined to put his two-pronged invasion plan into action, but once more the northern barons refused to play, and he set off to punish them. Stephen Langton had arrived on the scene by now and managed to persuade John not to provoke the barons further. In 1214 he finally managed to put his long cherished plan into action, but the two attacks were not properly coordinated; Otto was defeated at Bouvines, and John was deserted by his Poitevin knights.
In 1215 John faced a baronage in turmoil: they could point to the failure of his expensive schemes, he ascribed his failure to their total lack of support. The situation could not be more tense. John's nervousness can be seen in his taking of the cross, a blatant attempt to reinforce his alliance with the papacy. In April the Northerners met at Stamford; they were by now a mixture of northerners and southerners--the name was now merely a nickname--but by and large they were the younger element in the kingdom, roughnecks out for a spree. They moved south and were let into London by a faction, and received the expected encouragement from Philip Augustus in the form of siege engines brought over by one Eustace, a renegade monk turned pirate. John offered arbitration, but the barons turned it down, and while he put his faith in an appeal to Rome, Stephen Langton, in cooperation with William Marshal and other more stable and sensible barons, were working on the Northerners' demands to incorporate them into a general charter, which would not only govern feudal relationships, but would also lay down a more general pattern of legality in government. On 15 June John fixed his seal to the draft of Magna Carta, and on 19 June attested copies were sent to all parts of the kingdom.
The King did his part thoroughly, though for how long he would have continued is another matter, but the barons continued to distrust him. They remained in arms, organising tournaments as their excuse, saying that the prize would be 'a bear a certain lady would send.' This was civil war, and John took to it with a fiendish glee. He reduced the north and the east, and was about to mop up the remainder of the opposition in London when Philip Augustus' son Louis landed in force to help the barons (May 1216). John had been riding hard for months, and was sick with dysentery after a bout of over-eating; whilst crossing the Wash, the whole of his baggage-train was lost. At Neward Castle on 18 October, he died, desiring to be buried near his patron saint Wulfstan in Worcester Cathedral.
He was by no means a good man, and his energies could well have been put to a better use, but in a different situation he might well have made a great king. His constant failure was discipline, over himself first, and others second. John reminds me of nothing so much as the type of person who is brilliant in many ways, and has many gifts, but leaves after two terms 'not suited to teaching in this type of school.' [Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Marriage 1 CLEMENCE
Children
1. JOAN OF ENGLAND b: BEF 1190 in England

Marriage 2 Spouse Unknown
Children
1. Osbert Giffard
2. Geoffrey FitzRoy
3. John FitzJohn
4. Odo FitzRoy
5. Henry FitzRoy
6. Richard
7. Matilda
8. Isabella la Blanche

Marriage 3 Susanne de Warenne
Children
1. Richard de Chilham

Marriage 4 Hawise FitzWarin b: ABT 1167
Children
1. Oliver b: ABT 1187

Marriage 5 Alicia of Savoy b: 1166
•Married: 1173 in Auvergne

Marriage 6 Isabella of Goucester b: BEF 1176
•Married: 29 AUG 1189 in Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, England
•Divorced: 1199
•Divorced:

Marriage 7 ISABELLA TAILLEFER OF ANGOULEME b: BET 1188 AND 1189
•Married: 24 AUG 1200 in Bourdeaux Cathedral 4
Children
1. HENRY III OF ENGLAND b: 1 OCT 1207 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
2. RICHARD OF CORNWALL b: 5 JAN 1208/09 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England
3. Joan of England b: 22 JUL 1210 in Gloucester, England
4. Isabella (Elizabeth) of England b: 1214 in Gloucester, England
5. ELEANOR OF ENGLAND b: 1215 in Gloucester, England
WIKIPEDIA:

John (French: Jean) (24 December c. 1166 – 18/19 October 1216) reigned as King of England from 6 April 1199, until his death. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I (known in later times as "Richard the Lionheart"). John acquired the nicknames of "Lackland" (Sans Terre in French) for his lack of an inheritance as the youngest son and for his loss of territory to France, and of "Soft-sword" for his alleged military ineptitude.[1] He was a Plantagenet or Angevin King.

Birth
Born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was almost certainly born in 1166 instead of 1167, as is sometimes claimed. King Henry and Queen Eleanor were not together nine months prior to December 1167, but they were together in March 1166. Also, John was born at Oxford on or near Christmas, but Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas 1167 in Normandy. The canon of Laon, writing a century later, states John was named after Saint John the Apostle, on whose feast day (27 December) he was born. Ralph of Diceto also states that John was born in 1166, and that Queen Eleanor named him.
He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King, Matilda of England, Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine and Joan of England.

Early life
While John was always his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, with his older brothers all involved in rebellions against Henry. Eleanor was imprisoned in 1173, when John was a small boy. Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:
"The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons, who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others."
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months (see: John's first expedition to Ireland).

Richard's absence
During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Hereward the Wake into Robin Hood, originally set a century before John's time.
While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. John is said to have sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, but Richard's supporters paid a ransom for his release because they thought that John would make a terrible King. On his return to England in 1194, Richard forgave John and named him as his heir.
Other historians argue that John did not attempt to overthrow Richard, but rather did his best to improve a country ruined by Richard's excessive taxes used to fund the Crusade. It is most likely that the image of subversion was given to John by later monk chroniclers, who resented his refusal to go on the ill-fated Fourth Crusade.

Reign

Dispute with Arthur
When Richard died, John did not gain immediate universal recognition as king. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought his uncle for the throne, with the support of King Philip II of France. The conflict between Arthur and King John had fatal consequences.
The war upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain territories on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the charges. John refused and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all those fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy), and betrothed him to his daughter Mary.
Needing to supply a war across the Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy (the Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours at Sandwich, Kent). By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, as these achievements are completely ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.
In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205, John formed an alliance by marrying off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great.

As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what happened to Arthur after that. According to the Margam Annals, on 3 April 1203: :"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when [John] was drunk and possessed by the devil he slew [Arthur] with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine." However, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, Hubert de Burgh, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock. Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one ever saw Arthur alive again and the supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany, and later Normandy, to rebel against King John.
Besides Arthur, John also captured his niece, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner the rest of her life (which ended in 1241); through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.

Dealings with Bordeaux
In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume which was the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou.[2]

Dispute with the Pope
Pope Innocent III and King John had a disagreement about who would become Archbishop of Canterbury which lasted from 1205 until 1213.
When Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The monks of Christ Church chapter in Canterbury claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor, but both the English bishops and the King had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. When their dispute could not be settled, the monks secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. Innocent thus disregarded the King's rights in selection of his own vassals. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.
John expelled the Canterbury monks in July 1207 and the Pope ordered an interdict against the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by seizure of church property for failure to provide feudal service, and the fight was on. The pious of England were theoretically left without the comforts of the church, but over a period they became used to this deprivation. The pope, meanwhile, realized that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, and gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.
In November 1209 John himself was excommunicated, and, in February 1213, Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate in 1213 (traditionally at the Templar Church at Dover);[3] in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland. With this submission, John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.

Dispute with the barons
John of England signs Magna Carta – illustration from Cassell's History of England (1902)
Having successfully put down the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines, which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France.
This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders at Runnymede, near London, on 15 June 1215, to sign the Great Charter called, in Latin, Magna Carta. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne).

Death

John's tomb effigy
Retreating from the French invasion, John crossed the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia and lost his most valuable treasures, including the Crown Jewels to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt him a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind, and he succumbed to dysentery, dying on 18 October or 19 October, at Newark (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, if fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches". He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

Succession
His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

Reputation and overview

King John as shown in Cassell's History of England (1902)
King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history: it began with defeats—he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne—and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to sign Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered. Some have argued, however, that John's rule was no better or worse than those of kings Richard I or Henry III, adding that (unlike Richard) he spent the majority of his reign in England. Be that as it may, his reputation is a reason many English monarchs have refrained from giving the name John to their expected heirs.
As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he won the disapproval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a Judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an extremely able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records - the Pipe Rolls.
Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":
...talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted. He was compared in a recent scholarly article, perhaps unfairly, with Richard Nixon. His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him—and the energy with which some of them opposed him.

Depictions in fiction
These reflect the overwhelming view of his reputation:
•King John was the subject of a Shakespearean play, King John.
•King John is a central figure in the 1819 historical romance Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott.
•Philip José Farmer, a science fiction author, featured King John as one of several historical figures in his Riverworld Saga.
•John and one of his Justices in Eyre, the Sheriff of Nottingham, are portrayed as the villain and henchman in the Robin Hood legends. These usually place the Robin Hood stories in the latter part of Richard I's reign, when Richard was in captivity and John was acting as unofficial regent. Among the screen incarnations of John in versions of the Robin Hood story are:
•Claude Rains' portrayal in the 1938 film version
•the Prince John of the 1973 Disney animated movie Robin Hood, in which John is an anthropomorphic lion voiced by Peter Ustinov, who sucks his thumb and cries for his "mammy" whenever Robin Hood (a fox) steals his gold.
•the most recent tv adaptation, in which he is frequently mentioned as Prince John but never seen as an onscreen character.
•John was impersonated by Kamelion in a plot by the Master in The King's Demons, a 1983 serial of the British science fiction series, Doctor Who.
•John is a character in James Goldman's 1966 play The Lion in Winter, which dramatises Henry II's struggles with his wife and sons over the rule of his empire. John is portrayed as a spoiled, simpleminded pawn in the machinations of his brothers and Philip II. In the 1968 film he is portrayed by Nigel Terry. In the 2003 film he is portrayed by Rafe Spall.
•Sharon Penman's Here Be Dragons deals with the reign of John, and the development of Wales under Llewelyn's rules, and his marriage to John's illegitimate daughter, Joan, who is depicted in the novel as "Joanna." Other novels of hers which feature John as a prominent character are The Queen's Man, Cruel as the Grave, The Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness, a series of fictional mysteries set during the time of Richard's imprisonment.
•The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay is a highly speculative but relatively sympathetic account.

Marriage and issue
In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).
John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan. Isabelle eventually produced five children, including two sons (Henry and Richard), and three daughters (Joan, Isabella and Eleanor).
John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured with Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children:
•Joan, the wife of Llywelyn Fawr, (by a woman named Clemence)

•Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)

•Oliver FitzRoy, (by mistress named Hawise)who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.

By an unknown mistress (or mistresses) John fathered:
•Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
•John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
•Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
•Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
•Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
•Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
•Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
•Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
•Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.
(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)

Trivia
•According to records of payment made to King John's bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilised compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.
•John is recorded to have dressed very well in coats made of fur from sable and ermine and other exotic furs such as polar bear.
•In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton. (BBC)

Alleged illiteracy

For a long time, schoolchildren have been told that King John had to approve Magna Carta by attaching his seal to it because he could not sign it, lacking the ability to read or write. This textbook inaccuracy ignored the fact that King John had a large library he treasured until the end of his life. Whether the original authors of these errors knew better and oversimplified because they wrote for children, or whether they had been misinformed themselves, is unknown. As a result of these writings, generations of adults remembered mainly two things about "wicked King John," both of them wrong. (The other "fact" was that, if Robin Hood had not stepped in, Prince John would have embezzled the money raised to ransom King Richard. The fact is that John did embezzle the ransom money, by creating forged seals. Robin Hood, on the other hand, may or may not have actually existed.)

King John did actually sign the draft of the Charter that the negotiating parties hammered out in the tent on Charter Island at Runnymede on 15–18 June 1215, but it took the clerks and scribes working in the royal offices some time after everyone went home to prepare the final copies, which they then sealed and delivered to the appropriate officials. In those days, legal documents were made official by seals, not by signatures. (Even today, many legal documents are not considered effective without the seal of a notary public or corporate official, and printed legal forms such as deeds say "L.S." next to the signature lines. That stands for the Latin locus sigilli ("place of the seal"), signifying that the signer has used a signature as a substitute for a seal.) When William the Conqueror (and his wife) signed the Accord of Winchester (Image) in 1072, for example, they and all the bishops signed with crosses, as illiterate people would later do, but they did so in accordance with current legal practice, not because the bishops could not write their own names.
Henry II had at first intended that John would receive an education to go into the Church, which would have meant Henry did not have to give him any land. In 1171, however, Henry began negotiations to betroth John to the daughter of Count Humbert III of Savoy (who had no son yet and so wanted a son-in-law.) After that, talk of making John a cleric ceased. John's parents had both received a good education — Henry spoke some half dozen languages, and Eleanor had attended lectures at what would soon become the University of Paris — in addition to what they had learned of law and government, religion, and literature. John himself had received one of the best educations of any king of England. Some of the books the records show he read included: De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England—potentially Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

Notes
1.^ King John was not a Good Man. Icons of England. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
2.^ Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine p.142. Simon and Schuster 1989
3.^ Knights Templar Church at English Heritage website

References
King John, by W.L. Warren ISBN 0-520-03643-3
The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042-1216, by Frank Barlow ISBN 0-582-49504-0
Medieval Europe: A Short History (Seventh Edition), by C. Warren Hollister ISBN 0-07-029637-5

External links
•Graphic of family tree of the children of John
•King John at Find-A-Grave

From Britannia Internet Magazine (copyright 1996, 1997, 1998):

JOHN LACKLAND
(1199-1216 AD)

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167, the youngest son of Henry 11 and Eleanor of Aquitane, His parents drifted apart after his birth, and his youth was divided between his eldest brother's house where he learned the art of knighthood and the house of his father's justiciar, RanulfGlanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage, to Isabel of Gloucester, lasted but ten years and was fruitless; Isabella of Angouleme, his second wife, bore him two sons (Henry and Richard) and three daughters (Joan, Isabella and Eleanor). He also had an illegitimate daughter, named Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended.

The Angevin family feuds left quite a mark on John - he proved his betrayal to both his father and his brother Richard. He and Richard clashed in 1184 when the elder refused to turn Aquitane over to the younger brother, as dictated by Henry 11. The following year Henry sent John to rule Ireland. but John alienated the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure, and John returned home within six months. Richard, after acceding to the throne in 1189, gave John vast estates to appease his younger brother, but to no avail. He tried to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity, but failed. He conspired with Philip II in another attempt, which again failed. Upon Richard's release in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and spent the next five years in his brother's shadow, staying out oftrouble long enough to be named heir to the crown.

John's reign was full of trouble. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John excommunicated two years later. The dispute, centered around John's refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury. This dispute was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Innocent II, one (if the greatest medieval popes.

A succession dispute with his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, ultimately resulted in the loss of French territories, as the king's French vassals preferred Arthur. By spring 1205, John had crossed the Channel back into England as the last of his French possessions fell out of his hands. From 1206 to the end of his reign, John was preoccupied with regaining these territories, levying a number of new taxes upon the landed barons to pay for his campaigns. This would have been satisfactory had John been winning battles, but the French continually trounced him. The discontented rebel barons revolted and captured London in May 1215. In June, at Runnymeade. John met with the barons and signed the Magna Carta, a feudal rights document stressing three points: I ) the Church was free to make its own appointments, 2) no more than the normal amounts of money could be collected to run the government, unless the king's feudal tenants gave their content and 3) no freeman was to be punished except in concert with the common law. This document proved to be the forerunner of modern constitutions. John signed the document as a means of buying time and failed to keep his word. The nobility called for French assistance and John died in the midst of an an invasion.

John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in "A Chronicle of the Kings of England," "His word of piety were very many … as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, not left in peace." John's treacherous nature was the cause of the greatest loss of English continental territory until the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).

from thePeerage.com:

John I 'Lackland', King of England was born on 24 December 1167 at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.1 He was the son of Henry II 'Curtmantle' d'Anjou, King of England and Eleanor, Duchesse d'Aquitaine. He married, firstly, Isabella de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, daughter of William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester and Hawise de Beaumont, on 29 August 1189 at Marlborough Castle, Marlborough, Wiltshire, England.1 He and Isabella de Clare, Countess of Gloucester were divorced in 1199, on the grounds of consanguinity.1 He married, firstly, Isabella d'Angoulême, daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Comte d'Angoulême and Alice de Courtenay, on 24 August 1200 at Bordeaux Cathedral, Bordeaux, Dauphine, France.3 He died on 19 October 1216 at age 48 at Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England.4 He was buried at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England.4
John I 'Lackland', King of England and unknown de Warenne were associated.5 He gained the title of King John I of Ireland in 1177.1 He gained the title of Count of Mortain in 1189.1 As a result of his marriage, John I 'Lackland', King of England was styled as Earl of Gloucester on 29 August 1189.1 He succeeded to the title of King John I of England on 6 April 1199.1 He was crowned King of England on 27 May 1199 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England, and styled 'Rex Anglaie, Dominus Hiberniae, Dux Normanniae, et Dux Aquitaniae.6'
He was a skilled politician and forceful administrator, but one of England's most unpopular monarchs due to his cruelty and deceit. While Richard I was imprisoned abroad, in 1193 John vainly attempted to usurp the throne. He was banished, but soon reconciled and made his brother's heir. On Richard's death, John became king and imprisoned his young nephew Arthur of Brittany, a better claimant who soon died in prison. He married Isabella of Gloucester and then divorced her after his accession to the throne and married Isabella of Angouleme. John imposed crippling taxes and tightened the already severe forest laws, all to raise revenue for his war against the French. This war cost him Normandy and led to high inflation resulting in widespread poverty. He antagonised the Church bringing on an interdict from the Pope, and John himself was excommunicated. The whole population, high and low alike, were in a state of near rebellion. The barons drew up a document which they were intent upon John signing. This document was not a formal constitution but a practical statement that the King must respect institutional customs and law. On Monday 15 June 1215 King John reluctantly signed and sealed the document on the island of Runnymeade in the Thames. This was one of the most memorable events in English history, the document being known as the Magna Carta. Afterwards, John reverted to his bad old ways and Louis, son of the French King, was invited to replace him. Louis entered London unopposed in May 1216 and civil war began to flame. Fortunately for England, John died of dysentry on Wednesday 19 October 1216 at Newark after losing the crown jewels in the Wash. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.7

Children of John I 'Lackland', King of England and Hawise de Tracy
Oliver (?) d. 12908
Osbert Gifford d. 12168
Geoffrey FitzRoy d. 12058
John FitzJohn 8
Odo FitzRoy d. c 12428
Ivo (?) 8
Henry (?) 8
Richard of Wallingford 8
Matilda of Barking 8
Isabella la Blanche 8
Child of John I 'Lackland', King of England and Clementina (?)
Joan (?)+ b. b 1195, d. 12378
Children of John I 'Lackland', King of England and Isabella d'Angoulême
Henry III, King of England+ b. 1 Oct 1207, d. 16 Nov 1272
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall+ b. 5 Jan 1209, d. 2 Apr 12729
Joan of England b. 22 Jul 1210, d. 4 Mar 1238
Isabella of England+ b. 1214, d. 1 Dec 1241
Eleanor of England+ b. 1215, d. 13 Apr 1275
Child of John I 'Lackland', King of England and unknown de Warenne
Richard Fitzroy, Baron of Chilham+ b. b 1216, d. fr 1245 - 12468

Citations
[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 65. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.
[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message from unknown author e-mail (France) to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family".
[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 66.
[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 71.
[S79] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry (Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004), page 748. Hereinafter cited as Plantagenet Ancestry.
[S4] C.F.J. Hankinson, editor, DeBretts Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, 147th year (London, U.K.: Odhams Press, 1949), page 20 . Hereinafter cited as DeBretts Peerage, 1949.
[S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.
[S105] Brain Tompsett, Royal Genealogical Data, online http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/genealogy/royal/. Hereinafter cited as Royal Genealogical Data.
[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003). Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

First cousin of partner, "Unknown" Plantagenet.

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

The administrative and bureaucratic innovations John brought to
the Angevin government have not been enough to save his
reputation throughout the years. Chronicled as England's most
cruel and untrustworthy monarch, John may long be the victim of
his early bad press. As a monarch, John displayed no love lost
for the Church of Rome and as a result, the historians of the
day--almost without exception clerics, took every opportunity
to malign and discredit him. However, while not evil incarnate,
John certainly demonstrated on many an occasion those qualities
that led generations of school children to remember him as Bad
King John.

The last child born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine earned
his first nickname, Lackland, because as the fourth legitimate
son born to the King of England and Duke of Anjou, it was hard
to provide him inherited titles and land. John's main rivals
were his brothers, the Young King Henry, Geoffrey and Richard,
and his nephew Arthur, son of King Henry's brother Geoffrey of
Brittany. Yet, John had one advantage over his aspiring
siblings: his father's favor. In 1184 Henry asked Richard to
hand over to John the rule of Aquitaine, the ancestral land of
their monther, Eleanor. Richard's refusal led to the first
armed clash between the brothers. Next, Henry devised to let
John rule Ireland, but John's rule was a disaster. In 1185, on
his first expedition he and his companion laughed at the beards
of the Irish chieftains who came to pay homage. John's callous
alienation continued until John left six months later, blaming
his failure on others.

Henry's generosity bore no loyalty in John. When Richard and
Philip II of France forced Henry into a humiliating defeat in
1188, the old king was given a list of those who fought against
him, and was shocked to find John's name on it. Henry had
forsaken Richard to the point of armed rebellion for the sake
of John, but when John saw who would emerge the victor he
cynically abandoned his father. As King of England, Richard,
however, was not blind to John's raw ambition. He bestowed John
with vast estates in Normandy and England, and betrothed him to
Isabella of Gloucester, in an effort to bribe him, but it was
not enough to quell John. While Richard was away on various
Crusades, and now quarrelling from Philip II, John plotted a
number of unsuccessful rebellions, at one point joining forces
with Philip. When Richard was later kidnapped and held for
ransom by the Leopold of Austria, John and Philip were almost
successful in having Richard turned over to them for their own
devices.

When Richard was released from captivity by English barons John
was forced to beg for his pardon. Richard, seemingly unaware of
the depth of his brother's treachery, pardoned him with the
words, "Don't be afraid, John. You are a child. You have fallen
into bad company and it is those who have led you astray who
will be punished." At this point John was twenty-seven years
old. John behaved himself for the next five years and in 1199
Richard nominated him as heir and John was invested the Duke of
Normandy. It was at this ceremony that John giggled and
gossiped so much that he dropped the ceremonial lance. While
Richard's right to declare his successor was respected in
England, that was not the case in Anjou, Maine and Touraine.
There the local barons acknowledged Arthur, son Geoffrey of
Brittany as their lord. John persuaded Philip II to oust the
twelve-year old Arthur, and by 1200 John was Lord of the
Angevin Empire. He had annulled his marriage to Isabella of
Gloucester and took as his wife Isabella of Angouleme, in an
effort to unite the north and south of the empire. However, his
twleve-year old bride had of late been the fiance of Hugh of
Lusignan, and when he got no satisfaction from John, Hugh
appealed to Philip II. Philip sided with Hugh and declared all
of John's recent acquisitions forfeit. John put up a stiff
resistance, and succeeded in capturing Arthur of Brittany, but
by spring of 1205 John fled to England, the last of his
strongholds fell and he lost ancestral Normandy.

It was while Arthur was in the hands of John that he
disappeared, never to be seen again. A contemporary historian
wrote:
After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in
prison for some time, at length, in the castle of Rouen, after
dinner on the Thursday before Easter, when he was drunk and
possessed by the devil he slew him with his own hand, and tying
a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine. It was
discovered by a fisherman in his net, and being dragged to the
bank and recognized, was taken for a secret burial, in fear of
the tyrant, to the priory of Bec called Notre Dame de Pres.

The murder of Arthur has never been proven.

John's goal was now to win back his lost territories, but he
realized that a confrontation with the King of France would
take resources and planning. For eight years he stayed in
England and made preparations, but these preparations meant a
huge burdon for the English. Huges taxes were levied and forest
laws were tightened and enforced. This power, never before seen
wielded by an English king, was coinciding with a time of
economic recession. At the same time John came to loggerheads
with Pope Innocent III over the election of the Archbishop of
Canterbury. In 1208 Innocent punished England and Wales by
banishing all church services for six years and further
punished John by excommunicating him the following year. John's
response was to confiscate all church lands--a response that
also helped ease his financial difficulties. By 1212, however,
Philip was planning an invasion and John decided an
excommunicated monarch was particularly vulnerable. John agreed
to hold England as a papal fief and with Innocent's support led
an offensive against Philip.

The beginning months of the struggle looked promising for the
English forces, but in July, 1214, Philip won the Battle of
Bovines. This bitter defeat only fueled English discontent. The
hardships of the previous eight years were only justified with
victory in battle and the defeat soon turned to rebellion. In
May of 1215 the English rebels captured London and force John
to make peace. John met with the lords at Runnymead and the
terms laid out and agreed upon became known as Magna Carta.
However, the attempt to implement the terms of the treaty only
led to more war, for John seemed to agree to the document as a
way of buying time. In frustration and contempt for John, the
English lords elected Louis of France, Philip's son, as their
leader. In May of 1216 Louis invaded England and made an
unopposed entry into London. The death of John in October, with
his son, Henry, only nine years old, plunged the county into
civil war.

John's reign now over, its interpretation began, and while none
would be impartial, some would be remembered through the years
as is this anonymous chronicle:

He was munificent and liberal to outsiders but a plunderer of
his own people, trusting strangers rather than his subjects,
wherefore he was eventually deserted by his own men and, in the
end, little mourned.

Biographical information from The Lives of the Kings and Queens
of England, ed. Antonia Frasier, The Oxford Illustrated History
of the British Monarchy, ed. John Cannon and Ralph Griffiths,
and The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes, ed. Elizabeth Longford.

MAGNA CARTA
THE GREAT CHARTER OF ENGLISH LIBERTY DECREED BY KING JOHN AT
RUNNYMEDE JUNE 15, A.D. 1215[:BOLD]

JOHN, by the grace of God, King of England, lord of Ireland,
Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjuo: To the
archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices,
foresters, sheriffs, prevosts, serving men, and to all his
bailiffs and faithful subjects, Greeting. Know that we, by the
will of God and for the safety of our soul, and of the souls of
all our predecessors and our heirs, to the honor of God and for
the exaltation of the holy Church, and the bettering of our
realm: by the counsel of our venerable fathers Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and cardinal
of the holy Roman church; of Henry archbishop of Dublin; of the
bishops William of London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelin of Bath
and Glastonbury, Hugo of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William
of Coventry and Benedict of Rochester; of master Pandulf,
subdeacon and of the household of the lord pope; of brother
Aymeric, master of the knights of the Temple in England; and of
the nobel men, William Marshall earl of Pembroke, William earl
of Salisbury, William earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel,
Alan de Galway constable of Scotland, Warin son of Gerold,
Peter son of Herbert, Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poictiers,
Hugo de Neville, Matthew son of Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan
Basset, Philip d'Aubigni, Robert de Roppelay, John Marshall,
John son of Hugo, and others of our faithful subjects:
1. First of all have granted to God, and, for us and for our
heirs forever, have confirmed, by this our present charter,
that the English church shall be free and shall have its rights
intact and its liberties uninfringed upon. And thus we will
that it be observed. As is apparent from the fact that we,
spontaneously and of our own free will, before discord broke
out between ourselves and our barons, did grant and by our
charter confirm--and did cause the lord pope Innocent III, to
confirm-- freedom of elections, which is considered most
important and most necessary to the church of England. Which
charter both we ourselves shall observe, and we will that it be
observed with good faith by our heirs forever. We have also
granted to all free men of our realm, on the part of ourselves
and our heirs forever, all the subjoined liberties, to have and
to hold, to them and to their heirs, from us and from our
heirs:

2. If any one of our earls or barons, or of others holding from
us in chief through military service, shall die; and if, at the
time of his death, his heir be of full age and owe a relief: he
shall have his inheritance by paying the old relief;--the heir,
namely, or the heirs of an earl, by paying one hundred pounds
for the whole barony of an earl; the heir or heirs of a baron,
by paying one hundred pounds for the whole barony; the heir or
heirs of a knight, by paying one hundred shillings at most for
a whole knight's fee; and he who shall owe less shall give
less, according to the ancient custom of fees.

3. But if the heir of any of the above persons shall be under
age and in wardship,--when he comes of age he shall have his
inheritance without relief and without fine.

4. The administrator of the land of such heir who shall be
under age shall take none but reasonable issues from the land
of the heir, and reasonable customs and services; and this
without destruction and waste of men or goods. And if we shall
have committed the custody of any such land to the sheriff or
to any other man who ought to be responsible to us for the
issues of it, and he cause destruction or waste to what is in
his charge: we will fine him, and the land shall be handed over
to two lawful and discreet men of that fee who shall answer to
us, or to him to whom we shall have referred them, regarding
those issues. And if we shall have given or sold to any one the
custody of any such land, and he shall have caused destruction
or waste to it,--he shall lose that custody, and it shall be
given to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who likewise
shall answer to us, as has been explained.

5. The administrator, moreover, so long as he may have the
custody of the land, shall keep in order, from the issues of
that land, the houses, parks, warrens, lakes, mills, and other
things pertaining to it. And he shall restore to the heir when
he comes to full age, his whole land stocked with ploughs and
wainnages, according as the time of the wainnage requires and
the issues of the land will reasonably permit.

6. Heirs may marry without disparagement; so, nevertheless,
that, before the marriage is contracted, it shall be announced
to the relations by blood of the heir himself.

7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall straightway,
and without difficulty, have her marriage portion and her
inheritance, nor shall she give any thing in return for her
dowry, her marriage portion, or the inheritance which belonged
to her, and which she and her husband held on the day of the
death of that husband. And she may remain in the house of her
husband, after his death, for forty days; within which her
dowry shall be paid over to her.

8. No widow shall be forced to marry when she prefers to live
without a husband; so, however, that she gives security not to
marry without our consent, if she hold from us, or the consent
of the lord from whom she holds, if she hold from another.

9. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall seize any revenue for any
debt, so long as the chattels of the debtor suffice to pay the
debt; nor shall the sponsors of that debtor be distrained so
long as the chief debtor has enough to pay the debt. But if the
chief debtor fail in paying the debt, not having the
wherewithal to pay it, the sponsors shall answer for the debt.
And, if they shall wish, they may have the lands and revenues
of the debtor until satisfaction shall have been given them for
the debt previously paid for him; unless the chief debtor shall
show that he is quit in that respect towards those same
sponsors.

10. If any one shall have taken any sum, great or small, as a
loan from the money-lenders, and shall die before that debt is
paid,--that debt shall not bear interest so long as the heir,
from whomever he may hold, shall be under age. And if the debt
fall into our hands, we shall take nothing save the chattel
contained in the deed.

11. And if any one dies owing a debt to the money-lenders, his
wife shall have her dowry, and shall restore nothing of that
debt. But if there shall remain children of that dead man, and
they shall be under age, the necessaries shall be provided for
them according to the nature of the dead man's holding; and
from the residue, the debt shall be paid, saving the service
due to the lords. In like manner shall be done concerning debts
that are due to others besides money-lenders.

12. No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our realm unless by
the common counsel of our realm; except for redeeming our body,
and knighting our eldest son, and marrying once our eldest
daughter. And for these purposes there shall only be given a
reasonable aid. In like manner shall be done concerning the
aids of the city of London.

13. And the city of London shall have all its old liberties and
free customs as well by land as by water. Moreover we will and
grant that other cities and burroughs, and town and ports,
shall have all their liberties and free customs.

14. And, in order to have the common counsel of the realm in
the matter of assessing an aid otherwise than in the aforesaid
cases, or of assessing a scutage--we shall cause, under seal
through our letters, the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls,
and greater barons to be summoned for a fixed day--for a term,
namely, at least forty days distant,--and for a fixed place.
And, moreover, we shall cause to be summoned in general,
through our sheriffs and bailiffs, all those who hold of us in
chief. And in all those letters of summons we shall express the
cause of the summons. And when a summons has thus been made,
the business shall be proceeded with on the day appointed
according to the counsel of those who shall be present, even
though not all shall come who were summoned.

