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JOHN I, Lackland, KING OF ENGLAND

HUSBAND:
JOHN I, Lackland, KING OF ENGLAND. [CHART A1].
Nicknames:
Lackland
Sans terre. (French).
Soft-sword.
Johann ohne Land. (German).
Juan sin Tierra. (Spanish)

He was born in December 1166 at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England; son of HENRY II, King of England [F110692416] and Eleanor of Acquitane [F110692416].

He was almost certainly born in 1166 instead of 1167, as is sometimes claimed. King Henry and Queen Eleanor were not together nine months prior to December 1167, but they were together in March 1166. Also, John was born at Oxford on or near Christmas, but Eleanor and Henry spent Christmas 1167 in Normandy. The canon of Laon, writing a century later, states John was named after Saint John the Apostle, on whose feast day (December 27) he was born. Ralph of Diceto also states that John was born in 1166, and that Queen Eleanor named him.

He was King Henry's fifth son, and was always his father's favourite. Since he was a younger son, he could expect no inheritance. Hence the nickname, "Lackland."

Henry II had at first intended for his son John to be educated to go into the Church, which would have meant Henry did not have to give him any land, but in 1171 Henry began negotiations to betroth John to the daughter of Count Humbert III of Maurienne-Savoy (who had no son yet and so wanted a son-in-law), and after that there was no more talk of making John a churchman. John's parents were both well educated -- Henry II spoke some half dozen languages, and Eleanor of Aquitaine had attended lectures at what was about to become the University of Paris, in addition to what they had been taught of law and government, religion, and literature.

For a long time school children have been taught that King John was illiterate; that he had to approve the Magna Carta by attaching his seal to it because he could not sign it, being unable to read or write. John was, in fact, one of the best educated kings England ever had.

In fact, King John did sign the draft of the Charter that was hammered out in the tent on Charter Island at Runnymede on 15 - 18 June 1215, but it took the clerks and scribes working in the royal offices some time after everyone went home to prepare the final copies, which were then sealed and delivered to the appropriate officials. In those days, legal documents were sealed to make them official, not signed.

Some of the books the records show he read were: De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England that was probably Robert Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

According to records of payment made to King John's bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilised compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.

John is recorded to have dressed very well in coats made of fur from sable and ermine and other exotic furs such as polar bear.

Before his accession, John had already acquired a reputation for treachery, having conspired sometimes with and sometimes against his elder brothers, Henry, Geoffrey and Richard. In 1184, John and Richard both claimed that they were the rightful heir to the Aquitaine, one of many unfriendly encounters between the two. The 1185 though, John was given rule over Ireland, whose people grew to despise him, causing John to leave after only six months.

John married (1) Isabelle de CLARE on 29 August 1189. They were divorced about the time he was crowned king in 1199, or shortly afterwards. John had their marriage annulled by Pope Boniface VIII on the grounds of consanguinity, the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person. They had no children.

During Richard's absence on the Third Crusade from 1190 to 1194, John attempted to overthrow William Longchamp, the Bishop of Ely and Richard's designated justiciar; despite having been forbidden by his brother to leave France. This was part of the reason for the legend begun by of Hereward the Wake of the wicked Prince John as the ultimate villain and the hero "Robin Hood."

While returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. John is said to have sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible. But Richard's supporters paid a ransom for his release because they thought that John would make a terrible King. On his return to England in 1194, Richard forgave John and named him as his heir.

Some historians argue that John did not attempt to otherthrow Richard, but rather did his best to improve a country ruined by Richard's excessive taxes used to fund the Crusade. It is most likely that the image of subversion was given to John by later monk chroniclers, who resented his refusal to go on the ill-fated Fourth Crusade.

Richard died on 26 March 1199. It was during a minor siege of the rebellious castle of Châlus-Charbrol in Limousin, France. Pierre Basile was probably one of only two knights defending Châlus. Richard, who had removed some of his chainmail, was wounded in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt launched from a tower by Basile, as he laughed at the man's ingenuity in using a frying-pan as a shield. Gangrene set in and Richard soon died. He was crowned King on (27 MAY-S5,S7)(6 APR-?) 1199.

Upon the death of his brother, Richard, John was not universally recognised as king. Some regarded his young nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of John's late brother Geoffrey, as the rightful heir. Arthur fought with his uncle John for the throne, and enjoyed the support of King Philip II of France.

