| John was the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was given at an early age the nickname of Lackland because, unlike his elder brothers, he received no apanage in the continental provinces. However, his father spared no effort to ensure John's future. He was betrothed to Isabella, the heiress of the earldom of Gloucester (1176). The Council at Oxford bestowed on him the lordship of Ireland (1177), but all further attempts of Henry II to extend the youngest son's estates met with resistance of other sons, especially Richard, who succeeded Henry II as Richard I in 1189. He created John count of Mortain and confirmed him as Lord of Ireland. John was married to Isabella of Gloucester on 22 Aug 1189. In the absence of Richard, John conspired against his brother, but was pardoned on Richard's return from the Holy Land. John was not an indisputable heir to the throne of England when Richard I died in 1199. Although Richard named John as his successor on death-bed, the rival faction supported Arthur I Duke of Brittany, 12-year-old son of John's elder brother, Geoffrey IV of Brittany (died in 1186). With the support of the barons of Normandy, John was invested with the insignia of the duchy on 25 Apr 1199 at Rouen. William Marshal and Hubert Walter archbishop of Canterbury arrived in England and secured John's coronation at Westminster on 27 May 1199. In less than a month, John again landed in Normandy to fight for his continental possessions [3]. He divorced Isabella of Gloucester and married Isabella, the heiress to Angoulême (24 Aug 1200). John captured Arthur of Brittany in the Battle of Mirebeau-en-Poitou (1 Aug 1202) and later had him murdered, but was forced to abandon Normandy in the war with King Philippe II of France (1204). In the next two years Anjou, Maine, and parts of Poitou were also lost. A conflict with the papacy, which arose from the election of Stephen Langton (1206) to the see of Canterbury, resulted in John's excommunication (1209) and an interdict laid on England by Pope Innocent III, who authorized Philippe II of France to invade England and deprive John of his kingdom. While preparations were being made in France, John surrendered his kingdom to the papal nuncio, Pandulf, at the house of the Templars near Dover (15 May 1213), receiving it back as a vassal. He was absolved from excommunication in July 1213, and the interdict was finally relaxed on 2 Jul 1214. After another unsuccessful attempt to recover his continental possessions (1214) [4], John faced a baronial rebellion, which broke out in May 1215. London was surrendered to the barons and the king was forced to accept the Articles of the Barons. The Great Charter (Magna Carta) was drafted at Runnymede, Surrey, and sealed by John on 15 Jun 1215. However, the king, using the papal bull against the charter, renewed the civil war. The barons appealed to Prince Louis of France (later King Louis VIII), who landed in England on 21 May 1216 to claim the English crown (see a note on Louis' claim). John continued to wage war, but died at Newark in the night of 18/19 Oct 1216. |
