John the Landless, King of England. John the Landless - biography of King John the Landless of England in English

Each of the kings of England became famous for his valor, wisdom, integrity and nobility. But there were also unfortunate exceptions. King John the Landless of England 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 edifying, they began to consider him unlucky and they stopped calling children that way.

Meet John!

John the Landless, also known as King John of England, was born on December 24, 1167 in Oxford. Since 1199, he ruled England, was the Duke of Aquitaine from the Plantagenet dynasty and the youngest (more precisely, the fifth) son of Henry II.

The reign of John the Landless is considered the most catastrophic in the entire existence of England. It began with the conquest of Normandy by the French king. And it ended in a riot that practically removed King John of England from the throne.

Why did people not like the reign of the new king? First, in 1213 he agreed that England would become the Pope's vassal lands. Secondly, in 1215 the English barons rebelled against him and forced John the Landless to sign the Magna Carta. Thirdly, due to exorbitantly high taxes and constant (and most importantly, ineffective) aggression against France, John's reputation was so bad that none of the subsequent kings named his child after him. The only thing that will remember 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 the 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 received 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 Henry. 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 own English and Irish lands and promised not to appear in the country until Richard returned from the Crusade. Some time later he marries the heiress of the Earl of Gloucester. True, they separated after John’s coronation due to consanguinity, so she cannot be considered the Queen of England.

In 1190, Richard announced that Arthur, the son of Geoffrey's deceased younger brother, would succeed him. Hearing this news, John broke his oath and invaded the lands of England, in protest he wanted to overthrow the regent Richard.

Around the same time, Richard returns from a campaign and ends up in captivity in Germany. John asks (the Emperor of Germany) to keep Richard as long as possible. While the current ruler of England was in captivity, John entered into an alliance with King Philip II Augustus of France and tried to seize control of England.

In 1193 he was forced to sign a truce. Richard, who emerged from 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 were returned, and after some time he was named the future ruler.

Reign period

John the Landless became king of England in 1199, when Richard died. Of course, Arthur had more legitimate claims to the throne, and 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 own John as king, albeit unlucky and unloved.

The English barons understood that they were in a very disadvantageous and weak position, so they turned to King Philip II Augustus of France for support, because John was his vassal on his French lands. In 1200, King John of England abandoned his legal wife and immediately married Isabella of Angoulême, whom he stole from under the crown of his vassal. The abandoned groom immediately began to write complaints against John Philip II.

During the first two years of his reign, Philip II received a lot of all kinds of complaints about the new king, 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 Mirabeau Castle. If the 78-year-old old woman had not organized the defense, the castle would have easily fallen, but the defenders held out until July 31, 1202, when King John of England came to the castle. He captured his nephew Arthur 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 (overseer) was unable to carry it out. In 1203, Arthur was transported to the castle of Rouen under the responsibility of William de Braose. From this 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 Lackland, the English did not gain any advantage in the war. The King of England was experiencing severe financial problems. The way he behaved with Arthur and other captives did not add to his popularity and supporters, moreover, Philip did not retreat, but continued to counterattack. In 1204 France took Rouen and Château-Gaillard. In just two years (from 1202 to 1204), the English king John the Landless lost a significant part of his state possessions. Literally from under his nose, Normandy, Maine, Anjou, part of Poitou were taken away, and, according to the treaty of 1206, Touraine was also given to Philip II.

Theological issues

In 1207 the pope 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 entire country, that is, a ban on holding various types of religious services.

This did not frighten John very much, as he began to confiscate church lands. In 1209, by decree of the pope, King John the Landless was excommunicated, and in 1212 all Englishmen were released from their 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 to invade England, its king had already stopped fighting, 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 Bouvines.

General dissatisfaction

After King John the Landless of England lost the battle of Buvin and lost all his possessions on the continent, he returned to his country. Immediately after his return, he ordered the collection of taxes from the barons who did not participate in the military campaign. Each baron had to pay 40 silver shillings for one knight's fief. New levies (taxes) marked the beginning of mass discontent and active resistance of the nobility.

The northern barons were the first to give the signal to move; they flatly refused to pay such exorbitant taxes. Barons from the east also joined the northern counties.

On November 4, 1214, a meeting of the current monarch of England and the barons took place at Edmondsbury Abbey. True, this did not produce 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 refused to revive in the country the laws of Edward the Confessor and the rights written in the Charter, then they would all simultaneously go to war against John the Landless and would not retreat until he signed the Charter and certified their demands with the 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 could go to the king to present demands. As soon as the Christmas holidays ended, the barons sent their envoys to the king. He accepted them on January 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 written in the Charter of King Henry I. Naturally, John was informed of what consequences would await him if he will refuse to sign such a document. He asked for a truce and promised that at Easter he would restore all the laws of Edward.

Frankly speaking, 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 for free church elections, a decree on taking an oath to the king and took the vow of a crusader, assuming that he would then be protected by the Roman Church.

But this was not at all what the barons demanded. In Stamford they had already managed to gather two thousand knights and after Easter they headed to Brackley.

According to the chronicler

Matvey Parish in his chronicle spoke about this event in this way. As soon as John learned that the army assembled by the barons was heading towards him, he sent the archbishop, Marshal William, Earl of Pembroke and several other smart people to him so that they would find out exactly what laws and liberties were being discussed.

Having met 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 adopt these laws, but this time by force.

The archbishop brought this message to the king and read him chapter by chapter all the demands. As soon as the king heard the contents of these articles, he laughed maliciously, saying that their demands were not based on any right. The king also added that he would never in his life agree to make concessions that would make him a slave. Stephen Langton and William Marshal tried to persuade the king, but it was all in vain: John the Landless refused to sign the Magna Carta.

The barons immediately renounced their vassal allegiance to the king as soon as they received an answer from him. They elected Robert Fitz-Walter as leader and moved to Northampton, and then to Bedford. The rebellion received the support of London. The “undercover” envoys invited the barons to perform in London, guaranteeing that the capital would take their side.

On May 15, 1215, the barons' revolt began in London. Messengers were sent from the capital to all English counties with an appeal 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 Carta

In the current 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 Pope's legate Pandulf, were invited to act as mediators. The king had to, albeit reluctantly, put a seal on the petitions of the barons, where all the demands were listed. In historical chronicles, this document was called the Baronial Articles.

From June 15 to June 19, the Magna Carta was written on the basis of the Baronial Articles, which the king also had to sign. If the Baronial Articles were similar in nature to an agreement between the baron and the 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 and 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 treaty. If the monarch does not follow the Charter and the Baronial Articles, the nobles will revolt again.

A rematch

But the king did not even think of fulfilling 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 restrictions on power established by the Charter by any means. Therefore, he complained to Pope Innocent III. He was annoyed that this issue was resolved by armed uprising. He issued a special bull (August 24, 1215), where he declared that the Charter had no force and the king was exempt from the oath. He called the document itself an illegal, unfair and shameful agreement.

Archbishop Langton, who was the ideological and spiritual inspirer of the coup, did not want to read out the 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 worthy rebuff, John continued to attack the rebel castles one after another. As a result, the latter called for 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 launched a new offensive in the fall of 1216. His army marched from the Cotsold Hills, simulating attempts to relieve Windsor Castle, but struck London towards Cambridge. His goal was to undermine the baronial forces in Lincolnshire and the east of the country. The monarch's actions were quite controversial: he first led his troops north, but then returned east to Lynn (possibly for additional supplies). In Lynn, John the Landless contracts dysentery.