He married (2) Isabella of Angouleme on 24 AUG 1200. Isabella of Angouleme, who was twenty years his junior. John had kidnapped her from her fiancée, Hugh X of Lusignan. Isabella and John produced five children, including two sons, Henry and Richard, and three daughters, Joan, Isabella and Eleanor.

The war with supportes of Arthur upset the barons of Poitou enough for them to seek redress from the King of France, who was King John's feudal overlord with respect to certain terrorities on the Continent. In 1202, John was summoned to the French court to answer the charges. John refused and, under feudal law, because of his failure of service to his lord, the French King claimed the lands and territories ruled by King John as Count of Poitou, declaring all John's French territories except Gascony in the southwest forfeit. The French promptly invaded Normandy; King Philip II invested Arthur with all those fiefs King John once held (except for Normandy), and betrothed him to his daughter Mary.

With this war to supply across the Channel, in 1203 John ordered all shipyards (including inland places such as Gloucester) in England to be responsible for at least one ship, with places such as the newly-built Portsmouth being responsible for several. He made Portsmouth the new home of the Navy (the Anglo-Saxon kings, such as Edward the Confessor, had royal harbours at Sandwich, Kent).

By the end of 1204, he had 45 large galleys available to him, and from then on an average of 4 new ones every year. He also created an Admiralty of four admirals, responsible for various parts of the new Navy. During John's reign major improvements were made in ship design, including the addition of sails and removable forecastles. He also created the first big transport ships, called buisses. John is sometimes accredited with the founding of the modern Royal Navy. What is known about this Navy comes from the Pipe Rolls.

In the hope of avoiding trouble in England and Wales while he was away fighting to recover his French lands, in 1205 John created an alliance in which he married off his illegitimate daughter, Joan, to the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great. The French king had declared most of these forfeit in 1204, leaving John only Gascony in the southwest.

As part of the war, Arthur attempted to kidnap his own grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, at Mirebeau, but was defeated and captured by John's forces. Arthur was imprisoned first at Falaise and then at Rouen. No one is certain what happened to Arthur after that. According to the Margam Annals, on 3 April 1203: :"After King John had captured Arthur and kept him alive in prison for some time in the castle of Rouen... when [John] was drunk and possessed by the devil he slew [Arthur] with his own hand and tying a heavy stone to the body cast it into the Seine." However, the officer commanding the Rouen fortress, Hubert de Burgh, claimed to have delivered Arthur around Easter 1203 to agents of the King sent to castrate him and that Arthur had died of shock. Hubert later retracted his statement and claimed Arthur still lived, but no one ever saw Arthur alive again and the supposition that he was murdered caused Brittany and later Normandy to rebel against King John.

Besides Arthur, John also captured his niece Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany. Eleanor remained a prisoner the rest of her life (which ended in 1241); through deeds such as these, John acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.

Dealings with Bordeaux

In 1203, John exempted the citizens and merchants of Bordeaux from the Grande Coutume-the principal tax on their exports. In exchange, the regions of Bordeaux, Bayonne and Dax pledged support against the French Crown. The unblocked ports gave Gascon merchants open access to the English wine market for the first time. The following year, John granted the same exemptions to La Rochelle and Poitou.

Dispute with the Pope

When Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury died on 13 July 1205, John became involved in a dispute with Pope Innocent III. The monks of Christ Church chapter in Canterbury claimed the sole right to elect Hubert's successor, but both the English bishops and the King had an interest in the choice of successor to this powerful office. When their dispute could not be settled, the monks secretly elected one of their members as Archbishop. A second election imposed by John resulted in another nominee. When they both appeared in Rome, Innocent disavowed both elections and his candidate, Stephen Langton, was elected over the objections of John's observers. Innocent thus disregarded the king's rights in selection of his own vassals. John was supported in his position by the English barons and many of the English bishops and refused to accept Langton.

John expelled the Canterbury monks in July 1207 and the Pope ordered an interdict against the kingdom. John immediately retaliated by seizure of church property for failure to provide feudal service, and the fight was on. The pious of England were theoretically left without the comforts of the church, but over a period they became used to this deprivation. The pope, meanwhile, realized that too long a period without church services could lead to loss of faith, and gave permission for some churches to hold Mass behind closed doors in 1209. In 1212, they allowed last rites to the dying. While the interdict was a burden to many, it did not result in rebellion against John.

In November of 1209 John himself was excommunicated, and, in February 1213, Pope Innocent threatened stronger measures unless John submitted. The papal terms for submission were accepted in the presence of the papal legate in 1213 (traditionally at the Templar Church at Dover); in addition, John offered to surrender the Kingdom of England to God and the Saints Peter and Paul for a feudal service of 1000 marks annually, 700 for England and 300 for Ireland. With this submission, John gained the valuable support of his papal overlord in his new dispute with the English barons.

Dispute with the barons

Having successfully put down the Welsh Uprising of 1211 and settling his dispute with the papacy, John turned his attentions back to his overseas interests. The European wars culminated in defeat at the Battle of Bouvines, which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France.

This finally turned the barons against him (some had already rebelled against him after he was excommunicated), and he met their leaders at Runnymede, near London, on June 15, 1215, to sign the Great Charter called, in Latin, Magna Carta. Because he had signed under duress, however, John received approval from his overlord the Pope to break his word as soon as hostilities had ceased, provoking the First Barons' War and an invited French invasion by Prince Louis of France (whom the majority of the English barons had invited to replace John on the throne).

Matthew Paris records that John was so desperate for support against the barons that he sent an emissary in 1213 to the North African Emir, Mohammed An-Nasir, offering to help Muslims in their campaigns in Spain against the Catholic king of Aragon and to convert to Islam in return for Islamic aid against his enemies.

John is said to have had a great taste for lechery, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children. Matthew Paris accuses him of being envious of many of his barons and kinsfolk, and seducing their more attractive daughters and sisters. Roger of Wendover describes an incident that occurred when John became enamoured with Margaret, the wife of Eustace de Vesci and an illegitimate daughter of King William I of Scotland. Her husband substituted a prostitute in her place when the king came to Margaret's bed in the dark of night; the next morning, when John boasted to Vesci of how good his wife was in bed, Vesci confessed and fled.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John was quite a just and enlightened ruler, but he won the disapproval of the barons by taxing them. Particularly unpopular was the tax known as scutage, which was a penalty for those who failed to supply military resources. He also fell out with the Pope by rejecting Stephen Langton, the official candidate for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. This resulted in John's being excommunicated. He was having much the same kind of dispute with the church as his father had had before him. Unfortunately, his excommunication was an encouragement to his political rivals to rise against him. Having successfully put down the Welsh uprising of 1211, he turned his attentions back to his overseas interests and regained the approval of Pope Innocent III.

The European wars culminated in a defeat which forced the king to accept an unfavourable peace with France. This finally turned the barons against him, and he met their leaders at Runnymede, near London, on June 15, 1215, to sign the Great Charter called, in Latin, Magna Carta. Because it had been signed under duress, however, John felt entitled to break it as soon as hostilities had ceased.

In the following year, John, retreating from a threatened French invasion, crossed the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia and lost his most valuable treasures, including the Crown Jewels, as a result of the unexpected incoming tide. This was a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind, and he succumbed to dysentery, dying on 18 or 19 October 1216, at Newark in Lincolnshire. Newark is now within the County of Nottinghamshire, close to its long boundary with Lincolnshire.

Numerous, if fictitious, accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".

He was buried in Worcester Cathedral in the city of Worcester. His nine-year-old son succeeded him and became King Henry III of England (1216–72). Although Louis continued to claim the English throne, the barons switched their allegiance to the new king, forcing Louis to give up his claim and sign the Treaty of Lambeth in 1217.

WIFE (1):
Isabelle of Gloucester. (Isabella de CLARE-S7).
Born in 1168; daughter of William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester, and Hawise de BEAUMONT. She is given several alternative names by history, including Hawise (or Avice, Avisa, Hadwisa), Joan, and Eleanor. Her father died in 1183 and as he had no male heirs, his title merged in the Crown, but a new creation was granted to her in 1186 and she became Countess of Gloucester.

She marrried Prince John (Lackland) on 29 August 1189.

They had no children, and John had their marriage annulled in 1199 on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, which took place on April 6, 1199. She married (2) Geoffrey de Mandeville, second Earl of Essex, on 20 January 1214. He died in 1216. She married (3) Hubert de Burgh in September 1217. Isabel died just a month later that year and was interred in Canterbury Cathedral.

WIFE (2):
[F55346209]. Isabella of Angouleme. (Isabella de TAILIFER).
Born (about 1187-S5)(about 1188) at Angouleme, France; daughter of Aylmer (Aymer) TAILLEFER de VALENCE and Alice (Adelaide) de COURTENAY. Her maternal great-grandfather was King Louis VI of France. She married (1) John Lackland, King of England [F55346208] on 24 AUG 1200 at Bordeaux, France.

She became Countess of Angouleme in her own right in 1202, by which time she was already queen of England.

It could not be said to have been a successful marriage, as Isabella was much younger than her husband and had a fiery character to match his. Before their marriage, she had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan, Count of La March. As a result of John's temerity in taking her as his second wife, King Philip II of France confiscated all his French lands, and armed conflict ensued. In the course of their marriage, Isabella bore five children, the eldest of whom became King Henry III of England on his father's death. The youngest daughter, Eleanor, would marry Simon de Montfort.

When John died in 1216, Isabella was still in her twenties. She returned to France and proceeded to marry Hugh de Lusignan, the son of her former fiancé.

She married (2) Hugh X “le Brun” de LUSIGNAN. They had a further eleven children, all of whom survived into adulthood, as did all her children by John.

She died 31 MAY 1246 at Fontevraud (Fontevrault) Abbey, France; and was buried in the Abbey.

CHILDREN of JOHN I (Lackland), King of England [55346208] and Isabella of Angouleme [55346209]:
  1. [F49330336]. HENRY III, King of England. 1206-1208 to 1272. He married Alianore de Provence.
  2. Richard. Count of Poitou before 1225, First Earl of Cornwall from 1227, and King of the Holy Roman Empire (formally "King of the Romans") from 1257. Born 5 January 1209 at Winchester Castle. Richard's revenues from Cornwall provided him with great wealth, and he became one of the wealthiest men in Europe. He married (1) Isabel MARSHAL (1200-1239) in 1231. Isabel died in 1240. Later that year Richard joined the Sixth Crusade and departed for the Holy Land. He fought in no battles but managed to negotiate for the release of prisoners and the burials of Crusaders killed at a battle in Gaza in 1239. He also refortified Ascalon, which had been demolished by Saladin. On his return from the Holy Land, Richard visited his sister Isabella, the empress of Frederick II. On his return, Richard married (2) Sanchia of Provence, the sister of his brother Henry's queen, Eleanor. This marriage tied him even more closely to the royal party. In 1257, Richard was elected by three German Electoral Princes known as the "English party" (Cologne, Mainz and Palatinate) as King of Germany. He had bought the elector's votes for the vast sum of 28,000 marks. He spent the next few years attempting to persuade the pope to crown him; at last, in May 1257, Pope Alexander IV crowned Richard "King of the Romans" at Aachen. However, like his lordships in Gascony and Poitou, his title never held more than honorary significance, and he made only four brief visits to Germany between 1257 and 1269. He joined King Henry in fighting against Simon de Montfort's rebels in the Second Barons' War (1264–1267). After the shattering royalist defeat at the Battle of Lewes, Richard took refuge in a windmill, was discovered, and imprisoned until September 1265. Richard died on 2 April 1272 at Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire; and was buried at Hayles Abbey, which he had founded.
  3. Joan. Born in 1210. She married Alexander II, King of Scotland. She died in 1238.
  4. Isabelle. (Elizabeth). Princess of England. Born in 1214. She was married to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in 1225, who kept her hidden away in seclusion. When her brother, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, passed through Sicily returning from the Sixth Crusade, he had to beg Frederick to see Isabella and speak with her for a few moments. She bore four children, all of whom died as infant except for a daughter, Margaret of Sicily (1237-1270). Isabella died in childbirth at Foggia along with her newborn child on 1 December 1241, and according to Thomas Costain, Frederick buried her beside one of his Saracen mistresses.
  5. Eleanor. (Alianor). Of England. Born in 1215 in Gloucester. She married (1) William MARSHALL 5th Earl of Pembroke. William Marshal died in 1219 and Eleanor was promised to his son, also named (2) William. They were married on April 23, 1224 at New Temple Church in London. The younger William was 34 and Eleanor only nine. He died in London on April 6, 1231, days before their 7th anniversary. There were no children of this marriage. The widowed Eleanor swore a holy oath of chastity in the presence of Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury. Seven years later, she met (3) Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. According to Matthew Paris, Simon was attracted to Eleanor's beauty and elegance as well as her wealth and high birth. They fell in love and married secretly on January 7, 1238 at the King's chapel at Westminister Palace. Her brother King Henry later alleged that he only allowed the marriage because Simon had seduced Eleanor. The marriage was controversial because of the oath Eleanor had sworn several years before to remain chaste. Because of this, Simon made a pilgrimage to Rome seeking papal approval for their union. They had seven children. Simon de Montfort had the real power behind the throne, but when he tried to take the throne, he was defeated with his son at the Battle of Evesham on August 4, 1265. Eleanor fled to exile in France where she became a nun at Montargis Abbey, a nunnery founded by her deceased husband's sister Amicia. She died and was buried there on April 13, 1275.


