Collins Medieval Britain history for Year 7

1. Unit 4.2 King John (1199-1216)
Unit 4: Medieval Kingship

2. Words to learn
Terminology Definition
Excommunicated Expulsion from the catholic church by the Pope
Interdict A law ruled by the Pope which temporarily shuts down the
church in a country or area
Tyrant A ruler who refuses to share their power, and governs in a cruel
and oppressive way
Habeas Corpus No man should be imprisoned without a fair trial
Magna Carta A series of promises that king John made to limit his power,
meaning the great charter

3. Why is King John called a bad
King?
Part 1

4. Illegitimate crowned king
• When Henry II died in
1189, he has two surviving
sons. Richard, the elder
was crowned king. He was
a hugely popular and
known as Richard the Lion
heart for his bravery on the
battlefield.
• When Richard went on a
crusade to the Holy land.
John tried to steal Richards
crown and become the
King Of England

5. Refuse to pay ransom for Richards
• Upon his return from the
crusade, Richard was
shipwrecked and he was
imprisoned by Duke Leopold of
Austria.
• John was asked to pay his
ransom but he refused
• He told people of England that
Richard has been killed on his
crusade
• In 1194, Richard returned to
England with the help of his
mother Eleanor (collect ransom
in France) He forgave his
brother John for betraying him

6. Imprisonment of Arthur (other claim
of throne)
• Five years later, Richard
died while fighting in
France, so John became
king. King John’s nephew,
Arthur also had a claim to
the throne.
• John captured and
imprisoned him in the
castle of in France. The
young prince was never
seen again.
• Some claimed that John
tied to the stone and
drowned him in the river

7. Argument with the church
• Like his father, John had fierce
arguments with the church. He
was extremely stubborn, and
disagree with Pope about who
should choose the next
Archbishop of Canterbury.
• In 1209, Pope excommunicated
John for his disagreement
• In return John stripped church
power using interdict order :
meaning churches were locked
to worshippers,
• and the people were furious
because they we unable to go
to church, they feared that they
would go to hell.
• Many monks were forced to
leave the church and work as
military in return for the safety
of their family at home.

8. Military losses
• The King of France was keen to get his
hands on John’s territories in France.
Whilst his brother Richard had won
startling victories defending this land,
King John nearly lost it all.
• In series of defeats, John lost Brittany,
Anjou and most embarasingly his
family’s ancestral homeland
Normandy.
• In 1202, he had lost 1/3 of his entire
kingdom and earned nickname John
“Softsword” and “Lackland” for his
unsuccessful record on the battlefield.
• In 1214, he assembled a very large
army to win back his land in France
but experienced a crushing defeat at
the Battle of Bouvines.

9. Raising taxes and impose heavy
punishment for those who refused
• The English Barons were not
happy. They had paid enermous
taxes for John to raise his army
but he kept on loosing
• In addition, King John ruled
England as a cruel tyrant,
• In 1203, John took 22 knights
who had supported Arthur’s
claim to the throne, locked them
in a dungeon in Corfe Castle and
left them starved to death
• William de Braose fell out of
John’s court, his land was
invaded , he was exiled while his
wife and son was captured and
starved to death

10. Now its your turn
• Watch the video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz2G_RD
3YTI&t=4s

11. Now its your turn !
• Based on the knowledge you have about King John,
Explain why he is known as “the worst King of
England”?
• Your writing should be more than 60 words
Use these words below.
Illegitemate king Richard lands
church Taxes Arthur ransom
lackland softsword military

12. The end

13. Magna Carta and Civil War
Part 2

14. Confrontation with Barons
• In 1215, the
barons
marched to
London to
meet king John
and demand
that he change
his ways
• They met at a
meadow
beside River
Thames called
Runnymede

15. The birth of Magna Carta
• They confronted him
with few list of
demands: This include
not raising tax without
permission from
barons
• No imprisoning people
without a fair trial (this
principal known as
Habeas Corpus)
• And not to interfere
with the church matter
• He signed the paper by
royal seal and it
became known as
Magna Carta, latin for
“the Great Charter”

16. Clauses in the Magna carta

17. More clauses – restoring human rights

18. Untrustworthy king
• True to his character, no
sooner had John signed
Magna Carta, he claimed it
was invalid
• The barons were furious,
marched to London and
declared that John no
longer rule as king
• By the autumn of 1215,
England was engulfed in
civil war,
• King John spent a year
laying siege to the castles of
rebellious barons around
England.

19. The death of King John
• In October 1216, he was
campaigning in East Anglia
• In one evening, he feasted on
peaches and cider. Resulting with
food poisoning
• He went to bed suffering from
upset stomach and died during
the night. Some sources said he
was poisoned..
• His body is now laid in Worcester
Cathedral
• The civil war was over, only a few
mourned for his death
• Monks who disliked in ,
caricaturing him in their books as
lazy and luxury loving, gloating
over his gold and jewels and
staying in bed until mid day

20. The legacy remains
• Though he was known as a
bad King John, he had left
England with lasting legacy
“magna carta”
• The future kings had to
make vowed to never rule as
tyrant king by reconfirming
the agreement in Magna
Carta.
• It became foundational
document for English
political rights and freedom.
Some of the law remains
until today

21. The End