At this very time, Alexander II attacked England; he entered into an agreement with the Crown Prince of France, Louis, and now collected taxes for him from English possessions. John was unable to intercept Alexander, but, on the other hand, the barons had increasing disagreements with Louis, and some of them again began to support John.

Shortly before his death, John was crossing the Wash during his retreat, but he was caught by an unexpected tide, which could have aggravated 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. Given his approach to governing, this would not be surprising. The king was buried in the city of Worcester.

John's ninth son, Henry, became the new ruler; all the barons recognized him as ruler, and Louis' claims to the English throne remained as such.

As a rule, the youngest child in the family is in a special position. His parents are less strict with him, he is surrounded by their care and love. But this is in ordinary families, but in royal families the situation is different. In any case, this was the case in the Middle Ages, and the life of John the Landless, the youngest son of Henry Plantagenet, is proof of this.

Plantagenet Dynasty

Henry Beauclerc announced on his deathbed that his daughter Matilda would inherit the English throne. The barons, however, decided in their own way: they preferred to elect her cousin, Stephen of Blois, as king. The very thought that they would be ruled by a woman made them indignant. All this became the reason that an internecine struggle for the throne broke out in England, which lasted more than 15 years.

Shortly before his death, Stephen nevertheless recognized Matilda's son Henry as his successor. Therefore, he was able to be crowned in 1154, becoming the founder of a dynasty that ruled England until 1399.

The founder of the Plantagenet family is Geoffrey the Handsome - Matilda's husband and Henry's father. II . The chronicles claim that he liked to decorate with a branch of gorse (in Latin planta -genista) your helmet. This is how the nickname was born, which later became the family name of several English kings.

The Plantagenet dynasty was of French origin, since Henry's father II belonged to the family of the Counts of Anjou, and his mother belonged to the Dukes of Normandy. Their vast land holdings were located on French territory. The tangled territorial, vassal and dynastic relations between France and England later led to the Hundred Years' War.

Twice Queen

Even before ascending the English throne, Henry married the Duchess of Aquitaine. Alienora was an extraordinary woman even by modern standards. She was distinguished not only by her beauty, determination and energy, but also by her excellent education.

Together with her first husband, King Louis of France VII , she traveled to Palestine, participating in the Second Crusade. Then she divorced him, but soon remarried Henry, Count of Anjou, who was 9 years younger than her (the exact date of birth is unknown).

Two years later, Henry inherited the throne of England. So Eleanor became queen for the second time. All historians agree that for almost 20 years after the wedding, harmony reigned in the royal family, despite the king’s numerous love affairs.

Late child

Ambitious Henry II , who had a violent temperament, suited Alienor more than Louis of France. They had five sons (one of them died in childhood) and three daughters. The youngest child of the royal couple was John (John). He was born when Eleanor was about 45 years old (in December 1166).

By that time, lands in England and on the continent had already been promised to his brothers. In addition, the father clearly singled out his eldest son (also Henry), and the mother’s love was entirely given to Richard, who later received the nickname Lionheart. These circumstances subsequently left a deep imprint on the personality of John the Landless.

Why Landless?

In the autumn of 1170 Henry II suddenly fell ill in Normandy during a military campaign. Everyone was sure that the king's days were numbered. Therefore, he stated his last will regarding succession to the throne and division of possessions. Thus, what he had previously expressed verbally now took on legal form. According to the chronicler Roger of Hovden, the king disposed of his possessions as follows:

« ... to his son Richard he gave the duchy of Aquitaine and all the lands he received from his mother Alienor; he granted Brittany to his son Geoffrey... To his son Henry he gave Normandy and all the lands owned by his father Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. And he made sure that his three sons became vassals of Louis, king of France. And to his son John, who was still too young, he gave the county of Mortain».

From the chronicle it is clear that only the youngest son found himself without land, so to speak. He found neither a dukedom nor a worthy county in his father's possessions, since the county of Mortain could not be compared with Anjou.

Perhaps this circumstance and a certain feeling of guilt awakened in Henry a tender love for his youngest son. He began to seriously think about conquering Ireland in order to give it as a hereditary inheritance to the deprived John, whom his contemporaries nicknamed John Lackland.

Plantagenet family feud

Researchers today continue to argue about the reasons for the discord in the royal family, which then led to the war between sons and father. But they agree on one thing: Alienor spent more time with the children, therefore, her influence on them was decisive. She supported the desire of her older sons to rule independently, taking their side in the struggle with their father for power.

The fact is that in that era, English and French kings crowned their eldest sons during their own lifetimes. In this way they sought to secure the throne for the ruling dynasty. Henry Plantagenet did likewise, crowning his eldest son in mid-1170.

And if the father pursued only dynastic goals, then his 15-year-old son perceived the ceremony as the right to share power in the kingdom. In the same year, another event occurred: Henry, thinking that his death hour had struck, made a will, as described above. From that moment on, the sons, except for John, wanted to gain real power in the domains allotted to them, and the mother was entirely on their side. Only the young John the Landless had not yet participated in the family feud.

Psychological portrait of Prince John

To understand the actions of any historical character, it is necessary to turn to the surviving information about his childhood. In this context we are talking about the youngest son in the king's family. In the Middle Ages, this meant that the throne was practically unattainable for him.

Moreover, as noted above, John the Landless did not inherit any significant property from his father. And one more point noted by all chroniclers of that time: Prince John differed in appearance from his older brothers.

If the men from the Plantagenet family fully corresponded to the medieval standard (physically strong, handsome, fair-haired), then eyewitnesses described John as short, frail (in comparison with his brothers), with an unclean face.

He was born just at a time when there was an estrangement between his father and mother. Henry became seriously interested in Rosamund Clifford, which is why Eleanor left England, retiring to her lands on the continent. However, the mother’s heart was completely given to Richard, but there was no place in it for little Prince John.

Growing up in such an atmosphere, John the Landless probably acquired those character traits for which chroniclers did not like him and modern historians criticized him. He learned to dodge and be cunning, trying to find his place within his own family. Very early on, he understood which side in the conflict between his father and older brothers was more profitable to take at the moment, etc. In short, there is a completely logical explanation for John’s unsightly qualities.

Lord of Ireland

On the last day of March 1185, 19-year-old John was knighted by his father at Windsor Castle. By the end of the 12th century, initiation had already become a strictly regulated ceremony. Only scions of noble families could pass it after completing intensive military training.

The idea of ​​conquering Ireland haunted Henry from the moment he ascended the throne of England. Back in 1177, at a council in Oxford, he declared his son John ruler of the neighboring island, although it had not yet been conquered. In this way, the father wanted to resolve the issue of his “landlessness.” After being knighted, John sailed to Ireland with 60 ships, accompanied by an impressive army.

From the very first days, he and the young knights from his inner circle antagonized the local population. John preferred to spend the money received from his father for the maintenance of the army on wine, women and other pleasures. As a result, the soldiers went over to the Irish side, and Henry was forced to recall him back to England six months later.

Son against father, brother against brother

In the early 70s. XII centuries, John's three older brothers, incited by their mother, rebelled against their father, demanding real power in the domains allocated to them. The king was in no hurry to share it, feeling still full of strength.

During one of the military campaigns, the eldest of the brothers, Henry, died suddenly of illness (1183). And since his father loved John, despite his failure in Ireland, he suggested that Richard, who was to inherit the English crown, abandon Aquitaine in favor of his “landless” brother.