HUSBAND (2)
Hugh X "le Brun" de LUSIGNAN Lord Lusignan (1169-1246) Count of la Marche and Angouleme

Born before 1169 at Lusignan, Vienne, France; Son of Hugh IX de LUSIGNAN Seigneur de Lusignan (-1219) and Mathilde of ANGOULEME (-1233) (Not son of Matilda-S4). He died about JUN 1246.

CHILDREN of Isabella of Angouleme and Hugh de Lusignan:
  1. Maud de LUSIGNAN.
  2. William (le BRUNE) VALANCE. Seigneur de Champagnac, Earl of Pembroke (1225-1296). He married Joan de MUNCHENSI (-1307).
  3. Alice (Alix) le BRUN (Lady) de LUSIGNAN. (1224-1255). She married John de WARENNE 7th Earl Warren and Surrey (1231-1304).
  4. Hugh XI de LUSIGNAN. Comte de la Marche et de Angouleme (1221-1250). He married (1) Yolande de DREUX (1218-1272). He married (2) ?.
  5. Isabelle (Isabeau) de LUSIGNAN. (-1300).
  6. Geoffroy I Seigneur de Jarnac et Chateauneuf (-1274).
  7. (child)
  8. (child)
  9. (child)
  10. (child)
  11. (child)


Illegitimate Relationships:

MISTRESS (3):
Constance (Clementia, Clemence), Countess of Brittany.
Born in 1162. She died in 1201 (in childbirth?).

CHILDREN of John and Constance (Clemence):
  1. Joan. Born in 1201. She married (1) Llywelyn Fawr, "the Great" Prince of Wales Prince of Gwynedd, Aberffraw, Lord Snowdon (1173-1240).


MISTRESS (4):
Adela de WARENNE.
Daughter of his uncle Hamelin de WARENNE and Isabel. Sometimes said to be Suzanne, but that was only a supposition.

CHILDREN of John I, Lackland and Adela de WARENNE:
  1. [F27673104]. Richard FITZROY. (Fitz Roy, FitzJohn). Baron of Chilham. He married Rohese of Dover. He died in 1246. Rohese died in 1261.


MISTRESS (5):
Hawise de TRACY.


CHILDREN of JOHN I, Lackland and Hawise de TRACY:
  1. Oliver FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). He accompanied the papal legate Pelayo to Damietta in 1218, and never returned.


MISTRESS (6):
Alice FERRERS.
Daughter of William (Robert) FERRERS, Earl of Derby, and Sybil de BRAOISE.

CHILDREN of JOHN I, Lackland and Alice GERRERS.
  1. It is only supposition that she had by him daughter, Joan of England.


OTHER CHILDREN OF JOHN LACKLAND by unknown mistresses:
  1. Osbert Gifford. Osbert was given lands in Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Sussex. He was last known to be alive in 1216.
  2. Geoffrey FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). Geoffrey went on expedition to Poitou in 1205 and died there.
  3. John FitzRoy Courcy. Knight or Clerk of Lincoln in 1201.
  4. Eudo (Eudes) FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). He accompanied his half-brother Richard on Crusade and died in the Holy Land in 1241.
  5. Ivo.
  6. Henry FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). He died in 1245.
  7. Richard. Constable of Wallingford.
  8. Matilda (Maud) FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). Abbess of Barking. Barking is the principal town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The manor of Barking was the site of "Barking Abbey", a nunnery founded in 666 by Eorcenwald, bishop of London, destroyed by the Danes and reconstructed about a hundred years later in 970 by King Edgar. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, Barking Abbey was demolished: the parish church, St Margaret's stands upon its site, where some walling and foundations are all that otherwise remain. She died in 1252.
  9. Isabella la Blanche. Isabel FitzRoy, wife of Richard Fitz Ives.
  10. Bartholomew FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). A member of the order of Friars Preachers.
  11. Philip FITZROY. (Fitz Roy). He was living in 1263.


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