History

End of Year Revision

King John and the Magna Carta

John became King in 1199 when his brother, King Richard I, died. To many John was
cruel, greedy and ultimately a failure as King. He fell out with both his father and his
brother in family feuds.
He argued with his nephew, Arthur, over succession. This trouble led to the loss of
English territory in France in 1205. King John unsuccessfully attempted to regain
France for the rest of his reign. He kept raising taxes to pay for his campaigns, but
every time he went to France to fight, he lost.
When he came to the throne, his reign was full of trouble. After a quarrel with the
church England was placed under an interdict in 1207, and King John was
excommunicated in 1209. John had refused to go along with the Pope's choice as
Archbishop of Canterbury.
By 1215, the nobility of England had enough of paying extra taxation. The
discontented barons rebelled and captured London in May 1215. In June, the King
met these barons to try and reach a peaceful settlement. The meeting took place at
Runnymede on the river Thames. The King agreed to their demands by signing a
document known as the Magna Carta - Latin for 'Great Charter'. It was amended and
reissued with alterations in 1216, 1217, and 1225

1225 version of the Magna Carta

Many people see the Magna Carta as a vital piece of English history where the rights
of individuals are protected against the power of the King or Queen. At the time, the
agreement was merely King John's was of obtaining peace between him and his
rebellious barons.
Important points that the Magna Carta covered were:
"The Church is free to make its own appointments."
Meaning: The Church had the final say who was appointed to Church positions of
power.
"No more than the normal amounts of money can be collected to run the
government, unless the king's feudal tenants give their consent."
Meaning: The King was not allowed to demand more and more money from his
nobility.
"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions...
except by the lawful judgement of his peers."
Meaning: Everyone has the right to a fair trial.

King John signed the document to keep peace with the rebel barons - to buy time -
and did not keep to what he agreed to. Civil war thus broke out in England. The
nobility called on the French to invade. John proved himself an able soldier, but died
in October 1216, leaving a divided country - still occupied with French invaders - to
his nine year old son, King Henry III.
King John was not a total failure. Recent historians have praised his administrative
skills and his success on military campaigns in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. However,
his loss of France together with the mess he left England in mean that King John will
always be seen as one of the least successful rulers of England.

1.When did John become King?

A 1189
B 1190
C 1195
D 1199

2.Who did John fall out with before he became King?

A His parents
B His mum and dad
C His dad and brother
D His uncle and sister

3.What did John argue with his nephew, Arthur, about?

A Food
B Succession
C The church
D Land

4.What did the trouble with Arthur lead to?

A The loss of the French territory
B His parents divorce
C His premature death

5.What happened to King John in 1209?

A He got married
B He became ruler of Denmark
 C He was excommunicated

6.Why did John keep asking for extra taxation?

A He was the King- he just wanted to
B He needed money to invade France
C He was trying to build up the English naval defences

7.Who rebelled against the King in May 1215?

A Peasants and lower classes
B The military
C Discontented barons

8.How did the King react to the rebellion?

A By June he arranged to meet the barons
B By July he was in full agreement with the barons
C He just couldn't be bothered

9.What agreement did King John make?

A The Magna Mappa
B The Grande Reganda
C The Magna Carta

10.Many people identify huge importance to the Magna Carta, but how important
was it in 1215
A Hugely important- the foundation of the American constitution
B Fairly important- it was seen as a necessary implementation of the
rights of man
C It was merely Johns way of obtaining peace between him and the
rebellious barons

11.From the major points of the Magna Carta, what was mentioned about the
Church?
A There was to be freedom of Church land in perpetuity
B The Church was to be free to make its own appointments
C The Church would control the country on Sundays

12.What clause in the Magna was designed to prevent the nobility from being taxed
to heavily?
A "No more than the normal amounts of money can be collected to run
the government, unless the king's feudal tenants give their consent."

B No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or

possessions except by lawful judgment of his peers
C Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that the King
says- but if the King says tax, then all men shall say No!
13.Why did King John sign the document?
A He believed it was the right thing to do
B He was trying to buy time
C He thought he had to- it was his duty as the monarch of England

14.When did King John die?

A September 1216
B October 1216
C December 1216

15.Why was John not a total failure?

A He remained popular with all sections of society
B He managed to win back the French territory
C He was very organized and had some military success

16.Why is King John remembered as a failure?

A His total lack of self-belief
B He left England in a terrible state and loss of territory in France
C He followed superb Kings who were fair and noble- totally unlike him.
This made him hugely unpopular

