Knight King Richard the Lionheart died on April 6, 1199 from sepsis, which developed after being wounded in the arm. He bequeathed the kingdom of England and the loyalty of the vassals to his brother John.
King John, portrait
John was the fifth son of Henry, and a late son (Alienora gave birth to him at the age of 46) and beloved. It was because of his late birth that John received his nickname - Lackland ("Landless", other versions of this nickname - Johannes Sine Terra - Latin, Johan sanz Terre - French). The fact is that by that time all the lands in Normandy and other French possessions of the Plantagenets were distributed among the eldest sons of Henry (Heinrich, Geoffroy and Richard), and John did not get anything. At the same time, he received a fairly large amount of land in England, and then the whole of Ireland (1177), but, as we see, he was still revered as "landless." Probably land in England was not very much appreciated in those days, and the title of English landowner and lord for a self-respecting Norman was inexpensive, if not offensive at all. But by the time of John's birth, 101 years had passed since the conquest of England by Duke William (who was his great-grandfather) and the Battle of Hastings.
There are other versions of the origin of this nickname. Some historians suggest that it was finally entrusted to John after the French king Philip II Augustus conquered all English possessions in France in 1204-1206. However, it was the father (Henry II) who was the first, long before these events, to call his beloved son "landless." He clearly considered him disadvantaged, and tried to correct this injustice by engaging John to the daughter of Humbert III, Count of Savoy.
There is also a more exotic version, according to which John was the head of a certain Gnostic Order, and the epithet "Landless" refers to the "alchemical" land. This hypothesis, of course, has no clear evidence.
In the war of Henry II with Richard and Philip II (which the king actually waged in the interests of his beloved son, who remained "landless"), John sided with his brother. After the defeat of the king and the signing of a humiliating peace, Richard did not deny himself the pleasure of showing his father a list of vassals who were unfaithful to him. First on this list was John's name.
“Now I don't care what happens to me,” said the terminally ill Heinrich. He died seven days later.
John's betrayal was not left without a reward: after the death of his father and the coronation of Richard in July 1189, John received confirmation of his possession of Ireland, many lands in England, which brought in an income of 6,000 pounds a year, and married Isabella, heiress of the County of Gloucester. The only condition was the promise that he would not enter England while Richard was on the crusade. However, the curse of Merlin continued to operate, and, in 1190, in response to Richard's announcement of his successor to Arthur - the son of his deceased brother Geoffrey (Geoffrey), John tried to overthrow the regent Richard William Longchamp. This gave rise to inscribing him as a villain in the old legend of Hereward, which has now become the legend of Robin Hood. After receiving news of the capture of Richard by the Archduke Leopold, John, incited by Philip II, again tried to subjugate England. In a collection of documents edited by the monk Rainer, there is evidence that John paid for each day spent by his brother in captivity, first to Leopold, and then to the German emperor. After Richard's return, John was expelled from the country and deprived of English possessions, but already in 1195 he was partially forgiven, and later even declared heir to the throne, to which he entered in 1199. That year he was 32 years old, he lived and ruled still 17 years. And none of the chroniclers, his contemporaries, found a kind word in his address.
“Hell itself, no matter how dirty it is, would have blushed from the presence of John,” - an eloquent testimony of one of his contemporaries.
“A very bad man, cruel to all men and too greedy for beautiful ladies,” writes another chronicler of John.
Others said, "John resembles his father and brother (Richard) only in his vices."
It was also said that, in a fit of irritation, he once tried to rip out the beards of the Irish leaders who had come to take vassal oaths to him.
John Lackland
It didn't start so badly. After Richard's death in April 1199, John was recognized as Duke of Normandy and crowned in May. His nephew and rival, Arthur of Breton, went to Anjou and Maine, but a year later, in exchange for the County of Evreux, Philip II recognized John's right to all French territories of the Plantagenets. Everything changed after John's new marriage (his first wife was never crowned, in 1199 the marriage was declared invalid, because he was childless, and the spouses, moreover, were relatives - great-grandchildren of Henry I). The problem was that John's new chosen one, Isabella, Countess of Angoulême, had already been engaged to Hugo de Lusignan, Count la Marche. This insult became the reason for a new war, in which John's nephew, Arthur of Breton took part - it was he, according to the legal norms of those years, who was the legal heir to the throne. Taking advantage of the occasion, Philip I, who was the overlord of John's French possessions, called him to trial, and, after refusing, bestowed on Arthur almost all the French possessions of the English kings and himself began hostilities in Normandy. Arthur, who grew up on the mainland, was supported by the aristocrats of Normandy and other regions. But the barons of England did not want to be ruled by a native of France, and therefore fought on the side of John. During this war, Arthur was taken prisoner, John's opponents spread rumors that, on the orders of the king, they allegedly gouged out his eyes. And on April 3, 1203, the prince died in Rouen. The circumstances of his death remain unclear, but popular rumor and enemies of John immediately declared him guilty of the death of his nephew. Philip II summoned John to the court of peers, John again ignored this challenge, after which he was officially accused of violating the vassal oath and stripped of all fiefs. During the campaign 1203-1206. John lost Normandy, Maine, Anjou, part of Poitou and Touraine. It was then that he received another nickname Softsword - "Soft Sword". Interestingly, this is how impotent people were called in medieval England. However, in John's case, such an interpretation of the nickname is clearly unfounded: they said that "making children is the only thing that he does well." And in 1211 the Welsh revolted. In 1212, during a punitive expedition to Wales, the English barons made the first conspiracy to kill John or remove him from power, but then the matter did not go beyond talk.