Henry, for his part, advised John to take the duchy by force of arms. Together with another brother, Geoffrey, John set out on a campaign. It did not bring the expected result, and the father tried to reconcile his three sons by summoning them to England for this purpose. But civil strife within the Plantagenet family continued.

When Geoffrey died in a tournament in 1186, from that time on the English throne no longer seemed out of reach for John. On the way to him, he either acted in alliance with his father, or, if it was beneficial for him, he shamelessly betrayed him, going over to Richard’s side.

Schemer and defector

Military operations with short truces lasted about three years. During this time, John moved several times from one camp to another. Finally, in the summer of 1189, it became clear that Henry had lost the war. He courageously listened to the humiliating demands and agreed to fulfill them.

He only asked that the names of all the barons who sided with Richard and the King of France be read to him. John's name was first on the list of traitors. The deceit of the youngest son was the last straw. The sick king, abandoned by everyone, died a few days later on a July day in 1189.

Two months later, John married his second cousin Isabella Gloucester.

After the death of his father, Richard received the English crown. However, he preferred Aquitaine, which he loved passionately, so he spent most of his time there. England was for him only a source of money.

Richard the Lionheart

Although Richard knew about John's fickleness, he still trusted him by sending him to pacify the rebellion in Wales. And before being sent to the Third Crusade, he added the County of Devon to his possessions. John eventually gained complete control of the west of England.

Richard was absent for about three years, during which John tried to take advantage of the prevailing circumstances. He advanced his interests by pitting his brother’s supporters and his opponents against each other. He did not hesitate to accept bribes and even intended to enter into an alliance with the French king. And only the intervention of his mother and the prelates, who threatened to take away his castles, stopped John.

On the way to the throne

When news of the capture of Richard, who was returning from Palestine, came to England, John took a step that fully revealed his desire to take the throne. While Eleanor collected money to pay the ransom requested for his son's release, he paid Emperor Henry of Hohenstaufen to keep his brother in captivity as long as possible.

However, John did not stop there. He again entered into an agreement with the French king, began to openly attack Richard's castles and gather around himself everyone who was dissatisfied with his brother, while simultaneously spreading rumors about his death in captivity. However, John’s intrigues did not achieve their goal - Richard returned to his homeland in the spring of 1194. He nobly forgave his brother for his failed attempt to seize the throne and even made him his heir.

Nevertheless, the question of succession to the throne was still raised after the death of Richard (1199). A certain part of the nobility advocated the coronation of Arthur, the son of Geoffrey. This meant that the nephew would always pose a threat to John. In the “Margam Annals” for 1203, the version of the reprisal of the English king with the pretender to the throne is stated as follows:

“Having captured Arthur, King John kept him prisoner for some time. Finally, on Thursday, the eve of Easter, the king, drunk with wine and possessed by a demon, killed him with his own hands. Then, tying a huge stone to his body, he threw the corpse into the Seine.”

The Assassination of Arthur of Brittany, 19th century engraving

Today it is difficult to say how much this story corresponds to real events. However, it is known that after the death of Arthur of Brittany, many of John's knights passed from him to the French king, with whom during the next 1204 they captured the Plantagenet castles on the continent.

By that time, the king had already divorced his first wife and married Isabella of Angoulême (1200).

At the head of the kingdom

Neither medieval chroniclers nor modern historians find anything attractive in the personality of John Lackland, king of England. Lacking the virtues that were inherent in his father and brother Richard, he was similar to them only in his vices.

John was known as an avid hunter and lover of jewelry. Unreliable and treacherous, cruel with prisoners and arrogant with his subjects - this is the unflattering description given to him by medieval chronicles. In addition, he was deprived of military talents, so by 1206 the Plantagenets had lost almost all their possessions on the continent.

And the kingdom itself plunged into chaos during the reign of John the Landless. This was facilitated by the quarrel he started with Pope Innocent III for the appointment of Archbishop of Canterbury. The pontiff imposed an interdict not only on the rebellious monarch, but on all of England. There were no religious services in the country for two years. In the Middle Ages, when the church played one of the main roles in all spheres of life, this was a very serious punishment, which did not add popularity to the already not very beloved king.

After the pope threatened to excommunicate and release his subjects from the oath given to John, he began to levy exorbitant taxes in order to provide himself with the means necessary to resist Rome. His despotism seemed to know no bounds: the children of vassals were taken hostage, and any resistance, regardless of the laws, was persecuted with particular cruelty.

In such conditions, many barons began to seek rapprochement with the French king, to whom the pope “gave” the kingdom of England, and declared John himself deposed. A rebellion was brewing in the army; even ordinary soldiers were dissatisfied with the despotic monarch. Therefore, John was forced to submit to the pope in the spring of 1213.

English "constitution"

The year 1214 went down in English history as the year of adoption . The war that began in winter ended with John having to recognize the monarch of France as the sovereign of all continental possessions that previously belonged to the Plantagenets. Military failures and the king's autocracy led to a rebellion among the English nobility and Londoners.

John, fleeing, took refuge in the Tower, from where in the summer of 1215 he moved along the Thames to Windsor. After a discussion that took place under pressure from the rebel barons, he was forced to sign and affix his seal to the Magna Carta. In the history of Europe, this was the first document that legalized some civil liberties and rights. In essence, the charter limited the autocracy, arbitrariness and brute force of the monarch. From this point of view, it can be called the predecessor of future constitutions.

The last years of the life of John the Landless

Having signed the charter, the king, however, was not going to give up. He complained to the Pope. Innocent III agreed that the document was shameful, illegal and unfair. However, the rebel barons did what John himself had once done with his brother Richard: they turned to the French king for help.

And in 1216, Prince Louis entered London, where the English nobility took the oath to him. Meanwhile, John, fleeing, wandered throughout the kingdom. He set fire to those cities that refused to help him, devastated and ravaged the rebellious territories. In the fall, while crossing the Wash, the royal baggage train sank along with the crown jewels.

How did John the Landless die? The cause of death was dysentery, from which no one was immune in those days. Shortly before his death, John confessed and appointed his son Henry as his successor. The exact number of children of John the Landless is unknown; many of them were born from the king's numerous extramarital affairs, and therefore were not recorded in the chronicles. In his legal marriage he had 5 children.

The English monarch died at the age of 48 in October 1216 in Newark. He was abandoned by almost everyone and exhausted by illness. Even before his mortal remains were transferred to Worcester Cathedral, where they rest to this day, the servants plundered the king's remaining property. Such was the sad end of the unpopular monarch.

The severity with which Henry II ruled England created discontent against him in the country. At all the power of the English kings was quite significant, and opposition had already begun against Henry II at the end of his reign. Eldest son of Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, reigned for a very short time. Having ascended the throne, he set off on the Third Crusade, from which he was captured by Emperor Henry VI on his way back. This knight and poet was succeeded on the royal throne by his brother John the Landless(1199–1216), whose reign was especially important for England. A completely reckless and extremely despotic man, through murder he removed his nephew (Arthur), who had much more rights to occupy the throne, from the throne, but with all his behavior he armed several enemies against himself at once - and the French king Philip II Augustus whose vassal was over the lands on the mainland, and the pope Innocent III, raised the significance of his rank to an unattainable height, and the main classes of the population in England itself. The King of France called him to the court of peers for the murder of his own nephew and, when John did not appear at the trial, he took it away from him. Normandy(with Brittany) and most of Aquitaine (Battle of Bouvine in 1214). The king incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III by the unauthorized appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury, when the pope gave this place to another - a certain Stefan Langton. John the Landless seized the archbishop's estates, but the pope put England under interdict, that is, he announced the cessation of worship in it, which aroused terrible displeasure in the country against the king, who brought it to such a measure with his resistance to the pope. At the same time, John personally was declared excommunicated and removed from the throne, Moreover, the pope gave his kingdom to the French king.