King John
King John was born in 1167 and died in 1216. Like William I, King John is one of the
more controversial monarchs of Medieval England and is most associated with the
signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
John was born on Christmas Eve, the youngest son of Henry II 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 mouth. Henry left no land to John when he died so John was given
the nick-name John Lackland. In 1189, all of Henry's territory went to his oldest son,
Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart.
In 1191, Richard left England to embark on the Third Crusade. He left John in charge
of the country. John's reputation as a leader had been severely dented as far back as
1185 when Henry II sent him to Ireland to rule. John proved to be a disaster and
within six months he was sent home.
In 1192, Richard was imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria as he returned from the
Crusades. John tried to seize the crown from his brother but failed. In 1194, when
Richard finally returned to England, John was forgiven by his brother.
In 1199, Richard was killed in France and John became the king of England. His reign
started in an unfortunate way. 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 among the nobles fell and he was
given a new nickname - John Softsword. The defeat in 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 also 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 marriage
would be legal until the time the pope said that they would be. Church law said that
only christened people could get to Heaven while children born out of marriage
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 give in and surrender the spiritual well-being 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 so. In the same year, John lost another battle 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 go back on. In 1216, John tried to go
back on the Magna Carta but this only provoked the barons into declaring war on
him. By 1216, John was ill. During the war, he suffered from dysentery. He also lost
all of his treasure when he tried to take a shortcut across a stretch of water in the
Wash, Lincolnshire. As the tide rose faster than he expected, his baggage train was
engulfed. Just a few days later, John died and was succeeded by Henry III.
Despite the obvious failings of John, there is still some evidence that he was not as
bad as some have tried to make him out to be since his death. It certainly was not
uncommon for kings to have their names tarnished when they were not alive to
defend themselves!
The picture of a monster, put forward by Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris
must be rejected forever. John had the administrative ability of a great ruler but,
from the moment he began to rule, rivals and traitors tried to cheat him out of his
inheritance. As he wrestled with one problem, more enemies sprang upon his back.
William Stubbs written in 1873.
John had potential for great success. He had intelligence, administrative ability and
he was good at planning military campaigns. However, too many personality flaws
held him back.
R. Turner written in 1994
John was a tyrant. He was a wicked ruler who did not behave like a king. He was
greedy and took as much money as he could from his people. Hell is too good for a
horrible person like him.
Matthew Paris, C13th chronicler

Name: King John

Born: December 24, 1166 at Beaumont Palace : Oxford
Parents: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Relation to Elizabeth II: 21st great-grandfather
House of: Angevin
Ascended to the throne: April 6, 1199 aged 32 years
Crowned: May 27, 1199 at Westminster Abbey
Married: 1) Isabella of Gloucester, (annulled 1199), (2) Isabella, Daughter of Count of
Angouleme
Children: Two sons including Henry III, three daughters and several illegitimate
children
Died: October 18, 1216 at Newark Castle, aged 49 years, 9 months, and 24 days
Buried at: Worcester
Reigned for: 17 years, 6 months, and 13 days
Succeeded by: his son Henry III

John was nicknamed Lackland, probably because, as the youngest of Henry II's five
sons, it was difficult to find a portion of his father's French possessions for him to
inherit. He was acting king from 1189 during his brother Richard the Lion-Heart's
absence on the Third Crusade. The legend of Robin Hood dates from this time in
which John is portrayed as Bad King John. He was involved in intrigues against his
absent brother, but became king in 1199 when Richard was killed in battle in France.

Most of his reign was dominated by war with France. Following the peace treaty of
Le Goulet there was a brief peace, but fighting resumed again in 1202. John had lost
Normandy and almost all the other English possessions in France to Philip II of
France by 1204. He spent the next decade trying to regain these without success and
was finally defeated by Philip Augustus at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. He was also
in conflict with the Church. In 1205 he disputed the pope's choice of Stephen
Langton as archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Innocent III placed England under an
interdict, suspending all religious services, including baptisms, marriages, and
burials. John retaliated by seizing church revenues, and in 1209 was
excommunicated. Eventually, John submitted, accepting the papal nominee, and
agreed to hold the kingdom as a fief of the papacy; an annual monetary tribute was
paid to the popes for the next 150 years by successive English monarchs.

His repressive policies and ruthless taxation to fund the warin France brought him
into conflict with his barons which became known as the Barons War. In 1215 rebel
baron leaders marched on London where they were welcomed by an increasing
band of defectors from Johns royalist supporters. Their demands were drawn up in
a document which became the known as the Magna Carta. John sort peace and met
them at Runnymede where on 15th June 1215 he agreed to their demands and
sealed the Magna Carta. It was a remarkable document which set limits on the
powers of the king, laid out the feudal obligations of the barons, confirmed the
liberties of the Church, and granted rights to all freemen of the realm and their heirs
for ever. It was the first written constitution.
Read and view the Magna Carta.

His concessions did not buy peace for long and the Barons War continued. The
barons sought French aid and Prince Louis of France landed in England supported by
attacks from the North by Alexander II of Scotland. John fled and according to legend
lost most of his baggage and the crown jewels when crossing the tidal estuaries of
the Wash. He became ill with dysentery and died at Newark Castle in October 1216.

