Copyright 1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. John, 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).
More About John Lackland: Burial: 1216, Worcester Cathedral.
More About John Lackland and Isabel De Taillefer: Marriage: August 26, 1200, Bordeaux, Gironde, England.304
Children of John Lackland and Isabel De Taillefer are:
+Henry III, b. October 01, 1206, Winchester Castle, England304, d. November 16, 1272, Westminster Palace, London, England304.
King of England John Lackland (b. December 24, 1166, d. October 19, 1216)
Notes for John Lackland: