Each of the kings of England became famous for his valor, wisdom, integrity and nobility. But there were unfortunate exceptions. The king of England, John the Landless, turned out to be just such a ruler. During his reign, he almost destroyed the country. After such a ruler, even the name "John" became instructive, they began to consider him unlucky and stopped naming children like that.
Meet John
John Landless, aka King John of England, was born on 1167-24-12 in Oxford. Since 1199, he ruled England, was the Duke of Aquitaine from the Plantagenet dynasty and the youngest (if more precisely, the fifth) son of Henry II.
The reign of John the Landless is considered the most catastrophic for the entire existence of England. It began with the French king conquering Normandy. And it ended in a riot that practically removed King John of England from the throne.
Why did people not like the rule of the new king? First, in 1213 he agreed that England would become vassals of the Pope. Secondly, in 1215, the English barons rebelled against him and forced JohnLandless to sign the Magna Carta. Thirdly, due to exorbitant taxes and constant (and most importantly, ineffectual) aggression against France, John's reputation was so bad that none of the subsequent kings named him after their child. The only thing I remember about the reign of I. Bezzemelny is the signing of the Magna Carta.
Dubious reputation
The future ruler of England was named after the Apostle John the Theologian, because it was on his day that he was born. Already in 1171, John 1 Landless was engaged to the daughter of the Count of Savoy.
John was the most beloved son of Henry II, but, unlike his brothers, he did not receive land holdings in France from his father. For this, he was awarded the nickname "Landless".
Although he got significant territories in England, and was also given Ireland.
In his youth, John had already earned a reputation as a traitor. He always took part in conspiracies and rebellions against his father Heinrich. The rebellion of the brothers was no exception, in which the future king of England, John, took the side of Richard the Lionheart, who took the throne in 1189. John confirmed his rights to the possession of English and Irish lands and promised not to appear on the territory of the country until Richard returned from the Crusade. Some time later, he marries the heiress of the Earl of Gloucester. True, they separated after the coronation of John due to blood relationship, so she cannot be considered the queen of England.
B 1190In the same year, Richard announced that Arthur, the son of Geoffrey's deceased younger brother, would be his successor. Upon hearing this news, John broke his oath and invaded the lands of England, in protest he wanted to overthrow Regent Richard.
About the same time, Richard returns from a campaign and ends up in captivity in Germany. John asks Henry VI (Emperor of Germany) to keep Richard as long as possible. While the current ruler of England was in captivity, John makes an alliance with King Philip II Augustus of France and tries to seize control of England.
In 1193 he was forced to sign a truce. Richard, who came out of captivity, expelled his brother from the country and confiscated all his lands. Only in 1195 John the Landless was partially forgiven and his former possessions returned, and after some time he was named the future ruler.
Reign
John the Landless became King of England in 1199 when Richard died. Of course, Arthur had more legitimate claims to the throne, besides, the Norman aristocrats completely refused to assist John. But at the same time, Arthur grew up and was brought up on the continent, so the local population wanted to see their native John as the king, albeit unlucky and unloved.
The English barons understood that they were in a very disadvantageous and weak position, so they turned to the King of France, Philip II Augustus, for support, because John was his vassal on his French lands. In 1200, King John of England abandons his lawful wife and immediately marries Isabella of Angouleme, whom he took away fromunder the crown of his vassal. The abandoned groom immediately began to write complaints about John to Philip II.
All sorts of complaints about the new king for the first two years of his reign, Philip II received a lot, so in 1202 John the Landless received an order to appear at court. However, the obstinate and willful ruler refused to fulfill it. The king of France could not forgive such behavior, so he invaded Normandy and gave Arthur all of John's French possessions.
War
During the war between England and France, Arthur left his grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine at the Mirabeau castle. If the 78-year-old old woman had not organized the defense, then the castle would have easily fallen, and so the defenders held out until 1202-31-07, when King John of England came to the castle moor. He took his nephew Arthur prisoner and imprisoned him in the castle of Falaise. Historians say that a little later, John gave the order to gouge out Arthur's eyes, but Hubert de Burgh (the overseer) could not fulfill it. In 1203, Arthur is transferred to the castle of Rouen under the responsibility of William de Braose. From that moment on, nothing is known about his further fate, although they say that it was John who was responsible for his death.