Then John humbled himself and solemnly recognized England as a papal fief, and himself a vassal of the pope, as a sign of which he laid the crown at the feet of the papal legate and undertook to pay an annual tribute to the Roman high priest. John's barons were terribly annoyed by all this. Many of them had lands in France and were interested in retaining Normandy and other provinces for England. They gave John a lot of money to wage war with Philip Augustus, but the frivolous king conducted the war very badly, and squandered the money without any benefit. In addition, the barons were burdened arbitrariness, with whom John, as a feudal overlord, collected duties during the transfer of fiefs by inheritance, took care of his young vassals, forced the heirs of the feuds to marry whomever he pleased, etc. The next year after the defeat of John by Philip Augustus English barons rebelled against him with arms in hand, and joined them London, capital of the kingdom. Then John the Landless made concessions and 1215 in a meadow near Windsor signed the letter by which all these concessions were approved.

181. Magna Carta

This charter is known as Magna Carta and is of the utmost importance in the history of England, since it laid the foundation the beginning of the development of English political freedom. The main content of the charter is purely feudal. It determined most of all the mutual relations between the king and his vassals in view of the king’s previous abuses of his suzerain rights. But the charter also included articles that were important not only for royal vassals, since the barons were supported by both the clergy and the townspeople. The Charter therefore confirmed the old church rights And liberties of urban communities(civitates). Defending their rights, the barons, i.e., royal vassals, extended the benefits received to their own vassals, i.e. knights and reprimanded well-known provisions not only free people but even serfs(villans). The various liberties listed in the charter concerned, in addition to feudal relations, bureaucratic administration, court, imposition of fines, entry and exit abroad, etc., but articles that ensured personal integrity and participation of the nation in the establishment of taxes. No free man could be subjected to imprisonment, confiscation of property, exile, etc., except by the decision of his peers (equals) and by the law of the land. To assign taxes (votes of subsidies), except for cases of payment of feudal dues, the king was finally obliged to convene a general congress of prelates and barons. Knowing John's treachery, the barons included another article in the great charter, by virtue of which a council of 25 barons was supposed to oversee the execution of the treaty, and if the king violated it, start a rebellion against him.

Copy of Magna Carta from the British Library

The Magna Carta of 1215 in the history of the Middle Ages was not the only charter that approved the agreement between the king and his subjects, but none had such historical significance as this one. Because of her, however, the English barons had to withstand another struggle. John the Landless received permission from the pope to break this promise and began a war with the barons, but just at that time he died, and the guardian of his young son, Henry III, had to confirm the charter. In the 13th century it was confirmed, moreover, several more times.

John was 32 years old when he ascended the throne. None of his contemporary chroniclers found kind words about him. The king was a lazy man and filled with base feelings. He had neither the creative energy of Henry II nor the brilliant qualities of Richard I. He resembled them only in his vices.

Devoid of moral and religious principles, he was cunning and cruel; he was a bad man who became a bad king. His turbulent reign is filled with three major clashes: the fight with the French king Philip Augustus, the fight with the church and, finally, the fight with his own barons.

The war with France began immediately after Richard's death, since Philip II did not recognize John's rights to the throne and transferred all continental possessions - Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou - to John's nephew Arthur (the son of his older brother Godfrey). John crossed to France, and clashes took place in Le Mans and Angers. However, both kings wanted to make peace quickly and entered into negotiations. In March 1200, a treaty was signed in Goulay, according to which John ceded the county of Evreux to Philip, gave his niece Blanca of Castile to Louis of France and gave her fiefs in Berry and Normandy as a dowry. He also agreed to pay Philip £2,000. On these terms, John was recognized as King of England and Duke of Normandy with supreme rights to Brittany.

A short time later, John obtained from the pope the destruction of the marriage he had concluded 11 years earlier and remained childless with his cousin Isabella of Gloucester. He then took Isabella Taillefer, daughter of Count Aymard of Angoulême, from her fiancé, Count Hugo IX of March, and married her in August 1200. The Lusignans were his vassals. The more they felt this resentment and rebelled. They then rejected the trial that John offered them and appealed to their overlord, the French king (1201). Philip, despite the fact that shortly before this he had solemnly received John and his new wife in Paris, was glad of the opportunity that allowed him to act illegally in compliance with legal forms, and summoned John to trial. When all the established deadlines had passed, and John had not appeared in France, the court of peers declared him guilty of treason on the basis of feudal law (April 1202). This sentence meant that the English king could no longer own the fiefs of the French king and that the latter had the right to take away from him by force those fiefs that he still illegally held for himself. Indeed, Philip, relying on this verdict, invaded Normandy and at the same time brought Arthur of Brittany back onto the political stage; he promised him the hand of his daughter Mary, knighted him and sent him west with a small detachment of 200 horsemen. The young count was suddenly overtaken by his uncle, who arrested him along with most of his men. There is no reliable news about the further fate of the unfortunate young man. But there is a legend that he was secretly taken from the Falaise castle to the capital of Normandy. On a dark night, John sailed to Rouen Castle, ordered his nephew to be brought, plunged a sword into his chest, then into his temple, took the body into a boat and drowned it in the river three leagues below Rouen (April 1203). This murder gave the French king a plausible excuse to continue the war, rejecting any proposals for peace. The Chamber of French Peers again summoned John to trial in Paris; he, of course, did not appear, was declared guilty of murder and deprived of all fiefs. French troops entered Normandy and began to conquer one city after another. Meanwhile, John remained idle in Caen, organizing magnificent holidays and amusing himself with his young wife (with whom, according to the chronicler, “he continued his morning sleep until lunch”) Every day messengers came to him with news of the enemy’s successes. He, however, could not do anything, since all the English barons, convinced of the incorrigible baseness of their king, withdrew, leaving him in Normandy alone with a very insignificant retinue of knights. When the French appeared near Rouen, the king sailed to England. Left without support and help, Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Poitou with their cities and castles, with the exception of La Rochelle, Thouars and Nières, went over to Philip's side. Only in 1206, John with a large army landed in La Rochelle and captured Montauban and Angers. But at the first appearance of the French, he retreated to La Rochelle and began negotiations from here. A truce was concluded for two years. By this time, almost nothing remained of the Plantagenet possessions on the continent.

Almost at the same time, John began to quarrel with Pope Innocent III. In 1205 there was great controversy over the election of a new Archbishop of Canterbury. With the consent of John, a deputation of 14 monks was sent to Rome, who, not paying attention to the voting rights of their brothers, allowed the pope to autocratically install the Englishman Stephen Langton, who lived in Rome, as Archbishop of Canterbury (1207). Upon learning of this, John became terribly angry. Without recognizing the elections held in Rome, he forbade the deputies to return to England. Innocent tried for a long time to persuade John to cancel this decision, but, seeing that the king was stubborn, he imposed an interdict on England in 1208. These measures, in all likelihood, would have remained without consequences if John's tyranny had not led the entire English clergy to the need to seek protection from the pope against secular power. Therefore, the interdict was observed by the clergy with all severity, and for two years no services or church services were performed in England. John cruelly persecuted the clergy for their stubbornness: he expelled bishops, put them in prison, took away church estates, and once freed from trial a priest accused of murder, saying that anyone who killed a clergyman was his friend.