15. We will not allow any one henceforth to take an aid from
his freemen save for the redemption of his body, and the
knighting of his eldest son, and the marrying, once, of his
eldest daughter; and, for these purposes, there shall only be
given a reasonable aid.

16. No one shall be forced to do more service for a knight's
fee, or for another free holding, than is due from it.

17. Common pleas shall not follow our court but shall be held
in a certain fixed place.

18. Assizes of novel disseisin, of mort d'ancestor, and of
darrein presentment shall not be held save in their own
counties, and in this way: We, or our chief justice, if we
shall be absent from the kingdom, shall send two justices
through each county four times a year; they, with four knights
from each county, chosen by the county, shall hold the
aforesaid assizes in the county, and on the day and at the
place of the county court.

19. And if on the day of the county court the aforesaid assizes
can not be held, a sufficient number of knights and free
tenants, from those who were present at the county court on
that day, shall remain, so that through them the judgments may
be suitably given, according as the matter may have been great
or small.

20. A freeman shall only be amerced for a small offence
according to the measure of that offence. And for a great
offence he shall be amerced according to the magnitude of the
offence, saving his contenement; and a merchant, in the same
way, saving his merchandize. And a villein, in the same way, if
he fall under our mercy, shall be amerced saving his wainnage.
And none of the aforesaid fines shall be imposed save upon oath
of upright men from the neighbourhood.

21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced save through their
peers, and only according to the measure of the offence.

22. No clerk shall be amerced for his lay tenement except
according to the manner of the other persons aforesaid; and not
according to the amount of his ecclesiastical benefice.

23. Neither a town nor a man shall be forced to make bridges
over the rivers, with the exception of those who, from of old
and of right ought to do it.

24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other bailiffs of ours
shall hold the pleas of our crown. *

25. All counties, hundreds, wapentakes, and trithings--our
demensne manors being excepted--shall continue according to the
old farms, without any increase at all.

26. If any one holding from us a lay fee shall die, and our
sheriff or bailiff can show our letters patent containing our
summons for the debt which the dead man owed to us,--our
sheriff or bailiff may be allowed to attach and enroll the
chattels of the dead man to the value of that debt, through
view of lawful men; in such way, however, that nothing shall be
removed thence until the debt is paid which was plainly owed to
us. And the residue shall be left to the executors that they
may carry out the will of the dead man. And if nothing is owed
to us by him, all the chattels shall go to the use prescribed
by the deceased, saving their reasonable portions to his wife
and children.

27. If any freeman shall have died intestate his chattels shall
be distributed through the hands of his near relatives and
friends, by view of the church; saving to any one the debts
which the dead man owed him.

28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take the corn
or other chattels of any one except he straightway give money
for them, or can be allowed a respite in that regard by the
will of the seller.

29. No constable shall force any knight to pay money for
castleward if he be willing to perform that ward in person,
or-- he for a reasonable cause not being able to perform it
himself-- through another proper man. And if we shall have led
or sent him on a military expedition, he shall be quit of ward
according to the amount of time during which, through us, he
shall have been in military service.

30. No sheriff nor bailiff of ours, no any one else, shall take
the horses or carts of any freeman for transport, unless by the
will of that freeman.

31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take another's wood for
castles or for other private uses, unless by the will of him to
whom the wood belongs.

32. We shall not hold the lands of those convicted of felony
longer than a year and a day; and then the lands shall be
restored to the lords of the fiefs.

33. Henceforth all the weirs in the Thames and Medway, and
throughout all England, save on the sea-coasts, shall be done
away with entirely.

34. Henceforth the writ which is called Praecipe shall not be
served on any one for any holding so as to cause a free man to
lose his court. *

35. There shall be one measure of wine throughout our whole
realm, and one measure of ale and one measure of corn--namely,
the London quart;--and one width of dyed and resset and hauberk
cloths--namely, two ells below the selvage. And with weights,
moreover, it shall be as with measures.

36. Henceforth nothing shall be given or taken for a writ of
inquest in a matter concerning life or limb; but it shall be
conceded gratis, and shall not be denied. *

37. If any one hold of us in fee-farm, or in socage, or in
burkage, and hold land of another by military service, we shall
not, by reason of that fee-farm, or socage, or burkage, have
the wardship of his heir or of his land which is held in fee
from another. Nor shall we have the wardship of that fee-farm,
or socage, or burkage unless that fee-farm owe military
service. We shall not, by reason of some petit-serjeanty which
some one holds of us through the service of giving us knives or
arrows or the like, have the wardship of his heir or of the
land which he holds of another by military service.

38. No bailiff, on his own simple assertion, shall henceforth
put any one to his law, without producing faithful witnesses in
evidence. *

39. No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized, or
outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed--nor will we go upon
or send upon him--save by the lawful judgment of his peers or
by the law of the land. *

40. To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or
justice. *

41. All merchants may safely and securely go out of England,
and come into England, and delay and pass through England, as
well by land as by water, for the purpose of buying and
selling, free from all evil taxes, subject to the ancient and
right customs--save in time of war, and if they are of the land
at war against us. And if such be found in our land at the
beginning of the war, they shall be held, without harm to their
bodies and goods, until it shall be known to us or our chief
justice how the merchants of our land are to be treated who
shall, at that time, be found in the land at war against us.
And if ours shall be safe there, the others shall be safe in
our land.

42. Henceforth any person, saving fealty to us, may go out of
our realm and return to it, safely and securely, by land and by
water, except perhaps for a brief period in time of war, for
the common good of the realm. But prisoners and outlaws are
excepted according to the law of the realm; also people of a
land at war against us, and the merchants, with regard to whom
shall be done as we have said.

43. If any one hold from any escheat--as from the honour of
Wallingford, Nottingham, Boloin, Lancaster, or the other
escheats which are in our hands and are baronies--and shall
die, his heir shall not give another relief, nor shall he
perform for us other service than he would perform for a baron
if that barony were in the hand of a baron; and we shall hold
it in the same way in which the baron has held it.

44. Persons dwelling without the forest shall not henceforth
come before the forest justices, through common summonses,
unless they are impleaded or are the sponsors of some person or
persons attached for matters concerning the forest.

45. We will not make men justices, constables, sheriffs, or
bailiffs, unless they are such as know the law of the realm,
and are minded to observe it rightly. *

46. All barons who have founded abbeys for which they have
charters of the kings of England, or ancient right of tenure,
shall have, as they ought to have, their custody when vacant.

47. All forests constituted as such in our time shall
straightway be annulled; and the same shall be done for river
banks made into places of defense by us in our time.

48. All evil customs concerning forests and warrens, and
concerning foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their
servants, river banks and their guardians, shall straightway be
inquired into in each county, through twelve sworn knights from
that county, and shall be eradicated by them, entirely, so that
they shall never be renewed, within forty days after the
inquest has been made; in such manner that we shall first know
about them, or our justice if we be not in England.

49. We shall straightway return all hostages and charters which
were delivered to us by Englishmen as a surety for peace or
faithful service.

50. We shall entirely remove from their bailiwicks the
relatives of Gerard de Athyes, so that they shall henceforth
have no bailwick in England: Engelard de Cygnes, Andrew Peter
and Gyon de Chanceles, Gyon de Cygnes, Geoffrey de Martin and
his brothers, Philip Mark and his brothers, and Geoffrey his
nephew, and the whole following of them.

51. And straightway after peace is restored we shall remove
from the realm all the foreign soldiers, crossbowmen, servants,
hirelings, who may have come with horses and arms to the harm
of the realm.

52. If anyone shall have been disseized by us, or removed,
without a legal sentence of his peers, from his lands, castles,
liberties or lawful right, we shall straightway restore them to
him. And if a dispute shall arise concerning this matter it
shall be settled according to the judgment of the twenty-five
barons who are mentioned below as sureties for the peace. But
with regard to all those things of which any one was, by king
Henry our father or king Richard our brother, disseized or
dispossessed without legal judgement of his peers, which we
have in our hand or which others hold, and for which we ought
to give a guarantee: We shall have respite until the common
term for crusaders. Except with regard to those concerning
which a plea was moved, or an inquest made by our order, before
we took the cross. But when we return from our pilgrimage, or
if, by chance, we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall
straightway then show full justice regarding them. *

53. We shall have the same respite, moreover, and in the same
manner, in the matter of showing justice with regard to forests
to be annulled and forests to remain, which Henry our father or
Richard our brother constituted; and in the matter of wardships
of lands which belong to the fee of another--wardships of which
kind we have hitherto enjoyed by reason of the fee which some
one held from us in military service;--and in the matter of
abbeys founded in the fee of another than ourselves--in which
the lord of the fee may say that he has jurisdiction. And when
we return, or if we desist from our pilgrimage, we shall
straightway exhibit full justice to those complaining with
regard to these matters.

54. No one shall be taken or imprisoned on account of the
appeal of a woman concerning the death of another than her
husband.

55. All fines imposed by us unjustly and contrary to the law of
the land, and all amerciaments made unjustly and contrary to
the law of the land, shall be altogether remitted, or it shall
be done with regard to them according to the judgment of the
twenty five barons mentioned below as sureties for the peace,
or according to the judgment of the majority of them together
with the aforesaid Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, if he can
be present, and with others whom he may wish to associate with
himself for this purpose. And if he can not be present, the
affair shall nevertheless proceed without him; in such way
that, if one or more of the said twenty five barons shall be
concerned in a similar complaint, they shall be removed as to
this particular decision, and in their place, for this purpose
alone, others shall be substituted who shall be chosen and
sworn by the remainder of those twenty five. *

56. If we have disseized or dispossessed Welshmen of their
lands or liberties or other things without legal judgment of
their peers, in England or in Wales,--they shall straightway be
restored to them. And if a dispute shall arise concerning this,
then action shall be taken upon it in the March through
judgment of their peers--concerning English holdings according
to the law of England, concerning Welsh holdings according to
the law of Wales, concerning holdings in the March according to
the law of the March. The Welsh shall do likewise with regard
to us and our subjects.

57. But with regard to all those things of which any one of the
Welsh was, by king Henry our father or king Richard our
brother, disseized or dispossessed without legal judgment of
his peers, which we have in our hand or which others hold, and
for which we ought to give a guarantee: we shall have respite
until the common term for crusaders. Except with regard to
those concerning which a plea was moved, or an inquest made by
our order, before we took the cross. But when we return from
our pilgrimage, or if, by chance, we desist from our
pilgrimage, we shall straightway then show full justice
regarding them, according to the laws of Wales and the
aforesaid districts.

58. We shall straightway return the son of Llewelin and all the
Welsh hostages, and the charters delivered to us as surety for
the peace.

59. We shall act towards Alexander king of the Scots regarding
the restoration of his sisters, and his hostages, and his
liberties and his lawful right, as we shall act towards our
other barons of England; unless it ought to be otherwise
according to the charters which we hold from William, his
father, the former king of the Scots. And this shall be done
through judgment of his peers in our court.

60. Moreover all the subjects of our realm, clergy as well as
laity, shall, as far as pertains to them, observe, with regard
to their vassals, all these aforesaid customs and liberties
which we have decreed shall, as far as pertains to us, be
observed in our realm with regard to our own.

61. Inasmuch as for the sake of God, and for the bettering of
our realm, and for the more ready healing of the discord which
has arisen between us and our barons, we have made all these
aforesaid concessions,--wishing them to enjoy for ever entire
and firm stability, we make and grant to them the following
security: that the barons, namely, may elect at their pleasure
twenty five barons from the realm, who ought, with all their
strength, to observe, maintain and cause to be observed, the
peace and privileges which we have granted to them and
confirmed by this our present charter. in such wise, namely,
that if we, our justice, or our bailiffs, or any one of our
servants shall have transgressed against any one in any
respect, or shall have broken some one of the articles of peace
or security, and our transgression shall have been shown to
four barons of the aforesaid twenty five: those four barons
shall come to us, or, if we are abroad, to our justice, showing
to us our error; and they shall ask us to cause that error to
be amended without delay. And if we do not amend that error,
or, we being abroad, if our justice do not amend it within a
term of forty days from the time when it was shown to us or, we
being abroad, to our justice: the aforesaid four barons shall
refer the matter to the remainder of the twenty five barons,
and those twenty five barons, with the whole land in common,
shall distrain and oppress us in every way in their
power,--namely, by taking our castles, lands and possessions,
and in every other way that they can, until amends shall have
been made according to their judgment. Saving the persons of
ourselves, our queen and our children. And when amends shall
have been made they shall be in accord with us as they had been
previously. And whoever of the land wishes to do so, shall
swear that in carrying out all the aforesaid measures he will
obey the mandates of the aforesaid twenty five barons, and
that, with them, he will oppress us to the extent of his power.
And, to any one who wishes to do so, we publicly and freely
give permission to swear; and we will never prevent any one
from swearing. Moreover, all those in the land who shall be
unwilling, themselves and of their own accord, to swear to the
twenty five barons as to distraining and oppressing us with
them: such ones we shall make to swear by our mandate, as has
been said. And if any one of the twenty five barons shall die,
or leave the country, or in any other way be prevented from
carrying out the aforesaid measures,--the remainder of the
aforesaid twenty five barons shall choose another in his place,
according to their judgment, who shall be sworn in the same way
as the others. Moreover, in all things entrusted to those
twenty five barons to be carried out, if those twenty five
shall be present and chance to disagree among themselves with
regard to some matter, or if some of them, having been
summoned, shall be unwilling or unable to be present: that
which the majority of those present shall decide or decree
shall be considered binding and valid, just as if all the
twenty five had consented to it. And the aforesaid twenty five
shall swear that they will faithfully observe all the
foregoing, and will cause them to be observed to the extent of
their power. And we shall obtain nothing from any one, either
through ourselves or through another, by which any of those
concessions and liberties may be revoked or diminished. And if
any such thing shall have been obtained, it shall be vain and
invalid, and we shall never make use of it either through
ourselves or through another. *

62. And we have fully remitted to all, and pardoned, all the
ill-will, anger and rancour which have arisen between us and
our subjects, clergy and laity, from the time of the struggle.
Moreover we have fully remitted to all, clergy and laity,
and--as far as pertains to us--have pardoned fully all the
transgressions committed, on the occasion of that same
struggle, from Easter of the sixteenth year of our reign until
the re-establishment of peace. In witness of which moreover, we
have caused to be drawn up for them letters patent of lord
Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, lord Henry, archbishop of
Dublin, and the aforesaid bishops and master Pandulf, regarding
that surety and the aforesaid concessions.

63. Wherefore we will and firmly decree that the English church
shall be free, and that the subjects of our realm shall have
and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights and concessions,
duly and in peace, freely and quietly, fully and entirely, for
themselves and their heirs, from us and our heirs, in all
matters and in all places, forever, as has been said. Moreover
it has been sworn, on our part as well as on the part of the
barons, that all these above mentioned provisions shall be
observed with good faith and without evil intent. The witnesses
being the above mentioned and many others. Given through our
hand, in the plain called Runnimede between Windsor and Stanes,
on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our
reign.
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John, was the youngest son of Henry II, by Eleanor of Aquitaine. Soo n after his birth, he most likly was given to the care of a wet nurse who would have suckled and weaned him. In his second year he was plac ed in the care of the Abbey of Fontevrault with the intention that he would devote his life thereafter to the church, but soon he showed up in the household of his older brother Henry. He is styled as selfish , cruel, shameless, cynical, lustful, dishonorable and utterly false . He was not one of the fair-haired Platagenets. He developed into a groad and heavy man, almost squat. He is styled as only 'five foot six, with thick, dark red, curly hair'. He did have a particular trai t that allowed him to make friends quickly and could be highly amusing . He had a turn for scholarship. Much of his education was placed i n the hands of Ranul de Glanville. Some sources have described John a s a 'dandy, who loved to bedeck himself with rubies, emeralds and sapp hires. In about 1171, Count Humbert of Maurienne offered the hand of his daughter Alice to young Lord John and Henry II started negotiation s in pursuit of the marriage, but the negotiations drug on for many mo nths. As King, John had little wisdom and not a trace of statesmanshi p, but did have a skill for political craft and money matters. He dev eloped finally into a complete tyrant.

Being left without any particular provision he received the name of 'J ohans / Jean Sanz Terre' or 'Lackland' from his father; but later his brother, Richard I, on his accession conferred large possessions and l ands on John. Up until the time that John was about five he spent muc h of his time with and in his fathers presence. In 1171, John's fathe r Henry accepted a proposal of marriage for John to the heiress of Hum bert of Maurienne and the contract was signed at the end of 1172. Par t of the property settlement, Loudun and Mirebeau resided in Anjou an d John's older brother Henry refused to allow the settlement of any o f his territory upon his younger brother John and soon Henry revolted against his father. Throughout the rebellion of his older brothers ag ainst his father, John remained loyal to his father. After the settle ment of the revolt, young John was granted an income from the royal de menses in England, any escheats that the King might choose to grant hi m, the castle and county of Nottingham, the castle and lordship of Mar lborough, two castles and a revenue of 1,000 lbs, Angevin in Normandy and one castle each in Anjou, Touraine and Maine. John's brother Henr y was made to promise to keep this agreement "firmly and inviolate". ( Norgate - John Lackland - ref. - cf. Gesta Henricus, Vol. I pp. 77-79) . In a round of banquets and festivities at Limoges between 21 and 2 8 February 1173, the betrothal of John and Alice of Maurienne was fina lized.

In 1174, John received Nottingham and Marlborough Castles in England a s well as certain castles and rents in France. In 1175, the great est ates of Earl Reginald of Cornwall reverted to the crown and King Henr y set them aside for Henry. (Norgate - John Lackland - ref. - R. Torig ni a. 1175). The project of setting John up as 'Marquis in Italy' wa s dead as Alice of Maurienne was dead and Humbert had remarried. In S eptember 1176, John's father Henry and William of Gloucester arranged for young John to marry one of William's three daughters. By the marr iage that same month, John gained the Earldom of Gloucester. It is re ported that John and his first wife, Isabella of Gloucester did not ha ve any children. In May 1177, at Oxford, King Henry granted John sove reignty of the English dominions in Ireland. As a result, John is inc luded in that years Pipe Roll. (Norgate - John Lackland - ref. - Eyton , Itin. of Henry II, p. 210).

In March of 1182, when his father went tof sea, John was left under th e guardianship of one Ranulph (de) Glanville. In September of 1183, a fter the death of his older brother Henry, John's father King Henry ba de his son Richard to cede the duch of Aquitaine to his younger brothe r John. (Norgate - John Lackland - ref. - cf. Gesta Henricus, Vol. I p p. 304-305). Richard had no intention of allowing this, and his fathe r Henry told John that Aquitaine would be his, if he could take it. J ohn and his brother Geoffrey marched on Poitou burning and ravishing a s they marched. In June 1184, king Henry returned to England and gav e his son John permission to "lead an army into Richard's territories (Aquitaine) and win them for himself by force". (Norgate - John Lackl and - ref. - cf. Gesta Henricus, Vol. I p. 311). In preparation for t his effort he enlisted the support of his half brother Geoffrey.

In 1185, John's father knighted him at Windsor and sent him to govern Ireland. The Pope sent him a golden crown adorned with peacocks to ma rk the occassion. John hoped to get out of the unappealing task of ta ming Ireland. Baldwin IV was dying of leprosy and as a minor offshoo t of the House of Anjou, John saw it as an opportunity to avoid Irelan d and head for the middle east. His father Henry forbade the option . John sailed for Ireland from Milford with a fleet of sixty ships an d some 3,000 men on 24 April 1185 and landed at Waterford the next day . Accompanying John was Ranulf de Glanville as administrator and Gera ld of Wales as recorder of events. John, and those who accompanied hi m, treated the Irish with insolence. It is reported that John acted a s if he were a school boy, even pulling the beards of the Irish Kings and chiefs as they bent there knee before him. He alienated the nativ e Irish by his actions. He displayed no ability as an administrator o r military leader. On source referenced John's time in Ireland as 'hi s criminal folly'. He did arrange to have the castles at Lismore, Tib raghny and Ardfinnan built to defend the area of Waterford. John was defeated by Donell O'Brien, an Irish knight at both Ardfinnan and Tibr aghny, and some of John's troops began to desert him. He was subseque ntly recalled by his father in September of 1185. Henry subsequently appointed John de Courcy as Viceroy of Ireland. Upon his arrival at hi s fathers court, he blamed his lack of success on Hugh de Lacy. (Norga te - John Lackland - ref. - 'Four Masters', l.c.).

John was sent by his father Henry II to France so as to arrane a confe rence between Henry II and Phillippe of France regarding a solution t o the issue of Alice ( Phillippes sister, then still betrothed to Rich ard). The conference broke down and Phillippe and Henry II were soon at arms against each other. John was given command of one of the Ange vin divisions under the command of his brother Richard. They marched to the relief of Chateaurous and in June 1187, a truce was arranged wh en the Pope called for a peaceful settlement to the issue. Before Jun e1189, Richard demanded that his brother John accompany him on the cru sade, but their father Henry II refused the idea. John ultimately sid ed with his older brother Richard against his father, but by 12 June 1 189 he was with his father against Richard. As Henry II retreated fro m the field, John was sent on a reconnaissance. But when 20 miles ou t from LeMans, Henry II decided to double back towards Anjou. Skirtin g LeMans to the west, Henry II made for Chinon, where on 6 Jul 1189, h e collapsed and died.

When Richard acceded to the reign of England, and arrived at Portsmout h on 12 August 1189, John was with Richard. Richard made John Count o f Mortain in Normandie and granted him the castles and honours of Marl borough, Ludgershall, Lancaster, Bolsover and the Peak, the town of No ttingham and the honours of Tickhill and Wallingford. (Norgate - John Lackland - ref. - Gesta Ric. p. 78). At the time of John's marriage t o Isabelle of Gloucester, his brother Richard granted John Mortaine i n Normandie, and six counties (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, So merset, Devon and Cornwall) in England, as well as full responsibilit y for Ireland. At the time that Richard ascended to the throne of Eng land, Wales was again open to strife. Richard place John in charge o f an English army and assigned him to bring order back to the area an d obtain the homage of the Welsh princes. John persuaded Rhys ap Gruf fydd to return with him to Oxford and pay homage to Richard in person . Towards the end of 1190, John returned to England.

During 1191, men with grudges against Longchamp began to turn to John . Soon after Richard embarked for Palestine, in March of 1191 John to ok the opportunity to drive William de Longchamp from power in England . John siezed the Royal Castles of Tickhill and Nottingham. John an d his half-brother Geoffrey joined each other at Reading. On 5 Octobe r 1191 John issued writs for the Great Council of England to assemble . John now began to consolidate his position as the future King. Dra wing on his hugh revenue, he showed himself liberal, affable, magnific ent and lavishly hospitalbe. By 1192, both John and William de Longch amp began to assemble men at arms and Johns army included many rugged Welshman. Longchamp laid siege to Lincoln castle whose contable was G erard of Cambille, a liegeman of John. John took the castles of Notti ngham and Tuckhill which offered no resistance.

On learning of Richard's imprisonment in Germany on 11 January 1193, J ohn began to conspire with Phillippe of France to keep Richard in capt ivity and attempted unsuccessfully to seize control of England. At on e point early in Richard's captivity, John made the assertion that Ric hard was deceased. John sailed for the continent, where he met with t he Seneschal and baron of Normandie near Alencon. According to Roger of Howden, John told the assembled nobles, "Receive me as your lord, s wear fealty to me," gut the nobles refused. During Richard's absence , John utilized the power of the bribe to make many of his gains. He made his way to Paris where he swore feality to Phillippe for Normandi e and returned to England. Phillippe invaded Normandie and John assem bled a number of Welshman and attempted to gain the support of the Kin g of Scotland - William 'the Lion' Stewart. William rejected the offe rs of John. William de Coustances, Geoffrey (John's half brother) an d Hugh de Puiset raised forces in an effort to march against John and his castles. John eventually began to help with the collection of mon ies for Richard's ransom.

During the summer of 1193, John threatened to invade Normandie, but wa s forestalled by the intervention of Hubert Walter and Richards offer of a six month truce. He was however forced to relinquish his castle s at Peak in Derbyshire and at Windsor and Wallingford to his mother E leanor. In about January of 1194, it is alleged that John and Phillip pe of France outbid Eleanor d'Aquitaine for the person of his older br other Richard so as to continue his confinement. Once Richard was rel eased, John viewed his return to England from Normandie and learned th at an order from the council decreeded that he should be deprived of a ll his English lands. Hubert Walter invested Marlborough,Hugh de Puis et marched on Tuckhill and the earls of Chester (Ranulf de Blondeville ), Huntingdon (William I of Scotland) and Derby (William de Ferrers) s urrounded and invested Nottingham. The castle surrendered on 26 Marc h 1194 to Richard, who hung several of John supporters in sight of th e castle. In February of 1194, John surrendered the whole of Normandi e east of the Seine to Phillippe in return for control of Rouen and a few castles. Upon Richard's return in 1194, John's support in Englan d quickly evaporated and he was deprived of his English lands and exco mmunicated. But by May of 1194, the brothers were reconciled by med iation of their mother, Eleanor and they met at Bayeux. Later in 1194 , John was placed in charge of one of Richard's armies and made a ligh ting attack on Evreux which was then held by Phillippes troops and cap tured the castle.

In 1195, Richard reinstated John in his possession of Mortain, Glouces ter and the honour of Ely. In 1196, John captured the castle at Jumie ges and in the spring os 1197 he led a raid on Beauvais, north of Pari s, where he defeated Philip of Dreux - Bishop of Beauvais. John was r ecognized by his brother Richard as his to the realm of England in 119 7, with the support of their mother Eleanor. John learned of his brot her Richard's death on 14 April 1199 while he was at Chinon and subseq uently by the hand of Robert de Turnham took control of Richards treas ure located there on the instruction of his mother and later that day made his way to Fontevrault Abbey to pay his respects. John was soon faced with an army led by Phillippe of France who marched on Maine an d Anjou. Arthur of Brittany and his mother Constance marched east fro m Brittany and siezed Angers. John was forced to flee Normandie for h is own safety, despite the fact that William FitzRalph and Walter de C outances - Archbishop of Rouen stood squarly behind him. With this st renght, John Marched south against Lemans where Arthur had been since 20 April 1199. Phillippe and Arthur had already evacuated Lemans and John proceeded to destroy the castle, tear down the city walls and bur n the homes of the leading citizens.

John was invested as Duc de Normandie on 25 April 1199 and soon after that visited the tombs of his father and brother at Fontevrault, Franc e. ( ref: 'Adam of Eynsham, 'Magna Vita Sancti Hugonis, ed. D.L. Doui e & D. H. Farmer, Oxford, 1961). The people of England are said to ha ve wanted John to become their King. One of his initialy problems upo n becoming King of England in April 1199, was the claim to the throne of his nephew Arthur (supported by Phillippe of France), son of Johns' s older brother Geoffrey. On 25 May 1199, John crossed the channel t o England and promptly made for London so as to claim his kingdom whic h had been held for him by Hubert Walter and William 'the Marshall - E arl of Pembrook. Once crowed King in May 1199, John proved initially to be a gifted administrator, showing concern for his kingdom. He di d exhibit a growing distrust of the Norman barons once he became King . During John's reign, the exchequer, Chancery and law courts began t o function more efficiently. Many of the problems of his reign arose due to bad luck. Upon his arrival in England, he promoted Huber Walte r to the office of Chancellor. On 20 June 1199, John crossed the chan nel from Shoreham to Dieppe with a large army and almost immediately t here was a test of strength with Phillippe of France. John attacked a castle in the area but was quickly driven off and a truce was arrang ed. On 30 July 1199, John acknowledged his debt to his mother at Roue n. John engaged Phillippe near Vendome, on the Loire, drove him nort h to LeMans and finally completly out of Maine. In October 1199, Phil lippe of France and John concluded a five year truce (arranged by Card inal Peter of Padua - a papal delegate), whereby one of John's Castill ian nieces would be betrothed to Phillippe's son Louis. At the time, John was forced by events to return to England and as such, his mothe r Eleanor - then 71, was sent to Castile to select the future bride o f young Louis. In March of 1200, John traveled north to York to meet with William 'King of Scotland' Stewart, but William did not show up f or the meeting. On 22 May 1200, Phillippe and John concluded the Trea ty of Le Goulet which enshrined the terms of the previous truce. As s uch, Arthur was to hold Brittany as a vassel of John. John now held u ndisputed claim to an empire extending from the Tweed to the Pyranees , from the mountains of Donegal to the peaks of the Auvergne.

On 5 June 1200, John arrived at the Lusignan Castle where he attended a ceremony hosted by Ralph de Lusignan - Count of Eu. There he met Is abella of Angouleme, previously betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, Ralph' s brother. John was immediately smitten by Isabella. John's advance s towards Isabella were encourage by her parents and her father Count Aymer gave his consent to John. John orderd Guarine of Clapion - Sene schal of Normandie to sieze Driencourt, a castle owned by Ralph de Lus ignan. The Lusignans indignantly revoked their oaths to John and appe aled to King Phillippe. Phillippe's response to the de Lusignans was to cease their harrying of John. They ignored Phillippe and were now in open revolt against John. Count Aymer, Isabella's father offered J ohn his support in John's difficulities with the de Lusignan brothers . In order to anticipate the trouble and strike the first blow, John commanded his seneschal in Normandie, Guarine of Clapion to sieze the Count of Eu's (Raoul de Lusignan) castle at Driencourt.

A war ensued, in which John recovered the revolted provinces and recei ved homage from Arthur, on about 26 August 1200. A second summons wa s issued to William 'the Lion - King of Scotland' Stewart to meet Joh n at Lincoln and this time William showed up. William showed up regal ed in all form of colorful finery and offered his fealty to John. Wil liam also asked for the cessation of Northumberland, Cumberland and We stmoreland which John promised to consider. Prior to leaving Lincoln , John confirmed the grazing rights of the Cistercians and promised t o build an abbey for them which was subsequently constructed in Beauli eu, Hampshire, England. In early 1201, John and Isabella made a progr ess through the north as far as the border of Scotland and back throug h Cumberland and arrived at York by mid-lent. John sent a force of 2 00 knights ahead of him from the Portsmouth harbor to Normandie to def end his borders in Normandie. The force was under the command of Will iam Marshall and Roger de Lacy. After John arrived, he and the force showed their strength in the area of Aquitaine. In 1201 Phillippe off ered to act as a mediator between the de Lusignans and John. Instead of putting the de Lusignans to a trial of the sword as his older broth er Richard might have, John chose agreed to 'put their dispute to lega l trial'. He had the de Lusignan's arraigned fro treason. That same year disturbances again broke out in France, and Arthur (who Phillipp e of France again supported), who had joined the malcontents, was capt ured by John's forces and confined in the castle at Falaise and eventu ally the castle of Rouen, and never heard of more, and his death was l aid at the hands of John, possibly with the assistance of William de Braose. John's mistreatment of Arthur caused many of his supporters t o desert him and align themselves with Phillippe.

In 1202, Phllippe summoned John to appear before him regard the land h is lands in France, at the urging of the de Lusignan family. John ref used and Phlip was well within his rights based on feudal law to depri ve John of his lands as Phillippe's vassel. As such Phillippe prepare d to take the lands in battle, but John came to the relief of Mirebea u castle, where his mother Eleanor was being besieged. John took twen ty-two captives from his successful defense of Mirebeau castle in Anjo u. He took them back to Corfe castle in Dorset and is alleged to hav e deliberately starved them to death. The battle at Mirebeau has bee n styled as the last great victory of an English King on French soil . Later in 1202, another conference between the King of France Philli ppe and King John was held at Gouleton, but no agreement was reached . In February 1202, John ordered that Arthur be removed back to the c astle of Rouen and placed in the custody of Robert de Vieuxpoint. Rob ert was subsequently granted two castles and their bailiwicks in Westm oreland.