At this stage of the reign of John the Landless, the British did not gain any advantage in the war. The King of England was in dire financial trouble. The way he behaved with Arthur and other captives did not add to his popularity and supporters, besides, Philip did not retreat, but continued to counterattack. In 1204, France took Rouen and Château Gaillard. In just twoyears (from 1202 to 1204) the English king John the Landless lost a significant part of the state possessions. Literally, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, part of Poitou were taken away from under his nose, and, according to the treaty of 1206, Touraine also departed from Philip II.
Theological Issues
In 1207 Pope Innocent III appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury. King John the Landless wanted to increase his influence so much that he refused to recognize Stephen Langton (the new archbishop). After such disrespect, the pope imposed an interdict on the whole country, that is, a ban on holding various kinds of services.
John was not very scared, as he began to confiscate church lands. In 1209, by decree of Pope King John the Landless, they were excommunicated, and in 1212 all the English were released from the oath to the king. Simply put, the pope contributed to the fact that John theoretically resigned his powers. John could not lose his position. And while Philip II was negotiating with the pope about the invasion of England, her king had already stopped the fight, accepted all the conditions and agreed to pay a fine of 1000 marks annually. The interdict with England was lifted in 1214, and in the same year England again came into conflict with France. This time, John reached an understanding with Emperor Otto IV and the Count of Flanders, however, this did not help him much - on July 27, 1214, the allies were defeated in the battle of Buvin.
General dissatisfaction
After the king of England, John the Landless, lost in the battle of Bouvin and lost all possessions oncontinent, he returned to his country. Immediately after his return, he ordered to collect taxes from the barons who did not participate in the military campaign. Each baron had to pay 40 silver shillings for one knightly fief. New requisitions (taxes) marked the beginning of mass discontent and active resistance of the nobility.
The northern barons were the first to give the signal to march, they flatly refused to pay such exorbitant fees. Barons from the east also joined the northern counties.
4.11.1214 a meeting of the current monarch of England and the barons took place in Edmondsbury Abbey. True, this did not give any results, the king left the abbey with nothing. The barons were in no hurry to leave, citing the fact that they wanted to pray. On November 20, they held a secret meeting, at which they announced "a certain charter of Henry I".
All those present solemnly swore that if the king refuses to revive in the country the laws of Edward the Confessor and the rights written in the Charter, then they will all simultaneously go against John the Landless by war and will not retreat until he signs the Charter and assures their demands royal seal.
Restoration of laws
By December 25, 1214, each of the barons had to prepare infantry and armed cavalry, take care of food and equipment, so that after the Christmas holidays they would go to the king to make demands. As soon as the Christmas holidays ended, the barons sent their envoys to the king. He acceptedJanuary 6, 1215, and the envoys immediately demanded that the king confirm some of the rights and laws of his predecessor, King Edward, and all the provisions recorded in the Charter of King Henry I. Naturally, John was informed of what consequences would await him if he refused from signing such a document. He asked for a truce and promised that at Easter he would restore all of Edward's laws.
Frankly, John the Landless did not want to restore the Magna Carta of Henry I. It was too unprofitable. After receiving a reprieve, John issued a Charter of free ecclesiastical elections, a decree to take the oath to the king and took the vow of a crusader, assuming that he would then be patronized by the Roman church.
But that was not at all what the barons wanted. In Stamford, they had already collected two thousand knights and after Easter they headed for Brackley.
According to the chronicler
Matthew Parizhsky in his chronicle told about this event in this way. As soon as John learned that the army gathered by the barons was heading towards him, he sent the archbishop, Marshal William, the Earl of Pembroke and several other smart people to him to find out exactly what laws and liberties were in question.
