what was king john of England known for?

Answer 1

He was the younger brother of Richard the Lionheart (Richard I), and the youngest of Eleanor of Aquitaine's eight children. There was no territory to give him, so he became known as John Lackland.

He has received a very bad press; to gain wealth he married a rich heiress and later, when he was king, he ditched his wife for the twelve-year-old Isabella of Angouleme. He had mistresses and five bastards, and sent a poisoned egg to one woman who turned him down.

Richard was almost always out of the country, so John was constantly interfering and helping himself to whatever he could. However, Richard did make him his successor, even though a young nephew, Arthur, was closer in line to the throne. John was alleged to have personally murdered him - whatever happened, Arthur disappeared in sinister circumstances. One nobleman's wife was starved to death in Windsor Castle for daring to suggest that John was responsible.

Wars with France lost John much of his territory there, and it was the beginning of the separation of the two countries. Quarrels with the Church led the Pope to excommunicate John; the Pope 'gave' England to the King of France, and when the French forces landed to collect 'their' kingdom, John surrendered his kingdom to the Pope, agreeing to hold England as his vassal.

The Magna Carta came out of these troubled times; a large gathering of dignitaries assembled at Runnymede in 1215 and forced John to sign it, which in essence gave the Church its independence, prevented arbitrary taxes and made it impossible to be punished without trial. The law was to be upheld even by kings. John was furious, and although he got the Pope to annul the Charter, his days were numbered.

John was travelling with all his treasure when his luck ran out. He was moving his wagon too near the sea in Norfolk when the tide came in, and he lost his valuables in the marshes. He lost not only the crown of Edward the Confessor, the Empress Matilda's crown, the orb and sceptre, and all the jewellery of his mother who had been the richest woman in the world, but also gold cups, chalices, crosses and unset jewels. This loss (which would have been payment, etc) meant that he was rendered powerless.

Within days of this, John was dead - probably poisoned.

Nowadays, it's recognised that John may have had an unfairly bad press. The early historians were monks who were still rankled by his differences with the Church. Today, we can appreciate that John did at least try to grapple with the many problems that beset the country, unlike his older brother Richard, who simply ignored them. He did build up England's navy and sea defences; he was an able administrator; he travelled incessantly to supervise the performance of his officials, and he tried to ensure a healthy economy.

But it will take time before he loses his reputation as a Bad King, particularly in the Robin Hood legend where Richard was the just and fair king!

Answer 2

He's usually known as one of England's worst monarchs. Militarily inept, he began his reign by losing Normandy in a war with France, and ended up leaving England in a civil war. He's the ruler, however, who was forced to sign the Magna Carta.

Answer 3

He was forced into signing the Magna Carta. That is a document in which he gives up some of his rights as king.

Answer 4

And now you know why there has never been another English king named John.

Answer 5

Magna Carta. He pissed everyone off and was forced to surrender some of his powers because - like all Kings - he was a murdering prat.

Answer 6

This should help