On 2 April 1203, John, William de Braose and 3 Justiciars sailed down the Seine to one of John's favorite residences - his manor at Molineux . There William declared to John and his barons that he was relinquis hing his guardianship of Arthur. A plausiable theory of what happene d to Arthur appeared in the 'Annals of Magnam' allegedly attributed t o William. According to the Annals, "after dinner on 3 April 1203, wh en John was drunk and possessed by the devil, he slew Arthur with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine. It was brought up by fishermen and dragged to the bank, identified an d secretly buried at Notre-Dame Pres, a priory of Bec, near Rouen." S oon after that 'Arthur suddenly vanished' (ref: Roger of Wendover). J ohn was universally suspected of his nephew's death, and in the war wh ich followed he lost Normandie, Anjou, Maine and Touraine; may sugges t as a result of his own sloth (ref: W.L. Warren, 'King John', 1961) . In September of 1203, John turned his attention to the west in Norm andie and brought his forces to attacks upon both Fougeres and Dol, wh ere the towns were burned and sacked, and the relics of a local Saint , Samson were looted from the Dol Cathedral. In November of 1203, he roamed the duchy of Normandie in a vain attempt to rally support for h is army against Phillippe.

In the wake of Arthur's death, Phillippe quickly gained the upper han d in Normandie. On 2 January 1204, John convened a council at Oxford and imposed a scutage of 2 1/2 marks on all knights fees. John spent a great deal of time after his return on an endless commutation betwee n city to city, in Devon, in Yorkshire and into the midlands. Among h is principal concerns at the time was the maintenance of law and order , and the administration of justice. During this period he sat at man y pleas of lawsuits that had been postponed until his return from the continent. He was concerned with justice, the relevancy of evidence, the evolution of oath compurgators and to material witnesses, and comp etant juries. Despite Phillippe's fait accompli at Rouen on 24 June 1 204, John refused to recognize Phillippe and continued to use the titl es of Duc of Normandie & Aquitaine as well as Count of Anjou. John ma de at least two attempts to recapture Norman castles held by Phillipp s forces. On 5 December of 1203, John sailed for England from Barfleur . Ralph of Coggeshall wrote that "he (John) could bring no relief to the besieged" and by 6 March 1204 even Chateau Gaillard (perched atop a percipitous limestone crag overlooking he town of Les Andelys and a great loop in the Siene river) fell into the hands of the French. Af ter John's arrival back in England, he, in response to debt caused by Richards military campaigns, raised taxes from the Irish Church, the G ascons and the Channel Islands. In late 1204, he undertook a reform o f currency and issued coins of improved weight and design. New coins were issued in January of 1205. He also soon sought the creation of a standing fleet and a full time Royal navy. John confirmed the chart ers of the Cinque Ports and set about forming a full time naval establ ishment which by 1205 included 50 royal galleys in 15 separate harbor s most of which were in southern England.

In March of 1205 a council was held at Oxford and a mutual distrust wa s born between John and his barons. The barons compelled John to swea r once more to uphold their rights as preparations against invasion pr oceeded with some urgency. John took up residence at Porchester clos e to his armada in May of 1205. John's hope for an invasion of the co ntinent had been destroyed by June of 1205. During the latter part o f 1205 and 1206, John resumed his travels around England, particularl y in Yorkshire and Cumberland. In June of 1206, an expedition of Joh n sailed for La Rochelle and arrived on 7 June 1206. The barons ralli ed to John's cause and on 13 June 1206, John marched for Niort. In Ju ly he moved south towards Bourg-sur-Mer a small near Bordeaux at the m outh of the Garonne river. John took up a siege of castle Montauban h eld by hostile barons and on the 15th day of the effort, a breech was opened by John's effective use of siege engines. The garrison was qui ckly overwelmed by Johns forces after a ferocious man to man sword an d ax battle,. By August 1206, John was back at Niort. From therehe l ed his force hard across Poitou to Montmorillon and then northwest tow ards Clisson. He then moved north into Anjou, crossing the Loire sout h of Angers where he made camp for at least a week. By October of 120 6 a truce that was to last two years was reached with Phillippe of Fra nce. On 12 December 1206, John and Isabella arrived back at Portsmout h. By the end of 1206, Poitou was almost totally under John's control .

John and William de Braose were close friends but eventually broke apa rt, and in 1207, John led troops into the Welsh Marches so as to siez e the properties of William such as castle Bramber as well as other Ma rche castles belonging to William. William waited for the King at Her eford and begged for terms. William agreed to the Kings terms that in cluded payment for the royal lands in Leinster as well as the castles of Radnor, Hoy and Brecon. In August of 1207, John issued letters of patent giving Liverpool the status of a free borough and invited his s ubjects to settle there with guaranteed trading rights in hope of fost ering development of a harbor along the Mersey river. In 1207, John m et with his nephew Otto, Holy Roman Emperor, re. assistance against Ph illippe of France. John sent Otto home with 6,000 marks and Otto pres ented John with a splendid crown, a scepter, a golden rod and other ex pensive gifts. In February 1208, Simon Langton (brother of Stephen La ngton - Archbishop of Canterbury) came to negotiate with King John at Winchester. The talks failed and on 23 March 1208 an interdict was im posed on England and Wales. During the rest of 1208 and 1209, John ma de further and unfruitful gestures of compromise with the Church. Pop e Innocent proclaimed that if his terms were not met by June 1209, tha t the bishops sent to England were to promulgate and enforce a sentenc e of personal excommunication on John - King of England. The Bishops of England refused to impose such a sentence, as the people of Englan d were much in support of King John. In November 1209, the excommunic ation was published not in England, but rather in France. John had or dered the construction of the London Bridge which was completed in 120 9, whith a chapel in the middle under which was buried Peter of Colech urch who had supervised the construction.

Between 1209 and 1211, John executed a brilliant series of preventive campaigns aimed at guranteeing the defense of his kingdom. In 1209, h e humbled William 'the Lion' Stewart of Scotland whom he charged with harboring clerics who fled north during the interdict and demanded sec urity from William's activity by demanding three Scottish castles. Wi lliam refused and John marched an army north to Norham and William qui ckly sued for peace. William also did homage to John and made 'goodwi ll' with a payment of 10,000 marks. John went to Ireland in 1210 and landed at Crook supported by a formidable force landing at Waterford . He quickly advanced through Kilkenny and Naas to Dublin. There he received some twenty or more Irish chiefs including he King of Connaug ht - Cathal O'Connor and the Prince of North Munster Donough O'Brien . John then marched quickly through Trim and Kells to Carlingford, be neath the Mourne Mountains. He pursued the de Lacys and their startle d allies north to Downpatrick and then to Carrickfergus. He took Carr ickfergus and seized the lands of the Lacys and banished the Earl of U lster, built several fortresses and appointed sheriffs and other offic ers to carry out the English system of law. By August 1210, John ha d landed at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire and was back in England. John's distrust of his barons and his animosityle to his retribution against William 'the Protector' Marshall and William de Braose. Their land we re attacked and John continued his harrassment of the two. William d e Braose's wife and oldest son William were starved to death at Corfe castle at Windsor in 1210. With the destruction of the family of Will iam de Braose, it is seem by some as the cardinal blunder of John's re ign. William after some time in Ireland escaped in disquise to Franc e where he published an account of Arthur of Brittany's death and die d soon thereafter in 1211. Both Henry de Bohun and Richard de Clare w ere both shocked over the murderof William de Braose's wife and son.

John arrested all the Jewish population of England and made them pay 6 6,000 marks . In 1211 John made an expedition into North Wales, and p enetrated to Bangor and important base of Llywelyn. John destroyed th e town and captured the rebel bishop Roger of Shrewsbury and compelle d the submission of Llywelyn, who did homage to John who then raised a dditional fortresses. In 1212, John provided assistance to William 't he Lion' Stewart - King of Scotland who was having trouble with a Scot tish pretender Cuthred MacWilliam, captured MacWilliam and had him hun g. That same year, when Llwelyn ap Iorwerth broke his treaty with Joh n, John had 28 Welsh hostages executed in retaliation. John also mad e a humble submission to the Pope in 1212. That same year, he allied himself with Otto IV - the German Emperor. Their plan was for John t o make attack upon Phillippe via Guienne and Otto would attack Phillip pe from the northeast. Initially John was defeated in Guienne and Phi llippe outmaneuvered Otto onto ground where the French army held the a dvantage. The English barons began to become concerned about John's o mnious change of mood. Also, in 1212, John's gaze turned across the c hannel to France. But by July 1212, an exasperated John abruptly post poned his continental expedition. His impressive army assembled at No ttingham in the second week of September 1212, but concerned with trea chery around him, he called off the incursion into Wales. John outlaw ed both Robert FitzWalter and Eustace di Vesci, confiscated their land s and destroyed their castles. As he excised his fears against those he distrusted, he was also very solicitious to those who could do him no harm. He was gracious to widows, anxious for domestic peace and di scouraged officials from harrassing pilgrims, merchants and travellers . He received an unequivocal affirmation of loyalty from William Mars hall, along with twenty-eight barons in Ireland. Pope Innocent in 121 2, began to consider his ultimate authority so as to depose John from the English throne. William Marshall had advised John to try and mak e peace with Pope Innocent and by the end of 1212, John chose to try a nd make amends.

In 1213, after five years of amassing the revenues of vacant or approp riated sees and abbeys, John agreed to become a vassal to the Pope fo r an annual tribute of one thousand marks, with absolution from excomm unication and the lifting of the interdict. John responded vigoursly to the threat of Phillippe of France when he threatened to invade Engl and in 1213. John ordered all English vessels to stand by at the hom e ports. He ordered the largest of these vessels to assemble at Ports mouth. The assembled army was inspected by the King at Barham Down ne ar Canterbury. William Marshall was firmly behind the King. John cam e to have a great faith in his Navy. He deployed elements of his flee t against Fecamp, Dieppe and other muster points along the French coas t. John stationed himself near Dover and waited on Phillippe's move . On 13 May 1213, John met with the Papal delegate at Dovert and imme diately accepted the Pope's terms. He agreed to recieve Stephen Langd on as Archbishop of Canterbury, to reinstate the exiled clergy and to recompense the church in full for their losses. He and the Pope were reconciled. The most dramatic result of Johns actions was the collaps e of the projected French invasion, leaving the French King Phillippe furious. John ordered his fleet into the Swine estuary where Phillipp e had ordered his fleet. Johns fleet under the command of William of Salisbury found Phillippes fleet relatively unguarded and inflicted se vere damage but was ultimately driven off. Johns fleet returned to En gland with a minor victory with its decks loaded none the less with gr eat prizes. On St. Margarets day of 1213, John was absolved of his ex communication by Archbishop Stephen Langdon of Canterbury. John, eage r to hit Phillippe while he was weak, ordered an expedition to Poitou , but met with argument from his barons especially those in the north . Towards the end of 1213, John called a great council at Oxford to d iscuss preparations for another invasion of France. He called barons , knights and 'four prudent' men from each area. He became the first English king to include ordinary freeman of the shires to a council o f the realm. John's allies at this time included Otto of Germany, th e Counts of Holland, Boulogne and Flanders as well as the Dukes of Lor raine and Brabant. In the south of France, he was allied with Peter I I of Aragon and Raymond VI of Toulouse. The plan to attack France wa s that the coalition forces from the low contries would strike from th e northeast and John would attack through Poitou and squeeze Phillipp e from the southwest.

In February 1214, John set saile from Portsmouth bound for France. Af ter a brief stop at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wright, he made landing a t La Rochelle on 15 February 1214. His first goal in this campaign i n France was to establishe La Rochelle as a front east to the area of the La Marche. During the rest of February and March he secured the a reas of Mervant and Milecu as well as the Abbey of La Grace-Dieu and N iort. He soon struck east, following the river Charente to Anjouleme and then again on the Charente passing through Limoges. He drove as f ar south as La Reole southeast of Bordeaus. After offering a truce t o the de Lusignan brothers to no avail, John set out to take their lan ds by force in May 1214. John, after laying siege to Geoffrey de Lusi gnan's castles at Mervant and Vouvant, moved on Geoffrey's third castl e Montcontour then being laid siege to by Louis son of Phillippe of Fr ance. In the face of Johns advance, Louis quickly retired. By 25 Ma y 1214, John had occupied Parthenay where the de Lusignans did homage . John then turned north into Poitou during June of 1214. In late Ju ne 1214, John moved against Angers, and entered it unopposed by the mi ddle of the month, then turned and moved on Nantes. There he capture d twenty French knights including Phillippes cousin Robert of Dreux. After Aimery de Thouars abandonded John near Angers with the barons o f Poitou, John withdrew from the area of Roche-aux-Moines and proceede d twenty miles to the north where he halted. By 9 July 1214, he was b ack in the area of LaRochelle. But his army suffered a disastrous def eat at the Battle of Bouvines on the river Margne on 27 July 1214. A t La Rochelle, John heard the news of the defeat and was disconsolate . During the remained of the summer of 1214, John managed to upset th e Earl of Oxford and Devon regarding instructions that he had sent hi s justiciar Peter de Roches, whose tact was questionable at best. Joh n sailed from France in October 1214 never to return.

Upon his return to England, John found many of his barons in open defi ance. The barons presented themselves to John with their greivances a t a conference in London on 6 January 1215. On 19 February 1215, John granted safe-conduct to the northern barons to enable them to travel O xford for a conference with the primate of Canterbury Stephen Langton , his bishops and William 'the Protector' Marshall. John put them of f until Easter. John reacted camly to the overt act of rebellion of t he barons in April of 1215. Instead of taking steps to disperse the i nsurgents, John commissioned Archbishop Langton and William Marshall t o meet with them and discover their precise terms and grievances. On 3 May 1215, having failed to gain Johns surrender, the rebellious lord s formally renounced their homage and fealty to King John. On 9/10 Ma y 1215, John issued proposals that the dispute with the barons be sett led by a committee of arbitration under the auspices of Pope Innocent . When the rebels under Richard FitzWalter took London in May 1215, J ohn was at Freemantle, a royal hunting lodge in the woodlands of Wilts hire. John attached the Flemish troops under Robert de Bethune to tho se of William of Salisbury - his half brother. by 31 May, John had mo ved to the area of Windsor on the Thames above London. William of Sal isbury at the time was trying to restore order in the West. On 6 Jun e 1215, John ordered the mercenary Captain Fawkes of Breaute to reinfo rce the area of Salisbury. On 10 June 1215, he saw his seal affixed t o the petitions of the barons and on the 15th of June at Runnymede, Jo hn and rebel barons met.

John's arbitrary proceeedings had led to a rising of his nobles, and h e was compelled to sign the Magna Charta, or Great Charter, June 15, 1 215 at Runnymede, Surrey England (a field between Staines and Windsor) . The negotiations for the Magna Carta took place on Charter Island . John was 'handsomely robed and adhorned for the occassion'. At th e time he is styled as 'smiling amiably and expressing himself well sa tisfied', but inwardly there was a great sense of rage. After the sig ning ceremony, John returned to Windsor castle and on 26 June 1215 rod e to Winchester with Pandulfo, a papal delegate, and from there to th e Isle of Wright. John made half-hearted attempts to implement the me asures of the treaty such as removing mercenaries from the country. B y late June of 1215, John's body was gout-ridden, but he did not mean to keep the agreement, and obtained a Bull from the pope annulling th e charter on 24 August 1215, raised an army of mercenaries and commenc ed war. By September of 1215, John was at Dover where he awaied the a rrival of mercenaries from the continent. Support for John included S avary de Mauleon, Geofrey and Oliver de Buteville, Walter Buck, Gerar d and Godeschal de Soceinne all with Knights, companies of foot and cr ossbow.

With the assistance of Robert de Bethune's Flemish troops, and limite d troops from the local castles, King John began his march on Rocheste r in early October of 1215. On 12 October 1214, he reached Gillingha m just short of Rochester. On 13 October 1215, he struck at Rocheste r held by William d'Aubigny whose garrison shought the refuge of the c astle and shut the gates. John employed sappers and set this siege ma chines. d'Aubigny forces defended the castle through October and int o November for seven weeks. On 30 November 1215, d'Aubigny surrendere d beaten by lack of provisions. and continued his rampage from the cha nnel as far north as Scotland. The rampage continued until Louis of F rance arrived on the coast of Kent and John retreated towards Dover. In the face of the threat by Louis, John divided his force and left hi s half brother William, Fawkes of Beaute and Savary of Mauleon to main tain a watch on FitzWalter in London. John moved north with the remai neder of his army to face the threat of Alexander - King of Scotland . As Louis marched on London, John moved his army north (through Surr ey and Hampshire) while attempting to break Louis' communications. O n 18 December 1215, John's force reached Hertfordshrie. He was at Not tingham by Christmas day of 1215.

John marched on Newark and then Doncaster where he arrived by 1 Januar y 1216. He then marched on Pontefract in Yorkshire then held by John de Lacy who eventually submitted to John. John then moved on to York which also submitted. John then moved towards Northallerton and beyon d that to the river Tees to Darlington. On 8 January 1216 he moved ag ainst Durham and then towards Newcastle. After King Alexander's force s made a stand at Berwick, on 15 January John forces took Berwick. B y the end of January 1216, John had taken the Northumbrian castles of Mitford, Morpeth, Warkworth and Alnwick. He made a raid into Scotlan d as far north as the Firth of Forth. His northern campaign had ende d brillantly. He moved south via Lincoln, Stamford, Fortheringay and Bedford prior to reaching St. Albans by the end of February 1216. On 12 March 1216, John siezed Roger Bigods castle at Framlingham in Susse x. On 28 March 1216, John took the castle of Robert de Vere at Heding ham in Essex. John still was concerned about an invasion fleet from a cross the channel and worked to complete the muster of his fleet to pr event the expected invasion. In May and April of 1216, John moved bet ween the coastal stations of Sandwich, Dover, Folkestone and Romney an d established his headquarters at Canterbury. In the third week of Ma y, a storm erupted off of the North sea and John's fleet lay devastate d as a result. John marched his assembled force from Sandwich soon af ter 22 May 1216, after learning of the landing of Louis, Prince of Fra nce. Leaving Hubert de Burgh in command at Dover, John withdrew west along the coast of Sussex, strengthening castles as he went arriving i n Winchester on 28 May 1216. The loss of William of Salisbury, who al igned himself with Louis of France greatly staggered John's confidence . By the time, Louis of France arrived at Winchester, John had withdr ew northwest to the area of Ludgershall, then to Devizes in Wiltshire . In June and early July 1216, John was in Wiltshire and Dorset and v isited his family at Corfe castle. On 17 July 1261, John made his wa y north to the west midlands. In July and August, he toured the Wels h Marches proceeding from Bristol to Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Hereford , Leominster and Shrewsbury. He met with Reginald de Briouse whom Joh n offered restoration of his families heritage. John occupied Lincol n on 22 September 1216 and on 9 October 1216 arrived at Lynn. Having marched north, John saw much of his army and train engulfed while tryi ng to cross the Glen river near the Wash. Eventually, John was moved by litter from Swineshead to Sledford and finally to Newark and the ca stle of the Bishop of Lincoln. He died 19 October 1216. The issue o f the Barons rebellion was still in doubt when John died." (Encycloped ia Americana, Vol. XVI, p.156).

John seems to have showed more care in his marital life and 'shown mor e affection, imagination and feeling' than either his father Henry II or his brother Richard I. John, unless danger was to great, had neve r failed to take Isabelle with him on his travels and campaigns. "Th e closer study of John's history clears away the charges of sloth and incapacity with which men tried to explain the greatness of his fall . The awful lesson of his life rests on the fact that the king who lo st Normandy, became the vassel of the Pope, and perished in a struggl e of despair against English freedom was no weak and indolent voluptua ry but the abelest and most ruthless of the Angevins" - John RichardGr een. He was rampantly promiscuous and had at least seven bastard chil dren and possibly more. Several sources suggest that he was emotional ly shallow. While also a talented military commander, he received th e nickname of 'Softsword' and a result of the fact that he was often d ilatory. John ruled with a great concern and interest in the administ ration of government. Ralph of Coggeshall recorded that he ruled 'sat is laboriosae' (engertically enough). It is reported that he held a c ynical contempt for religion and was eventually excommunicated. He tr aveled widely in England and often dealt with mundane and legal matter s. He was 'munificent and liberal to outsiders, but often a plundere r of his own people, trusting strangers rather than his own subjects . Some ten years after John's death (ca. 1226), Roger of Wendover - a St. Alban's monk wrote 'Flowers of History', a history of John that allowed his memory to be maligned him for centuries.

Additional resources re. John Lackland, King of England include:

1.) R.V. Turner, 'King John' (1994).
2.) R. Mortimer, 'Angevin England 1154-1258' (1994).
3.) S.D. Church, 'King John: New Interpretations (1999).

GIVN John
SURN Plantagenet
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: March 31, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0120
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 16 Dez 1998
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: March 31, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0120
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 16 Dez 1998
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: March 31, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 9, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0120
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 16 Dez 1998
DATE 9 SEP 2000
TIME 13:17:24

John (24 December 1166 - 19 October 1216[1]), King of England , reigned from 6 April 1199 until his death. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I , who died without issue. John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine , and was their second surviving son to ascend the throne; thus, he was a Plantagenet or Angevin king of England. John, Earl of Cornwall and Gloucester had his peerage merged in the Crown during his 1199 coronation.
During his lifetime John acquired two epithets. One was "Lackland" (French : Sans Terre), because, as his father's youngest son, he did not inherit land out of his family's holdings, and because as king he lost English territories to France . The other was "Soft-sword", for his alleged military ineptitude.[2]
Apart from entering popular legend as the enemy of Robin Hood , he is perhaps best-known for having acquiesced -to the barons of English nobility- to seal Magna Carta , a document which limited kingly power in England and which is popularly thought as an early first step in the evolution of modern democracy .
While John was his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance . His family life was tumultuous, as his older brothers all became involved in rebellions against Henry . His mother, Eleanor, was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was about 7.
As a child, John was betrothed to Alais (pronounced 'Alice'), daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy . It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps , because John was promised the inheritance of Savoy , the Piemonte , Maurienne , and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his young son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey, which was for some time a bone of contention between King Henry and his son Geoffrey. Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court, but she died before being married.
Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle , depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:
"The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons,... who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others."
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired ometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland , whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months.
During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp , the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar . This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood .
John was more popular than Longchamp in London, and in October 1191 the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while Longchamp was confined in the tower. John promised the city the right to govern itself as a commune in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive.[3] While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria , imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor , and held for ransom. Meanwhile, John had joined forces with the King of France Philip Augustus and they sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, offering payment to keep Richard imprisoned. Henry declined their offer, and once Richard's ransom was paid by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had to pawn the Crown Jewels of England to do so), he was set free. Upon the release, John pled forgiveness from Richard, who granted it and named him heir presumptive.
When Richard died, John did not gain immediate universal recognition as king. Some regarded his young nephew , Arthur of Brittany , the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought his uncle for the throne, with the support of King Philip II of France . The conflict between Arthur and King John had fatal consequences. By the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet , Philip recognised John over Arthur, and the two came to terms regarding John's vassalage for Normandy and the Angevin territories. However, the peace was ephemeral.
The war upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain territories on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the charges one of which was his marriage to Isobel of Angouleme who was already engaged to Guy de Lusignan. John was called to Phillip's court after the Lusignans pleaded for his help. John refused, and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy) and betrothed him to his daughter Marie.
Needing to supply a war across the English Channel , in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester ) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy. (The Anglo-Saxon kings , such as Edward the Confessor , had royal harbours constructed on the south coast at Sandwich , and most importantly, Hastings.) By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles . He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy . What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls , since these achievements are ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.
In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205, John formed an alliance by marrying off his illegitimate daughter, Joan , to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great .
As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what happened to Arthur after that. According to the annals of Margam Abbey , Wales, where John would lodge on his trips between England and Ireland: On 3 April 1203
"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when John was drunk he slew Arthur with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine ."[citation needed ]
However, Hubert de Burgh , the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock . Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one saw Arthur alive again, and the supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany , and later Normandy, to rebel against King John.
Besides Arthur, John also captured his niece, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany . Eleanor remained a prisoner the rest of her life (which ended in 1241); through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.
In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume , which was the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou .[4]
When Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died on 13 July 1205 , John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III . The Canterbury Cathedral chapter claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor and favoured Reginald, a candidate out of their midst. However, both the English bishops and the king had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. The king wanted John de Gray , one of his own men, so he could influence the church more.[5] When their dispute could not be settled, the Chapter secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome , Innocent disavowed both elections, and his candidate, Stephen Langton , was elected over the objections of John's observers. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.
John expelled the Chapter in July 1207, to which the Pope reacted by imposing the interdict on the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by closing down the churches. Although he issued instructions for the confiscation of all church possessions, individual institutions were able to negotiate terms for managing their own properties and keeping the produce of their estates.[6] After his excommunication John tightened these measures and he accrued significant sums from the income of vacant sees and abbeys: for example, it was calculated that the church lost 100,000 marks to the Crown in 1213.[7] The Pope, realising that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.
In November 1209 John was excommunicated , and in February 1213, Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 (according to Matthew Paris , at the Templar Church at Dover );[8] in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1,000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland.[7] With this submission, formalised in the Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull ), John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.
Coming to terms with Llywelyn I, Prince of Gwynedd , following the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (1214), which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France.
This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders along with their French and Scots allies at Runnymede , near London on 15 June 1215 to seal the Great Charter , called in Latin Magna Carta. Because he had sealed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne). John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, including a personal two-month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle .
Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia . His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels ), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October ) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire , now on Nottinghamshire 's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".[9][10]
He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester .
His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216-72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.
King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history, earning him the nickname "Bad King John": it began with defeats-he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne-and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church , and his rebellious barons forced him to seal Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered.
As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage , payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records-the Pipe Rolls . Tudor historiography was particularly interested in him, for his independence from the papacy (or lack of it) - this atmosphere produced not only Shakespeare's own King John but also its model The Troublesome Reign of King John and John Bale's Kynge Johan .
Winston Churchill summarised the legacy of John's reign: "When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[11] Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":
...talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted. He was compared in a recent scholarly article, perhaps unfairly, with Richard Nixon . His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him-and the energy with which some of them opposed him.
In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton .[12]

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart after his birth; his youth was divided between his eldest brother Henry's house, where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten years and was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, bore him two sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended. The survival of the English government during John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, as John taxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.

The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashed in 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishes surrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within six months. After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vast estates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. John failed to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity and conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. Upon Richard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.

John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John actually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John's stubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury; the issue was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute for England as the Pope's vassal.

John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to the Irish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murder of his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he lost the last of his French possessions and returned to England. The final ten years of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain these territories. After levying a number of new taxes upon the barons to pay for his dismal campaigns, the discontented barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. At Runnymeade in the following June, John succumbed to pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large, and signed the Magna Carta. The document, a declaration of feudal rights, stressed three points. First, the Church was free to make ecclesiastic appointments. Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only be collected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants. Third, no freeman was to be punished except within the context of common law. Magna Carta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, was the forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document as a means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principles compelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered the throne to Philip II's son, Louis. John died in the midst of invasion from the French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North.

John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: ". . .his works of piety were very many . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace."

Source: Britannia.com

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

[The Saxon & Norman Kings, by Christopher Brooke] (1199-1216). [] date
of accession 1199. House of Plantagenet. [T. Webster, fidonet, Aug '95]
John LACKLAND, PLANTAGENET King. [John Byl, byl - at - twu.ca] Does
anyone know much about the ancestors and descendents of the famous
St. William of Orange, marquess of Septimania (790-806), cousin of
Charlemagne? Sir Anthony Wagner ('Pedigree & Progree') suggest he was
of Jewish descent (from the exilarchs from babylon), as well as an
ancestor of the English royal line through Isabel of Angouleme, wife
of King John of England. Is this all mere fantasy, or is there some
sound basis to such claims?
[In a previous article, tavenner -at- ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (Patrick
Tavenner) says: 'The post about the descendants of William the Conquerer
renewed a question for me. I have wondered about the wives, mistresses
and children of John Lackland, King of England. Did he have any
other bastard children besides than Richard FitzRoy? The following
is the information that I have gathered so far. Any additions,
corrections, observations, or speculations would be welcome.
John 'Lackland' King ENGLAND. B: 24 DEC 1167, Kings Manor house,
Oxford. D: 19 OCT 1216, ,Newark,Nottingham. Bur: Cathedral, Worcester.
FAMILY 1: Isabel FITZROBERT B: ABT 1170, of,,Gloucest. D: 14 OCT
1217, dsp, Kent. Bur: Cathedral,Canterbury,Kent. M:29 Aug 1189,
Marlborough, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Annuled: 1200.
FAMILY 2: Isabella de TAILLEFER.... This is not an appropriate name.
Taillefer, or something of the sort, was a nickname of her father,
and perhaps of other family members, but not a location. She should be
called Isabelle d'Angouleme, or the like.
B: ABT 1188, of,Angouleme,Charente,France. D: 31 MAY 1245/1246,
Fontevrault Abbe, Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire. Bur: Abbe, Fontevrault.
M: 26 AUG 1200, ,Bordeaux,Gironde . Children:
Henry III King ENGLAND. B: 1 OCT 1206, ,Winchester,Hamps. D: 16 NOV
1272, Westminster,Middlesex. Bur: 20 NOV 1272, Westminster Abbe.
..Family 1: Eleonore (Leonor) Countess PROVENCE. M: 14 JAN 1236,
Cathedral, Canterbury,Kent.
Richard Prince of ENGLAND, Earl of Cornwall, King of Germany. B: 5 JAN
1209, Winchester,Hamps. D: 2 APR 1272, Berkhamsteadcast, Berkhamstead,
Hertford. Bur: 13 APR 1272, Hailes Abbey,Hailes,Gloucest.
..Family 1: Isabel MARSHALL. M: 30 MAR 1231, Fawley, Buckingham.
..Family 2: Sancha Countess of PROVENCE. M: 23 NOV 1243, Westminster
Abbe. ..Family 3: Joan de Valletort (mistress). >Family 4: >Miss
PLANTAGENET
Not likely he had a family by a sister or neice. Todd Notes: Burke's
Peerage. 105th ed. 1970. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1990.
International Genealogical Index. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints. 1988.
Turton, William Henry. THE PLANTAGENET ANCESTRY. Phillimore & Co.,
Ltd.. London England. 1928.
Weis, Frederick Lewis. ANCESTRAL ROOTS OF SIXTY COLONISTS.
Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore. 5th ed. 1976.
// DATE Date Unknown QUAY 0

[cownwall1.ged]

Name Suffix: King of England

#Générale#s:dic.enc.Larousse ; mo.8.192 ; hg80.61

note couple : s:ds02.83

note couple : s:ds02.83 ; ds03.354

note couple : s:ds03.356b ; Auréjac ; G Lecomte

King John I of England

{geni:occupation} Signer of the Magna Charta, King of England, King of England (1199), ohn had a large number of illegitimate children, King, John of Lackland

{geni:about_me} ==John Lackland==

*By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine and Count of Anjo

'''Links'''
* [http://thepeerage.com/p10201.htm#i102006 Peerage.com - '''John Lackland, King of England''']
*[http://www.geneall.net/U/per_page.php?id=148 Geneall]
*'''King of England''' Reign 6. April 1199 – 19. October 1216 Coronation 27. May 1199
'''Predecessor''' [http://www.geni.com/people/index/5597288619460126496 Richard I]
'''Successor''' [http://www.geni.com/people/index/979118 Henry III]

Betrothed (Auvergne 1173 before 2 Feb) to ALIX de Maurienne, daughter of HUMBERT III Comte de Maurienne & his third wife Klementia von Zähringen (1166-1174).

m firstly (Betrothed 1176, Marlborough Castle 29 Aug 1189, divorced before 30 Aug 1199) as her first husband, ISABEL [Avise] Countess of Gloucester, daughter of WILLIAM FitzRobert 2nd Earl of Gloucester & his wife Avise de Beaumont ([before 1176]-14 Oct or [18 Nov] 1217, bur Canterbury Cathedral Church).