Meeting with the royal ambassadors, the barons presented them with a scripture, which consisted of the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom. They also said that if the king did not agree to these conditions and did not confirm his intentions with a charter with the royal seal, they would seize all his castles and possessions. Then he will still have to pass these laws, but alreadyforced.
The archbishop brought this message to the king and read to him chapter by chapter all the requirements. As soon as the king heard the content of these articles, he laughed maliciously, saying that their demands were not based on any right. The king also added that he would never agree to make concessions that would make him a slave for anything in his life. Stephen Langton and William Marshal tried to persuade the king, but everything was in vain: John the Landless Magna Carta refused to sign.
The barons immediately renounced their vassal allegiance to the king as soon as they received an answer from him. They chose Robert FitzW alter as their leader and advanced to Northampton and then to Bedford. The rebellion received the support of London. Undercover messengers invited the barons to speak in London, ensuring that the capital would side with them.
On May 15, 1215, the barons' rebellion began in London. Messengers were sent from the capital to all the English counties, with a call to join the rebellion. Almost all the nobility of the country and most of the knights responded to the messages. Only a small retinue remained on the king's side.
King John of England and the Magna Carta
In this situation, John was completely powerless, so he had to enter into negotiations with the rebellious barons. On June 15, 1215, representatives of both sides met on the banks of the Thames. The archbishops of Canterbury and Dublin, as well as the legate of Pope Pandulf, were invited to act as mediators. The king had, albeit reluctantly, to putthe seal on the petition of the barons, where all the demands were listed. In the historical annals, this document was called the Baron Articles.
From June 15 to June 19, Magna Carta was written on the basis of the Baronial Articles, which the king also had to sign. If the Baron Articles were similar in nature to an agreement between a baron and a king, then the Charters resembled a royal grant. This document regulated the rights and freedoms not only of the nobility, but also of ordinary royal subjects. The Charter described the nuances of the work of officials and taxation. For example, not a single citizen of the country could be executed without trial. The amount of taxes was determined at the general council of the king with the barons. A special council of 25 barons was also created, who were supposed to monitor how the king would fulfill the terms of the contract. If the monarch does not follow the Charter and the Articles of Barony, the nobility will revolt again.
Rematch
But the king did not even think to fulfill the conditions that were imposed on him. John attracted mercenaries from the continent and began to attack the barons.
The king wanted to eliminate the limitations of power established by the Charter by any means. Therefore, he complained to Pope Innocent III. He was annoyed that this issue was resolved by an armed uprising. He issued a special bull (August 24, 1215), where he announced that the Charter had no effect, and the king was released from the oath. He called the document itself an illegal, unfair and shameful treaty.
Archbishop Langton, who was the ideological and spiritual inspirer of the coup,did not want to read papal instructions, as a result he was summoned to Rome for the IV Lateran Council. While Langton was away, and the barons could not coordinate their actions to give the king a fitting rebuff, John continued to attack the rebel castles one by one. As a result, the latter urged the French crown prince to take the throne. In London, he was proclaimed king, although he was not crowned.
Last years of life
King John in the fall of 1216 launched a new offensive. His army left the Cotswold Hills, simulating attempts to liberate Windsor Castle, but attacked London in the direction of Cambridge. His goal was to undermine the forces of the barons in Lincolnshire and in the east of the country. The actions of the monarch were very ambiguous: at first he led his troops north, but then he returned east to Lynn (possibly for additional supplies). In Lynn, John the Landless catches dysentery.
At this very time, Alexander II attacked England, he concluded an agreement with Crown Prince Louis of France and now collected fees from English possessions for him. John was not able to intercept Alexander, but, on the other hand, the barons had more and more disagreements with Louis, and some of them began to support John again.
Shortly before his death, John was retreating across the Wash, but he was caught by a sudden tide that could aggravate his illness. King John died on October 19, 1216 in Newark from dysentery. However, for a long time there were rumors that he was poisoned. With his approach to government, this was notwould be no surprise. The king was buried in the city of Worcester.
The ninth son of John Henry became the new ruler, all the barons recognized him as ruler, and Louis' claims to the English throne remained as such.
