John, King of England

In 1189, John married Isabel of Gloucester but annulled the marriage after they failed to produce any children.

He then married Isabelle of Angoulême on August 24, 1200, after abducting her from her fiancé, Hugh X of Lusignan. The couple had five children, namely, Henry III, Richard, Joan, Isabella, and Eleanor. John also had many illegitimate children.

One of the villains in the famous ‘Robin Hood’ legends was inspired by John. William Shakespeare wrote a play based on John’s life.

John was born to King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, on December 24, 1166, at ‘Beaumont Palace’ in Oxford. John was very young when his mother left for Poitiers and sent John to ‘Fontevrault Abbey,’ where he was assigned a teacher to educate him.

He was later taught by Ranulf de Glanvill, a leading English administrator. He also received training in military and hunting. The youngest and the favorite son of Henry II was jokingly nicknamed “Sanz Terre” or “Lackland” for not acquiring any land for himself due to his low place in the line of succession.

John was Henry II’s favorite child, perhaps because the rest of his brothers, Henry, William, Richard I, and Geoffrey, rebelled against their father between 1173 and 1174. John was the fifth-born child of Henry II.

As he was the last-born child of the royal family, he could not expect inheritance. Slowly, he acquired his father’s raging temper. However, unlike his father, he was more of a cynic.

The “bad king” never trusted anyone and conspired against his own people.

During his early years, John was not given any substantial land, while his brothers were given control of certain lands. Henry the Young King was crowned as the king of England in 1170.

Henry II betrothed John to Alais, the daughter of Humbert III of Savoy, in order to control the southern borders of Aquitaine. John was only 5 years old during the negotiation. Thus, his father decided to control his son’s lands.

Unfortunately, Alais died before marrying John, and once again, John remained without inheritance. As part of the potential alliance, Henry II had transferred the ownership of the castles of Loudun, Chinon, and Mirebeau to John. However, this decision was not welcomed by Henry the Young King.

Between 1173 and 1174, Henry the Young King, with the support of Eleanor, Louis VII of France, and his brothers, rebelled against his father. John remained on the side of Henry II during the short-lived rebellion.

Henry II defeated his sons and gave them Montlouis as a peace settlement. However, his wife, Eleanor, was imprisoned for supporting a war against her husband.

John’s reign lasted from 1199 to 1204 but not without a conflict from his nephew, Arthur of Brittany. Arthur, along with Philip II of France, attacked John for the throne.

In the end, John was considered by Philip to be the better choice for a king. However, John had to agree to be Philip’s vassal in Normandy and Angevin.

The war did not end there. Philip gave away all the land taken from John, except Normandy, to Arthur and betrothed him to his daughter, Marie.

Arthur even abducted his grandmother, Eleanor, but was captured by John’s army. In 1202, Arthur died under mysterious circumstances.

People in Brittany were convinced that he was murdered by John. Two years later, John attacked Brittany but was severely defeated.