Betrothed (early 1193) to ALIX de France, daughter of LOUIS VII King of France & his [second wife Infanta doña Constanza de Castilla] ([4 Oct] 1160-after 1200).

m secondly (Bordeaux Cathedral 24 Aug 1200) as her first husband, ISABELLE d’Angoulême, daughter of AYMAR “Taillefer” Comte d’Angoulême & his wife Alix de Courtenay ([1187]-Fontevrault Abbey 31 May 1246, bur Fontevrault Abbey).

Mistress (1): --- de Warenne, daughter of HAMELIN d'Anjou Earl of Surrey & his wife Isabelle de Warenne . According to Given-Wilson & Curteis[493], one of the mistresses of King John was the "sister of William de Warenne" but the authors do not specify which sister she was. The Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester names "Sir Richard fiz le rei…Ion" and "the erles daughter of Wareine" his mother[494].

Mistress (2): CLEMENTIA, wife of HENRY Pinel, daughter of ---. The Annals of Tewkesbury names “reginæ Clemenciæ” as the mother of “domina Johanna Walliæ, uxor Lewelini, filia regis Johannis” when recording her daughter´s death[495]. The primary source which confirms the name of her husband has not yet been identified.

Mistress (3): HAWISE [de Tracy]. The primary source which confirms her name, possible family origin and relationship with King John has not yet been identified.

Mistress (4): SUSANNA, daughter of ---. The primary source which confirms her name and relationship with King John has not yet been identified. She was given a "tunic and super-tunic" in 1213[496].

Mistresses (5) - (12): ---. The names of the other mistresses of King John are not known

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_England

John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216), King of England, reigned from 6 April 1199 until his death. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I, who died without issue. John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and was their second surviving son to ascend the throne; thus, he was a Plantagenet or Angevin king of England. John, Earl of Cornwall and Gloucester had his peerage merged in the Crown during his 1199 coronation.

During his lifetime John acquired two epithets. One was "Lackland" (French: Sans Terre), because, as his father's youngest son, he did not inherit land out of his family's holdings, and because as king he lost English territories to France. The other was "Soft-sword", for his alleged military ineptitude.

Apart from entering popular legend as the enemy of Robin Hood, he is perhaps best-known for having acquiesced —to the barons of English nobility— '''to seal Magna Carta, a document which limited kingly power in England and which is popularly thought as an early first step in the evolution of modern democracy.'''

While John was his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, as his older brothers all became involved in rebellions against Henry. His mother, Eleanor, was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was about 7.

As a child, John was betrothed to Alais (pronounced 'Alice'), daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps, because John was promised the inheritance of Savoy, the Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his young son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey, which was for some time a bone of contention between King Henry and his son Geoffrey. Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court, but she died before being married.

Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:

"The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons,... who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others."

John on a stag hunt, from De Rege Johanne.Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months.

During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood.

John was more popular than Longchamp in London, and in October 1191 the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while Longchamp was confined in the tower. John promised the city the right to govern itself as a commune in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive.[3] While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and held for ransom. Meanwhile, John had joined forces with the King of France Philip Augustus and they sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, offering payment to keep Richard imprisoned. Henry declined their offer, and once Richard's ransom was paid by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had to pawn the Crown Jewels of England to do so), he was set free. Upon the release, John pled forgiveness from Richard, who granted it and named him heir presumptive.

When Richard died, John did not gain immediate universal recognition as king. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought his uncle for the throne, with the support of King Philip II of France. The conflict between Arthur and King John had fatal consequences. By the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet, Philip recognised John over Arthur, and the two came to terms regarding John's vassalage for Normandy and the Angevin territories. However, the peace was ephemeral.

The war upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain territories on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the charges one of which was his marriage to Isobel of Angouleme who was already engaged to Guy de Lusignan. John was called to Phillip's court after the Lusignans pleaded for his help. John refused, and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy) and betrothed him to his daughter Marie.

Needing to supply a war across the English Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy. (The Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours constructed on the south coast at Sandwich, and most importantly, Hastings.) By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, since these achievements are ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.

In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205, John formed an alliance by marrying off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great.

As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what happened to Arthur after that. According to the annals of Margam Abbey, Wales, where John would lodge on his trips between England and Ireland: On 3 April 1203.

"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when John was drunk he slew Arthur with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine."
However, Hubert de Burgh, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock. Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one saw Arthur alive again, and the supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany, and later Normandy, to rebel against King John.

Besides Arthur, John also captured his niece, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner the rest of her life (which ended in 1241); through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.

In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume, which was the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou.

Pope Innocent III and King John had a disagreement about who would become Archbishop of Canterbury which lasted from 1205 until 1213.When Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The Canterbury Cathedral chapter claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor and favoured Reginald, a candidate out of their midst. However, both the English bishops and the king had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. The king wanted John de Gray, one of his own men, so he could influence the church more. When their dispute could not be settled, the Chapter secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections, and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.

John expelled the Chapter in July 1207, to which the Pope reacted by imposing the interdict on the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by closing down the churches. Although he issued instructions for the confiscation of all church possessions, individual institutions were able to negotiate terms for managing their own properties and keeping the produce of their estates. After his excommunication John tightened these measures and he accrued significant sums from the income of vacant sees and abbeys: for example, it was calculated that the church lost 100,000 marks to the Crown in 1213. The Pope, realising that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.

In November 1209 John was excommunicated, and in February 1213, Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 (according to Matthew Paris, at the Templar Church at Dover); in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1,000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland. With this submission, formalised in the Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull), John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.

Coming to terms with Llywelyn I, Prince of Gwynedd, following the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (1214), which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France.

This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders along with their French and Scots allies at Runnymede, near London on 15 June 1215 to seal the Great Charter, called in Latin Magna Carta. Because he had sealed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne). John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, including a personal two-month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle.

Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

'''He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.'''

King John's reign has been traditionally characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history, earning him the nickname "Bad King John": it began with defeats—he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne—and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to seal Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records—the Pipe Rolls. Tudor historiography was particularly interested in him, for his independence from the papacy (or lack of it) - this atmosphere produced not only Shakespeare's own King John but also its model The Troublesome Reign of King John and John Bale's Kynge Johan.

Winston Churchill summarised the legacy of John's reign: "When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns". Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure":

...talented in some respects, good at administrative detail, but suspicious, unscrupulous, and mistrusted. He was compared in a recent scholarly article, perhaps unfairly, with Richard Nixon. His crisis-prone career was sabotaged repeatedly by the halfheartedness with which his vassals supported him—and the energy with which some of them opposed him.

In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton.

King John as shown in Cassell's History of England (1902)These reflect the overwhelming view of his reputation:

King John was the subject of a Shakespearean play, The Life and Death of King John.
King John is a central figure in the 1819 historical romance Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott.
Philip José Farmer, a science fiction author, featured King John as one of several historical figures in his Riverworld Saga.
John and one of his Justices in Eyre, the Sheriff of Nottingham, are portrayed as villain and henchman in the Robin Hood legends. These usually place the Robin Hood stories in the latter part of Richard I's reign, when Richard was in captivity and John was acting as unofficial regent. Among the screen incarnations of John in versions of the Robin Hood story are:
Sam De Grasse in Robin Hood (1922).
Claude Rains in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
Donald Pleasence in the 1950s ITV television series The Adventures of Robin Hood.
The animated Prince John in the 1973 Disney movie Robin Hood, in which he is depicted as an anthropomorphic lion voiced by Peter Ustinov, who sucks his thumb and cries for his "mummy" whenever Robin Hood (a fox) steals his gold. In one scene, he laments, "Mother always did like Richard best".
Phil Davis in the 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood.
Richard Lewis in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
Toby Stephens depicts John as a deranged megalomaniac in episode 6, series 3 onwards of Robin Hood (having been mentioned in the previous two-and-a-half series whilst remaining an off-screen character)
John was impersonated by Kamelion in a plot by the Master in The King's Demons, a 1983 serial of the British science fiction series, Doctor Who.
John is a character in James Goldman's 1966 play The Lion in Winter, which dramatises Henry II's struggles with his wife and sons over the rule of his empire. John is portrayed as a spoiled, simpleminded pawn in the machinations of his brothers and Philip II. In the 1968 film he is portrayed by Nigel Terry. In the 2003 film, he is portrayed by Rafe Spall.
Sharon Penman's Here Be Dragons deals with the reign of John, the development of Wales under Llewelyn's rule, and Llewelyn's marriage to John's illegitimate daughter, Joan, who is depicted in the novel as "Joanna". Other novels of hers which feature John as a prominent character are The Queen's Man, Cruel as the Grave, The Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness, a series of fictional mysteries set during the time of Richard's imprisonment.
John is featured in several books by Elizabeth Chadwick including Lords of the White Castle, The Champion and The Scarlet Lion.
The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay is a highly speculative but relatively sympathetic account.
King John appeared in The Time Tunnel episode entitled "The Revenge of Robin Hood". Once again, John is depicted as a villain. At the end of the episode, John puts his seal on the Magna Carta but clearly he is not happy about it. He is portrayed by character actor John Crawford.
King John is the subject of A. A. Milne's poem for children which begins "King John was not a good man".
Princess of Thieves, a 2001 telemovie concerning Robin Hood's supposed daughter, depicts Prince John trying to seize the throne from the rightful heir, Prince Phillip, an illegitimate son of King Richard.
King John is one of two subjects - the other being Richard I - in the Steely Dan song Kings, from the 1972 LP release, Can't Buy a Thrill.

In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan.

Isabella bore five children:
Henry III (1207-1272), King of England.
Richard (1209-1272), 1st Earl of Cornwall.
Joan (1210-1238), Queen Consort of Alexander II of Scotland.
Isabella (1214-1241), Consort of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Eleanor (1215-1275), who married William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and later married Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester.
John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured of Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children:

Joan, Lady of Wales, the wife of Prince Llywelyn Fawr of Wales, (by a woman named Clemence)
Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)
Oliver FitzRoy, (by a mistress named Hawise) who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.
By an unknown mistress (or mistresses) John fathered:

Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.
(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)
--------------------
From http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20Kings%201066-1603.htm

JOHN, son of HENRY II King of England & his wife Eléonore Dss d'Aquitaine (Beaumont Palace, Oxford 24 Dec 1166 or 1167-Newark Castle, Lincolnshire 18/19 Oct 1216, bur Worcester Cathedral[424]). The primary sources are contradictory regarding John´s year of birth. Robert of Torigny records the birth "1167…in vigilia Natalis Domini" of "Johannis filius regis Anglorum"[425]. Matthew of Paris records that “Alienor Anglorum regina” gave birth to “filium…Johannes”, stating neither the place nor the precise date but the passage is located in the middle of text which records events in 1166[426]. The Annals of Burton record the birth of “Regina…Johannem filium suum” in 1166[427]. The Annals of Dunstable record the birth of “Alienor…filium Johannem” at the end of the paragraph dealing with events in 1165 and immediately before the start of the paragraph for 1167, although it is likely that 1166 was intended as the text includes no separate entry for that year[428]. John was designated King of Ireland in 1177. Created Comte de Mortain 1189. His lands were placed under interdict by Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury because of his first marriage[429]. He succeeded his brother Richard I in 1199 as JOHN King of England, crowned London 27 May 1199[430] and again 8 Oct 1200 with his second wife at Westminster Abbey[431]. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the coronation "VI Kal Jul" at Westminster Abbey in [1199] of "Johannes dominus Hiberniæ"[432]. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the death "XV Kal Nov" [1216] of King John and his burial "Wignorniæ"[433]. The Annals of Tewkesbury record the death “apud Newerk in crastino Sanctæ Luciæ virginis” in 1216 of “Johannes rex Angliæ”[434].

Betrothed (Auvergne 1173 before 2 Feb) to ALIX de Maurienne, daughter of HUMBERT III Comte de Maurienne & his third wife Klementia von Zähringen (1166-1174). Her parentage is specified by Matthew of Paris when he records this betrothal. Although he does not give her first name, he calls her "filia primogenita"[435]. Benedict of Peterborough records the betrothal of "Humbertus comes de Mauriana…Aalis filiam suam majoram" and "rex…Johannis filii sui iunioris" at "Alvernium…Montem Ferratum" in 1173 before 2 Feb, and the agreement whereby John would inherit the county of Maurienne if Humbert had no sons by his wife[436].

m firstly (Betrothed 1176, Marlborough Castle 29 Aug 1189, divorced before 30 Aug 1199) as her first husband, ISABEL [Avise] Countess of Gloucester, daughter of WILLIAM FitzRobert 2nd Earl of Gloucester & his wife Avise de Beaumont ([before 1176]-14 Oct or [18 Nov] 1217, bur Canterbury Cathedral Church). An anonymous continuation of the Chronicle of Robert of Mont-Saint-Michel records (in order) "Comitissa Ebroicensis…uxor Guillelmi Comitis de Clara, tertia…in manu Dei et domini Regis" as the three daughters left by "Guillelmus Comes Glocestriæ" when he died[437]. The Chronica de Fundatoribus et Fundatione of Tewkesbury Abbey names “Mabiliam comiti de Evereis in Normannia nuptam…Amiciam…Isabellam” as the three daughters of “comes Willielmus” and his wife, adding that Isabel married “Henricus rex…Johanni filio suo”[438]. Benedict of Peterborough records the betrothal in 1176 of "Johannem filium regis minimum" and "Willelmus filius Roberti filii regis Henrici primi comes Gloucestriæ…filiam ipsius comitis" and the agreement whereby John would inherit the county of Gloucester[439]. Her marriage is recorded by Matthew of Paris, who specifies that it took place despite the prohibition of Baldwin Archbishop of Canterbury on the grounds of consanguinity, although he does not name her[440]. Benedict of Peterborough records the marriage in 1189 of "Johannes frater ducis [Normanniæ]" and "filiam comitis Gloucestriæ" at "Marlebegam IV Kal Sep"[441]. The Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall records that "comes Johannes frater eius [rege Ricardo]" married "filiam comitis Glocestriæ"[442]. The primary source which confirms her name as Isabelle has not yet been identified. She was recognised as Ctss of Gloucester in her own right from her marriage in [1189]. Matthew of Paris records her divorce in 1199, when he calls her "Hawisa"[443]. The Annales Londonienses record the divorce in 1200 of King John and "Hawysiam filiam comitis Gloverniæ", stating that they were "in tertio gradu consanguinitatis"[444]. King John appears to have kept her as a state prisoner after their divorce, but retained her title even after her nephew Amaury de Montfort was installed as Earl of Gloucester in 1199[445]. The Chronica de Fundatoribus et Fundatione of Tewkesbury Abbey records the second marriage of “Isabellam” and “Galfrido de Mandevile comiti Essexiæ”, and her third marriage to “Huberto de Burgo justiciario Angliæ”[446]. Her lands and title were confiscated on the death of her second husband, who died a rebel. She married secondly ([16/26] Jan 1214) as his second wife, Geoffrey de Mandeville Earl of Essex, and thirdly ([Sep] 1217) as his second wife, Hubert de Burgh, who was created Earl of Kent in 1227. The Annals of Waverley record the death in 1217 of “Isabel comitissa Gloucestriæ”[447]. The Annals of Dunstable record that “Johannam comitissam Gloucestriæ” died “paucos dies” after her marriage to “Hubertus de Burgo justiciarius Angliæ” and was buried “apud Cantuarium”[448].

Betrothed (early 1193) to ALIX de France, daughter of LOUIS VII King of France & his [second wife Infanta doña Constanza de Castilla] ([4 Oct] 1160-after 1200). Kerrebrouck states that Richard I King of England arranged the betrothal of Alix, to whom he had earlier been betrothed himself, to his younger brother John in early 1193[449], but the primary source which confirms this has not yet been identified. She returned to France in Aug 1195.

m secondly (Bordeaux Cathedral 24 Aug 1200) as her first husband, ISABELLE d’Angoulême, daughter of AYMAR “Taillefer” Comte d’Angoulême & his wife Alix de Courtenay ([1187]-Fontevrault Abbey 31 May 1246, bur Fontevrault Abbey). The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the marriage "IX Kal Sep" [1200] of King John and "Isabellam filiam Engolisimi comitis" and their coronation together "VIII Id Oct" in London[450]. Matthew of Paris names her as "filiam comitis Engolismi" when he records her marriage[451]. She was crowned Queen Consort 8 Oct 1200 at Westminster Abbey[452]. She succeeded her father in 1202 as Ctss d’Angoulême, but was not formally recognised as such until Nov 1206. She married secondly (10 Mar/22 May 1220) Hugues [X] de Lusignan Comte de la Marche. Her origin is confirmed in the charter dated 1224 under which "Ugo de Leziniaco comes Marchiæ et Engolismæ et Ysabella uxor eius…regina Angliæ" confirmed rights granted by "bonæ memoriæ Ademaro comite Engolismæ patre eiusdem dominæ Ysabellæ" to Vindelle[453]. Matthew of Paris records her death, when he specifies that she was the wife of Hugues Comte de la Marche[454].

Mistress (1): --- de Warenne, daughter of HAMELIN d'Anjou Earl of Surrey & his wife Isabelle de Warenne . According to Given-Wilson & Curteis[455], one of the mistresses of King John was the "sister of William de Warenne" but the authors do not specify which sister she was. The primary source which confirms her relationship with John has not yet been identified.

Mistress (2): CLEMENTIA, wife of HENRY Pinel, daughter of ---. The Annals of Tewkesbury names “reginæ Clemenciæ” as the mother of “domina Johanna Walliæ, uxor Lewelini, filia regis Johannis” when recording her daughter´s death[456]. The primary source which confirms the name of her husband has not yet been identified.

Mistress (3): HAWISE [de Tracy].

Mistress (4): SUSANNA, daughter of ---. The primary source which confirms her relationship with John has not yet been identified. She was given a "tunic and super-tunic" in 1213[457].

Mistresses (5) - (12): ---. The names of the other mistresses of King John are not known.

King John & his second wife had five children:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--------------------
# ID: I2889
# Name: John I "Lackland" Plantagenent King of England
# Surname: England
# Given Name: John I "Lackland" Plantagenent King of
# Prefix: King
# Sex: M
# Birth: 24 Dec 1167 in Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
# Christening: France (Count Of Mortain)
# Death: 19 Oct 1216 in Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 of Fever, chills, exhaustion after crossing Wash of Lincoln & Norfolk.
# Burial: 19 Oct 1216 Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England 2 3 8 9
# Ancestral File #: 8XJ4-1K
# Reference Number: 4786
# LDS Baptism: 26 Nov 1932 Temple: ARIZO
# Endowment: 24 Feb 1933 Temple: ARIZO
# _UID: C15D0987798B8248B7E5FCADE9A9D7537D01
# Sealing Child: 28 May 1937 Temple: SLAKE
# Birth: 1160 in Burke's source
# Event: Lord of Ireland Appointed Between 1177 and 1185 16 17
# Event: England Ruled Between 1199 and 1216 18 19
# Event: Fact 1 (2) BET. 1199 - 1216 Reigned as King of England
# Event: Plantagenet
# Note:

King John of England.

John Lackland, so-called because he inheritated no lands from his father. Said to have been a "bad son, bad subject, bad husband, bad father, and bad sovereign." John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent. John was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede, the English declaration of liberty, and died shortly after.

King John (Lackland) had been forced to sign the Magna Charta at Runnymeade (loc.between Windsor and Staines). The English Barons reaffirmed the traditional feudal privileges signed by Henry I. Although he signed the Charta, King John immediately appealed to Pope Innocent III, who issued a bull annulling the charter. King John hired French mercenaries, who landed in England in January 1216 to fight the Barons. King John came down with dystenry in October 1216, after crushing English resistance in the north of England. He crossed the Wash River and went to Newark Castle, where he died 19 October 1216. Age 38. He was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, who became Henry III. His regent was William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. (Trager's page 103)

John Lackland, youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, succeeded his brother Richard I the Lion Heart as King of England in 1199. He ruled until 1216, and was succeeded by his eldest son Henry III.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.

John, king of England

1167-1216, king of England (1199-1216), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Early Life
The king;s youngest son, John was left out of Henry;s original division of territory among his sons and was nicknamed John Lackland. He was, however, his father;s favorite, and despite the opposition of his brothers (whose rebellion of 1173-74 was provoked by Henry;s plans for John), he later received scattered possessions in England and France and the lordship of
Ireland. His brief expedition to Ireland in 1185 was badly mismanaged. 2
Under Richard I John deserted his dying father in 1189 and joined the rebellion of his brother Richard, who succeeded to the throne as Richard I in the same year. The new king generously conferred lands and titles on John. After Richard;s departure on the Third Crusade, John led a rebellion against the chancellor, William of Longchamp, had himself acknowledged (1191) temporary ruler and heir to the throne, and conspired with Philip II of France to supplant Richard on the throne. This plot was successfully thwarted by those loyal to Richard, including the queen mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard pardoned John;s treachery.
Reign
Early Conflicts
On Richard;s death, John ascended the English throne to the exclusion of his nephew, Arthur I of Brittany. The supporters of Arthur, aided by King Philip, began a formidable revolt in France. At this time John alienated public opinion in England by divorcing his first wife, Isabel of
Gloucester, and made enemies in France by marrying Isabel of AngoulOme, who had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan. In 1202, Arthur was defeated and captured, and it is thought that John murdered him in 1203. Philip continued the war and gradually gained ground until by 1206 he was in control of Normandy, Anjou, Brittany, Maine, and Touraine. John had lost all his French dominions except Aquitaine and a part of Poitou, which was a critical factor in his subsequent unpopularity.
The death (1205) of John;s chancellor, Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, not only removed a moderating influence on the king but precipitated a crisis with the English church. John refused (1206) to accept the election of Stephen Langton as Walter;s successor at
Canterbury, and as a result Pope Innocent III placed (1208) England under interdict and excommunicated (1209) the king. The quarrel continued until 1213 when John, threatened by the danger of a French invasion and by increasing disaffection among the English barons, surrendered his kingdom to the pope and received it back as a papal fief.
The Magna Carta
John&;s submission to the pope improved his situation. Now backed by the pope, he formed an expedition to wage war on Philip in Poitou. However, while John was at La Rochelle, his allies, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (his nephew) and the count of Flanders, were decisively beaten by Philip at Bouvines in 1214. John had resorted to all means to secure men and money for his Poitou campaign, and after returning home he attempted to collect scutage from the barons who had refused to aid him on the expedition.
Abuses of feudal customs and extortion of money from the barons and the towns, not only by John but by Henry II and Richard I, had aroused intense opposition, which increased in John’s unfortunate reign. The barons now rose in overwhelming force against the king, and John in capitulation set his seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede in June, 1215. Thus, the most famous document of English constitutional history was the fruit of predominantly baronial force.
John, supported by the pope, gathered forces and renewed the struggle with the barons, who sought the aid of Prince Louis of France (later Louis VIII). In the midst of this campaign John died, and his son, Henry III, was left to carry on the royal cause.
Character and Influence
John, though often cruel and treacherous, was an excellent administrator, much concerned with rendering justice among his subjects. The basic cause of his conflicts with the barons was not that he was an innovator in trying to wield an absolute royal power, but that in so doing he ignored and contravened the traditional feudal relationship between the crown and the nobility. The modern hostile picture of John is primarily the work of subsequent chroniclers, mainly Roger of Wendover and Matthew of Paris.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright ¬ 2001 Columbia University Press.

Name Suffix: King of England
Ancestral File Number: 8XJ4-1K
John Lackland, so-called because he inheritated no lands from his father.Said to have been a "bad son, bad subject, bad husband, bad father, andbad sovereign." John was excommunicated by Pope Innocent. John was forcedto sign the Magna Cartaat Runnymede, the English declaration of liberty,and died shortly after.

King John (Lackland) had been forced to sign the Magna Charta atRunnymeade (loc.between Windsor and Staines). The English Baronsreaffirmed the traditional feudal privileges signed by Henry I.Althoughhe signed the Charta, King John immediately appealed to PopeInnocent III, whoissued a bull annulling the charter. King John hiredFrench mercenaries, who landed in England in January 1216 to fight theBarons. King John came down with dystenry in October 1216, after crushingEnglish resistance in the north of England. He crossed the Wash Riverandwent to Newark Castle, where he died 19 October 1216. Age 38. He wassucceededby his 9-year-old son, who became HenryIII. His regent wasWilliam Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. (Trager's page 103)

John Lackland, youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine,succeeded his brother Richard I the Lion Heartas King of England in1199.He ruled until 1216, and was succeeded by his eldest son Henry III.

1 20 3 4 6 21 2 22 7 23 9 10 12 24 8 13 14
# Change Date: 6 Jun 2008 at 12:13:33

Father: Henry II Plantagenet de Anjou England b: 5 Mar 1133 in Le Mans, Sarthe, France c: 1150 in France (Duke Of Normandy) (Aka Henry Of Anjou)
Mother: Eleanor Aquitaine b: 1122 in Bordeaux,Aquitaine,France c: in France (Aka Alienor Of Guienne')

Marriage 1 Isabella "Avisa" Fitz Robert b: ABT 1170 in of,Gloucester,Gloucestershire,England

* Divorced: Y
* Married: 29 Aug 1189 in Marlborough,Salisbury,Wiltshire,England 2 3 8 9
* Sealing Spouse: 15 Oct 1991 in JRIVE
* Event: Divorced Divorced 1200
* Event: Divorced Divorced 1199 3 9
* Event: Seal 2 8

Marriage 2 Isabel de Clare , Countess of Pembroke b: 1164 in Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales

* Divorced: Y
* Married: 29 Aug 1189 in Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire, England 1 6 7 12
* Divorced: 1199

Marriage 3 Hedwiga Gloucester b: in Gloucester, England (Aka Avisa) c: in Gloucester - Aka Hadwisa The Heiress

* Married: 1199 in (Marriage Was Annulled) 16 17
* Note:

Hawise of Gloucter married her cousin, John I Lackland in 1199. The marriage was later annulled.

Hawise of Gloucester had married her 3rd cousin, John I Lackland, both descended from William the Conqueror. He had the marriage set aside and annulled sometime before 1203. He was then free to marry Isabella of Angouleme.

* Divorced: Y BEF 1200

Marriage 4 Dtr Of Earl Warenne b: ABT 1175 in England

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in (Had Natural Children-Not Married) 2 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Children

1. Has No Children Richard Fitz Roy b: ABT 1200
2. Has No Children Joan Lackland Of Wales b: ABT 1180 in Wales (Princess Of Wales) Natural Dtr. Of John Lackland c: in Wales - Aka Joanna
3. Has No Children Richard Fitz Roy
4. Has No Children Richard Fitzroy b: ABT 1186 in of,Chilham Castle,Kent,England
5. Has No Children Geofrey Fitzroy b: ABT 1192
6. Has No Children Isabel La Blanche b: ABT 1192 in of,,Essex,England
7. Has No Children John Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,,Lincolnshire,England
8. Has No Children Henry Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,Kenilworth,Warwickshire,England
9. Has No Children Eudo Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,,Essex,England
10. Has No Children Ivo Fitzroy b: ABT 1194 in of,,Essex,England

Marriage 5 Unknown Warren

Children

1. Has No Children Richard Fitz Roy

Marriage 6 Margaret de Warrene Concubine 10 b: ABT 1170 in Of, , England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has No Children Richard FitzRoy b: ABT 1186 in Of, Chilham Castle, Kent, England

Marriage 7 Suzanne Warren b: 1166 in England

* Married: 1183/1208 in Unmarried
* Sealing Spouse:
* Note:

_STATNOT_MARRIED

_STATNOT_MARRIED

Children

1. Has No Children Joan Lackland Of Wales b: 1180 in Wales
2. Has Children Richard FitzRoy , Constable of Wallingford b: 1186 in Chilham Castle,Kent,England

Marriage 8 Suzanne Warren

Marriage 9 Suzanne Warren [Concubine #5] b: ABT 1166 in England

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in Unmarried 2 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Children

1. Has Children Richard Fitz Roy b: ABT 1186 in Chilham Castle, Kent, England

Marriage 10 Hawisa Fitzwarin [Concubine 1] b: ABT 1167 in of,,,England

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in unmd 2 8
* Note: _STATMARRIED

Children

1. Has No Children Oliver, of England b: ABT 1187 in of,Westminster,Middlesex,England
2. Has No Children Oliver Fitzroy b: 1187 in Westminster,Middlesex,Eng

Marriage 11 Concubine of John Plantagenet b: ABT 1170

* Event: Single ABT 1185

Children

1. Has Children Joan (Illegitimate) Plantagenet b: ABT 1185

Marriage 12 Miss Plantagenet [Concubine 10] b: 1172 in Warren, Surrey, England

* Married: NOT MARRIED in Kings Manor Hous, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England 2 8
* Sealing Spouse: 13 Jan 1993 in JRIVE
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Marriage 13 Clemence Dauntsey b: ABT 1162 in England c: in Countess Of Brittany

* Married: 1186 in England

Marriage 14 Matilda Gifford b: 1170 in Halsbury, Devon, England

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in Unmarried 2 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Marriage 15 Mrs-John Lackland Concubine b: 1170 in

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in Unmarried 2 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Marriage 16 John Lackland Concubine b: WFT Est 1162-1181

* Married: WFT Est 1183-1208 in Unmarried 2 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2 8 8
* Event: Seal 2

Marriage 17 Agatha de Ferrers b: 1168 in Charltey, Staffordshire, England

* Married: 1184/1207 in England
* Sealing Spouse:
* Note:

_STATNOT_MARRIED
_STATMARRIED

Children

1. Has Children Joan Princess of England b: 1188 in London,Eng
2. Has No Children Joanna b: BET. 1188 - 1191 in of London, Middlesex, England

Marriage 18 Agatha De Ferrers b: ABT 1168 in Of, Charltey, Staffordshire, England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has Children Joan Plantagenet Princess Of England b: ABT 1188 in Of, London, Middlesex, England

Marriage 19 Agatha De Ferrers b: ABT 1168 in Of, Charltey, Staffordshire, England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has Children Joan Plantagenet Princess Of England b: ABT 1188 in Of, London, Middlesex, England

Marriage 20 Agatha de Ferrers Concubine b: ABT 1168 in England

* Married: WFT Est 1184-1207 in Unmarried 2
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 2

Children

1. Has Children Joan Plantagenent b: 1188 in London, Middlesex, England
2. Has No Children Joan of England Princess of Nor b: ABT 1188 in of,London,Middlesex,England

Marriage 21 Agatha Ferrers b: ABT 1168 in Charltey, Stafford, England

* Married: WFT Est 1184-1207 in Unmarried 8
* Sealing Spouse:
* Event: Seal 8

Children

1. Has No Children Joan Plantagenent
2. Has Children Joan Plantagenent b: 1188 in London, Middlesex, England

Marriage 22 Matilda Gifford b: 1185 in England

* Married: 1205 in unmd
* Note: _STATNOT_MARRIED

Children

1. Has No Children Osbert Gifford b: 1205 in Oxfordshire,Eng

Marriage 23 Mrs-John, Concubine 2 England [Concubine 2] b: ABT 1168 in of,,,England

* Married: in unmd

Children

1. Has No Children Geofrey Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,,Essex,England

Marriage 24 Mrs-John Concubine 6 England [Concubine 6] b: ABT 1168 in of,,Lincolnshire,England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has No Children Isabel La Blanche b: ABT 1192 in of,,,England

Marriage 25 Mrs-John Concubine 7 England [Concubine 7] b: ABT 1168 in of,,Lincolnshire,England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has No Children John Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,,Lincolnshire,England

Marriage 26 Mrs-John Concubine 8 England [Concubine 8] b: ABT 1168 in of,Kenilworth,Warwickshire,England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has No Children Henry Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,Kenilworth,Warwickshire,England

Marriage 27 Mrs-John Concubine 9 England [Concubine 9] b: ABT 1168 in of,,Essex,England

* Married: in Unmarried

Children

1. Has No Children Eudo Fitzroy b: ABT 1192 in of,,Essex,England
2. Has No Children Ivo Fitzroy b: ABT 1194 in of,,Essex,England

Marriage 28 Isabella De Mellent Countess Of Clare b: 1170 in Gloucester,England

* Married: 29 Aug 1189 in Marlebridge
* Sealing Spouse: 15 Oct 1991 in JRIVE
* Note: _STATNOT_MARRIED
* Event: Divorced Unknown 1200
* Event: Divorced Unknown 1199

Children

1. Has No Children Richard Fitz Roy de Dover b: 1190 in England
2. Has No Children Isabel "la Branche" Fitzroy b: 1192 in England
3. Has No Children Geofrey Fitzroy b: 1193 in England

Marriage 29 Hedwiga Of Gloucester b: in Gloucester,England

* Married: 1199 in England 25
* Note:

Hawise of Gloucter married her cousin, John I Lackland in 1199. Themarriage was later annulled.