Since the pope threatened excommunication and permission for his subjects to take the oath, John tried to take measures to be able to resist. He surrounded himself with mercenaries, took children hostage from vassals, imposed onerous taxes, and extended his despotism to the extent that he persecuted and punished all resistance, regardless of law and right. Later, the charges against him stated that he constantly raped noble girls and ladies who were his hostages. And indeed, in addition to six legitimate children from Isabella, John left behind many bastard sons and daughters. At the same time, he abused the already intolerable laws on forests and hunting to the extreme. Many English barons, embittered by the king's despotism, entered into relations with the French monarch, and the pope, after much hesitation, decided on extreme measures. In 1212, repeating the excommunication, he declared John dethroned and handed over the kingdom of England to Philip Augustus. Philip Augustus gladly accepted the pope's offer and began to prepare for a crusade that was supposed to bring him the blessing of the church and a new kingdom. John gathered no less strength than Philip. But soon the king’s own army began to inspire no less fear than the enemy’s. Everyone in it, from ordinary warriors to the nobility, was gripped by discontent and inclined toward rebellion. Many barons were only waiting for the French to appear before they could join them. Feeling a threat from all sides, John soon realized that the war would be disastrous for him. He hesitated to set sail and became completely disheartened. At this time, the papal legate Pandolf came to him and presented the conditions under which Innocent was ready to make peace with the English king and lift his excommunication. These conditions were difficult, but John grabbed them as if they were the last straw. On May 13, 1213, in the presence of his nobles, he swore on the Gospel that he submitted to the verdict of the pope. The king recognized Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, promised to abolish restrictive measures against the church and return all possessions taken from it. He recognized the kingdom of England as a papal fief and promised to pay the pope one thousand marks of silver as tribute. After this, Pandolph went to Philip and forbade him to start a war with John until he received new instructions from the pope. Philip sent his army against Flanders. On May 20, Langton, who arrived in Winchester, solemnly lifted the church excommunication from the king. At the same time, John promised to restore the good laws of his predecessors, and especially the laws of King Edward, to destroy bad laws and judge everyone according to the order established by the court. He made this promise with a light heart, not suspecting what great significance it would have for himself and for his descendants.

On August 23, 1213, a large meeting of the barons took place in London, in St. Paul's Church. Although the reason for the meeting was not of great importance - the consideration of some canonical rules, but at a secret meeting of the main state officials, the archbishop said the following: “You know that the conditions for removing the king from excommunication from the church consisted of the destruction of bad laws and the restoration of the good laws of King Edward the Confessor in the entire state. Now the charter of King Henry I, King of England, has been found, and the possibility of restoring the primitive liberties so often violated!” And he read the found charter. At that time, not rich in ideas, Edward’s laws were constantly referred to, they were mourned about them, but no one knew them. Langton's discovery was received with enthusiasm. Vague demands, which had little concern for John, now received precise and definite expressions; the English nation acquired rights that the barons were ready to defend to the last drop of blood. This was the beginning of the War of Magna Carta.

Meanwhile, John in February 1214 sailed to La Rochelle with part of the fleet and an army, the majority of which were mercenaries. His brother William was supposed to sail with the rest of the army to the Netherlands. At first the war went well: the British won victories in Anjou and Brittany, and forced Angers to surrender. But soon happiness changed for John. French troops gathered in Chinon, Philip's son Louis led them against the English king, and in the first half of July John was forced to retreat to La Rochelle with heavy losses. Soon after this, he heard about Otgon's defeat at Buvin. This destroyed all his hopes. John abandoned all thoughts of conquest, hastily made peace with the French king and, according to a treaty signed on September 18 in Chinon, recognized him as the sovereign of all possessions in France that had previously belonged to Plantagen.

Embittered by the failure, John returned to England in October. Before the outbreak of war, many barons of the northern counties refused to accompany the king to France. John now demanded a monetary reward from them for not participating in the campaign. In response, the barons met in Bury St. Edmonds for a meeting about means that could end the king's autocracy and restore the old laws. Having agreed among themselves on the method of action, they swore to remain unanimous. At Christmas, the nobles arrived in London in full armor, appeared to the king, who was then living in Temple Gose, and, on the basis of an old letter found by the archbishop, demanded that John renounce autocracy: not force the nobles to participate in foreign wars, abolish burdensome taxes, expelled foreign mercenaries from the kingdom, did not distribute fiefs to foreigners, and confirmed the laws of Edward, which he himself swore to observe in Winchester. John did not dare to answer with a decisive refusal and said that he must consider their demands and give an answer at Easter.

But both sides understood that their dispute could not be ended peacefully, and therefore they were preparing for war. The king placed detachments of mercenaries throughout the fortresses and enlisted the support of the pope. To do this, in January 1215 he gave the clergy a charter, which granted him freedom of election to church positions, and the next month he accepted the cross from the hands of the Bishop of London in order to come under the protection of the church. Innocent really took an ardent part in John's fate and tried with all his might to support him. But he was far away, and the barons were nearby. In addition, most of the English clergy, including the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, was on the side of the barons.

At Easter the nobles of northern England and many barons from other parts of the kingdom gathered at Brackley. With them were about 2 thousand knights and a very large number of warriors. In regular formation, with banners unfurled, they waged war against the castles occupied by the king's mercenaries. In May they approached the walls of Northampton. Then ambassadors from London arrived in their camp and announced that the townspeople were taking their side. On May 24, the barons occupied London. Lincoln and many other cities broke away from the king. Payments of taxes to the treasury stopped. The king fled the capital, and the ranks of his supporters noticeably thinned. When he arrived in Odigam, only seven knights remained in his retinue. Despite the hatred seething in his chest, John realized that he had to make concessions. He sent the Earl of Pembroke to the barons with the news that he agreed to accept all their demands. On June 15, he arrived at the barons' camp on the banks of the Thames near Windsor and signed a treaty on Ronnymede Meadow, later known as the Magna Carta. For several centuries it became the basis of the rights of the English people and the basic law of government. In essence, it did not change the previous charters, but it precisely defined what they expressed only in a general form. Among other provisions, she protected personal freedom by decreeing that no one could be arrested, detained, or subjected to personal or property punishment except on the basis of the law and by the verdict of their “peers.” The meaning of the Magna Carta can be defined in this way: the king renounced for himself and for his successors all restrictions on anyone's rights made by the Norman kings before him and especially by himself, and undertook to restore in full the order of government and legal proceedings based on the Anglo-Saxon and Norman customs. Of the individual articles of the Magna Carta, the most important were those that concerned the personal freedoms of citizens and gave a precise definition of taxes. So that John would not later give up his concessions, the barons took measures to protect the Charter. The king promised to disband all the mercenary troops that were the support of his tyranny, and agreed to the election of a committee of 25 barons. These barons had to strictly monitor compliance with the Charter and call on the nation to revolt if the violated right was not restored within 40 days.