On top of all the problems, in 1207, John came into conflict with the Pope (not recognizing the powers of his appointed Archbishop of Canterbury). And the post of the Roman pontiff was held in those years by a very ambitious, domineering and cruel man - Innocent III, the inspirer of the Albigensian Wars.
Pope Innocent III
His answer was an interdict imposed on England in 1208. Under the threat of torture and execution, John forbade all priests in England to obey the pope, moreover, he seized church lands and sent his officials to collect income from them. Innocent III responded by excommunicating John from the Church in 1209, and in 1212 he freed the British from the oath of allegiance to the king, which at that time could be considered as a resignation from power. In 1213, Innocent III and Philip II agreed to invade England, but the fleet they had assembled was defeated at the Battle of Dam. However, the frightened John has already admitted his next defeat and capitulated. In October 1213 he handed over England and Normandy to the Pope and received them back from him as fief. In addition, he pledged to pay an annual tribute to Rome in the amount of 1,000 marks. In 1214 the interdict was lifted, but the de facto recognition of England as a vassal of the Pope led to general outrage among the British. The constant lack of funds forced John to tighten taxation, which also did not add to the sympathy of the population. General indignation was caused by stories that the king raped girls from noble families and noble married women, as a result of which, in addition to six legitimate children, John left behind many side children (of course, he was not blamed for violence against commoners). Curiously, a large-scale genealogical study conducted in 2018 showed that all US presidents, with the exception of Martin Van Buuren, descended from this hapless and dissolute king. Meanwhile, in 1214, the French at the Battle of Bouvin managed to defeat the allied forces of John, Emperor Otto IV and Count Ferrand of Flanders. The result of this defeat was an extremely disadvantageous armistice for England until 1220. At that time, the earth was literally burning under John's feet, and in May 1215 a civil war broke out in England. It began in London's St. Paul's Church, where at a meeting of barons the archbishop announced the discovery of King Henry I's "Charter of Liberties." Rumors about the Charter have long been circulating among the Anglo-Saxon nobility, but none of the assembled barons saw it with their own eyes and had no idea about its real content. Now the Charter was regained, and the barons learned about the existence of their rights, which had been trampled on for many decades. This find caused extraordinary enthusiasm and delight, the rights and provisions of the Charter, the barons on that day vowed to protect to the last drop of their blood. On Christmas Day, their delegates, fully armed, came to John and, presenting the Charter, demanded that he not force the English barons to participate in foreign wars, abolish the most burdensome taxes, expel foreign mercenaries from the kingdom and not give them flax. The king was furious. Asking why "the barons are so undemanding and do not want to take the whole kingdom away from him," he vowed that "he will never satisfy such impudent and unjust demands." The civil war could no longer be stopped. Robert Fitzwalter was elected commander-in-chief of the army of the rebel barons ("Marshal of the army of God and the Holy Church"). Opponents of the king solemnly entered London, a letter was written here, addressed to all the nobility and all gentlemen, which contained threats to devastate the possessions of all who did not join the rebels. Frightened, John was forced to negotiate, during which he proposed that the differences be settled either by the pope or by a council of 8 barons, of whom the king himself would appoint four, and the confederation nominated four. The barons rejected this offer, and John was forced to comply.
Runnymede
This is the place
where are England's oldest barons, clad in armor and armor
harsh intransigence, plucked
his tyrant - the king
(here became more humble a lamb)
and protected, preserving for centuries, your freedom Charter.
The place referred to in the poem is located between Staines and Windsor and is called Runnymede. On June 15, 1215, representatives of the barons and townspeople came to him, a day later the king arrived here with his retinue. According to the testimony of contemporaries, the people of the barons and the king stood up against each other, like two hostile armies. On this day, a treaty was signed, known as the Magna Charta - Magna Carta.
Magna charta
The original Magna Carta has not survived, but there are 4 copies of this document: currently two are in the British Museum in London, one each in the cathedrals of Lincoln and Salisbury. Many paintings have been written on this plot, the central figure of which is precisely John, who is extremely reluctant to sign the charter. However, there is every reason to believe that this king was illiterate. The originals of the Magna Carta bear only the royal seal.