Hawise of Gloucester had married her 3rd cousin, John I Lackland, bothdescended from William the Conqueror. He had the marriage set aside andannulled sometime before 1203. He was then free to marry Isabella ofAngouleme.

Marriage 30 Clemence (Plantagenet)

* Married: 1191 in England

Children

1. Has No Children Joan "Natural Daughter" Plantagenet b: 1191 in England

Marriage 31 Hawise De Tracy b: in ???

* Married: 1186 in England

Children

1. Has No Children Richard FitzRoy b: 1186 in ???

Marriage 32 Constance de Brittany b: ABT. 1161

Marriage 33 Spouse Unknown

* Married: ABT. 1186

Children

1. Has No Children Osbert Gifford
2. Has Children Maud Avranches [Dame Sapcote] b: ABT 1097 in Devon, England
3. Has Children Richard FitzRoy , Constable of Wallingford b: 1186 in Chilham Castle,Kent,England
4. Has No Children Geoffrey FitzRoy b: 1192
5. Has No Children Sir John FitzJohn Courcy b: 1192 in of Lincolnshire, England
6. Has No Children Odo (Eudo) FitzRoy b: 1192 in of Essex, England
7. Has No Children Ivo FitzRoy b: 1194 in of Essex, England
8. Has No Children Henry FitzRoy b: 1192 in of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England
9. Has No Children Isabella la Blanche b: 1192 in of England

Marriage 34 daughter FitzWarin

* Married: BEF. 1186

Marriage 35 Hawise de Tracy b: 1168

* Married: BEF. 1186

Children

1. Has No Children Oliver of England b: BEF. 1186

Marriage 36 Suzanne de Warenne b: 1166 in of England

* Married: ABT. 1186

Children

1. Has No Children Richard FitzJohn of Dover Baron Chilham b: 1186 in of Chilham Castle, Kent, England

Marriage 37 Clemence de Arcy b: ABT. 1173

* Married: BET. 1188 - 1191

Marriage 38 Isabella "Avisa" FitzRobert Cts de Gloucester b: 1170 in of Gloucester, England

* Married: 29 Aug 1189 in Marleborough Castle, Wiltshire

Marriage 39 Isabella De Taillefer b: 1180 in Angoulême, Charente, France c: 1188 in France - Dtr Of Aymer Of Angouleme

* Married: 24 Aug 1200 in Bordeaux Cathedral, Gascony, France 26 2 1 4 3 6 27 8 7 10 9 12 13 14
* Sealing Spouse: 16 Feb 1993 in PROVO
* Note:

_STATMARRIED

_STATMARRIED

* Event: Seal 15 Oct 1991 in Jrive 2 8

Children

1. Has Children Henry III King England b: 1 Oct 1205 in ,Winchester,Hampshire,England c: 1207 in Bermondsey,England - Son Of Henry II
2. Has Children Richard of Cornwall Earl of Cornwall b: 5 Jan 1208/1209 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire
3. Has No Children Joan Plantagenet of England b: 22 Jul 1210 in Gloucester, England
4. Has No Children Eleanor b: 1215 in Westminster,Eng
5. Has No Children John Of Acre b: 1212 in Acre
6. Has Children Richard Plantagenet , Earl of Cornwall b: 5 Jan 1208/1209 in Winchester, Hampshire, England c: in Aachen
7. Has No Children Joane Plantagenet Queen Of Scotland b: in Coucy,Alsne,France
8. Has No Children Isabelle Plantagenet b: 1214 in Surrey.England
9. Has No Children Eleanor Plantagenent b: 1203 in England (Princess Eleanor) c: in England - Dtr Of John Lackland
10. Has No Children Henry III Curtmantle b: 1 Oct 1207 in Winchester, England c: 1207 in Bermondsey, England - Son Of Henry II
11. Has No Children John Of Acre b: ABT 1212 in Acre - Dtr Of King Edward I
12. Has No Children Isabella Plantagenent Empress b: 1214 in England - Dtr Of King John
13. Has No Children Eleanor Princess of England b: ABT. 1202
14. Has Children Richard Earl of Cornwall b: 5 Jan 1208/1209 in Winchester, England c: in Aachen
15. Has No Children Joan Princess of England b: 1210 in England
16. Has No Children Isabella Princess Of England b: 1214
17. Has No Children Richard Of Cornwall , Earl Of Cornwall b: 5 Jan 1209/1210 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England
18. Has No Children Henry III Plantagenent b: 1 Oct 1207 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England
19. Has No Children Isabel Plantagenet b: 1214 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
20. Has No Children Joane Plantagenet [Queen Scotland] b: 22 Jul 1210 in Coucy, Alsne, France
21. Has No Children Isabella Plantagenet b: 1214 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
22. Has No Children Isabel Empress of Germany [Empress of Germ b: 1214 in of,Winchester,Hampshire,England
23. Has Children Eleanor Plantagenet b: ca. 1215 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
24. Has No Children Richard Prince Of England b: 5 Jan 1208/1209 in , Winchester, Hampshire, England
25. Has No Children Joane Princess Of England b: 22 Jul 1210 in , Coucy, Alsne, France
26. Has No Children Isabel Princess Of England b: 1214 in Of, Winchester, Hampshire, England
27. Has No Children Eleanor Princess Of England b: 1215 in , Winchester, Hampshire, England
28. Has No Children Joan (Legitimate) Plantagenet b: Dec 1213 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England

Sources:

1. Title: #678
Text: Date of Import: Jul 5, 2000
2. Title: #671
Text: Date of Import: Dec 26, 2000
3. Title: #677
Text: Date of Import: Apr 20, 2001
4. Title: #688
Text: Date of Import: Apr 24, 2001
5. Title: #716
Page: Weis page 3 line 26.
6. Title: #679
Text: Date of Import: Dec 15, 2000
7. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: Ball.FTW
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Jul 5, 2000
8. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: v11t4329.FTW
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Dec 26, 2000
9. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: 13143.GED
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Apr 20, 2001
10. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: 160010.GED
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Apr 24, 2001
11. Title: Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists
Author: Frederick Lewis Weis
Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc of Baltimore. 1979. 5th Edition.
Weld County Library Ged 929.2 Greeley, Colorado. (Cente
Page: Weis page 3 line 26.
12. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: 401017.ftw
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Dec 15, 2000
13. Title: #739
Text: Date of Import: Dec 12, 2000
14. Repository:
Name: Not Given
Title: v13t1033.FTW
Note:
Source Media Type: Other
Text: Date of Import: Dec 12, 2000
15. Title: #946
Author: Weis, Frederick Lewis
Publication: Genealogical Publixhing Co., Inc.
16. Title: #743
Page: Langer page 212.
17. Title: Langer's "An Encyclopedia of World History" Compiled and Edited by William Langer.
4th Edition, Completely Revised. 196
Author: Langer, William
Publication: Houghton, Mifflin Compan, Boston.
Page: Langer page 212.
18. Title: #720
Page: Gurney page 228.
19. Title: Kingdom's of Europe, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ruling Monarchs From Ancient Times to the Present
Author: Gene Gurney
Publication: Crown Publishers, New York. 1982
Page: Gurney page 228.
20. Title: #680
21. Title: #669
22. Repository:
Name: Family History Library
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
35 N West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
Title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) (Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January
23. Title: Ancestral File (TM)
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publication: July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
24. Title: Ancestral File (TM)
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publication: June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
25. Title: Langer's "An Encyclopedia of World History" Compiled and Edited byWilliam Langer. 4th Edition, Completely Revised. 196
Author: Langer, William
Publication: Houghton, Mifflin Compan, Boston.
Page: Langer page 212.
26. Title: #734
27. Title: Brøderbund WFT Vol. 15, Ed. 1, Tree #1365, Date of Import: Jan 27, 1999
--------------------
from: http://www.renderplus.com/hartgen/htm/plantagenet.htm#name3629

King John - JOHN OF ENGLAND (1167-1216). Vicious, shameless, and ungrateful, King John has been called the worst king ever to rule England. Yet the very excesses of his reign proved positive in that they provoked such a violent reaction that his subjects revolted and forced him to put his seal on the Magna Carta. This document became the safeguard of English liberty. John's nickname was Lackland because at first he owned no land. Later his father, King Henry II, gave him castles, lands, and revenues in both England and France. John plotted against his father, however, and the discovery of this conspiracy was a factor in the king's death. John's brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, became king and added to John's possessions. While Richard was absent from England on the Third Crusade, John conspired against him also. When Richard died in 1199, the barons selected John to be their king. This denied the royal claim of Arthur, son of another brother, Geoffrey. Two French provinces fought for young Arthur, but the boy fell into the hands of John and died soon after. During the war John lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine. John then quarreled with Pope Innocent III about the appointment of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. John was excommunicated, and England was forbidden all religious services except baptism and extreme unction. The growing discontent of his subjects finally forced John to recognize the new archbishop. When John went to France seeking to regain his lands in Normandy, the barons marched against the king and demanded a charter of liberties. All but a handful of followers deserted John. He was forced to meet the barons at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, and to sign the Great Charter. John had no intention of supporting the charter, however. He recruited a new army and destroyed the estates of the barons. The barons then offered the English crown to Louis, a French prince. In the midst of a war for the throne, John died of a fever. The task of restoring the torn kingdom fell to his nine-year-old son, Henry III.

John was on the list of those who had plotted against his father, Henry I, but was not successful in plotting against his brother, Richard. Richard gave him lands in Normandy and England, but these were not enough. While Richard was imprisoned, John unsuccessfully rebelled several times. Upon Richard's return, he was reprimanded and kept out of trouble for the last five years of his brother's reign and earned the succession to the throne.

John was respected as successor in England, but in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine Arthur, son of Geoffrey of Brittany, was recognized as sovereign. John persuaded Philip II to oust the twelve-year-old Arthur and became Lord of the Angevin Empire. He then annulled his marriage to Isabella of Gloucester, whom Richard had betrothed to him, and, in an effort to unite the two halves of his empire, married Isabella of Angouleme. Unfortunately, John's bride's former fiance appealed to Philip II, and Philip declared all of John's recent acquisitions forfeit.

John captured Arthur shortly after his possessions were forfeited. Arthur disappeared and the murder has never been proven.

Determined to get his territory back, John levied high taxes on his nobles. This also came at the time of a conflict with Pope Innocent III. John refused to accept the papal appointment to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope punished John by placing England and Wales under an interdict and excommunicating John a year later John, however, needed papal support to win his invasion of France. John made England a papal fief and invaded. In 1214, John lost the Battle of Bovines and the English barons had enough.

In 1215, the barons seized London and forced John to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymead. John had no intention of living up to the document, and the barons looked to Louis of France, Philip's son, for aid. Louis invaded England in 1216. John died that year in October with a nine-year old son as his successor.

John (reigned 1199-1216) was an able administrator interested in law and government but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by the Pope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms.

This treaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed a number of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement to control the behavior of royal officials.

The most important clauses established the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.

The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure that the Sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him if he did not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that the Sovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, Magna Carta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of English law, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the English people.

A peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216 England was in the grip of civil war.
--------------------
John, King of England 1199-1216, married Isabella Angouleme
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Nascimento: ou 27 de dezembro de 1166, ou 24 de dezembro de 1167.
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Nascimento: ou 27 de dezembro de 1166, ou 24 de dezembro de 1167. Sepultura: na Catedral de Worcester.
--------------------
John was King of england fron 1199 until 1216.

He was the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
He married first Isabel Gloucester on Aug. 29, 1189. They had no children.

He married second Isabella of Angouleme on Aug 24, 1200. They had 5 children. One of whom was King Henry III of England.

He died at the age of 49 at Newark Castle & ws buried at Worcester Cathedral.

--------------------
See link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_England
--------------------
John (24 December 1166 – 18/19 October 1216) reigned as King of England from 6 April 1199, until his death. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I (known in later times as "Richard the Lionheart"). John acquired the nicknames of "Lackland" (Sans Terre in French) for his lack of an inheritance as the youngest son and for his loss of territory to France, and of "Soft-sword" for his alleged military ineptitude.[1] He was a Plantagenet or Angevin king.
Born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, John was the fifth son and last of eight children born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was almost certainly born in 1166 instead of 1167, as is sometimes claimed.[2] King Henry and Queen Eleanor were not together nine months prior to December 1167, but they were together in March 1166. Also, John was born at Oxford on or near Christmas, but Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas 1167 in Normandy. The canon of Laon, writing a century later, states John was named after Saint John the Apostle, on whose feast day (27 December) he was born. Ralph of Diceto also states that John was born in 1166, and that Queen Eleanor named him. Eleanor was 44 years old at the time.

He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France, his mother's children by her first marriage to Louis VII of France. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King, Matilda of England, Richard I of England, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of Aquitaine and Joan of England

While John was always his father's favourite son, as the youngest he could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, as his older brothers all became involved in rebellions against Henry. Eleanor was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was a small boy.

As a child, John was betrothed to Alice, daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps, as John was promised the inheritance of Savoy, the Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his young son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey, which was for some time a bone of contention between King Henry and his son Geoffrey. Alice made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court; but died before ever being married.

Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:

The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons, who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others.
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months
During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood.

John was more popular than Longchamp in London and in October 1191 the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while Longchamp was confined in the Tower. John promised the city the right to govern itself as a commune in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive.[3] While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. John is said to have sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, but Richard's supporters paid a ransom for his release because they thought that John would make a terrible king. On his return to England in 1194, Richard forgave John and named him as his heir.

Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and were lost on it to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18–19 October 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, if fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

[edit] Succession
His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan.

Isabella eventually produced five children, two sons and three daughters:

Henry III (1207-1272), King of England.
Richard (1209-1272), 1st Earl of Cornwall.
Joan (1210-1238), Queen Consort of Scotland.
Isabella (1214-1241), Empress of Germany.
Eleanor (1215-1275).
John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured of Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children:

Joan, Princess of Wales, the wife of Prince Llywelyn Fawr of Wales, (by a woman named Clemence)
Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)
Oliver FitzRoy, (by a mistress named Hawise) who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.
By an unknown mistress (or mistresses) John fathered:

Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.
(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.

--------------------
Ascended the Throne, 6th April 1199
Coronation, Westminster Abbey 27th MAY 1199
Authority, King of England and Ireland, other titles.

Legend records how, taking a short cut across the Wash in 1216, John lost the crown jewels when caught out by the tide.
--------------------
King John, known as "Lackland," signed the Magna Carta.

JOHN LACKLAND - KING JOHN OF ENGLAND ~

King John of England (1167-1216), fifth and youngest son of King Henry II and his queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, was nicknamed John Lackland, because, unlike his brothers, he received no significant continental fiefs from his father. However, he later received scattered possessions in England and France, and the lordship of Ireland.
HIS REIGN:
In 1199, he succeeded his brother Richard I to the throne and to the extensive Angevin possessions in France. John's alleged failure to fulfill his feudal obligations to his overlord Phillip II of France and his murder of Arthur of Brittany caused him to lose Normandy and Anjou to the French crown. Eventually, he lost all his French possessions except Aquitaine and part of Poitou.
In England, John's quarrels with the Church over the appointment of Stepehn Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury led to a bitter power struggle with Pope Innocent III. When John refused to accept Langton, Innocent installed him anyway and placed England under an interdict. John retaliated by confiscating Church propterty from the clergy who supported the interdict, but the pope retaliated by excommunicating John in 1209. Four years later he gave his approval to the French to invade England. John was forced to capitulate and accept a humiliating settlement in which he turned England over to the pope and received it back as a papal fief.
MAGNA CARTA:
Quarrels with he Barons and towns, which resented his abuse of feudal customs and extortion of tax money, led to a domestic crisis that climaxed not long before John's death. In 1215, the English barons forced him to seal the Magna Carta. Despite John's reputation for heavy-handedness-he had no intention of abiding by the Magna Carta-modern scholars give him credit for improving royal government, especially by making significant advances in the keeping of royal records. He died in 1216 during the unrest that followed his refusal to obey the Magna Carta's provisions.
John was a capable administrator, but his weakesses were serious. His manic-depressive tendencies would cause him to lapse into inaction at critical times: he was endlessly suspicious that the baronial class in England, particularly in the North, were disloyal, forcing them into confrontation with him; he seemed unable to keep his hands off the wives and fiance's of the high nobility; and he was simply overmatched in his encounters with Philip II Augustus of France.
--------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_England
John (24 December 1167 – 19 October 1216[1]) was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I, who died without issue. John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and was their second surviving son to ascend the throne; thus, he continued the line of Plantagenet or Angevin kings of England. Prior to his coronation, he was Earl of Cornwall and Gloucester, but this title reverted to the Crown once he became King. John's oldest surviving brother, Richard, became king upon the death of their father in 1189, and John was made Count of Mortain (France). When Richard refused to honour their father's wishes and surrender Aquitaine to him as well, John staged a rebellion. The rebellion failed, and John lost all potential claims to lands in France.

During his lifetime John acquired two epithets. One was "Lackland" (French: Sans Terre), because, as his father's youngest son, he did not inherit land out of his family's holdings, and because as King he lost significant territory to France.[2] The other was "Softsword" signifying his supposed lack of prowess in battle.[3]

Apart from entering popular legend as the enemy of Robin Hood, he is perhaps best-known for having acquiesced – to the barons of English nobility – to seal Magna Carta, a document which limited kingly power in England and which is popularly thought as an early step in the evolution of limited government.
Early life

As the youngest of the sons of Henry II, John could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, as his older brothers all became involved in rebellions against Henry. His mother, Eleanor, was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was about five years old. As a child, John was betrothed to Alais, daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps, because John was promised the inheritance of Savoy, Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his young son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey; this promise was for some time a bone of contention between Henry and Geoffrey. Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court, but she died before being married. Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber of Winchester Castle, depicting an eagle being attacked by three of its chicks, while a fourth chick crouched, waiting for its chance to strike. When asked the meaning of this picture, King Henry said:

"The four young ones of the eagle are my four sons,... who will not cease persecuting me even unto death. And the youngest, whom I now embrace with such tender affection, will someday afflict me more grievously and perilously than all the others."
Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Richard and Geoffrey. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. In 1185, John became the ruler of Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only eight months.
[edit] Richard's absence

During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar. This was one of the events that inspired later writers to cast John as the villain in their reworking of the legend of Robin Hood.

John was more popular than Longchamp in London, and in October 1191 the leading citizens of the city opened the gates to him while Longchamp was confined in the tower. John promised the city the right to govern itself as a commune in return for recognition as Richard's heir presumptive.[4] While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and handed over to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who held him for ransom. Meanwhile, John had joined forces with Philip Augustus, King of France, and they sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, offering payment to keep Richard imprisoned. Henry declined their offer, and once Richard's ransom was paid by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had to pawn the Crown Jewels of England to do so), he was set free. Upon the release, John pleaded for forgiveness from Richard, who granted it and named him heir presumptive.
[edit] Reign
[edit] Dispute with Arthur

On Richard's death (6 April 1199) John was accepted in Normandy and England. He was crowned king at Westminster on 27 May, Ascension Day. But Anjou, Maine, and Brittany declared for Arthur, son of his older brother Geoffrey. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought his uncle for the throne, with the support of King Philip II of France. The conflict between Arthur and John had fatal consequences. By the May 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet, Philip recognised John over Arthur, and the two came to terms regarding John's vassalage for Normandy and the Angevin territories, but the peace was ephemeral.

The war upset the barons of Poitou, where John ruled as Count, enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to the territories on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the Poitevin barons' charges, one of which was his marriage to Isobel of Angoulême, who was already engaged to Hugh de Lusignan. Philip Augustus summoned John to his court when the Lusignans pleaded for his help. John refused, and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, Philip declared all John's French lands and territories, except Gascony in the southwest, forfeit and immediately occupied them. Philip invested Arthur with all the fiefs of which he had deprived John, except for Normandy, and betrothed him to his daughter Marie.

Needing to supply a war across the English Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland ports such as Gloucester) in England to provide at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the navy. (The Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours constructed on the south coast at Sandwich, and most importantly, Hastings.) By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of four new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new navy. During John's reign, major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes credited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this navy comes from the Pipe Rolls, since these achievements are ignored by the chroniclers and early historians.

In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205, John formed an alliance by marrying off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great.

As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. After this, Arthur's fate remains unknown. The annals of Margam Abbey give the following entry for 3 April 1203:

"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when John was drunk he slew Arthur with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine."[citation needed]. Another source states that his body was weighted and thrown into the castle moat.

However, Hubert de Burgh, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock. Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived. Notwithstanding Hubert's retraction, no one ever saw Arthur alive again. Assuming that he was murdered, Brittany, and later Normandy, rebelled against John.

John also imprisoned his niece, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner until her death in 1241. Through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.
[edit] Dealings with Bordeaux

In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume, which was the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou.[5]
[edit] Dispute with the Pope
When Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The Canterbury Cathedral chapter claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor and favoured Reginald, a candidate out of their midst. However, both the English bishops and the King had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. The king wanted John de Gray, one of his own men, so he could influence the church more.[6] When their dispute could not be settled, the Chapter secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections, and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops, and refused to accept Langton.

John expelled the Chapter in July 1207, to which the Pope reacted by placing an interdict on the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by closing down the churches. Although he issued instructions for the confiscation of all church possessions, individual institutions were able to negotiate terms for managing their own properties and keeping the produce of their estates.[7] After his excommunication, John tightened these measures and he accrued significant sums from the income of vacant sees and abbeys: for example, the church lost an estimated 100,000 marks to the Crown in 1213.[8] The Pope, realising that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.
[edit] Excommunication and Papal Supremacy

In November 1209 John was excommunicated, and in February 1213, Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate Pandulph in May 1213 (according to Matthew Paris, at the Templar Church at Dover);[9] in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1,000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland.[8] With this submission, formalised in the Bulla Aurea (Golden Bull), John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.
[edit] Dispute with the barons

Coming to terms with Llywelyn I, Prince of Gwynedd, following the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines (1214), which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France after having failed to get help from King Mohammed el-Nasir of Morocco.[10] This tale of the king's willingness to convert to Islam in exchange for help originates from an account by Matthew Paris, who was trying to bring the king further into disrepute, and may well have been fabricated.[11]

This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders along with their French and Scots allies at Runnymede, near London on 15 June 1215 to seal the Great Charter, called in Latin Magna Carta. Because he had sealed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne and had him proclaimed king in London in May 1216). John travelled around the country to oppose the rebel forces, directing, among other operations, a two-month siege of the rebel-held Rochester Castle.
[edit] Death
Retreating from the French invasion, John took a safe route around the marshy area of the Wash to avoid the rebel held area of East Anglia. His slow baggage train (including the Crown Jewels), however, took a direct route across it and was lost to the unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind. Succumbing to dysentery and moving from place to place, he stayed one night at Sleaford Castle before dying on 18 October (or possibly 19 October) 1216, at Newark Castle (then in Lincolnshire, now on Nottinghamshire's border with that county). Numerous, possibly fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".[12][13]

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester.

His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72), and although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.
[edit] Legacy
King John's reign has traditionally been characterised as one of the most disastrous in English history, earning him the nickname "Bad King John": it began with military defeats – he lost Normandy to Philip Augustus of France in his first five years on the throne – and ended with England torn by civil war and himself on the verge of being forced out of power. In 1213, he made England a papal fief to resolve a conflict with the Catholic Church, and his rebellious barons forced him to seal Magna Carta in 1215, the act for which he is best remembered.

King John is also responsible for the creation of another English cultural icon, the historic, medieval London Bridge. To finance the construction of a large bridge across the Thames, King John set a precedent by allowing houses, shops, and a church to be built on top of the historic London Bridge, making it a tourist attraction.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he lost approval of the English barons by taxing them in ways outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, payment made instead of providing knights (as required by feudal law), became particularly unpopular. John was a very fair-minded and well informed king, however, often acting as a judge in the Royal Courts, and his justice was much sought after. Also, John's employment of an able Chancellor and certain clerks resulted in the first proper set of records, the Pipe Rolls. Tudor historiography was particularly interested in him, for his independence from the papacy (or lack of it) – this atmosphere produced not only Shakespeare's own King John but also its model The Troublesome Reign of King John and John Bale's Kynge Johan.

Winston Churchill summarised the legacy of John's reign: "When the long tally is added, it will be seen that the British nation and the English-speaking world owe far more to the vices of John than to the labours of virtuous sovereigns".[14] Medieval historian C. Warren Hollister called John an "enigmatic figure": In 2006, he was selected by the BBC History Magazine as the 13th century's worst Briton.[15]
[edit] Marriage and issue

In 1189, John was married to Isabel of Gloucester, daughter and heiress of William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (she is given several alternative names by history, including Avisa, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor). They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on 6 April 1199, and she was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

John remarried, on 24 August 1200, Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior. She was the daughter of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême. John had kidnapped her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan.[citation needed]

Isabella bore five children:-

* Henry III (1207–1272), King of England.
* Richard (1209–1272), 1st Earl of Cornwall.
* Joan (1210–1238), Queen Consort of Alexander II of Scotland.
* Isabella (1214–1241), Consort of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
* Eleanor (1215–1275), who married William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and later married Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester.

John is given a great taste for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured of Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Eustace substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

John had the following illegitimate children:-

* Joan, Lady of Wales, the wife of Llywelyn the Great Welsh name Llywelyn Fawr, (by a woman named Clemence)
* Richard Fitz Roy, (by his cousin, Adela, daughter of his uncle Hamelin de Warenne)
* Oliver FitzRoy, (by a mistress named Hawise) who accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.

By an unknown mistress (or mistresses) John fathered:-

* Geoffrey FitzRoy, who went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
* John FitzRoy, a clerk in 1201.
* Henry FitzRoy, who died in 1245.
* Osbert Gifford, who was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex, and is last seen alive in 1216.
* Eudes FitzRoy, who accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
* Bartholomew FitzRoy, a member of the order of Friars Preachers.
* Maud FitzRoy, Abbess of Barking, who died in 1252.
* Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
* Philip FitzRoy, found living in 1263.

(The surname of FitzRoy is Norman-French for son of the king.)
Depictions in fiction
Main article: Cultural depictions of John of England
These reflect the overwhelming view of his reputation:-

* King John was the subject of a Shakespearean play, The Life and Death of King John.
* King John is a central figure in the 1819 historical romance Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott.
* Philip José Farmer, a science fiction author, featured King John as one of several historical figures in his Riverworld Saga.
* John and one of his Justices in Eyre, the Sheriff of Nottingham, are portrayed as villain and henchman in the Robin Hood legends. These usually place the Robin Hood stories in the latter part of Richard I's reign, when Richard was in captivity and John was acting as unofficial regent. Among the screen incarnations of John in versions of the Robin Hood story are:-
o Sam De Grasse in Robin Hood (1922).
o Claude Rains in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
o Donald Pleasence in the 1950s ITV television series The Adventures of Robin Hood.
o The animated Prince John in the 1973 Disney movie Robin Hood, in which he is depicted as an anthropomorphic lion voiced by Peter Ustinov.
o Phil Davis in the 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood.
o Richard Lewis in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).
o Toby Stephens depicts John as a deranged megalomaniac in episode 6, series 3 onwards of Robin Hood
* John was impersonated by Kamelion in a plot by the Master in The King's Demons, a 1983 serial of the British science fiction series, Doctor Who.
* John is a character in James Goldman's 1966 play The Lion in Winter, which dramatises Henry II's struggles with his wife and sons over the rule of his empire. John is portrayed as a spoiled, simpleminded pawn in the machinations of his brothers and Philip II. In the 1968 film he is portrayed by Nigel Terry. In the 2003 film, he is portrayed by Rafe Spall.
* Sharon Penman's Here Be Dragons deals with the reign of John, the development of Wales under Llewelyn's rule, and Llewelyn's marriage to John's illegitimate daughter, Joan, who is depicted in the novel as "Joanna". Other novels of hers which feature John as a prominent character are The Queen's Man, Cruel as the Grave, The Dragon's Lair, and Prince of Darkness, a series of fictional mysteries set during the time of Richard's imprisonment.
* John is featured in several books by Elizabeth Chadwick including Lords of the White Castle, The Champion and The Scarlet Lion.
* The Devil and King John by Philip Lindsay is a highly speculative but relatively sympathetic account.
* King John appeared in The Time Tunnel episode entitled "The Revenge of Robin Hood". Once again, John is depicted as a villain. At the end of the episode, John puts his seal on the Magna Carta but clearly he is not happy about it. He is portrayed by character actor John Crawford.
* King John is the subject of A. A. Milne's poem for children which begins "King John was not a good man".
* Princess of Thieves, a 2001 telemovie concerning Robin Hood's supposed daughter, depicts Prince John trying to seize the throne from the rightful heir, Prince Phillip, an illegitimate son of King Richard.
* King John is one of two subjects – the other being Richard I – in the Steely Dan song Kings, from the 1972 LP release, Can't Buy a Thrill.
Reign 6 April 1199 – 19 October 1216 (&0000000000000017.00000017 years, &0000000000000196.000000196 days)
Coronation 27 May 1199
Predecessor Richard I
Successor Henry III
Consort Isabel, Countess of Gloucester
m. 1189; ann. 1199
Isabella of Angoulême
m. 1200; wid. 1216
Issue
Henry III of England
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Joan, Queen of Scots
Isabella, Holy Roman Empress
Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke
House House of Plantagenet
Father Henry II of England
Mother Eleanor of Aquitaine
Born 24 December 1167(1167-12-24)
Beaumont Palace, Oxford
Died 19 October 1216 (aged 48)
Newark Castle, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
Burial Worcester Cathedral
--------------------
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216[1]) was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death. He acceded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I, who died without issue. John was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, and was their second surviving son to ascend the throne; thus, he continued the line of Plantagenet or Angevin kings of England. Prior to his coronation, he was Earl of Cornwall and Gloucester, but this title reverted to the Crown once he became King. John's oldest surviving brother, Richard, became king upon the death of their father in 1189, and John was made Count of Mortain (France). When Richard refused to honour their father's wishes and surrender Aquitaine to him as well, John staged a rebellion. The rebellion failed, and John lost all potential claims to lands in France.

During his lifetime John acquired two epithets. One was "Lackland" (French: Sans Terre), because, as his father's youngest son, he did not inherit land out of his family's holdings, and because as King he lost significant territory to France.[2] The other was "Softsword" signifying his supposed lack of prowess in battle.[3]

Apart from entering popular legend as the enemy of Robin Hood, he is perhaps best-known for having acquiesced —to the barons of English nobility— to seal Magna Carta, a document which limited kingly power in England and which is popularly thought as an early step in the evolution of limited government.