The barons had every reason to be afraid. Very little time passed, and the Magna Carta was already under threat of repeal. John returned to Windsor embittered and humiliated. He sat silent in his castle, alienated from people, and thought about revenge. Instead of sending away the mercenaries, he secretly tried to increase their numbers by recruiting soldiers in France and Brabant. But most of all he hoped for dad. Soon, Innocent actually sent the barons a formidable bull, in which he sharply condemned the Charter and, under pain of excommunication, forbade its acceptance for execution. The barons took this threat as a declaration of war. They gathered near Oxford and turned to the French king asking for help against John and his mercenary troops. They announced that they were ready to recognize Philip's son Louis, married to John's niece Blanca of Castile, as king. Meanwhile, John had quietly moved from Windsor to the Isle of Wight. Three months later, considering that he already had enough strength, the king landed at Dover and besieged Rochester. After a stubborn defense, the castle fell. For his part, the pope excommunicated all the king's opponents and removed Langton from office for his alliance with the barons. In January 1216, John moved into the northern counties to suppress the rebellion in its very center. Burning villages, devastated fields and plundered castles showed the path his mercenaries took. He burned Berwick, Roxborg, Denbar and distributed the confiscated estates of his enemies to his favorites. In the same way, the south of England was ravaged by the king's brother William Longsword, and the eastern counties by the famous mercenary Savary de Mauleon. In March, the royal troops took Colchester. However, things soon changed. On May 21, Prince Louis landed on the Isle of Thanet at the mouth of the Thames, and from there crossed to Kent. On June 2, amid the joyful cries of the people, he entered London. John's position deteriorated sharply, especially after news of the death of Innocent III arrived. However, the king did not survive his patron for long. On his way north he suddenly fell ill. While crossing Weland, his convoy, heavily loaded with gold, dishes and jewelry, perished in the waves of the sea tide. The king received this news at Schwenshed Abbey. Then, says the chronicler, his grief at the loss of such wealth produced a terrible fever in him. The disease was further intensified by excessive and improper nutrition. John, barely alive, was taken to the castle of Novar. Here he died at night, on the eve of the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist.

King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned from 1199 to 1216. Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. J.: 1) from 1189 Isabella, daughter of Earl William of Gloucester (d. 1217); 2) from 1200 Isabella Taillefer, daughter of Count Eymard of Angoulême (d. 1246). Genus. 1167, d. 19 Oct 1216

John was 32 years old when he ascended the throne. None of his contemporary chroniclers found kind words about him. The king was a lazy man and filled with base feelings. He had neither the creative energy of Henry II nor the brilliant qualities of Richard I. He resembled them only in his vices. Devoid of moral and religious principles, he was cunning and cruel; he was a bad man who became a bad king. His turbulent reign is filled with three major clashes: the fight with the French king Philip Augustus, the fight with the church and, finally, the fight with his own barons.

The war with France began immediately after Richard's death, since Philip II did not recognize John's rights to the throne and transferred all continental possessions - Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou - to John's nephew Arthur (the son of his older brother Godfrey). John crossed to France, and clashes took place in Le Mans and Angers. However, both kings wanted to make peace quickly and entered into negotiations. In March 1200, a treaty was signed in Goulay, according to which John ceded the county of Evreux to Philip, gave his niece Blanca of Castile to Louis of France and gave her fiefs in Berry and Normandy as a dowry. He also agreed to pay Philip £2,000. On these terms, John was recognized as King of England and Duke of Normandy with supreme rights to Brittany.

A short time later, John obtained from the pope the destruction of the marriage he had concluded 11 years earlier and remained childless with his cousin Isabella of Gloucester. He then took Isabella Taillefer, daughter of Count Aymard of Angoulême, from her fiancé, Count Hugh IX of March, and married her in August 1200. The Lusignans were his vassals. The more they felt this resentment and rebelled. They then rejected the trial that John offered them and appealed to their overlord, the French king (1201). Philip, despite the fact that shortly before this he had solemnly received John and his new wife in Paris, was glad of the opportunity that allowed him to act illegally in compliance with legal forms, and summoned John to trial. When all the established deadlines had passed, and John had not appeared in France, the court of peers declared him guilty of treason on the basis of feudal law (April 1202). This sentence meant that the English king could no longer own the fiefs of the French king and that the latter had the right to take away from him by force those fiefs that he still illegally held for himself. Indeed, Philip, relying on this verdict, invaded Normandy and at the same time brought Arthur of Brittany back onto the political stage; he promised him the hand of his daughter Mary, knighted him and sent him west with a small detachment of 200 horsemen. The young count was suddenly overtaken by his uncle, who arrested him along with most of his men. No reliable news has been preserved about the further fate of the unfortunate Youth. But there is a legend that he was secretly taken from the Falaise castle to the capital of Normandy. On a dark night, John sailed to Rouen Castle, ordered his nephew to be brought, plunged a sword into his chest, then into his temple, took the body into a boat and drowned it in the river three leagues below Rouen (April 1203). This murder gave the French king a plausible excuse to continue the war, rejecting any proposals for peace. The Chamber of French Peers again summoned John to trial in Paris; he, of course, did not appear, was declared guilty of murder and deprived of all fiefs. French troops entered Normandy and began to conquer one city after another. Meanwhile, John was idle in Caen, organizing magnificent holidays and amusing himself with his young wife (with whom, according to the chronicler, “he continued his morning sleep until lunchtime”). Every day messengers came to him with news of the enemy’s successes. He, however, could not do anything, since all the English barons, convinced of the incorrigible baseness of their king, withdrew, leaving him in Normandy alone with a very insignificant retinue of knights. When the French appeared near Rouen, the king sailed to England. Left without support and help, Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Poitou with their cities and castles, with the exception of La Rochelle, Thouars and Nières, went over to Philip's side. Only in 1206, John with a large army landed in La Rochelle and captured Montauban and Angers. But at the first appearance of the French, he retreated to La Rochelle and began negotiations from here. A truce was concluded for two years. By this time, almost nothing remained of the Plantagenet possessions on the continent.

Almost at the same time, John began to quarrel with Pope Innocent III. In 1205 a great controversy arose over the election of a new Archbishop of Canterbury. With the consent of John, a deputation of 14 monks was sent to Rome, who, not paying attention to the voting rights of their brothers, allowed the pope to autocratically install the Englishman Stephen Langton, who lived in Rome, as Archbishop of Canterbury (1207). Upon learning of this, John became terribly angry. Without recognizing the elections held in Rome, he forbade the deputies to return to England. Innocent tried for a long time to persuade John to cancel this decision, but, seeing that the king was stubborn, he imposed an interdict on England in 1208. These measures, in all likelihood, would have remained without consequences if John's tyranny had not led the entire English clergy to the need to seek protection from the pope against secular power. Therefore, the interdict was observed by the clergy with all severity, and for two years no services or church services were performed in England. John cruelly persecuted the clergy for their stubbornness: he expelled bishops, put them in prison, took away church estates, and once freed from trial a priest accused of murder, saying that anyone who killed a clergyman was his friend.

