King John

• John


  Crowned King of England in 1199
• Richard I had died without any legitimate heirs, so John inherited the throne as Richard's only surviving brother
• When Richard was king

  1. Spent a significant amount of time and money fighting wars against France

  2. Went on Crusades
• Fighting in the Crusades had been expensive, and England was heavily in debt
• King John's reign has often been criticised, but he had to manage clashes with the Pope, France and his own barons
• The Magna Carta was signed by King John on June 15, 1215.
• The Magna Carta established the principle that everyone is subject to the law, including the king.
• The Magna Carta limited the power of the monarch and guaranteed certain rights to individuals.
• King John ruled England at a difficult time. He faced wars with France, a shortage of money and clashes with powerful English barons
• The barons became increasingly angry with John and eventually forced him to agree to changes in how England worked, written down in the Magna Carta
• • The Magna Carta is seen as the basis of many English laws and helped to influence the US constitution, which was written over 500 years later.
• John had a dispute with the church over the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury in 1207.
• John’s preferred appointment was ignored by the Pope. John refused to allow the Pope’s appointed archbishop, Stephen Langton, to enter England.
• Langton was eventually allowed to come to England in 1213, and worked with barons in opposing John, leading to the creation of the Magna Carta in 1215.
• King John fought several battles with King Philip II over land in France. When he came to the throne, England controlled large amounts of territory in France. However John gradually lost this, including Normandy in 1204.
• This failure damaged John’s reputation. He was nicknamed ‘softsword’ because people thought he was weak.
• To win Normandy back, John needed to raise money. To do this, he increased taxes on the nobility.
• Despite several attempts to reclaim Normandy, John never succeeded and the failure of his campaign in the 1214 Battle of Bouvines led to further criticism from barons in England.
• In May 1215, a group of barons formed an army in the north of England and travelled south towards London. John had no choice but to offer them talks about changes to the way the country was ruled. He met with the barons at Runnymede, just outside London.
• King John and the barons came to an agreement that would take some power away from the king and mean he would have to work more with the barons. This agreement was the Magna Carta, which means ‘Great Charter’ in Latin
• Some of the main points were:

  • Someone accused of a crime could not be imprisoned or punished without having a fair trial first.
  • The king could not raise new taxes unless he had the agreement of the barons.
  • A council of 25 barons was set up to ensure the king followed the rules the charter put in place.
• The Magna Carta was designed as a peace agreement between King John and the barons. It failed to achieve this, and the two sides were at war with each other within three months of it being signed.
• John died in 1216 and was succeeded by his son, Henry III, who was nine years old. The Magna Carta was changed and amended, with a final version being agreed and signed with the barons in 1225.