As the youngest of the sons of Henry II, John could expect no inheritance. His family life was tumultuous, as his older brothers all became involved in rebellions against Henry. His mother, Eleanor, was imprisoned by Henry in 1173, when John was about 7. As a child, John was betrothed to Alais, daughter and heiress of Humbert III of Savoy. It was hoped that by this marriage the Angevin dynasty would extend its influence beyond the Alps, because John was promised the inheritance of Savoy, Piemonte, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. King Henry promised his young son castles in Normandy which had been previously promised to his brother Geoffrey; this promise was for some time a bone of contention between Henry and Geoffrey. Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry's court, but she died before being married. Gerald of Wales relates that King Henry had a curious painting in a chamber

_P_CCINFO 1-10425
1. John, King of England, conspired unsuccessfully with Philip II ofFran ce to supplant his older brother, Richard, as King of England whenRicha rd left on the Third Crusade. On Richard's death, John ascended tothe th rone to the exclusion of his nephew Arthur I of Brittany, who,aided by Ph ilip II of France, began a revolt in France. John's reignwas 1199 - 121 6. Burkes Peerage records 1160 as date of birth.
Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his Frenchpossessi ons to Philip.
John objected to Pope Innocent III's choice for archbishop of Canterburya nd the pope placed England under an interdict March 24, 1208 forbiddingt he clergy to administer sacraments. John's refusal to accept the newarch bishop led to his excommunication in 1209. He regained papal favorby sur rendering his kingdom to Pope Innocent III but received it back asa pap al fief.
The Magna Carta, reaffirming human rights, signed by John at Runnyme dein mid-June, 1215 limited the power of the English monarchy. Feudal barons supported by Scotland's new king Alexander II met with John betweenS taines and Windsor, exacted major concessions reaffirming traditionalfeud al privileges contained in the accession charter signed by Henry I acentu ry before and compelled John to sethis seal to the Magna Carta.John imme diately appealed to Pope Innocent III, who issued a bullannulling the cha rter. John imported French mercenaries to fight thebarons, but the Mag na Carta remained the basis of English feudal justice.
John came down with dysentery in October, 1216 after crushing resistan cein the north. He crossed the Wash and reached Newark Castle but died there October 19, 1216 at age 48. The king was succeeded by his 9-year-olds on, John, who reigned until 1272 as Henry III; the earl of PembrokeWilli am Marshal served as regent, and the moderate party took control,ending t he need for opposition to royal authority.

JOHN I "Lackland" PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Born: 24 Dec 1166, Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
Acceded: 27 May 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Died: 18/9 Oct 1216, Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Buried: Worcester Cathedral
Notes: Signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215. Reigned 1199-1216. His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died. Burke says he was born in 1160. King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. It is known that Agatha Ferrers was a mistress of John, but it is only supposition that she is the mother of Joan.
Father: HENRY II PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Married 1: Isabella FITZRICHARD (C. Gloucester) 29 Aug 1189, Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire Divorce 1199
Married 2: Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1189 - d. 31 May 1246) (dau. of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, and Alice De Courtenay) 24 Jun/Aug 1200, Bordeaux
Children:
1. HENRY III PLANTAGENET (King of England)
2. Richard PLANTAGENET (1º E. Cornwall)
3. Joan PLANTAGENET (Queen of Scotland)
4. Isabella PLANTAGENET (Empress of Germany)
5. Eleanor PLANTAGENET (C. Pembroke / C. Leicester)
Associated with: Agatha De FERRERS
Children:

6. Joan PLANTAGENETAssociated with: Clemence DAUNTSEY (wife of Henry Pinel)
Associated with: Suzanne PLANTAGENET
Children:
7. Richard FITZJOHN (B. Chilham)
Associated with: Hawise De TRACY
Children:
8. Oliver PLANTAGENET
9. Osbert GIFFORD (d. AFT 1216)
10. Geoffrey FITZROY
11. John FITZROY of Courcy (Knight or Clerk of Lincoln) (d. 1242)
12. Eudo FITZROY (d. ABT 1242)
13. Ivo FITZROY
14. Henry FITZROY
15. Richard FITZROY (Constable Wallingford Castle)
16. Matilda PLANTAGENET (Abbess of Barking)
17. Blanche (Isabella) PLANTAGENET

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b8036bb8-6aa6-4cda-9076-ec1f603a0189&tid=8424667&pid=-941269794

John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart after hisbirth; his youth was divided between his eldest brother Henry's house,where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father'sjusticiar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government.As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, givingrise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten yearsand was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angouleme, bore himtwo sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan,who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudorline of monarchs was descended. The survival of the English governmentduring John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, as Johntaxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.

The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashedin 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishessurrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to ruleIreland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplantedAnglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves;the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within sixmonths. After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vastestates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. Johnfailed to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivityand conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. UponRichard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue forpardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.

John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Churchresulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with Johnactually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John'sstubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, asArchbishop of Canterbury; the issue was not resolved until Johnsurrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute forEngland as the Pope's vassal.

John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to theIrish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murderof his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he lost thelast of his French possessions and returned to England. The final tenyears of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain theseterritories. After levying a number of new taxes upon the barons to payfor his dismal campaigns, the discontented barons revolted, capturingLondon in May 1215. At Runnymeade in the following June, John succumbedto pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large,and signed the Magna Carta. The document, a declaration of feudal rights,stressed three points. First, the Church was free to make ecclesiasticappointments. Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only becollected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants. Third, nofreeman was to be punished except within the context of common law. MagnaCarta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, wasthe forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document asa means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principlescompelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered thethrone to Philip II's son, Louis. John died in the midst of invasion fromthe French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North.

John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in AChronicle of the Kings of England: ". . .his works of piety were verymany . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice,nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace."

http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon28.html
------
John 'Lackland' King of England was known as one of England's worstkings. His barons forced him to grant the famous charter of liberties,Magna Carta, in 1215. He was often cruel, but he showed bothadministrative and military ability.

John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king of Englandand duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By inept politics andthe murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance of many of hisFrench barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declared war. In 1205John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in France exceptAquitaine.

John persued a policy in England that brought him into conflict with PopeInnocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under an interdict, whichbanned church services. The following year John was excommunicated.

The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. He forced Scotlandinto a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes in check, and held afirm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites, professional troops, andautocratic financial policy stirred up discontent among the Englishbarons. When John failed to reconquer the lost French territories in1214, most of the barons and many of the clergy revolted. On June 15,1215, the king was forced to approve the Magna Carta at Runnymede meadowbeside the River Thames.

A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III.

Buried in Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forCommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.

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By name John Lackland, French Jean Sans Terre king of England from1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandieand almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after arevolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215).
John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor d'Aquitaine. Henry'splan (1173) to assign to John, his favourite son (whom he had nicknamedLackland), extensive lands upon his marriage with the daughter of HumbertIII, count of Maurienne (Savoy), was defeated by the rebellion theproposal provoked among John's elder brothers. Various provisions weremade for him in England (1174/76), including the succession to theearldom of Gloucester. He was also granted the lordship of Ireland(1177), which he visited from April to late 1185, committing youthfulpolitical indiscretions from which he
acquired a reputation for reckless irresponsibility. Henry's continuedfavour to him contributed to the rebellion of his eldest surviving son,Richard I (later called Coeur de Lion), in June 1189. For obscure reasonsJohn deserted Henry for Richard.
On Richard's accession in July 1189, John was made count of Mortain (atitle that became his usual style), was confirmed as lord of Ireland, wasgranted lands and revenues in England worth £6,000 a year, and wasmarried to Isabella, heiress to the earldom of Gloucester. He also had topromise (March 1190) not to enter England during Richard's absence on hiscrusade. But John's actions were now dominated by the problem of thesuccession, in which his nephew, the three-year-old Arthur I, duke
de Brittany, the son of his deceased elder brother Geoffrey, was his onlyserious rival. When Richard recognized Arthur as his heir (October 1190),John immediately broke his oath and returned to England, where he led theopposition to Richard's dictatorial chancellor, William Longchamp. Onreceiving the news in January 1193 that Richard, on his way back from thecrusade, had been imprisoned in Germany, John allied himself with KingPhilip II Augustus of France and attempted unsuccessfully to seizecontrol of England. In April 1193 he was forced to accept a truce butmade further arrangements with Philip for the division of Richard'spossessions and for rebellion in England. On Richard's return, early in1194, John was banished and deprived of all his lands. He was reconciledto Richard in May and recovered some of his estates, including Mortainand Ireland, in 1195, but his full rehabilitation came only after theBretons had surrendered Arthur to Philip II in 1196. This led Richard torecognize John as his heir.
In 1199 the doctrine of representative succession, which would havegiven the throne to
Arthur, was not yet generally accepted, and following Richard's death inApril 1199 John was invested as duke of Normandie and in May crowned kingof England. Arthur, backed by Philip II, was recognized as Richard'ssuccessor in Anjou and Maine, and it was only a year later, in the Treatyof Le Goulet, that John was recognized as successor in all Richard'sFrench possessions, in return for financial and territorial concessionsto Philip.
The renewal of war in France was triggered by John's second marriage.His first wife,
Isabella of Gloucester, was never crowned, and in 1199 the marriage wasdissolved on grounds of consanguinity, both parties beinggreat-grandchildren of Henry I. John then intervened in the stormypolitics of his county of Poitou and, while trying to settle thedifferences between the rival families of Lusignan and Angoulême, himselfmarried Isabella (August 1200), the heiress to Angoulême, who had beenbetrothed to Hugh IX de Lusignan. This politically conceived marriageprovoked the Lusignans into rebellion the next year; they appealed toPhilip II, who summoned John to appear before his court. In the generalwar that followed his failure to answer this summons, John had atemporary success at Mirebeau in August 1202, when Arthur de Brittany wascaptured, but Normandie was quickly lost (1204). By 1206, Anjou, Maine,and parts of Poitou had also gone over to King Philip.
These failures, foreshadowed under Henry II and Richard, were broughtabout by the
superiority of French resources and the increasing strain on those ofEngland and Normandie. Nevertheless, they were a damaging blow to John'sprestige, and, equally important, they meant that John resided now almostpermanently in England. This factor, coinciding with the death (1205) ofthe chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, gave hisgovernment a much more personal stamp, which was accentuated by thepromotion of members of his household to important office. His
determination to reverse the continental failure bore fruit in ruthlesslyefficient financial
administration, marked by taxation on revenues, investigations into theroyal forests, taxation of the Jews, a great inquiry into feudal tenures,and the increasingly severe exploitation of his feudal prerogatives.These measures provided the material basis for the charges of tyrannylater brought against him.
John's attention was diverted and his prestige disastrously affectedby relations with the
papacy. In the disputed election to the see of Canterbury following thedeath of Hubert Walter, Pope Innocent III quashed the election of John'snominee in procuring the election of Stephen Langton (December 1206).John, taking his ground on the traditional rights of the English crown inepiscopal elections, refused to accept Langton. In March 1208, Innocentlaid an interdict on England and excommunicated John (November 1209). Thequarrel continued until 1213, by which time John had amassed more than£100,000 from the revenues of vacant or appropriated sees and abbeys. Butsuch a
dispute was a dangerous hindrance to John's intention to recover hiscontinental lands. In November 1212 he agreed to accept Langton and thePope's terms. Apparently at his own behest, he surrendered his kingdom tothe papal nuncio at Ewell, near Dover, on May 15, 1213, receiving it backas a vassal rendering a tribute of 1,000 marks (£666 13s. 4d.) a year. Hewas absolved from excommunication by Langton in July 1213, and theinterdict was finally relaxed a year later. John thus succeeded in hisaim to secure the papacy as a firm ally in the fight with Philip and inthe struggle already pending with his own baronage. But his treatment ofthe church during the interdict, although arousing little if anyopposition among the laity at the time, angered monastic chroniclers, whohenceforth loaded him with charges of tyranny, cruelty, and, with lessreason, of sacrilege and irreligion.
In August 1212 recurrent baronial discontent had come to a head in anunsuccessful plot to murder or desert John during a campaign plannedagainst the Welsh. Pope Innocent's terms had included the restoration oftwo of those involved, Eustace de Vesci and Robert Fitzwalter, and,although the barons soon lost papal support, they retained the protectionof Stephen Langton. John, skillfully isolating the malcontents, was ableto launch his long-planned campaign against the French, landing at LaRochelle in February 1214. He achieved nothing decisive and was forced toaccept a truce lasting
until 1220. Returning to England in October 1214, he now had to face muchmore widespread discontent, centred mainly on the northern, East Anglian,and home counties. After lengthy negotiations in which both sidesappealed to the Pope, civil war broke out in May 1215. John was compelledto negotiate once more when London went over to the rebels in May, and onJune 19 at Runnymede he accepted the baronial terms embodied in the MagnaCarta, which ensured feudal rights and restated English law. Thissettlement was soon rendered unworkable by the more intransigent baronsand John's almost immediate appeal to Pope Innocent against it. Innocenttook the King's side, and in the ensuing civil war John capturedRochester castle and laid waste the northern counties and the Scottishborder. But his cause was weakened by the arrival of Prince Louis (laterLouis VIII) of France, who invaded England at the barons' request. Johncontinued to wage war vigorously but died, leaving the issues undecided.His death made possible a compromise peace, including the restoration ofthe rebels, the succession of his son Henry III, and the withdrawal ofLouis.
John's reputation, bad at his death, was further depressed by writersof the next generation. of all centuries prior to the present, only the16th, mindful of his quarrel with Rome, recognized some of his quality.He was suspicious, vengeful, and treacherous; Arthur I de Brittany wasprobably murdered in captivity, and Matilda de Braose, the wife of arecalcitrant Marcher baron, was starved to death with her son in a royalprison. But John was cultured and literate. Conventional in his religionrather than devout, he was remembered for his benefactions to the churchof Coventry, to Reading Abbey, and to Worcester, where he was buried andwhere his effigy still survives. He was extraordinarily active, with agreat love of hunting and a readiness to travel that gave him a knowledgeof England matched by few other monarchs. He took a personal interest injudicial and financial administration, and his reign saw importantadvances at the Exchequer, in the administration of justice, in theimportance of the privy seal and the royal household, in methods oftaxation and military organization, and in the grant of
chartered privileges to towns. If his character was unreliable, hispolitical judgment was acute. In 1215 many barons, including some of themost distinguished, fought on his side.

To cite this page: "John" Encyclopædia Britannica
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?query=lackland&eu=44742&tocid=3713>

_P_CCINFO 1-2782

_P_CCINFO 1-10425
1. John, King of England, conspired unsuccessfully with Philip II ofFran ce to supplant his older brother, Richard, as King of England whenRicha rd left on the Third Crusade. On Richard's death, John ascended tothe th rone to the exclusion of his nephew Arthur I of Brittany, who,aided by Ph ilip II of France, began a revolt in France. John's reignwas 1199 - 121 6. Burkes Peerage records 1160 as date of birth.
Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his Frenchpossessi ons to Philip.
John objected to Pope Innocent III's choice for archbishop of Canterburya nd the pope placed England under an interdict March 24, 1208 forbiddingt he clergy to administer sacraments. John's refusal to accept the newarch bishop led to his excommunication in 1209. He regained papal favorby sur rendering his kingdom to Pope Innocent III but received it back asa pap al fief.
The Magna Carta, reaffirming human rights, signed by John at Runnyme dein mid-June, 1215 limited the power of the English monarchy. Feudal barons supported by Scotland's new king Alexander II met with John betweenS taines and Windsor, exacted major concessions reaffirming traditionalfeud al privileges contained in the accession charter signed by Henry I acentu ry before and compelled John to sethis seal to the Magna Carta.John imme diately appealed to Pope Innocent III, who issued a bullannulling the cha rter. John imported French mercenaries to fight thebarons, but the Mag na Carta remained the basis of English feudal justice.
John came down with dysentery in October, 1216 after crushing resistan cein the north. He crossed the Wash and reached Newark Castle but died there October 19, 1216 at age 48. The king was succeeded by his 9-year-olds on, John, who reigned until 1272 as Henry III; the earl of PembrokeWilli am Marshal served as regent, and the moderate party took control,ending t he need for opposition to royal authority.

JOHN I "Lackland" PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Born: 24 Dec 1166, Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
Acceded: 27 May 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Died: 18/9 Oct 1216, Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Buried: Worcester Cathedral
Notes: Signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215. Reigned 1199-1216. His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died. Burke says he was born in 1160. King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. It is known that Agatha Ferrers was a mistress of John, but it is only supposition that she is the mother of Joan.
Father: HENRY II PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Married 1: Isabella FITZRICHARD (C. Gloucester) 29 Aug 1189, Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire Divorce 1199
Married 2: Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1189 - d. 31 May 1246) (dau. of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, and Alice De Courtenay) 24 Jun/Aug 1200, Bordeaux
Children:
1. HENRY III PLANTAGENET (King of England)
2. Richard PLANTAGENET (1º E. Cornwall)
3. Joan PLANTAGENET (Queen of Scotland)
4. Isabella PLANTAGENET (Empress of Germany)
5. Eleanor PLANTAGENET (C. Pembroke / C. Leicester)
Associated with: Agatha De FERRERS
Children:

6. Joan PLANTAGENETAssociated with: Clemence DAUNTSEY (wife of Henry Pinel)
Associated with: Suzanne PLANTAGENET
Children:
7. Richard FITZJOHN (B. Chilham)
Associated with: Hawise De TRACY
Children:
8. Oliver PLANTAGENET
9. Osbert GIFFORD (d. AFT 1216)
10. Geoffrey FITZROY
11. John FITZROY of Courcy (Knight or Clerk of Lincoln) (d. 1242)
12. Eudo FITZROY (d. ABT 1242)
13. Ivo FITZROY
14. Henry FITZROY
15. Richard FITZROY (Constable Wallingford Castle)
16. Matilda PLANTAGENET (Abbess of Barking)
17. Blanche (Isabella) PLANTAGENET

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b8036bb8-6aa6-4cda-9076-ec1f603a0189&tid=8424667&pid=-941269794

King John of England, nicknamed "John Lackland", granted the Magna Charta in 1215

_P_CCINFO 1-10425
1. John, King of England, conspired unsuccessfully with Philip II ofFran ce to supplant his older brother, Richard, as King of England whenRicha rd left on the Third Crusade. On Richard's death, John ascended tothe th rone to the exclusion of his nephew Arthur I of Brittany, who,aided by Ph ilip II of France, began a revolt in France. John's reignwas 1199 - 121 6. Burkes Peerage records 1160 as date of birth.
Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his Frenchpossessi ons to Philip.
John objected to Pope Innocent III's choice for archbishop of Canterburya nd the pope placed England under an interdict March 24, 1208 forbiddingt he clergy to administer sacraments. John's refusal to accept the newarch bishop led to his excommunication in 1209. He regained papal favorby sur rendering his kingdom to Pope Innocent III but received it back asa pap al fief.
The Magna Carta, reaffirming human rights, signed by John at Runnyme dein mid-June, 1215 limited the power of the English monarchy. Feudal barons supported by Scotland's new king Alexander II met with John betweenS taines and Windsor, exacted major concessions reaffirming traditionalfeud al privileges contained in the accession charter signed by Henry I acentu ry before and compelled John to sethis seal to the Magna Carta.John imme diately appealed to Pope Innocent III, who issued a bullannulling the cha rter. John imported French mercenaries to fight thebarons, but the Mag na Carta remained the basis of English feudal justice.
John came down with dysentery in October, 1216 after crushing resistan cein the north. He crossed the Wash and reached Newark Castle but died there October 19, 1216 at age 48. The king was succeeded by his 9-year-olds on, John, who reigned until 1272 as Henry III; the earl of PembrokeWilli am Marshal served as regent, and the moderate party took control,ending t he need for opposition to royal authority.

JOHN I "Lackland" PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Born: 24 Dec 1166, Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
Acceded: 27 May 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Died: 18/9 Oct 1216, Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Buried: Worcester Cathedral
Notes: Signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215. Reigned 1199-1216. His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died. Burke says he was born in 1160. King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. It is known that Agatha Ferrers was a mistress of John, but it is only supposition that she is the mother of Joan.
Father: HENRY II PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Married 1: Isabella FITZRICHARD (C. Gloucester) 29 Aug 1189, Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire Divorce 1199
Married 2: Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1189 - d. 31 May 1246) (dau. of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, and Alice De Courtenay) 24 Jun/Aug 1200, Bordeaux
Children:
1. HENRY III PLANTAGENET (King of England)
2. Richard PLANTAGENET (1º E. Cornwall)
3. Joan PLANTAGENET (Queen of Scotland)
4. Isabella PLANTAGENET (Empress of Germany)
5. Eleanor PLANTAGENET (C. Pembroke / C. Leicester)
Associated with: Agatha De FERRERS
Children:

6. Joan PLANTAGENETAssociated with: Clemence DAUNTSEY (wife of Henry Pinel)
Associated with: Suzanne PLANTAGENET
Children:
7. Richard FITZJOHN (B. Chilham)
Associated with: Hawise De TRACY
Children:
8. Oliver PLANTAGENET
9. Osbert GIFFORD (d. AFT 1216)
10. Geoffrey FITZROY
11. John FITZROY of Courcy (Knight or Clerk of Lincoln) (d. 1242)
12. Eudo FITZROY (d. ABT 1242)
13. Ivo FITZROY
14. Henry FITZROY
15. Richard FITZROY (Constable Wallingford Castle)
16. Matilda PLANTAGENET (Abbess of Barking)
17. Blanche (Isabella) PLANTAGENET

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b8036bb8-6aa6-4cda-9076-ec1f603a0189&tid=8424667&pid=-941269794

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=2569f6a3-2593-4df3-8525-bad121cac414&tid=10145763&pid=-420525822

_P_CCINFO 1-7369

This is a story of failure - of how the last of the Angevin kings failed to hold onto his territory in western France, and almost lost the Kingdom of England. It is the tragedy of a flawed genius, crippled by his own inheritance. The popular image of John is of a classically bad king: a scheming, untrustworthy coward consumed by greed, whose rapaciousness drove his subjects to impose the Magna Carta. His acts of apparent cruelty are well documented. He hanged 28 hostages, sons of rebel Welsh chieftains in 1212 and starved to death William de Braose's wife and son in a royal prison. Attempts to rehabilitate him have highlighted his administrative genius and his unstinting personal attention to his kingdom, but this view involves a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of kingship in the Middle Ages. To understand John, we must forget twentieth concepts of 'good' governance and stop seeing him as a solely English king. He was the archetypical Angevin: the autocratic ruler of a vast territory. Yet these were the traits which were most responsible for his failure. (Taken from From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/monarchs_leaders/john_01.shtml)

MORE: Taken From: http://www.bartleby.com/65/jo/JohnEng.html)
The kings youngest son, John was left out of Henrys original division of territory among his sons and was nicknamed John Lackland. He was, however, his fathers favorite, and despite the opposition of his brothers (whose rebellion of 117374 was provoked by Henrys plans for John), he later received scattered possessions in England and France and the lordship of Ireland. His brief expedition to Ireland in 1185 was badly mismanaged. 2

Under Richard I
John deserted his dying father in 1189 and joined the rebellion of his brother Richard, who succeeded to the throne as Richard I in the same year. The new king generously conferred lands and titles on John. After Richards departure on the Third Crusade, John led a rebellion against the chancellor, William of Longchamp, had himself acknowledged (1191) temporary ruler and heir to the throne, and conspired with Philip II of France to supplant Richard on the throne. This plot was successfully thwarted by those loyal to Richard, including the queen mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard pardoned Johns treachery. 3

Reign

Early Conflicts
On Richards death, John ascended the English throne to the exclusion of his nephew, Arthur I of Brittany. The supporters of Arthur, aided by King Philip, began a formidable revolt in France. At this time John alienated public opinion in England by divorcing his first wife, Isabel of Gloucester, and made enemies in France by marrying Isabel of Angoulême, who had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan. In 1202, Arthur was defeated and captured, and it is thought that John murdered him in 1203. Philip continued the war and gradually gained ground until by 1206 he was in control of Normandy, Anjou, Brittany, Maine, and Touraine. John had lost all his French dominions except Aquitaine and a part of Poitou, which was a critical factor in his subsequent unpopularity. 4
The death (1205) of Johns chancellor, Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, not only removed a moderating influence on the king but precipitated a crisis with the English church. John refused (1206) to accept the election of Stephen Langton as Walters successor at Canterbury, and as a result Pope Innocent III placed (1208) England under interdict and excommunicated (1209) the king. The quarrel continued until 1213 when John, threatened by the danger of a French invasion and by increasing disaffection among the English barons, surrendered his kingdom to the pope and received it back as a papal fief. 5

The Magna Carta
Johns submission to the pope improved his situation. Now backed by the pope, he formed an expedition to wage war on Philip in Poitou. However, while John was at La Rochelle, his allies, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (his nephew) and the count of Flanders, were decisively beaten by Philip at Bouvines in 1214. John had resorted to all means to secure men and money for his Poitou campaign, and after returning home he attempted to collect scutage from the barons who had refused to aid him on the expedition. 6
Abuses of feudal customs and extortion of money from the barons and the towns, not only by John but by Henry II and Richard I, had aroused intense opposition, which increased in Johns unfortunate reign. The barons now rose in overwhelming force against the king, and John in capitulation set his seal on the Magna Carta at Runnymede in June, 1215. Thus, the most famous document of English constitutional history was the fruit of predominantly baronial force. 7
John, supported by the pope, gathered forces and renewed the struggle with the barons, who sought the aid of Prince Louis of France (later Louis VIII). In the midst of this campaign John died, and his son, Henry III, was left to carry on the royal cause. 8

Character and Influence
John, though often cruel and treacherous, was an excellent administrator, much concerned with rendering justice among his subjects. The basic cause of his conflicts with the barons was not that he was an innovator in trying to wield an absolute royal power, but that in so doing he ignored and contravened the traditional feudal relationship between the crown and the nobility. The modern hostile picture of John is primarily the work of subsequent chroniclers, mainly Roger of Wendover and Matthew of Paris. 9

Bibliography
See biographies by K. Margate (1902, repr. 1970), J. T. Appleby (1958), W. L. Warren (1961, rev. ed. 1978), J. C. Holt (1963), and A. Lloyd (1972); A. L. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 10871216 (2d ed. 1955); D. T. Curren-Aquino, ed., King John: New Perspectives (1988). King John is the central character in Shakespeare play of the same name. 10

John is best known for signing the Magna Carta, 1215.

_P_CCINFO 1-10425
1. John, King of England, conspired unsuccessfully with Philip II ofFran ce to supplant his older brother, Richard, as King of England whenRicha rd left on the Third Crusade. On Richard's death, John ascended tothe th rone to the exclusion of his nephew Arthur I of Brittany, who,aided by Ph ilip II of France, began a revolt in France. John's reignwas 1199 - 121 6. Burkes Peerage records 1160 as date of birth.
Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his Frenchpossessi ons to Philip.
John objected to Pope Innocent III's choice for archbishop of Canterburya nd the pope placed England under an interdict March 24, 1208 forbiddingt he clergy to administer sacraments. John's refusal to accept the newarch bishop led to his excommunication in 1209. He regained papal favorby sur rendering his kingdom to Pope Innocent III but received it back asa pap al fief.
The Magna Carta, reaffirming human rights, signed by John at Runnyme dein mid-June, 1215 limited the power of the English monarchy. Feudal barons supported by Scotland's new king Alexander II met with John betweenS taines and Windsor, exacted major concessions reaffirming traditionalfeud al privileges contained in the accession charter signed by Henry I acentu ry before and compelled John to sethis seal to the Magna Carta.John imme diately appealed to Pope Innocent III, who issued a bullannulling the cha rter. John imported French mercenaries to fight thebarons, but the Mag na Carta remained the basis of English feudal justice.
John came down with dysentery in October, 1216 after crushing resistan cein the north. He crossed the Wash and reached Newark Castle but died there October 19, 1216 at age 48. The king was succeeded by his 9-year-olds on, John, who reigned until 1272 as Henry III; the earl of PembrokeWilli am Marshal served as regent, and the moderate party took control,ending t he need for opposition to royal authority.

JOHN I "Lackland" PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Born: 24 Dec 1166, Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
Acceded: 27 May 1199, Westminster Abbey, London, England
Died: 18/9 Oct 1216, Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Buried: Worcester Cathedral
Notes: Signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede, 1215. Reigned 1199-1216. His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whom he has lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died. Burke says he was born in 1160. King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. It is known that Agatha Ferrers was a mistress of John, but it is only supposition that she is the mother of Joan.
Father: HENRY II PLANTAGENET (King of England)
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Married 1: Isabella FITZRICHARD (C. Gloucester) 29 Aug 1189, Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire Divorce 1199
Married 2: Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1189 - d. 31 May 1246) (dau. of Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angoulême, and Alice De Courtenay) 24 Jun/Aug 1200, Bordeaux
Children:
1. HENRY III PLANTAGENET (King of England)
2. Richard PLANTAGENET (1º E. Cornwall)
3. Joan PLANTAGENET (Queen of Scotland)
4. Isabella PLANTAGENET (Empress of Germany)
5. Eleanor PLANTAGENET (C. Pembroke / C. Leicester)
Associated with: Agatha De FERRERS
Children:

6. Joan PLANTAGENETAssociated with: Clemence DAUNTSEY (wife of Henry Pinel)
Associated with: Suzanne PLANTAGENET
Children:
7. Richard FITZJOHN (B. Chilham)
Associated with: Hawise De TRACY
Children:
8. Oliver PLANTAGENET
9. Osbert GIFFORD (d. AFT 1216)
10. Geoffrey FITZROY
11. John FITZROY of Courcy (Knight or Clerk of Lincoln) (d. 1242)
12. Eudo FITZROY (d. ABT 1242)
13. Ivo FITZROY
14. Henry FITZROY
15. Richard FITZROY (Constable Wallingford Castle)
16. Matilda PLANTAGENET (Abbess of Barking)
17. Blanche (Isabella) PLANTAGENET

!Place name; Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b8036bb8-6aa6-4cda-9076-ec1f603a0189&tid=8424667&pid=-941269794

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=2569f6a3-2593-4df3-8525-bad121cac414&tid=10145763&pid=-420525822

[large-G675.FTW]

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.: Reigned 1199-1216. SignedMagna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His reign saw renewal of war withPhillip II Augustus of France to whom he lost several continentalpossesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with hisBarons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation ofthe charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died.Burke says he was born in 1160. John 'Lackland' King Of England was knownas one of England's worst kings; however, modern analysis notes he wasactually much better than his infamous reputation allows. His baronsforced him to grant the famous charter of liberties, Magna Carta, in1215. He was often cruel, but he showed both administrative and militaryability. John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king ofEngland and duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By ineptpolitics and the murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance ofmany of his French barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declaredwar. In 1205 John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in Franceexcept Aquitaine. John persued a policy in England that brought him intoconflict with Pope Innocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under aninterdict, which banned church services. The following year John wasexcommunicated. The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. Heforced Scotland into a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes incheck, and held a firm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites,professional troops, and autocratic financial policy stirred updiscontent among the English barons. When John failed to reconquer thelost French territories in 1214, most of the barons and many of theclergy revolted. On June 15, 1215, the king was forced to approve theMagna Carta at Runnymede meadow beside the River Thames.
A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III. Buriedin Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conquerorrequested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest.They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thriveunder William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bledthem white".

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: Richard's success (at retrievingall of his French possessions taken by Philip Augustus) was short lived.In 1199 his brother, John, became king and Philip successfully invadedNormandy. By 1203 John had retreated to England, losing his French landsof Normandy and Anjou by 1205. John (reigned 1199-1216) was an ableadministrator interested in law and government but he neither trustedothers, nor was trusted by them.
Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by thePope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessionsmade him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 theyforced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Thistreaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudalobligations between the king and the barons, and guaranteed a number ofrights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church;the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need toconsult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation;mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery ofjustice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement tocontrol the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clausesestablished the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. thatno one shall beimprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to noone will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did
not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that thesovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebelsinvited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216England was in the grip of civil war.

Acceded 1199-1216.

