Brother to Richard I, John was Henry II's youngest son. Although his father made him lord of Ireland, John always felt he had been shortchanged. Indeed, he came to be nicknamed 'Lackland'.
When Richard ascended the throne, John was given massive estates covering six English counties as well as Mortain in Normandy. But he plotted against the king while the latter was abroad, so acquiring the label 'nature's enemy' (in the words of William of Newburgh), a villainous reputation that has clung to him ever since.
While Richard was being held captive in Austria, John set up his own alternative court and tried to seize the throne. However, Richard had enough support to buy his freedom, and on his return, John begged the king's forgiveness and remained largely loyal to his brother.
On finally becoming monarch in 1199, John was faced with a challenge from his nephew Arthur of Brittany (his brother Geoffrey's son) and is thought to have had him murdered in 1203. This sapped his support in France and he managed to lose control of both Normandy (at the battle of Bouvines in 1214) and Anjou. He now added the negative nickname 'Softsword' to the ones he already had.
Then he fell out with Pope Innocent III over the appointment of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. England was put under a papal interdict, which meant that the clergy refused to conduct marriage or burial ceremonies. When John confiscated Church property in retaliation, the pope declared him deposed and Philip II Augustus of France was charged with executing the sentence. However, John bought off His Holiness by handing over England as a papal fiefdom and agreeing to pay 1,000 marks a year in tribute.
All this was an unpopular move, as was raising taxes to pay for a campaign to win back lost lands. John's standing dropped even further when the military adventures failed.
In 1215 at Runnymede, he was forced to acknowledge a list of grievances that became known as Magna Carta, or 'Great Charter'. This required men to be judged by their peers before being punished and introduced the idea of the country as a 'commune' with the right to call the king to account for his actions.
John soon repudiated the document, an attitude that led to civil war. English nobles decided they preferred the French dauphin – the future Louis VIII – who invaded in May 1216. When John died of dysentery in October while fighting a rearguard action against French-backed rebels, a French force was occupying London.
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 King John
www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/j
ohn_i_king.shtml
Concise biography of this controversial monarch. Try the links in the right-hand column, which will take you to a number of well-researched essays on aspects of John's reign. Part of the BBC History website.
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King John by Ralph V Turner (Longman, 1994)
This biography makes use of the history of John's childhood to understand the flaws in his adult personality. It incorporates recent advances in our knowledge of the economy of the times, which have revealed how John's finances were bedevilled by inflationary pressures that were beyond his understanding and that of his contemporaries. It also gives due weight to John's continental dominions and his role on the European stage.
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King John by W L Warren (Yale University Press, 1997)
This is a study both of the king and his political misfortunes and of his times. John is set against the background of his predecessors, of the society in which he lived and of problems independent of his making.
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