John Landless signs the Charter
John Lackland and Magna Charta
What is the content of Magna Charta? In this document, which consisted of 63 articles, the mutual relations between the king and his vassals were determined, the old rights of the church and the liberties of urban communities were confirmed. Since the days of Duke William (the Conqueror), this was the first document in which there was not a word about the division of the country's population into English and Normans, and all the inhabitants of England were now declared equal before the law. The charter opens and ends with articles proclaiming the freedom of the English church and the granting of the free people of the kingdom of the rights and liberties specified in the Magna Charta (1 and 63). According to their content, the articles of the Magna Charter can be divided into three large groups:
1. Articles reflecting the material interests of various social strata (2 - 13, 15, 16, 26, 27, 29, 33, 35, 37, 41, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 60).
2. Articles confirming the previously existing or newly created procedure for the work of judicial and administrative bodies, as well as suppressing abuses of the royal apparatus in the center and at the local level (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 54).
3. Articles establishing new political orders - the so-called constitutional articles (12, 14, 61).
Of particular importance were the articles that ensured personal inviolability and the participation of the nation in the establishment of taxes. Not a single free person could now be subjected to imprisonment, confiscation of property, expulsion, etc. otherwise, as by the decision of people equal to him (peers) and by the law of the country. According to article 12, the king could demand monetary payments from the vassals only in three cases: for ransom in case of his captivity, when the eldest son marries and the eldest daughter is given in marriage, and the “allowance” must be “reasonable”. Any other tax or collection of money, instead of the obligatory military service for a vassal, could only be established by a general meeting of vassals of the whole kingdom. To this general meeting, the highest clergy and high vassals (earls and rich barons) were invited by personal letter, others - by a general appeal, across the counties through decrees of the king addressed to the sheriffs (Article 14). Articles 12 and 14 were of particular importance: the 12th became the basis of the rights of the English parliament, and the difference in the calls of delegates (14th article) subsequently led to the separation of the House of Commons from the House of Lords. And from the 40th article (on personal freedom of a person) all Anglo-Saxon legal documents originate. A council of 25 barons was supposed to oversee the execution of the treaty, and in case of violation by the king, start an uprising against him. By the way, in 1222 a letter of similar content ("Golden Bull") was signed by the Hungarian king Andrew II.
The Magna Charta should not be overestimated: the first parliament will be assembled only in 1265 under the son of John Henry III, and the leader of the new opposition, Simon de Montfort, will be the initiator. And the chambers in parliament will appear in 1295. But the first step has already been taken, the vector of development has been set, and it was impossible to cancel this agreement. But John still tried: having received permission from the Pope to break his oath, he started a war. If in the most acute period of the crisis there were only 7 knights among John's supporters, now the power was on his side, and therefore the barons were forced to turn to the King of France Philip II for help. In exchange for a promise to recognize his son, Louis, who was married to John's niece, Blanca of Castile, as king, Philip intervened again in the affairs of England. In January 1216, John fought successfully in the northern counties, and it seemed that victory was near. But on May 21 of the same year, French troops landed on the Isle of Thanet at the mouth of the Thames, on June 2 they entered London. John had to retreat to the north of the country. It is said that near Veland his path ran along the coast. Underestimating the strength of the tide, his men were taken by surprise near Sutton Bridge, many were killed, wagons with equipment and treasury were lost. John, who went around with his retinue, was not hurt, but the shock of the loss was so great that the king fell ill and died in the castle of Novar on the eve of the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (October 19, 1216). The disease that caused the king's death most closely resembles dysentery. John was buried in the cathedral church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Worcester - he became the first English Norman king to find his last refuge in English soil.
Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Worcester
At his feet on his tombstone lies a lion, biting the edge of a sword. This is an allegory of the barons curbing his power, forcing him to sign the Magna Carta.
Tomb of John Landless
In exchange for the recognition of his son Henry as king of England, the boy's guardian confirmed the charter (in the 13th century it was confirmed several more times), after which hostilities ceased. The son of Philip II (future King of France Louis VIII) was forced to return home. Thus ended this civil war. British historian Templeman, talking about the events of those years, became the author of the famous phrase: “In the fall of 1216, John finally did something useful for his country. He died suddenly. " A sad and natural outcome of the life of a "little" and, frankly, bad, deeply vicious person, who has betrayed both his father and his brother more than once and not twice, who accidentally and undeservedly found himself at the pinnacle of power. It is understandable why the idol of the British became his golden-haired brother, the fearless knight and good truver Richard. However, I cannot get rid of the thought that the British love Richard precisely because he spent too little time on English soil. If Richard had reigned like John, 17 years old, I'm afraid even the glory he earned in Palestine and other campaigns would not have saved his reputation. Of course, he would not have made the slightest concession to the barons, got involved in many unnecessary wars, won a dozen more useless and ephemeral victories, personally performed many feats and died, leaving the ruined and depopulated country to be torn apart by heirs, no less talentless and greedier than his brother. But the “bad king” John Lackland Softsword, though forcedly, against his will, but nevertheless signed the Magna Charta, precisely by his weakness and insignificance, and then by his timely death, rendered a great service to his country.