John and Magna Carta
John (reigned 1199-1216) was an able administrator interested in law andgovernment but he neither trusted others nor was trusted by them. Heavytaxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by the Popein 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions madehim unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 they forcedthe King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms.
This treaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, definedfeudal obligations between the King and the barons, and guaranteed anumber of rights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom ofthe Church; the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; theneed to consult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjusttaxation; mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of themachinery of justice so that justice be denied to no one; and therequirement to control the behaviour of royal officials. The mostimportant clauses established the basis of habeas corpus ('you have thebody'), i.e. that no one shall be imprisoned except by due process oflaw, and that 'to no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delayright or justice'.

The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe Sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that theSovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople.

As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebels invited Louisof France to become their king. When John died in 1216 England was in thegrip of civil war.
[large-G675.FTW]

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.: Reigned 1199-1216. SignedMagna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His reign saw renewal of war withPhillip II Augustus of France to whom he lost several continentalpossesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with hisBarons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation ofthe charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died.Burke says he was born in 1160. John 'Lackland' King Of England was knownas one of England's worst kings; however, modern analysis notes he wasactually much better than his infamous reputation allows. His baronsforced him to grant the famous charter of liberties, Magna Carta, in1215. He was often cruel, but he showed both administrative and militaryability. John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king ofEngland and duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By ineptpolitics and the murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance ofmany of his French barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declaredwar. In 1205 John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in Franceexcept Aquitaine. John persued a policy in England that brought him intoconflict with Pope Innocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under aninterdict, which banned church services. The following year John wasexcommunicated. The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. Heforced Scotland into a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes incheck, and held a firm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites,professional troops, and autocratic financial policy stirred updiscontent among the English barons. When John failed to reconquer thelost French territories in 1214, most of the barons and many of theclergy revolted. On June 15, 1215, the king was forced to approve theMagna Carta at Runnymede meadow beside the River Thames.
A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III. Buriedin Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conquerorrequested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest.They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thriveunder William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bledthem white".

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: Richard's success (at retrievingall of his French possessions taken by Philip Augustus) was short lived.In 1199 his brother, John, became king and Philip successfully invadedNormandy. By 1203 John had retreated to England, losing his French landsof Normandy and Anjou by 1205. John (reigned 1199-1216) was an ableadministrator interested in law and government but he neither trustedothers, nor was trusted by them.
Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by thePope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessionsmade him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 theyforced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Thistreaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudalobligations between the king and the barons, and guaranteed a number ofrights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church;the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need toconsult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation;mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery ofjustice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement tocontrol the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clausesestablished the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. thatno one shall beimprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to noone will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did
not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that thesovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebelsinvited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216England was in the grip of civil war.

[large-G675.FTW]

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.: Reigned 1199-1216. SignedMagna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His reign saw renewal of war withPhillip II Augustus of France to whom he lost several continentalpossesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with hisBarons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation ofthe charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died.Burke says he was born in 1160. John 'Lackland' King Of England was knownas one of England's worst kings; however, modern analysis notes he wasactually much better than his infamous reputation allows. His baronsforced him to grant the famous charter of liberties, Magna Carta, in1215. He was often cruel, but he showed both administrative and militaryability. John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king ofEngland and duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By ineptpolitics and the murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance ofmany of his French barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declaredwar. In 1205 John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in Franceexcept Aquitaine. John persued a policy in England that brought him intoconflict with Pope Innocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under aninterdict, which banned church services. The following year John wasexcommunicated. The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. Heforced Scotland into a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes incheck, and held a firm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites,professional troops, and autocratic financial policy stirred updiscontent among the English barons. When John failed to reconquer thelost French territories in 1214, most of the barons and many of theclergy revolted. On June 15, 1215, the king was forced to approve theMagna Carta at Runnymede meadow beside the River Thames.
A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III. Buriedin Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conquerorrequested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest.They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thriveunder William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bledthem white".

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: Richard's success (at retrievingall of his French possessions taken by Philip Augustus) was short lived.In 1199 his brother, John, became king and Philip successfully invadedNormandy. By 1203 John had retreated to England, losing his French landsof Normandy and Anjou by 1205. John (reigned 1199-1216) was an ableadministrator interested in law and government but he neither trustedothers, nor was trusted by them.
Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by thePope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessionsmade him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 theyforced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Thistreaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudalobligations between the king and the barons, and guaranteed a number ofrights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church;the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need toconsult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation;mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery ofjustice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement tocontrol the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clausesestablished the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. thatno one shall beimprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to noone will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did
not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that thesovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebelsinvited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216England was in the grip of civil war.

[large-G675.FTW]

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.: Reigned 1199-1216. SignedMagna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His reign saw renewal of war withPhillip II Augustus of France to whom he lost several continentalpossesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with hisBarons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation ofthe charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died.Burke says he was born in 1160. John 'Lackland' King Of England was knownas one of England's worst kings; however, modern analysis notes he wasactually much better than his infamous reputation allows. His baronsforced him to grant the famous charter of liberties, Magna Carta, in1215. He was often cruel, but he showed both administrative and militaryability. John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king ofEngland and duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By ineptpolitics and the murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance ofmany of his French barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declaredwar. In 1205 John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in Franceexcept Aquitaine. John persued a policy in England that brought him intoconflict with Pope Innocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under aninterdict, which banned church services. The following year John wasexcommunicated. The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. Heforced Scotland into a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes incheck, and held a firm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites,professional troops, and autocratic financial policy stirred updiscontent among the English barons. When John failed to reconquer thelost French territories in 1214, most of the barons and many of theclergy revolted. On June 15, 1215, the king was forced to approve theMagna Carta at Runnymede meadow beside the River Thames.
A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III. Buriedin Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conquerorrequested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest.They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thriveunder William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bledthem white".

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: Richard's success (at retrievingall of his French possessions taken by Philip Augustus) was short lived.In 1199 his brother, John, became king and Philip successfully invadedNormandy. By 1203 John had retreated to England, losing his French landsof Normandy and Anjou by 1205. John (reigned 1199-1216) was an ableadministrator interested in law and government but he neither trustedothers, nor was trusted by them.
Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by thePope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessionsmade him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 theyforced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Thistreaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudalobligations between the king and the barons, and guaranteed a number ofrights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church;the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need toconsult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation;mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery ofjustice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement tocontrol the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clausesestablished the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. thatno one shall beimprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to noone will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did
not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that thesovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebelsinvited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216England was in the grip of civil war.

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage.
Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah
84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8);
Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A
Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887)
vol 9 p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Coming near the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rule arbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 by imprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. King John threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their property by heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of his Nobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all England for a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasants to build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at one time he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none of the starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeated at the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took a solemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their liberties or had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Barons were not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of the United States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties were given the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power if he did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

!NAME:
WARENNE aka WARREN

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage. Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah 84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8); Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887) vol 9 p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Coming near the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rule arbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 by imprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. King John threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their property by heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of his Nobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all England for a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasants to build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at one time he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none of the starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeated at the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took a solemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their liberties or had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Barons were not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of the United States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties were given the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power if he did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage. Adjusted byWells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah 84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8); Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887) vol 9p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized todayas one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Comingnear the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rulearbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 byimprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. KingJohn threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their propertyby heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of hisNobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all Englandfor a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasantsto build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at onetime he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none ofthe starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeatedat the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took asolemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their libertiesor had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Baronswere not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of theUnited States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law ofthe land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties weregiven the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power ifhe did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)

2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage.
Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah
84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8);
Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A
Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887)
vol 9 p. 119)

!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized todayas one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Comingnear the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rulearbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 byimprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. KingJohn threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their propertyby heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of hisNobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all Englandfor a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasantsto build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at onetime he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none ofthe starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeatedat the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took asolemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their libertiesor had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Baronswere not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of theUnited States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law ofthe land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties weregiven the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power ifhe did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

Matthew Paris wrote, 'Foul as it is, hell itself is defiled by the presence of King John', and this pretty well sums up John's reputation--until 1944, that is. For in that year Professor Galbraith demonstrated in a lecture to an astonished world that the chief chronicle source for the reign of John was utterly unreliable. Since then bad King John has been getting better and better, until now he is nearly well again, and a leading scholar in the field has seriously warned us that the twentieth century could well create it own John myth.

A man who can create so many myths, or rather have them created about him, is clearly outstanding in some way, but the myths hide the truth. Plainly the chroniclers who invented stories about him after his death can tell us little, and we should not take too much notice of people who condemned John for carrying out his father's (and his brother's officials'] policies and administratrive routines, nor indeed those who condemned him because of the bitter troubles that happened in the succeeding reign, troubles which were in no means entirely of John's making. Recent historians have turned to the administrative records of his reign, and found there a very different picture; but still the lingering doubts remain--were these records the result of John's skill and application or of those of his able staff?

John was a paunchy little man, five feet five inches tall, with erect head, staring eyes, flaring nostrils and thick lips set in a cruel pout, as his splendid monument at Worcester shows. He had the tempestous nature of all his family, and a driving demoniac energy: Professor Barlow says that 'he prowled around his kingdom,' which is an evocative phrase, but it would be truer to say that he raced around it. He was fastidious about his person--taking more baths than several other medieval kings put together, and owning the ultimate in luxury, for that time, a dressing-gown. He loved good food and drink, and gambled a great deal, though he usually lost--the results of his typical impatience and carelessness are recorded on his expense rolls; above all things he loved women. Some say his 'elopment' was the cause of his loss of Normandy. He was generous to the poor (for instance, he remitted to them the penalties of the forest law), and to his servants; at the least he went through the motions of being a Christian king. He was extortionate, though if one considers the terrific increase in his outgoings (a mercenary soldier cost him 200 per cent more in wages than he would have in Henry II's day) one can understand some of his actions in the field. He was deeply concerned about justice, took care to attend to court business, and listened to supplicants with sympathy; he had also an urgent desire for peace in the land, saying that his peace was to be observed 'even if we have granted it to a dog.' But for all that, he had two totally unredeeming vices; he was suspicious, and enjoyed a cloak-and-dagger atmosphere--simply he did not inspire trust in his subjects. Dr. Warren says of him with some justice that if he had lived in the twentieth centure he would have adored to run a secret police.

He was born at Oxford on Christmas Eve 1167. He was oblated for a monk at the abbey of Fontevrault at the age of one year, but was back at court by the time he was six--plainly he had no vocation, but he probably picked up at this early stage his fastidiousness and his passion for books: his library followed him wherever he went. He was his father's favourite, but he turned against the old man when his chance came, as he did against Richard (who had been very generous to his brother) when the latter was in captivity in 1193. The episode was a miserable failure, but it possibly sowed the seeds of distrust for John in England, where they began to sprout luxuriantly in 1199 when Richard died and John came to the throne.

Immeditaely the challenge came: Philip Augustus, the wily King of France, was backing John's nephew, Prince Arthur of Brittany (son of John's elder brother Geoffrey) as a contender for the throne, and England's French possessions fell prey to civil war. John found grave difficultly in dealing with the situation for a number of reasons, but in 1202 he made the remarkable coup of capturing Arthur by force-marching his troups eighty miles in forty-eight hours; but then his prosecution of the war became listless, and he lost much sympathy by his brutal murder of Arthur whilst in a drunken rage. By 1204 Normandy was lost.

The loss of Normandy seemed to wake John up, and he now deployed his every energy in building up the coastal defences of Britain, now faced with an enemy the other side of the Channel, instead of just more of her own territory. The navy was built up, and the army, and John poured a quarter of his annual revenue into defence. But he could not persuade the baronage to support him in a counterstroke to regain Normandy: the barons of the north country had never owned land in Normandy and did not see why they should pay to regain southerners's castles for them. These 'Northerners' as they called themselves, were a hive of discontent, and more was to be heard from them. Meanwhile, John sailed angrily about in the Channel, cursing ineffectually.

Other troubles were to come first, however. In 1205 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walker, died, and John assumed that he would have the choice of the new archbishop. However, Pope Innocent III was no man to support secular control over church appointments, and supported the right of the monks of Canterbury to select their own archbishop. For two years the storms blew betwen England and Rome, then Stephen Langton was appointed. Meanwhile John had driven the monks into exile and appropriated the revenues of the archdiocese. He had fallen out also with his half-brother, Geoffrey Archbishop or York, over tax-collection, and he too fled abroad while John collected his revenues. Four bishops joined in his fight--tension was growing to the snapping point. In 1208 the Pope put an Interdict on England, which in effect meant the clergy went on stike, or, in certain cases and areas, worked to rule. John began negotiations with Innocent, but, finding that he demanded unconditional surrender, stopped them and took over all ecclesiastical properties and incomes. He did leave the clergy sufficient to live, though barely; but he still gained a large increment to his usual finances. In November 1209 the Pope took the final step of excommjunicating the King, which, in that it made him an outlaw in Christendom, did far more damage than the Interdict.

John used his enlarged treasury to restore order in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and to rebuild the old alliance with Otto IV of Germany and the Count of Flanders against Philip Augustus. He planned a two-pronged attack on France, to take place in 1212. But that year turned out an unlucky one for John, for the barons again refused to serve abroad, and the army he had was needed to put down a revolt in Wales; the Pope was threatening to demote him, and Philip Augustus was planning a massive invasion of England. John had to give in in one direction, for the prssure was much too great: he chose the Pope, and wisely so. He agreed to return to the status quo in the matter of church property and establishment, and to pay compensation; he further resigned his kingdom into the hands of the Pope, to receive it back in return for his homage and an annual tribute of 1,000 marks (a mark being two-thirds of a pound].

He had won a notable ally in Innocent III, who supported him faithfully throughout his troubles. Then his fleet, his own creation, had the good luck to find the French fleet at anchor and unprotected, destroyed it, and so made a French invasion impossible. On the crest of a wave, John determined to put his two-pronged invasion plan into action, but once more the northern barons refused to play, and he set off to punish them. Stephen Langton had arrived on the scene by now and managed to persuade John not to provoke the barons further.

In 1214 he finally managed to put his long cherished plan into action, but the two attacks were not properly coordinated; Otto was defeated at Bouvines, and John was deserted by his Poitevin knights.

In 1215 John faced a baronage in turmoil: they could point to the failure of his expensive schemes, he ascribed his failure to their total lack of support. The situation could not be more tense. John's nervousness can be seen in his taking of the cross, a blatant attempt to reinforce his alliance with the papacy. In April the Northerners met at Stamford; they were by now a mixture of northerners and southerners--the name was now merely a nickname--but by and large they were the younger element in the kingdom, roughnecks out for a spree. They moved south and were let into London by a faction, and received the expected encouragement from Philip Augustus in the form of siege engines brought over by one Eustace, a renegade monk turned pirate.

John offered arbitration, but the barons turned it down, and while he put his faith in an appeal to Rome, Stephen Langton, in cooperation with William Marshal and other more stable and sensible barons, were working on the Northerners' demands to incorporate them into a general charter, which would not only govern feudal relationships, but would also lay down a more general pattern of legality in government. On 15 June John fixed his seal to the draft of Magna Carta, and on 19 June attested copies were sent to all parts of the kingdom.

The King did his part thoroughly, though for how long he would have continued is another matter, but the barons continued to distrust him. They remained in arms, organising tournaments as their excuse, saying that the prize would be 'a bear a certain lady would send.' This was civil war, and John took to it with a fiendish glee. He reduced the north and the east, and was about to mop up the remainder of the opposition in London when Philip Augustus' son Louis landed in force to help the barons (May 1216). John had been riding hard for months, and was sick with dysentery after a bout of over-eating; whilst crossing the Wash, the whole of his baggage-train was lost. At Neward Castle on 18 October, he died, desiring to be buried near his patron saint Wulfstan in Worcester Cathedral.

He was by no means a good man, and his energies could well have been put to a better use, but in a different situation he might well have made a great king. His constant failure was discipline, over himself first, and others second. John reminds me of nothing so much as the type of person who is brilliant in many ways, and has many gifts, but leaves after two terms 'not suited to teaching in this type of school.' [Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]

John I
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=02088487-fa7d-42ea-9ef2-4fe8f7556be9&tid=822673&pid=-1385813270

John of England
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=58990999-f42f-4548-802b-3634979caace&tid=822673&pid=-1385813270

BIOGRAPHY: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b0/John_of_England_-_Illustration_from_Cassell%27s_History_of_England_-_Century_Edition_-_published_circa_1902.jpg/511px-John_of_England_-_Illustration_from_Cassell%27s_History_of_England_-_Century_Edition_-_published_circa_1902.jpg" height=300>

BIOGRAPHY: King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 by imprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. King John threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their property by heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of his Nobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all England for a period of six years. The King had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasants to build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at one time he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none of the starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper.

The King's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeated at the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The King then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took a solemn oath on the altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the King to confirm their liberties or had waged war against him to the death.

During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the King saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Barons were not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the King to recover their rightful liberties. The King was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the King's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta.

The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions." It was an important forerunner of the United States Constitution. Sections 39 anbd 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the King.

Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties were given the right to distress and harass the King by any means in their power if he did not keep his pledges. Several of these Sureties are included in this royal line pedigree: Hugh Bigod Robert De Vere Roger Bigod Alan Galloway [Lord] Gilbert De Clare William De Albini Richard De Clare [Sir] William Marshal (Marshall) John De Lacy William De Warren Sahar De Quincy William [Earl Of Salisbury]

From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.

King of England with claims to rule Ireland (Lord from 1185), Scotland, Wales and western France.
House of Anjou or Plantagenet.
John has always been regarded as the archetype 'bad' king; yet he had some redeeming features and his good looks and charm induced many of those he wronged to forgive him.
The youngest child of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, John was born when his mother was well over forty and was to become and remain her favorite child. He inherited or acquired many of her characteristics. What he did not inherit or acquire was any patrimony, as did his elder brothers, and his nickname of "Lackland" is said to have been bestowed on him by his father. John grew up a dandy, a gourmet and a womanizer, dedicated to a sybaritic existence and entirely unprincipled. His parents looked on his youthful escapades with indulgence and doubtless extricated him from many scrapes. At eighteen John was sent to Ireland to complete the conquest but was soon recalled when his ridiculing of the long beards and style of dress of the Irish princes and chieftains aggravated an already delicate situation.
Richard I seems to have had a soft spot for his young brother and on his accession conferred upon him the county of Mortain in Normandy. He also arranged a marriage with an English heiress, the granddaughter of Robert, Earl of Gloucester (Henry I's bastard), who had been such a staunch supporter of the Empress Matilda. The marriage at once encountered ecclesiastical difficulties as the couple were second cousins and the Archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage void and placed their lands under an interdict. John at once appealed to the Pope and got the decision reversed. However, there was little or no love between the pair and they soon ceased to live together.
Though fond of John, Richard was well aware of his weaknesses and at first excluded him from any part in the government when left for the Crusade, appointing a Norman, William de Longchamp, as Chancellor and principal regent. John lost no time in identifying himself with the people, who resented the Chancellor's arrogant French ways. With the assistance of his half-brother Geoffrey, Archbishop of York (one of Henry II's bastards), he led a force to seize London, where he promptly won over the citizens by granting them the right to elect a mayor. Longchamp fled disguised as a woman and was about to sail from Dover when the advances of an over-amorous sailor discovered him. John was so amused on hearing of this incident that he allowed him to go.
Despite John's scheming against him, Richard was ever forgiving and on his deathbed named John as heir. By the rules of primogeniture Arthur, Duke of Brittany, the posthumous son of John's elder brother Geoffrey should have succeeded, but he was only eleven years old and the succession of a child in those times was to be avoided if possible.
John was invested as Duke of Normandy at Rouen on 25 April 1199. In the course of the solemn ceremony he dropped the spear, part of the ducal insignia, and this was later to be taken as a portent ofthe loss of the duchy five years later. After this he set out for England and his coronation at Westminster, at which the Archbishop, Hubert Walter, delivered an oration arguing that the election ofa sovereign was more important than hereditary right.
John's next step was to rid himself of his now unwanted wife, who had not been acknowledged as queen. An annulment was easily procured on the old grounds and after a whirlwind courtship John marriedIsabella of Angouleme, a twelve-year-old girl with whom he had become infatuated while campaigning in France. Neither was to be a model of fidelity.
The murder of his nephew and rival Arthur of Brittany at Rouen in April 1203 was carried out at John's instigation and aroused the fury of Philip Augustus of France who, as overlord of both Brittany and Normandy, declared John's duchy forfeit and began an invasion. Chateau-Gaillard fell in March 1204 and in June the French King entered Rouen. The once mighty Angevin empire had shrunk to a fragment.
In 1205 John began a quarrel with the Church when he refused to accept Pope Innocent III's nomination of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury in preference to John, Bishop of Norwich, his own nominee and a personal friend. His intransigence in this matter led to a papal interdict Being laid over the whole country in 1208 and his own excommunication. John was forced to submit at last and humiliatingly resign his kingdom to the Pope and receive it back again as a fief of the papacy before the interdict and excommunication were ended in May 1213.
In 1214 John conducted another campaign in France and suffered a catastrophic defeat at Bouvines. During his absence the barons banded together under the leadership of Stephen Langton to protest against the long standing misgovernment of the realm. This culminated in the best known event of John's reign, his forced sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. The charterdefined the rights of the Church, the barons and the people. In essence it declared that the Church was free to choose its own bishops; that no money over and above certain regular payments was to be exacted from the King's feudal tenants without their previous consent; and that no freeman was to be punished except in accordance with the laws of the land.
John was infuriated by this forced agreement and claimed that he had acted under duress. He gained the backing of the Pope who had once excommunicated him and received his blessing to gather an armyand fight the barons, who for their part called in Louis of France, the heir to the French throne. Louis landed at Sandwich and proceeded at once to London where the barons made him their leader andpromised him the throne. Once again civil war was rife in the land and a year of indecisive skirmishing ensued.
Journeying through East Anglia with his band, John attempted to cross the Wash from Norfolk to Lincolnshire but misjudged the tides so that the whole of his baggage train was lost, including his crown and many valuables. The story has inspired treasure hunters ever since, but nothing was ever recovered except a small crest crown from a helmet. The loss affected John so greatly that Matthew Paris says: 'He fell into such deep despondency...that being seized with a sharp fever he became seriously ill. But he aggravated the discomfort of his illness by his disgusting gluttony, for that night by indulging too freely in peaches and copious draughts of new cider he greatly increased his feverishness Next day John was suffering from dysentery (severe bloody diarrhea) but he managed to ride as far as Sleaford, where he took to a litter and was carried to Newark Castle. Here 'in a day or two' he died on the night of 18 October 1216, aged nearly forty-nine.
John was buried in Worcester Cathedral, clad as a monk and, at his own request, as near the shrine of St. Wulfstan as possible. Later his tomb was moved to the center of the choir where his effigy may be seen today. Though not contemporary it conveys a strong impression of character.
John's personality was a complex one and latterly he has found some apologists. He was cruel and avaricious but possessed a sense of humor and could occasionally show acts of mercy and generosity.

_P_CCINFO 1-20792
Original individual @P2308128969@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@) merged with @P2442095468@ (@MS_NHFETTERLYFAMIL0@)

MARC:

King of England. Forced by the nobles of England to Sign the Magna Carta.
Lost land holdings in France

MARC:

AKA John Plantagenet

Born: 24-Dec-1166
Birthplace: Oxford, England
Died: 18-Oct-1216
Location of death: Newark, Lincolnshire, England
Cause of death: Illness
Remains: Buried, Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, England

Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Royalty

Nationality: England
Executive summary: Signed the Magna Carta, then reneged

John Lackland, King of England, the youngest son of King Henry II by Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born at Oxford on the 24th of December 1167. He was given at an early age the nickname of Lackland because, unlike his elder brothers, he received no land rights in the continental provinces. But his future was subject of anxious thought to Henry II. When only five years old John was betrothed (1173) to the heiress of Maurienne and Savoy, a principality which, as dominating the chief routes from France and Burgundy to Italy, enjoyed a consequence out of all proportion to its area. Later, when this plan had fallen through he was endowed with castles, revenues and lands on both sides of the channel; the vacant earldom of Cornwall was reserved for him (1175); he was betrothed to Isabella the heiress of the earldom of Gloucester (1176); and he was granted the lordship of Ireland with the homage of the Anglo-Irish baronage (1177). Henry II even provoked a civil war by attempting to transfer he duchy of Aquitaine from the hands of his brother Richard the Lionheart to those of John (1183). In spite of the incapacity which he displayed in this war, John was sent a little later to govern Ireland (1185); but he returned in a few months covered with disgrace, having alienated the loyal chiefs by his childish insolence and entirely failed to defend the settlers from the hostile clans. Remaining henceforth at his father's side he was treated with he utmost indulgence. But he joined with his brother Richard and the French king Philip Augustus in the great conspiracy of 1189, and the discovery of his treason broke the heart of the old king.

Richard on his accession confirmed John's existing possessions; married him to Isabella of Gloucester; and gave him, besides other grants, the entire revenues of six English shires; but excluded him from any share in the regency which was appointed to govern England during the third crusade; and only allowed him to live in the kingdom because urged to this concession by their mother. Soon after the king's departure for the Holy Land it became known that he had designated his nephew, the young Arthur of Brittany, as his successor. John at once began to intrigue against the regents with the aim of securing England for himself. He picked a quarrel with the unpopular chancellor William Longchamp, and succeeded, by the help of the barons and the Londoners, in expelling this minister, whose chief fault was that of fidelity to the absent Richard. Not being permitted to succeed Longchamp as the head of the administration, John next turned to Philip Augustus for help. A bargain was struck; and when Richard was captured by Leopold, duke of Austria (December 1192), the allies endeavored to prevent his release, and planned a partition of his dominions. They were, however, unable to win either English or Norman support and their schemes collapsed with Richard's return (March 1194). He magnanimously pardoned his brother, and they lived on not unfriendly terms for the next five years. On his deathbed Richard, reversing his former arrangements, caused his barons to swear fealty to John (1199), although the hereditary claim of Arthur was by the law of primogeniture undoubtedly superior.

England and Normandy, after some hesitation, recognized John's title; the attempt of Anjou and Brittany to assert the rights of Arthur ended disastrously by the capture of the young prince at Mirebeau in Poitou (1202). But there was no part of his dominions in which John inspired personal devotion. Originally accepted as a political necessity, he soon came to be detested by the people as a tyrant and despised by the nobles for his cowardice and sloth. He inherited great difficulties -- the feud with France, the dissensions of the continental provinces, the growing indifference of England to foreign conquests, the discontent of all his subjects with a strict executive and severe taxation. But he cannot be acquitted of personal responsibility for his misfortunes. Astute in small matters, he had no breadth of view or foresight; his policy was continually warped by his passions or caprices; he flaunted vices of the most sordid kind with a cynical indifference to public opinion, and shocked an age which was far from tenderhearted by his ferocity to vanquished enemies. He treated his most respectable supporters with base ingratitude, reserved his favor for unscrupulous adventurers, and gave a free rein to the license of his mercenaries. While possessing considerable gifts of mind and a latent fund of energy, he seldom acted or reflected until the favorable moment had passed. Each of his great humiliations followed as the natural result of crimes or blunders. By his divorce from Isabella of Gloucester he offended the English baronage (1200); by his marriage with Isabella of Angoulême, the betrothed of Hugh of Lusignan, he gave an opportunity to the discontented Poitevins for invoking French assistance and to Philip Augustus for pronouncing against him a sentence of forfeiture. The murder of Arthur (1203) ruined his cause in Normandy and Anjou; the story that the court of the peers of France condemned him for the murder is a fable, but no legal process was needed to convince men of his guilt. In the later quarrel with Pope Innocent III (1207-13) he prejudiced his case by proposing a worthless favorite for the primacy and by plundering those of the clergy who bowed to the pope's sentences. Threatened with the desertion of his barons he drove all whom he suspected to desperation by his terrible severity towards the Braose family (1210); and by his continued misgovernment irrevocably estranged the lower classes. When submission to Rome had somewhat improved his position he squandered his last resources in a new and unsuccessful war with France (1214), and enraged the feudal classes by new claims for military service and scutages. The barons were consequently able to exact, in Magna Carta (June 1215), much more than the redress of legitimate grievances; and the people allowed the crown to be placed under the control of an oligarchical committee. When once the sovereign power had been thus divided, the natural consequence was civil war and the intervention of the French king, who had long watched for some such opportunity. John's struggle against the barons and Prince Louis (1216), afterwards King Louis VIII, was the most creditable episode of his career. But the calamitous situation of England at the moment of his death, on the 19th of October 1216, was in the main his work; and while he lived a national reaction in favor of the dynasty was out of the question.

Father: King Henry II
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Brother: Henry
Brother: Geoffrey
Brother: King Richard the Lionheart
Wife: Avisa (m. 1189, annulled for consanguinity)
Wife: Isabella of Angoulême (m. 24-Aug-1200, two sons, three daughters)
Son: King Henry III (by Isabella)
Son: Richard (by Isabella)
Daughter: Joanna (by Isabella)
Daughter: Isabella Plantagenet (by Isabella)
Daughter: Eleanor (by Isabella)
Son: Richard Fitz Roy ("Richard De Warenne", by a mistress)
Son: Oliver FitzRoy (by Hawise)
Son: Geoffrey FitzRoy (by a mistress)
Son: John FitzRoy (by a mistress)
Son: Henry FitzRoy (by a mistress)
Son: Osbert Gifford (by a mistress)
Son: Eudes FitzRoy (by a mistress)
Son: Bartholomew FitzRoy (by a mistress)
Daughter: Maud FitzRoy (d. 1252, by a mistress)
Mistress: Hawise

Called John Lackland. Also Lord of Ireland, and Count of Mortain, best
known for signing the Magna Carta.

Henry II provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older
sons before John was born. By 1186, however, only Richard I, the
Lion-Hearted, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry
neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and
when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried
but failed to usurp the Crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade:
Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in
1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of
Brittany, the son of John's brother, Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and
captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King
Philip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender
nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207 John refused to accept
the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent
III then excommunicated him and began negotiating with Philip for an
invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and
in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French
possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214. John's reign had
become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had extorted money,
raised taxes, and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to
force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice
but to sign the Magna Carta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in
1215, making him subject, rather than superior, to the law. Shortly
afterward John and the barons were at war. He died while still pursuing
the campaign, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III.

King of England 1199-1216.

?? Line 15624: (New PAF RIN=3107)
1 NAME John Earl Of Warren Surrey /WARREN/

[large-G675.FTW]

See the second edition of Cokayne's Complete Peerage, vol. XII, part 1,p. 503.

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage.
Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah
84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8);
Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A
Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887)
vol 9 p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized todayas one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Comingnear the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rulearbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 byimprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. KingJohn threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their propertyby heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of hisNobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all Englandfor a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasantsto build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at onetime he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none ofthe starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeatedat the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took asolemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their libertiesor had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Baronswere not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of theUnited States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law ofthe land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties weregiven the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power ifhe did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.
?? Line 2444: (New PAF RIN=6290)
1 NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 2448: (New PAF RIN=6290)
1 BIRT
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 8473: (New PAF MRIN=2132)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 8533: (New PAF MRIN=2371)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 8534: (New PAF MRIN=2371)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 6587: (New PAF RIN=9923)
1 NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 8486: (New PAF MRIN=3688)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 599: (New PAF RIN=9993)
1 NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 603: (New PAF RIN=9993)
1 BIRT
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 8499: (New PAF MRIN=3770)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 8559: (New PAF MRIN=3780)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 8560: (New PAF MRIN=3780)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 4182: (New PAF RIN=11171)
1 NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 1560 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 1924 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 3162 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 3989 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 5212 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 5216 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
BIRT PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 9965 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
Line 10026 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 8747 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 8751 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
BIRT PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 16032 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
Line 16093 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 3723 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 3727 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
BIRT PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 6393 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
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MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Line 7231 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
Line 9376 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)

_P_CCINFO 1-887

FGRA;PED OF WILLIAM FLOYD BONNER

John Lackland
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=c7eae6d8-4e3f-4722-bfd9-f3d6f53f1df4&tid=6959821&pid=-1169191099

Reigned 1199-1216. Signed Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
His reign saw renewal of war with Phillip II Augustus of France to whomhe has
lost several continental possesions including Normandy by 1205. He cameinto
conflict with his Barons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. Hislater
repudiation of the charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 duringwhich
John died. Burke says he was born in 1160.
King of Ireland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester.