King John ( 1199 - 1216 )

1199 - John accedes to the throne on the death of his brother, Richard I.
1204 - England loses most of its possessions in France.
1205 - John refuses to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury
1208 - Pope Innocent III issues an Interdict against England, banning all church
services except baptisms and funerals
1209 - Pope Innocent III excommunicates John for his confiscation of ecclesiastical
property
1209 - Cambridge University founded
1212 - Innocent III declares that John is no longer the rightful King
1213 - John submits to the Popes demands and accepts the authority of the Pope
1214 - Philip Augustus of France defeats the English at the Battle of Bouvines
1215 - Beginning of the Barons' war. The English Barons march to London to demand
rights which they lay down in the Magna Carta.
1215 - John meets the English barons at Runnymede, agrees to their demands, and
seals the Magna Carta which set limits on the powers of the monarch, lays out the
feudal obligations of the barons, confirms the liberties of the Church, and grants
rights to all freemen of the realm and their heirs for ever. It is the first written
constitution.
1215 - The Pope decrees that John need not adhere to the Magna Carta, and civil
war breaks out
1216 - The barons seek French aid in their fight against John. Prince Louis of France
lands in England and captures the Tower of London
1216 - John flees North and loses his war chest of cash and jewels in the Wash
estuary
1216 - John dies of a fever at Newark and is buried Worcester Cathedral

Magna Carta: people and society

Who were the key personalities in the history of Magna Carta? Find out more about
King John, the barons, Pope Innocent III, Archbishop Stephen Langton and the other
individuals and groups who played important roles.

The names of King John (r.1199-1216) and the barons are entwined with the story of
Magna Carta, but many people were involved in the events leading up to it. Others
had roles to play in its legacy, or were directly affected by it. The key personalities
are King John, the barons, Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) and Archbishop Stephen
Langton (1150-1228). This article also explores the other individuals and groups who
played a part in the story of Magna Carta.
King John
John is best remembered for granting Magna Carta in June 1215, although he sought
its annulment almost immediately. The youngest son of Henry II (r.1154-89), John
succeeded his brother, Richard I (r.1189-99), as King of England in 1199. His reign
was marked by a string of unsuccessful military campaigns, a prolonged struggle with
the Church and the baronial rebellion which led to Magna Carta.
John exploited his feudal rights to extort money from the barons: he set taxes at
very high levels, he enforced arbitrary fines and he seized the barons estates. John
used this income to fund his expensive wars in France, but still he failed to hold
together the empire created by his father.
John was an efficient and able administrator, but he was also
unpredictable and aggressive. He disregarded justice when
dealing with opponents, regularly taking hostages and
imposing ruthless punishments.
His conflict with the Church led to his excommunication. The
annulment of Magna Carta by Pope Innocent III in August
1215, at Johns request, led to a renewal of the baronial revolt
which was still raging when John died in October 1216.
HISTORY OF THE MAGNA CARTA
800 years of liberty
Magna Carta was not the first time that a monarch had agreed in writing to
safeguard the rights, privileges and liberties of the clergy and the nobles to place
limits on the power of the crown.

Henry I set a precedent on his accession to the throne

in 1100, thirty-four years after the Norman Conquest. He
issued a royal proclamation the Coronation Charter,
designed to atone for the past abuses of his predecessor
William Rufus. The ink was barely dry in the Domesday
Book from fifteen years earlier, so it was vital to ensure a
consistent income stream from the nobility for the
business of kingship, at least for the duration of his reign,
which lasted thirty-five years.
Yet even though the Coronation Charter is acknowledged
as the precursor to Magna Carta, it was conveniently
forgotten and / or ignored by four Kings, and almost one
Queen, over the course of the next century.
It was only after Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, also in long term
dispute with King John, dusted off the 113 year old proclamation of Henry I and
showed it to the Barons, that the idea of a new and improved charter a Great
Charter took hold.
Magna Carta, despite the pennant flying theatricality of the showdown at
Runnymede in June, 1215, suffered a similar, yet more rapid demise than the
Coronation Charter. By August the same year, Pope Innocent III had annulled Magna
Carta, declaring it illegal and having been sealed under duress. King John therefore
never lived with the full consequences of the Magna Carta humiliation, and by
October of 1216, he had died of dysentery at
the ripe old age of 50.

By this time, great charters had achieved

traction and had acquired a heritage. It had
been shown that even proclamations of over a
hundred years old could be used as leverage
and justification in order to drag a reluctant king
to the middle of a Berkshire field and force him
to seal into law, articles and clauses concerning
liberties, which we now call freedoms.
Once these ideas of freedom were liberated by
the events of 19 June, 1215, and it had been
shown that not even the king was above the
Common Law of the land, then Magna Carta
became an idea which could never be uninvented, or unimagined.
Besides, up to thirteen copies of Magna Carta were quickly made, (complete with
spelling mistakes) and sent throughout the kingdom, often to the great cathedrals of
England. Magna Carta had therefore gone viral. There were just too many important
witnesses to the events of June 19th, many of whom were the bishops themselves,
for Magna Carta to be ever denied or forgotten.
Over the course of the next 800 years, the idea of Magna Carta gathered momentum
and assumed a greater authority in respect of the central key clauses concerning
liberty and justice. These central clauses, usually referred to as 38 and 39, have not
only stood the test of time, but have a potency of their own which has seen off
hundreds of attempts at annulment, repeal, modification and suspension by
successive monarchs and governments.
The Magna Carta has been the most valuable export of Great Britain to the rest of
the world.

Answers to the quiz:

1. D
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. A
9. C
10. C
11. B
12. A
13. B
14. B
15. C
16. B