Since the pope threatened excommunication and permission for his subjects to take the oath, John tried to take measures to be able to resist. He surrounded himself with mercenaries, took children hostage from vassals, imposed onerous taxes, and extended his despotism to the extent that he persecuted and punished all resistance, regardless of law and right. Later, the charges against him stated that he constantly raped noble girls and ladies who were his hostages. And indeed, in addition to six legitimate children from Isabella, John left behind many bastard sons and daughters. At the same time, he abused the already intolerable laws on forests and hunting to the extreme. Many English barons, embittered by the king's despotism, entered into relations with the French monarch, and the pope, after much hesitation, decided on an extreme measure. In 1212, repeating the excommunication, he declared John dethroned and handed over the kingdom of England to Philip Augustus. Philip Augustus gladly accepted the pope's offer and began to prepare for a crusade that was supposed to bring him the blessing of the church and a new kingdom. John gathered no less strength than Philip. But soon the king’s own army began to inspire no less fear than the enemy’s. Everyone in it, from ordinary warriors to the nobility, was gripped by discontent and inclined to revolt. Many barons were only waiting for the French to appear before they could join them. Feeling a threat from all sides, John soon realized that the war would be disastrous for him. He hesitated to set sail and became completely disheartened. At this time, the papal legate Pandolf came to him and presented the conditions under which Innocent was ready to make peace with the English king and lift his excommunication. These conditions were difficult, but John grabbed them as if they were the last straw. On May 13, 1213, in the presence of his nobles, he swore on the Gospel that he submitted to the verdict of the pope. The king recognized Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury, promised to abolish restrictive measures against the church and return all possessions taken from it. He recognized the kingdom of England as a papal fief and promised to pay the pope one thousand marks of silver as tribute. After this, Pandolph went to Philip and forbade him to start a war with John until he received new instructions from the pope. Philip sent his army against Flanders. On May 20, Langton, who arrived in Winchester, solemnly lifted the ecclesiastical excommunication from the king. At the same time, John promised to restore the good laws of his predecessors, and especially the laws of King Edward, to destroy the bad laws and to judge everyone according to the order established by the court. He made this promise with a light heart, not suspecting what great significance it would have for himself and for his descendants.

On August 23, 1213, a large meeting of the barons took place in London, in St. Paul's Church. Although the reason for the meeting was not of great importance - the consideration of some canonical rules, but at a secret meeting of the main state officials, the archbishop said the following: “You know that in the conditions of lifting the excommunication from the king, the destruction of bad laws and the restoration of the good laws of King Edward the Confessor in everything state. Now the charter of King Henry I, King of England, has been found, and the possibility of restoring the primitive liberties so often violated!” And he read the found charter. At that time, not rich in ideas, Edward’s laws were constantly referred to, they were mourned about them, but no one knew them. Langton's discovery was received with enthusiasm. Vague demands, which had little concern for John, now received precise and definite expressions; the English nation acquired rights that the barons were ready to defend to the last drop of blood. This was the beginning of the War of Magna Carta.

Meanwhile, John in February 1214 sailed to La Rochelle with part of the fleet and an army, the majority of which were mercenaries. His brother William was supposed to sail with the rest of the army to the Netherlands. At first the war went well: the British won victories in Anjou and Brittany, and forced Angers to surrender. But soon happiness changed for John. French troops gathered in Chinon, Philip's son Louis led them against the English king, and in the first half of July John was forced to retreat to La Rochelle with heavy losses. Soon after this he heard of Otto's defeat at Bouvines. This destroyed all his hopes. John abandoned all thoughts of conquest, hastily made peace with the French king and, according to a treaty signed on September 18 in Chinon, recognized him as the sovereign of all possessions in France that had previously belonged to the Plantagenets.

Embittered by the failure, John returned to England in October. Before the outbreak of war, many barons of the northern counties refused to accompany the king to France. John now demanded a monetary reward from them for not participating in the campaign. In response, the barons met in Bury St. Edmonds for a meeting about means that could end the king's autocracy and restore the old laws. Having agreed among themselves on the method of action, they swore to remain unanimous. At Christmas, the nobles arrived in London in full armor, appeared to the king, who was then living in Temple Gose, and, on the basis of an old letter found by the archbishop, demanded that John renounce autocracy: not force the nobles to participate in foreign wars, abolish burdensome taxes, expelled foreign mercenaries from the kingdom, did not distribute fiefs to foreigners, and confirmed the laws of Edward, which he himself swore to observe in Winchester. John did not dare to answer with a decisive refusal and said that he must consider their demands and give an answer at Easter. But both sides understood that their dispute could not be ended peacefully, and therefore they were preparing for war. The king placed detachments of mercenaries throughout the fortresses and enlisted the support of the pope. To do this, in January 1215, he gave the clergy a charter, which granted him freedom of election to church positions, and the next month he accepted the cross from the hands of the Bishop of London in order to come under the protection of the church. Innocent really took an ardent part in John's fate and tried with all his might to support him. But he was far away, and the barons were nearby. In addition, most of the English clergy, including the Archbishop of Canterbury himself, were on the side of the barons.

At Easter the nobles of northern England and many barons from other parts of the kingdom gathered at Brackley. With them were about 2 thousand knights and a very large number of warriors. In regular formation, with banners unfurled, they waged war against the castles occupied by the king's mercenaries. In May they approached the walls of Northampton. Then ambassadors from London arrived in their camp and announced that the townspeople were taking their side. On May 24, the barons occupied London. Lincoln and many other cities broke away from the king. Payments of taxes to the treasury stopped. The king fled the capital, and the ranks of his supporters noticeably thinned. When he arrived in Odigam, only seven knights remained in his retinue. Despite the hatred seething in his chest, John realized that he had to make concessions. He sent the Earl of Pembroke to the barons with the news that he agreed to accept all their demands. On June 15, he arrived at the barons' camp on the banks of the Thames near Windsor and signed a treaty on Ronnymede Meadow, later known as the Magna Carta. For several centuries it became the basis of the rights of the English people and the basic law of government. In essence, it did not change the previous charters, but it precisely defined what they expressed only in a general form. Among other provisions, she protected personal freedom by decreeing that no one could be arrested, detained, or subjected to personal or property punishment except on the basis of the law and by the verdict of their “peers.” The meaning of the Magna Carta can be defined in this way: the king renounced for himself and for his successors all restrictions on anyone's rights made by the Norman kings before him and especially by himself, and undertook to restore in full the order of government and legal proceedings based on the Anglo-Saxon and Norman customs. Of the individual articles of the Magna Carta, the most important were those that concerned the personal freedoms of citizens and gave a precise definition of taxes. So that John would not later give up his concessions, the barons took measures to protect the Charter. The king promised to disband all the mercenary troops that were the support of his tyranny, and agreed to the election of a committee of 25 barons. These barons had to strictly monitor compliance with the Charter and call on the nation to revolt if the violated right was not restored within 40 days.

The barons had every reason to fear. Very little time passed, and the Magna Carta was already under threat of repeal. John returned to Windsor embittered and humiliated. He sat silent in his castle, alienated from people, and thought about revenge. Instead of sending away the mercenaries, he secretly tried to increase their numbers by recruiting soldiers in France and Brabant. But most of all he hoped for dad. Soon, Innocent actually sent the barons a formidable bull, in which he sharply condemned the Charter and, under pain of excommunication, forbade its acceptance for execution. The barons took this threat as a declaration of war. They gathered near Oxford and turned to the French king asking for help against John and his mercenary troops. They announced that they were ready to recognize Philip's son Louis, married to John's niece Blanca of Castile, as king. Meanwhile, John had quietly moved from Windsor to the Isle of Wight. Three months later, considering that he already had enough strength, the king landed at Dover and besieged Rochester. After a stubborn defense, the castle fell. For his part, the pope excommunicated all the king's opponents and removed Langton from office for his alliance with the barons. In January 1216, John moved into the northern counties to suppress the rebellion in its very center. Burning villages, devastated fields and plundered castles showed the path his mercenaries took. He burned Berwick, Roxborg, Denbar and distributed the confiscated estates of his enemies to his favorites. In the same way, the south of England was ravaged by the king's brother William Longsword, and the eastern counties by the famous mercenary Savary de Mauleon. In March, the royal troops took Colchester. However, things soon changed. On May 21, Prince Louis landed on the Isle of Thanet at the mouth of the Thames, and from there crossed to Kent. On June 2, amid the joyful cries of the people, he entered London. John's position deteriorated sharply, especially after news of the death of Innocent III arrived. However, the king did not survive his patron for long. On his way north he suddenly fell ill. While crossing Weland, his convoy, heavily loaded with gold, dishes and jewelry, perished in the waves of the sea tide. The king received this news at Schwenshed Abbey. Then, says the chronicler, his grief at the loss of such wealth produced a terrible fever in him. The illness was further intensified by the immoderate and incorrect litany. John, barely alive, was taken to the castle of Novar. Here he died at night, on the eve of the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist.