Source: 'The World Book Encyclopedia', 1968, p J110. 'Royalty forommoners', Roderick W. Stuart, 1993, p 38.: Reigned 1199-1216. SignedMagna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede. His reign saw renewal of war withPhillip II Augustus of France to whom he lost several continentalpossesions including Normandy by 1205. He came into conflict with hisBarons and was forced to Sign the Magna Carta. His later repudiation ofthe charter led to the first barons war 1215-17 during which John died.Burke says he was born in 1160. John 'Lackland' King Of England was knownas one of England's worst kings; however, modern analysis notes he wasactually much better than his infamous reputation allows. His baronsforced him to grant the famous charter of liberties, Magna Carta, in1215. He was often cruel, but he showed both administrative and militaryability. John succeeded his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted as king ofEngland and duke of Normandy in 1199. His rule began badly. By ineptpolitics and the murder of his nephew Arthur, he lost the allegiance ofmany of his French barons. King Philip Augustus of France then declaredwar. In 1205 John was beaten, and lost all the English holdings in Franceexcept Aquitaine. John persued a policy in England that brought him intoconflict with Pope Innocent III. In 1208 the pope placed England under aninterdict, which banned church services. The following year John wasexcommunicated. The king then showed his capacity for strong rule. Heforced Scotland into a subordinate position, kept the Welsh princes incheck, and held a firm grip on Ireland. But his foreign favorites,professional troops, and autocratic financial policy stirred updiscontent among the English barons. When John failed to reconquer thelost French territories in 1214, most of the barons and many of theclergy revolted. On June 15, 1215, the king was forced to approve theMagna Carta at Runnymede meadow beside the River Thames.
A few months later, John fought the barons. They were aided by PrinceLouis of France, heir to Philip Augustus, and appeared certain to win.But John penned his enemies in London and the adjacent counties. He diedsuddenly in 1216, but his throne was saved for his son, Henry III. Buriedin Worcester Cathedral Concubine at Kings Manor House, Oxford,Oxfordshire, England Divorced Isabel Fitzrobert 29 August 1189.

REF: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conquerorrequested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest.They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thriveunder William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so"in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bledthem white".

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: Richard's success (at retrievingall of his French possessions taken by Philip Augustus) was short lived.In 1199 his brother, John, became king and Philip successfully invadedNormandy. By 1203 John had retreated to England, losing his French landsof Normandy and Anjou by 1205. John (reigned 1199-1216) was an ableadministrator interested in law and government but he neither trustedothers, nor was trusted by them.
Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church (John was excommunicated by thePope in 1209) and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessionsmade him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled and in June 1215 theyforced the King to sign a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Thistreaty, later known as Magna Carta, limited royal powers, defined feudalobligations between the king and the barons, and guaranteed a number ofrights. The most influential clauses concerned the freedom of the Church;the redress of grievances of owners and tenants of land; the need toconsult the Great Council of the Realm so as to prevent unjust taxation;mercantile and trading relationships; regulation of the machinery ofjustice so that justice be denied to no one; and the requirement tocontrol the behaviour of royal officials. The most important clausesestablished the basis of habeas corpus ('you have the body'), i.e. thatno one shall beimprisoned except by due process of law, and that 'to noone will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay right or justice'.
The Charter also established a council of barons who were to ensure thatthe sovereign observed the Charter, with the right to wage war on him ifhe did
not. Magna Carta was the first formal document insisting that thesovereign was as much under the rule of law as his people; and that therights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of thesovereign. As a source of fundamental constitutional principles, MagnaCarta came to be seen as an important definition of aspects of Englishlaw, and in later centuries as the basis of the liberties of the Englishpeople. As a peace treaty Magna Carta was a failure and the rebelsinvited Louis of France to become their king. When John died in 1216England was in the grip of civil war.

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=millind&h=102510228&ti=5538&indiv=try&gss=pt http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=millind&h=102510228&ti=5538&indiv=try&gss=pt http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=millind&h=102510228&ti=5538&indiv=try&gss=pt King John Lackland of England-2 http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=8048a9eb-5bfe-4ed3-bf1d-fb4afed0cfd8&tid=6870384&pid=-1088292116 King John Plantagenet signing the Magna Carta http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=f4a3c639-bd7d-4852-9820-cdb6333cfbc3&tid=6870384&pid=-1088292116 John of England http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=5fdd357e-8386-4344-a261-53d78eea1634&tid=6870384&pid=-1088292116 King John http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=bb88769e-79aa-4297-9384-19c6ecbc0695&tid=6870384&pid=-1088292116

Line 1026 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/

Line 1257 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Line 6571 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/

Line 7857 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

John of England
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=eca4e13f-ea93-4886-a658-b7f7394ffcfd&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

John Lackland "King John" Plantagenet
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=d44881d5-9825-4de3-ab77-eb9af484d29c&tid=10771688&pid=-518428155

?? Line 1212: (New PAF RIN=9434)
1 NAME John, "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 1221: (New PAF RIN=9434)
1 BURI
2 PLAC Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England
?? Line 3912: (New PAF MRIN=4728)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 3955: (New PAF MRIN=4738)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 3956: (New PAF MRIN=4738)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 1212: (New PAF RIN=9774)
1 NAME John, "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 1221: (New PAF RIN=9774)
1 BURI
2 PLAC Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England
?? Line 3912: (New PAF MRIN=4916)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 3955: (New PAF MRIN=4926)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 3956: (New PAF MRIN=4926)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
?? Line 659: (New PAF RIN=10246)
1 NAME John, "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 668: (New PAF RIN=10246)
1 BURI
2 PLAC Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England
?? Line 3132: (New PAF MRIN=5168)
1 MARR
2 DATE 29 AUG 1189 (DIV)
?? Line 3181: (New PAF MRIN=5179)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 3182: (New PAF MRIN=5179)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Worcester Cathedral
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=e80db98c-a197-45f7-abb2-93c43baafc5b&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

Worcester Cathedral
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=4fddaea6-5078-416f-bd1b-71f98a8256ec&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

John signing Magna Carta
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=c36a7321-fe0e-442c-a2c0-32515c140fe5&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

Worcester Cathedral
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=630fa527-4357-4f8b-a2e7-4f746b5eb3a1&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

John's tomb effigy
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=b1974ab8-51cf-490e-8144-8d18cedafdaa&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

John deer hunting, from a manuscript in the British Library.
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=f5a882c7-8e8d-4433-ac72-ca22e06d91c4&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

ruins of Newark Castle as seen from the river Trent
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=a9fdf609-dc5f-4adf-b1c9-3ac3f09aec3f&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

Newark Castle and Bridge circa 1812.
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=493500bd-6de0-4721-9c2b-9812a42ed6cf&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

The plaque on Beaumont Street near the site of Beaumont Palace
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=ae1e96df-1261-458e-9f1c-ac24fd407b1d&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

King John's tomb
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=4470d3b1-be71-4cc4-b2f9-431a870d8015&tid=10844759&pid=-535181826

King John
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=697a4a02-2cc3-4086-9989-20ff4df77adf&tid=10771688&pid=-518428155

John Plantagenet
h t t p : / / t r e e s . a n c e s t r y . c o m / r d ? f = i m a g e&guid=160a100f-615e-4cec-a0fd-aec215270322&tid=312040&pid=-2037634375

?? Line 5900: (New PAF RIN=2409)
1 NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/
?? Line 5909: (New PAF RIN=2409)
1 BURI
2 PLAC Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England
?? Line 6750: (New PAF MRIN=699)
1 MARR
2 DATE NOT MARRIED
?? Line 6751: (New PAF MRIN=699)
1 MARR
2 PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Line 1026 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/

Line 1257 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Line 6571 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME John "Lackland" King Of /ENGLAND/

Line 7857 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR PLAC Kings Manor House, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

KNOWN AS "LACKLAND (SANS TERRA)" ACCEDED 5/27/1199 (CROWNED WESTMINSTER); RULED
FROM 1199-1216; ALSO 15TH DUKE OF NORMANDY; EARL OF MORTAIGNE, CORNWALL,
GLOCESTER, DEVON, NOTTINGHAM; LORD OF THE HONOUR OF LANCASTER; LORD OF IRELAND;
SIGNED MAGNA CARTA 1215; DIED AFTER CONSUMING PEACHES AND BEER

John King of England
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=e1e0b1ab-e1b3-437c-aa68-1fa1ac5c4739&tid=6650027&pid=-1181159419

John I, King of England, surnamed Lackland John, the youngest son of Henry II was born at Oxford. His father sent him to Ireland as governor in 1185, but his misconduct soon compelled his recall. He tried to seize the crown during King Richard�s captivity in Austria; but was pardoned and nominated his successor by his brother on his deathbed. John inherited the Dukedoms of Normandy and Acquitaine and the territory of Anjou. John was crowned at Westminster on 27 May 1199, although Arthur, son of John�s elder brother Geoffrey, was the rightful heir. On the Continent, Arthur was acknowledged. His claims were supported by Philip of France, whom, however, in May 1200 John succeeded in buying-off. In the same year, John obtained a divorce from his cousin Hawisa of Gloucester, and he married Isabel of Angouleme. In the war in France, Arthur was taken prisoner, and before Easter 1203 was murdered on John�s orders. Philip at once marched against John and captured city after city, until by Mar 1204 only a portion of Acquitaine was left to John. In 1205, John entered on his quarrel with the church, the occasion being a disputed election for the archbishopric of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III consecrated Stephen Langton an English cardinal, and John declined to receive him. In 1208, the kingdom was placed under an interdict. John retaliated by confiscating the property of the clergy who obeyed the interdict, and banished bishops. He compelled the Scots King, William the Lyon, who had joined his enemies, to do him homage in 1209, put down a rebellion in Ireland (1210), and subdued Llewellyn, the independent Prince of Wales (1212). Meanwhile he had been excommunicated (1209), and, in 1212, the Pope issued a bull deposing him; Philip being charged with the execution of the sentence. John, finding his position untenable, was compelled to make abject submission to Rome, agreeing (May 1213) to hold his kingdom as a fief of the papacy, and to pay a thousand marks yearly as tribute. Philip disappointed, turned his forces against Flanders; but the French fleet was surprised at Damme by the English, 300 vessels being captured, and 100 burned. In 1214, John made a campaign in Poitou, but it turned out ill, and he returned to enter on the struggle with his subjects. A demand by the barons, clergy, and people that John should break his oath and restore the laws of Henry I was scornfully rejected. Preparations for war began on both sides. The army of the barons assembled at Stamford in Lincolnshire and marched to London; they met the King at Runnymede, near Egham on the Thames and on 15 Jun 1215, was signed the Great Charter (Magna Carta), the basis of the English constitution. In August the pope annulled the charter and the war broke out again. The first successes were all on the side of John until the barons called over the French Dauphin to be their leader. Louis landed in May 1216, and John�s fortunes had become desperate, when he died at (of a surfeit of lamphreys). John managed through incompetent kingship to lose most of his inhertance in Normandy. His reign, however, saw improvements in the English civil administration, in the exchequer and the law courts. Royal charters were granted to towns and English local government introduced into Ireland. {Burke�s Peerage and Chamber�s Biographical Dictionary} John I, called Lackland (1166-1216), King of England (1199-1216), fourth son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine; Duke of Normandy, Duke of Acquitaine, Count of Anjou. [GADD.GED]

Additional information: Britannia.com http://britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon28.html

24th great grandfather

john is 26th great grandson of Urien Rheged

King John Lackland Plantagenet Of England
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=c4f1e453-da0c-4b56-a00f-bfe21d2c8e98&tid=6650027&pid=-1181159419

Wikipedia entry
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=c88c43bb-42d8-4dc2-bfe2-c08308e21210&tid=6650027&pid=-1181159419

This individual has the following other parents in the Ancestral File:
William /DE WARREN,/ (AFN:GG7J-6D) and Maud /MARSHALL,/ (AFN:GG7J-7K)

511px-John_of_England_-_Illustration_from_Cassell's_History_of_England_-_Century_Edition_-_published_circa_1902
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=4246c7f8-d20c-4cc1-9fc4-32679f323fec&tid=10320707&pid=-600463557

John of England
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=01032142-22b6-401a-bdf9-c2043575be6d&tid=10320707&pid=-600463557

1. John, King of England, conspired unsuccessfully with Philip, II of France to supplant his older brother, Richard, as King of England when Richard left on the Third Crusade. On Richard's death, John ascended to the throne to the exclusion of his nephew Arthur I of Brittany, who, aided by Philip, II of France, began a revolt in France. John's reign was 1199 - 1216. Burkes Peerage records 1160 as date of birth.

Although Arthur was captured (1202), John lost many of his French possessions to Philip.

John objected to Pope Innocent, III's choice for archbishop of Canterbury and the pope placed England under an interdict March 24, 1208 forbidding the clergy to administer sacraments. John's refusalto accept the new archbishop led to his excommunication in 1209. He regained papal favor by surrendering his kingdom to Pope Innocent, III but received it back as a papal fief.

The Magna Carta, reaffirming human rights, signed by John at Runnymede in mid-June, 1215 limited the power of the English monarchy. Feudal barons supported by Scotland's new king Alexander, II met with John between Staines and Windsor, exacted major concessions reaffirming traditional feudal privileges contained in the accession charter signed by Henry I a century before and compelled John to set his seal to the Magna Carta. John immediately appealed to Pope Innocent, III, who issued a bull annulling the charter. John imported French mercenaries to fight the barons, but the Magna Carta remained the basis of English feudal justice.

John came down with dysentery in October, 1216 after crushing resistance in the north. He crossed the Wash and reached Newark Castle but died there October 19, 1216 at age 48. The king was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, John, who reigned until 1272 as Henry, III; the earl of Pembroke William Marshal served as regent, and the moderate party took control, ending the need for opposition to royal authority. Unknown GEDCOM info: MH:N78 Unknown GEDCOM info: 1309C5BD-3DFC-4D31-AB6F-A9CB4E4D5D7D

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage.
Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah
84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8);
Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A
Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887)
vol 9 p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized todayas one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Comingnear the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rulearbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 byimprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. KingJohn threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their propertyby heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of hisNobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all Englandfor a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasantsto build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at onetime he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none ofthe starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeatedat the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took asolemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their libertiesor had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Baronswere not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of theUnited States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law ofthe land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties weregiven the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power ifhe did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

Johan av England (født 24. desember 1166, død 18./19. oktober 1216) var konge av England fra 1199 til 1216. Han arvet tronen etter sin eldre bror kong Richard I (også kjent som Rikard Løvehjerte). Johan er kjent under klengenavnet ?Johan uten land? og i England kalles han også gjerne ?John Soft-sword?.

Fra 1185 hadde han, som den første, tittelen Lord av Irland.

Kong Johans regjeringstid regnes tradisjonelt som en av de mest katastrofale i engelsk historie. Han startet sin kongsgjerning med å miste Normandie til den franske kongen Filip August, og på slutten av sin regjeringstid hadde han skapt grobunn for så mye misnøye at England var på full fart inn i borgerkrig, og den tradisjonelt sterke engelske kongemakten ble svekket for alltid ettersom adelen og kirken tvang kongen til å godta Magna Carta i 1215.

Historie
Det var tre viktige feil som ble begått av kongen. Den første skyldtes måten han tok makten på, som førte til en generell mangel på respekt. Da Rikard Løvehjerte døde i 1199 var det to kandidater til tronen: Johan, og hans nevø Arthur av Bretagne, som befant seg i Normandie. Johan tok Arthur til fange, og han ble ikke sett igjen. Det ble aldri bevist at han ble myrdet, men det var den generelle oppfatning at Johan hadde tatt ham av dage, og mange så det som en svart plett på hans rykte at han var villig til å myrde en slektning for å komme til makten.

Den andre feilen var at han mislyktes i krigføring i Frankrike. Filip August av Frankrike tok det meste av de engelske besittelsene i landet, og de engelske baronene krevde at Johan måtte ta dem tilbake. Etter åtte år forsøkte han å gjøre det, men led et avgjørende nederlag i slaget ved Bouvines i 1214.

Den tredje store feilen var å bli innblandet i en disputt med kirken om utnevnelsen av ny erkebiskop av Canterbury. Johan ville utnevne en av sine egne menn, mens kirken ville utnevne Stephen Langton. Striden pågikk i flere år, og paven satte hele landet under interdikt. I 1213 måtte kongen gi etter.

I populærkulturen
Kong Johan er hovedperson i et av William Shakespeares tidlige historiske skuespill, og i Walt Disneys tegnefilm om Robin Hood har han en sentral rolle, da i skikkelsen til en løve.

John married more than once. One of his queens was only 11 years old at the
time. He was a terrible king. Some of the things that I've read about him make me believe that he will spend eternity in hell. It seems that he was cruel for the sake of being cruel. I believe that he suffered from paranoia.
He died from eating improperly preserved peaches and beer. The resulting
condition was dysentary. His only redeeming quality seems to be that he loved his children.

Lackland_smaller
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=839b7221-e9ef-4ec0-9798-6eea82968e31&tid=7275060&pid=-1129009439

_STATMARRIED

He succeeded his borther Richard I as King of England and Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou on 6 Apr 1199. He was formally crowned on 27 May of that year.

John Lackland, King of EnglandJohn, King of England The youngest son of HENRY II and ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE, John, b. Dec. 24, 1167, succeeded his brother RICHARD I as king on May 27, 1199. John's reign is notable for his difficulties with the church and the barons; the king's conflict with the latter resulted in MAGNA CARTA. John's character was not attractive--he was hedonistic, mercurial, personally unstable, suspicious, and unforgiving. Yet he had many commendable qualities--he was highly intelligent, well versed in law and government, efficient, and sophisticated. His greatest shortcoming, in view of his contemporaries, was that he was no warrior, in an age when kings were expected to be great fighters. Moreover, John's difficulties stemmed largely from the policies of his father and brother. Richard had bequeathed financial bankruptcy and a ruinously expensive war in France. John also bore the brunt of baronial reaction to the centralization of government, a policy initiated by his predecessors, though continued with enthusiasm by him. Early in his reign John lost most of the English possessions in France; by 1206, PHILIP II of France had conquered Anjou, Normandy, and Brittany. In that year John also became embroiled in a quarrel with the church by refusing to accept the election of Stephen LANGTON as archbishop of Canterbury. The pope placed England under interdict (in effect, closing the churches) until John abandoned the fight in 1213 and accepted papal vassalage. The king took this step to strengthen his hand against the barons, with whom trouble had been building since 1208. The failure of John's expedition to Poitou in 1214, however, coupled with the defeat of his ally, Holy Roman Emperor OTTO IV, in the Battle of BOUVINES, gave the English barons their excuse for rebellion. In June 1215 the barons forced the king to accede to their demands for the restoration of feudal rights in the famous document called Magna Carta. The civil war was resumed soon after, however, and continued at the time of John's death on Oct. 18-19, 1216. John was succeeded by his young son, HENRY III. James W. Alexander Bibliography: Curren-Aquino, Deborah T., ed., King John (1989); Holt, James C., King John (1963); Jolliffe, J. E. A., Angevin Kingship, 2d ed. (1963); Painter, Sidney, The Reign of King John 1949; repr. 1979); Poole, A. L., From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 2d ed. (1955); Warren, W. L., King John, rev. ed. (1978)

king of Ireland (1177-1216), king of England (1199-1216), duc de Normandie (1199-1204), duc d'Aquitaine (1199-1216), comte de Poitiers, d'Anjou og de Tours (1199-1216), comte du Maine (1200-1205)

1 NAME Lackland //
2 GIVN Lackland
2 SURN
2 NICK Lackland

!SOURCES:
1. Royal Dau of Engl. p. 158 (GS #13702)
2. Dict. of Nat'l Biog., p. 402-16 (GS #920.042 D561n vol 29)
3. Burke's Peerage 99th Ed., prefix p. 253 (GS #942 D22bup)
4. Also searched without positive results: The Complete Peerage.
Adjusted by Wells F. Collett, 69 South 400 East, Kaysville, Utah
84037, 6 July 1967; Doomsday Book (GS #Q942.51 R2je p. 8);
Burke's Peerage 1883 (GS #942 D33bug p. 196); Derbyshire A
Archaeological and Natural Hist Society (GS #942.51 B2a (1887)
vol 9 p. 119)
!HISTORICAL NOTES:
This is King John of the Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized todayas one of the most important documents in the history of human freedom. Comingnear the end of the Dark Ages, it challenged the "divine right" of kings to rulearbitrarily. King John of England was a tyrant who seized the throne in 1199 byimprisoning and probably murdering young Prince Arthur, the rightful heir. KingJohn threw people into prison at the drop of a hat, confiscated their propertyby heavy taxes and unjust decrees, and despoiled the wives and daughters of hisNobles. His quarrels with the pope caused the pope to excommunicate all Englandfor a period of six years. The king had a tiresome habit of forcing the peasantsto build bridges over streams he might wish to cross while hunting, and at onetime he made the whole of England his own private game preserve, so that none ofthe starving peasantry could kill even a rabbit for supper. The king's Nobles finally refused to fight for him abroad, and as a result he was utterly defeatedat the Battle of Bouvines during the summer of 1214. The king then turned in fury on his Barons at home, but he underestimated the powers arrayed against him. The Barons, assembled in conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, each took asolemn oath on the high altar that they would stand united and not relinquish their efforts until they had either compelled the king to confirm their libertiesor had waged war against him to the death. During the winter of 1214-15, the Barons prepared and presented to King John a list of their demands. When the king saw the Articles, he is supposed to have sworn by "God's teeth", his favorite oath, that he would never agree to such demands or any part of them. But the Baronswere not to be denied. They raised an army and launched a "holy crusade" against the king to recover their rightful liberties. The king was finally forced to surrender at Runnemede on June 15, 1215. After four days of negotiations, the king's seal was affixed to all copies of the historic Magna Charta. The Magna Charta is recognized today as a foundation stone of free government and has been referred to as "The Mother of Constitutions". It was an important forerunner of theUnited States Constitution. Sections 39 and 40 of the Charter state: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed...except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law ofthe land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny, or delay, right of justice." The Barons offered to their sub-tenants the same concessions that they were demanding from the king. Section 61 authorized the election of 25 Surety Barons to see that the provisions of the Charter were enforced. These Sureties weregiven the right to distress and harass the king by any means in their power ifhe did not keep his pledges. Seven of these Sueties are included in the royal line pedigree of this book.

Known as John I Lackland (1167-1216), John Plantagenet was the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was born in Oxford, England on December 24, 1167. Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. By 1186, however, only Richard I (known as Richard the Lion-Hearted) and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the Crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade. Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When King Richard I died in 1199, John became king. Revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Bretagne, the son of John's brother, Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Philip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204.
In 1207 John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated him and began negotiating with Philip for an invasion of England. desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes, and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Carta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject, rather than superior, to the law. Shortly afterward John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire on October 19, 1216, while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III.
_____________________
John was born on Christmas Eve 1167. His parents drifted apart after his birth; his youth was divided between his eldest brother Henry's house, where he learned the art of knighthood, and the house of his father's justiciar, Ranulf Glanvil, where he learned the business of government. As the fourth child, inherited lands were not available to him, giving rise to his nickname, Lackland. His first marriage lasted but ten years and was fruitless, but his second wife, Isabella of Angoulême, bore him two sons and three daughters. He also had an illegitimate daughter, Joan, who married Llywelyn the Great, Ruler of All Wales, from which the Tudor line of monarchs was descended. The survival of the English government during John's reign is a testament to the reforms of his father, as John taxed the system socially, economically, and judicially.

The Angevin family feuds profoundly marked John. He and Richard clashed in 1184 following Richard's refusal to honor his father's wishes surrender Aquitane to John. The following year Henry II sent John to rule Ireland, but John alienated both the native Irish and the transplanted Anglo-Normans who emigrated to carve out new lordships for themselves; the experiment was a total failure and John returned home within six months. After Richard gained the throne in 1189, he gave John vast estates in an unsuccessful attempt to appease his younger brother. John failed to overthrow Richard's administrators during the German captivity and conspired with Philip II in another failed coup attempt. Upon Richard's release from captivity in 1194, John was forced to sue for pardon and he spent the next five years in his brother's shadow.

John's reign was troubled in many respects. A quarrel with the Church resulted in England being placed under an interdict in 1207, with John actually excommunicated two years later. The dispute centered on John's stubborn refusal to install the papal candidate, Stephen Langdon, as Archbishop of Canterbury; the issue was not resolved until John surrendered to the wishes of Pope Innocent III and paid tribute for England as the Pope's vassal.

John proved extremely unpopular with his subjects. In addition to the Irish debacle, he inflamed his French vassals by orchestrating the murder of his popular nephew, Arthur of Brittany. By spring 1205, he lost the last of his French possessions and returned to England. The final ten years of his reign were occupied with failed attempts to regain these territories. After levying a number of new taxes upon the barons to pay for his dismal campaigns, the discontented barons revolted, capturing London in May 1215. At Runnymeade in the following June, John succumbed to pressure from the barons, the Church, and the English people at-large, and signed the Magna Carta. The document, a declaration of feudal rights, stressed three points. First, the Church was free to make ecclesiastic appointments. Second, larger-than-normal amounts of money could only be collected with the consent of the king's feudal tenants. Third, no freeman was to be punished except within the context of common law. Magna Carta, although a testament to John's complete failure as monarch, was the forerunner of modern constitutions. John only signed the document as a means of buying time and his hesitance to implement its principles compelled the nobility to seek French assistance. The barons offered the throne to Philip II's son, Louis. John died in the midst of invasion from the French in the South and rebellion from his barons in the North.

John was remembered in elegant fashion by Sir Richard Baker in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: ". . .his works of piety were very many . . . as for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace."

from Britannia.com ©2000 Britannia.com, LLC @http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon28.html

King John of England
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King John Deer Hunting
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Biography - King John
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King John
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King John's Tomb
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Lackland_smaller
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Original individual @P3961541150@ (@MS_TREE1.GED0@) merged with @P3963893421@ (@MS_TREE1.GED0@)

John Lackland Plantagenet
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House of Plantagenet
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1 NAME Lackland //
2 GIVN Lackland
2 SURN
2 NICK Lackland

King John Signing the Magna Carta
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John (of England), called John Lackland (1167-1216), king of England (1199-1216), best known for signing the Magna Carta.
John was born in Oxford on December 24, 1167, the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry provided for the eventual inheritance of his lands by his older sons before John was born. By 1186, however, only Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, and John were left as Henry's heirs. In 1189, as Henry neared death, John joined Richard's rebellion against their father, and when Richard was crowned, he gave John many estates and titles. John tried but failed to usurp the Crown while Richard was away on the Third Crusade: Upon returning to England, Richard forgave him. When his brother died in 1199, John became king. A revolt ensued by the supporters of Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's brother, Geoffrey. Arthur was defeated and captured in 1202, and John is believed to have had him murdered. King Philip II of France continued Arthur's war until John had to surrender nearly all his French possessions in 1204. In 1207 John refused to accept the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Innocent III then excommunicated him and began negotiating with Philip for an invasion of England. Desperate, John surrendered England to the pope and in 1213 received it back as a fief. Trying to regain his French possession, he was decisively defeated by Philip in 1214. John's reign had become increasingly tyrannical; to support his wars he had extorted money, raised taxes, and confiscated properties. His barons finally united to force him to respect their rights and privileges. John had little choice but to sign the Magna Carta presented to him by his barons at Runnymede in 1215, making him subject, rather than superior, to the law. Shortly afterward John and the barons were at war. He died at Newark in Nottinghamshire on October 19, 1216, while still pursuing the campaign, and was succeeded by his son, Henry III."John (of England)," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

King John and Magna Carta

In 1199 Richard I was succeeded by his brother John, the most despicable of English kings. By a series of blunders John lost almost all his French possessions except the southwest corner. The English barons refused to help him regain his territory. Angered by his tyrannical rule, they drew up a list of things that even a king might not do. On June 15, 1215, they forced him to set his seal to this Great Charter (in Latin, Magna Carta) of English liberties.

Magna Carta is regarded as one of the most notable documents in history. The rights it listed were, in the main, feudal rights of justice and property that had been recognized by previous kings; but now for the first time these rights were insisted upon against the king's will. Thus an important principle was established that the king himself must govern according to law. In later years, whenever a king over-extended his powers, the people could remind him of Magna Carta. (See also John of England; Magna Carta.)
---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1993, 1994 Compton’s NewMedia, Inc.

"Lackland" refered to John's status as the youngest son, resulting in nosignificant inherited fiefs from his Father. His titles included King ofIreland 1177, Count of Mortain 1189, Earl of Gloucester. John succeededhis brother Richard I as King in 1199. In 1215 he put his seal on theMagna Carta (Great Charter). The Magna Carta is the foundation of EnglishConstitutional law and liberties and placed the King, like the subjectshe ruled, subject to the rule of law. He is Interred in WorcesterCathedral. "The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages" Norman F. Cantor,General Editor.

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Ancestors (and descendant) of Jean I 'Sans Terre' Plantagenêt

Geoffroy V 'le Bel' d'Anjou
1113-1151

Mathilda (Adelaïde) of Scotland
1102-1167

Guillaume X d'Aquitaine
± 1100-1137

Aénor de Châtellerault
± 1106-± 1137

Henri II 'Curtmantle' Plantagenêt
1133-1189

Aliénor d'Aquitaine
± 1122-1204

Jean I 'Sans Terre' Plantagenêt
1167-1216

1200

Isabelle d'Angoulême
± 1188-1246



					Henry III Plantagenet 1207-????

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Historical events

Christening day June 13, 1992

The temperature on June 13, 1992 was between 10.8 °C and 23.4 °C and averaged 18.2 °C. There was 10.8 hours of sunshine (65%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the north-northeast. Source: KNMI
Koningin Beatrix (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from April 30, 1980 till April 30, 2013 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
In The Netherlands , there was from Tuesday, November 7, 1989 to Monday, August 22, 1994 the cabinet Lubbers III, with Drs. R.F.M. Lubbers (CDA) as prime minister.
In the year 1992: Source: Wikipedia
- The Netherlands had about 15.1 million citizens.
- January 26 » Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
- February 17 » Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
- March 1 » Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- March 13 » The M_w  6.6 Erzincan earthquake strikes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).
- September 11 » Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu.
- November 16 » The Hoxne Hoard is discovered by metal detectorist Eric Lawes in Hoxne, Suffolk.

Day of death October 18, 1216

Graaf Willem I (Hollands Huis) was from 1203 till 1222 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Graafschap Holland)

Day of burial October 19, 1216

Graaf Willem I (Hollands Huis) was from 1203 till 1222 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Graafschap Holland)

Source: Wikipedia

1166 » John, King of England († 1216)
1389 » John V, Duke of Brittany († 1442)
1474 » Bartolomeo degli Organi, Italian musician († 1539)
1475 » Thomas Murner, German poet and translator († 1537)
1508 » Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian scholar († 1567)
1520 » Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noble († 1584)

Source: Wikipedia

1081 » Nikephoros Palaiologos, Byzantine general
1101 » Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (b. 1053)
1141 » Leopold, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1108)
1214 » John de Gray, bishop of Norwich
1366 » Petrus Torkilsson, Archbishop of Uppsala
1382 » James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond, Irish politician, Lord Justice of Ireland (b. 1331)

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Christening day June 13, 1992

Day of death October 18, 1216

Day of burial October 19, 1216

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About the surname Plantagenêt