King John was born in 1167 and died in 1216. Like William I, King John is one of the more than controversial monarchs of Medieval England and is about associated with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.

John was born on Christmas Eve, the youngest son of Henry 2 and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. As a child, John tended to be overshadowed by is older brother Richard. Like his father, John developed a reputation for violent rages which lead to him foaming at the oral fissure. Henry left no land to John when he died so John was given the nick-name John Lackland. In 1189, all of Henry'southward territory went to his oldest son, Richard I, improve known equally Richard the Lionheart.

In 1191, Richard left England to embark on the Third Crusade. He left John in charge of the state. John'south reputation equally a leader had been severely dented every bit far back as 1185 when Henry II sent him to Ireland to dominion. John proved to be a disaster and within 6 months he was sent home.

In 1192, Richard was imprisoned by Knuckles Leopold of Austria as he returned from the Crusades. John tried to seize the crown from his blood brother but failed. In 1194, when Richard finally returned to England, John was forgiven by his blood brother.

In 1199, Richard was killed in France and John became the king of England. His reign started in an unfortunate mode. In 1202, John's nephew, Arthur of Brittany, was murdered. Many in Brittany believed that John was responsible for his murder and they rebelled against John. In 1204, John's army was defeated in Brittany and John had no choice but to retreat. His military standing amongst the nobles fell and he was given a new nickname – John Softsword. The defeat in due north France was a major blow for John and a costly one. To pay for the defeat, John increased taxes which was not popular with anybody other than John and his treasurers.

John as well succeeded in falling out with the pope in 1207. John quarreled with the pope over who should be Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope excommunicated John and put England under a Church law that stated that no christening or spousal relationship would be legal until the time the pope said that they would exist. Church law said that merely christened people could get to Sky while children born out of matrimony were doomed to Hell. This placed people in England under a terrible strain and they blamed one person for this – John.

In 1213, John had to requite in and surrender the spiritual well-beingness of the whole country to the pope. However, the pope never fully trusted John and in 1214, the pope proclaimed that anybody who tried to overthrow John would be legally entitled to do and then. In the same year, John lost another boxing to the French at Bouvines. This defeat resulted in England losing all her possessions in France. This was too much for the powerful barons in England. In 1214, they rebelled.

John was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. This guaranteed the people of England rights that the king could not get back on. In 1216, John tried to get dorsum on the Magna Carta only this only provoked the barons into declaring war on him. By 1216, John was sick. During the war, he suffered from dysentery. He also lost all of his treasure when he tried to have a shortcut across a stretch of water in the Wash, Lincolnshire. Every bit the tide rose faster than he expected, his luggage train was engulfed. Just a few days later, John died and was succeeded by Henry 3.

Despite the obvious failings of John, there is still some prove that he was non as bad equally some accept tried to brand him out to be since his death. It certainly was not uncommon for kings to have their names tarnished when they were not live to defend themselves!

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