• - English king since 1199, from the Plantagenet dynasty. In 1202-1204. lost a significant part of English possessions in France...

  Historical Dictionary

• - King of England from the Norman dynasty, who reigned from 1100 to 1135. Son of William I the Conqueror and Matilda. J.: 1) from 1100 Matilda, daughter of the Scottish king Malcolm III ...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - King of England from the Plaitagenet family, who reigned from 1174 to 1189. J.: from 1152 Eleanor, daughter of Duke William VIII of Aquitaine. Genus. 1133, d. July 6, 1189 Henry was born in Mans...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - King of England from the Plantagenet family. reigned and 1216-1272 Son of John the Landless and Isabella of Angoulême. J.: from 1236 Eleanor, daughter of the Duke of Provence Raymond Berengaria V, died 1291)...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned from 1399 to 1413. J.: 1) from 1380 Maria Bokin, daughter of Humphrey Hereford; 2) Joan, daughter of King Charles II of Navarre...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned in 1413-1422. Son of Henry IV and Mary Bokin. J.: from 1420 Catherine, daughter of King Charles VI of France...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned in 1422-1461, 1470-1471. Son of Henry V and Catherine of France. J.: from 1445 Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Anjou Rene...

  All the monarchs of the world

• - English king. The youngest, fourth son of English. King Henry II. Strengthening power, I. usurped the prerogatives of the English. barons...

  Dictionary of generals

• - King of England since 1199 from the Plantagenet dynasty, brother and successor of Richard I the Lionheart, youngest son of Henry II and Alienor of Aquitaine. A cunning but mediocre ruler...

  The medieval world in terms, names and titles

• - English king from the Plantagenet dynasty. In 1202 - 04 he lost a significant part of the English possessions in France. Under pressure from the barons, supported by knighthood and cities, he signed the Magna Carta in 1215...

  Modern encyclopedia

• - JOHN, English king from the Plantagenet dynasty. John, the youngest of the five sons of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born at Oxford on December 24, 1166 or 1167...

  Collier's Encyclopedia

• - English king from the Plantagenet dynasty. Youngest son of Henry II. Like his father, he pursued a policy of fiscal and political...

  Soviet historical encyclopedia

• - King of England, the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the third king of the Plantagenet dynasty, born in 1167. He was the favorite son of Henry, who intended to give him the Kingdom of Ireland...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• -, English king from the Plantagenet dynasty. Youngest son of Henry II. As a result of an unsuccessful war with France, 1202-04 lost a significant part of English possessions on the continent...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - English king from 1199; from the Plantagenet dynasty. In 1202-04 he lost a significant part of the English possessions in France...
• - John the Landless, English king from 1199, from the Plantagenet dynasty. In 120204 he lost a significant part of the English possessions in France...

  Large encyclopedic dictionary

"John the Landless, King of England" in books

Part three. KING OF ENGLAND

From the book William the Conqueror author Zyumtor Paul

Part three. KING OF ENGLAND

Chapter 5 "King John"

From the book A Guide to Shakespeare. English plays by Isaac Asimov

Chapter 5 King Edward VII of England

From the book Encyclopedia of Palmistry. The art of interpreting fate from antiquity to the present day by Hamon Luis

Chapter 5 King Edward VII of England In 1891, I had the honor of meeting the late King Edward for the first time under the following circumstances. A lady of distinction and well known in high society, who was one of my clients, invited me to visit her house on the Mayflower,

JOHN THE LANDLESS

From the book 100 Great Monarchs author

John the Landless John was 32 years old when he ascended to the English throne in 1199. None of his contemporary chroniclers found kind words about him. The king was a sensual man, lazy and overwhelmed by base passions. He had no creativity

John IV, woman from England

From the book Another History of the Middle Ages. From antiquity to the Renaissance author

John IV, a woman from England On July 7, 855, the throne of St. Peter in Rome was occupied by Giovanna, the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon, born in the city of Ingelheim. She studied science in the schools of Mainitz and Athens and comprehended everything that was available to modern knowledge. Arriving in Rome, she received a professorship at school

John IV, woman from England

From the book New Chronology of Earthly Civilizations. Modern version of history author Kalyuzhny Dmitry Vitalievich

John IV, woman from England July 7, 855 see of St. Peter in Rome was occupied by Giovanna, the daughter of an Anglo-Saxon, born in the city of Ingelheim. She studied science in the schools of Mainitz and Athens and comprehended everything that was available to modern knowledge. Arriving in Rome, she received a professorship in

John the Landless - Henry I

From the book Scaliger's Matrix author Lopatin Vyacheslav Alekseevich

John the Landless - Henry I 1167 Birth of John 1068 Birth of Henry 99 1199 John becomes King of England 1100 Henry becomes King of England 99 1216 Death of John 1135 Death

"THE DIVINE KING OF ENGLAND"

From the book Mysteries of England author Chernyak Efim Borisovich

Richard I, King of England

From the book Crusades. Medieval Wars for the Holy Land by Asbridge Thomas

Richard I, King of England Events in early July 1189 transformed Richard the Lionheart from an intriguing prince and conscientious crusader into a monarch and ruler of the powerful Angevin dynasty. In Rouen on July 20 he was officially proclaimed Duke of Normandy, and on 3

"Landless King", or king without a kingdom

From the book 100 Great Curiosities of History author Vedeneev Vasily Vladimirovich

“The Landless King”, or the King without a Kingdom The historical chronicles of “good old England” have brought to our time an instructive story about the curiosity of King John of England, nicknamed the Landless (1167–1216). He was the son of King Henry II Plantagenet and more

John the Landless

From the book All the Monarchs of the World. Western Europe author Ryzhov Konstantin Vladislavovich

John the Landless King of England from the Plantagenet family, who reigned from 1199 to 1216. Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. J.: 1) from 1189 Isabella, daughter of Earl William of Gloucester (d. 1217); 2) from 1200 Isabella Taillefer, daughter of Count Eimar of Angoulême (d. 1246). 1167 d. 19 Oct 1216

JOHN LACKLAND (1167–1216), English king from 119910 No free man shall be arrested and imprisoned, or deprived of property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any [other] way destitute<…>except by the verdict of peers

"The Divine King of England"

From the author's book

“The Divine King of England” Nowadays, in the vast Western literature devoted to witchcraft and the persecution of it, three main directions can be distinguished. One is directly obscurantist, almost openly in solidarity with the views of the inquisitors and their worthy colleagues in