John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was
King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He was the third king of the
House of Plantagenet. He lost the
Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King
Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the
Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French
Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The
baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of
Magna Carta, a document sometimes considered an early step in the evolution of the
constitution of the United Kingdom.
John was the youngest of the four surviving sons of King
Henry II of England and Duchess
Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was nicknamed
John Lackland because he was not expected to inherit significant lands.
[1] He became Henry's favourite child following the failed
revolt of 1173–74 by his brothers
Henry the Young King,
Richard, and
Geoffrey against the King. John was appointed the
Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. The war between Henry II and his eldest sons ended with the deaths of Henry the Young King and Geoffrey. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against the royal administrators of his brother, King Richard, whilst Richard was participating in the
Third Crusade, but he was proclaimed king after Richard died in 1199. He came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognise John's possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace
treaty of Le Goulet in 1200.
When war with France broke out again in 1202, John achieved early victories, but shortages of military resources and his treatment of
Norman,
Breton, and
Anjou nobles resulted in the
collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204. He spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. His judicial reforms had a lasting effect on the
English common law system, as well as providing an additional source of revenue. An argument with
Pope Innocent III led to John's
excommunication in 1209, a dispute he finally settled in 1213. John's attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over John's allies at the
battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, who were unhappy with his fiscal policies and his treatment of many of England's most powerful nobles. Although both John and the barons agreed to the
Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions.
Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by
Louis VIII of France. It soon descended into a stalemate. John died of
dysentery contracted whilst on campaign in eastern England during late 1216; supporters of his son
Henry III went on to achieve victory over Louis and the rebel barons the following year.
Contemporary chroniclers were mostly critical of John's performance as king, and his reign has since been the subject of significant debate and periodic revision by historians from the 16th century onwards. Historian
Jim Bradbury has summarised the current historical opinion of John's positive qualities, observing that John is today usually considered a "hard-working administrator, an able man, an able general".
[2] Nonetheless, modern historians agree that he also had many faults as king, including what historian Ralph Turner describes as "distasteful, even dangerous personality traits", such as pettiness, spitefulness, and cruelty.
[3] These negative qualities provided extensive material for fiction writers in the
Victorian era, and John remains a recurring character within Western popular culture, primarily as a villain in films and stories depicting the
Robin Hood legends.