John King of England Plantagenet

1166 - 1216  (49 years)

 Set As Default Person

• Name	John King of England Plantagenet  [1]
  Born	24 Dec 1166	Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	8079
  Died	19 Oct 1216	Newark Castle, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England
  Person ID	I8079	FelsingFam
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	Henry II King of England Plantagenet,   b. 5 Mar 1133, Le Mans, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France ,   d. 6 Jul 1189, Chateau de Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France  (Age 56 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Eleanor of Aquitaine Aquitaine,   b. Abt 1124, Aquitaine, France ,   d. 31 Mar 1204, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France  (Age ~ 80 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F2360	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Isabella de Lusignan Angoulême,   b. Abt 1188, Angoulême, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France ,   d. 31 May 1246, Fontevrault, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France  (Age ~ 58 years)
  Children	+ 1. Henry III King of England Plantagenet,   b. 1 Oct 1207, Winchester Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, England ,   d. 16 Nov 1272, Palace of Westminster, Westminster, Middlesex, England  (Age 65 years)  [natural]
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2024
  Family ID	F2398	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Plantagenet-143 BIOGRAPHY FROM GENEALOGICS.ORG: John was born in 1167, the youngest son of Henry II, king of England, and Eleanor de Poitou, duchesse d'Aquitaine. John's mother was well over forty when John was born. He was her favourite, and inherited many of her characteristics. He grew up enjoying the good things of life: food, women and fashion. His parents indulged him; however, when at 18 he was sent to Ireland to complete its conquest, he was recalled when he aggravated the situation by making fun of the beards and clothes of the Irish chieftains. His father denied him any lands and nicknamed him John Lackland; but when John's brother Richard became king he granted John the county of Mortain in Normandy. Richard I also found him a wife, Isabella of Gloucester. However the archbishop of Canterbury declared the marriage void as John and Isabella were second cousins. The Pope reversed this decision, but that did not improve the marriage and they soon lived apart, the marriage being annulled in 1200. When Richard I went on crusade, being aware of John's character he appointed William de Longchamp as regent. However, as soon as Richard was gone, John found support not only from the people of England but also from his illegitimate half-brother Geoffrey, archbishop of York. Marching on London, he won the city by allowing the people to elect their mayor. Realising that he could not withstand his sovereign's brother, Longchamp fled disguised as a woman. He was ready to sail from Dover when an amorous sailor discovered who he was. Before Richard I died he declared John to be his heir, by-passing Arthur of Brittany whose deceased father Geoffrey was John's elder brother. On 25 April 1199 John was invested as duke of Normandy. In 1200 he divorced his unwanted wife as he had become enamoured of the 12-year-old Isabella of Angoulême. Her parents, keen to see their daughter become queen, encouraged the match and they were married by the archbishop of Bordeaux. As king he had a great concern and interest in the administration of his territories. Ralph of Coggeshall recorded that he ruled 'energetically enough'. He travelled widely in England, often dealing with mundane financial and legal matters. He was munificent and liberal to outsiders but a plunderer of his own people, trusting strangers rather than his subjects. He was eventually deserted by his own men, and in the end he was little mourned. John produced eight illegitimate children. According to William of Newburgh he lusted after the wife of Eustace de Vesci, who contrived to smuggle a prostitute into the king's bed in her place. Next day when John coarsely told him how good his wife had been in bed, de Vesci confessed, then fled. In 1203 John was responsible for the murder of his nephew and rival, Arthur. King Philippe of France, overlord for both Normandy and Brittany, was enraged by this action; forfeiting Normandy he attacked and conquered Rouen. In 1205 John quarrelled with Pope Innocent III as he did not want to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. As a result John was excommunicated in 1208. This lasted until 1213 when he had to accept England as a fief from the pope. Campaigns in 1214 in France were disastrous. While he was in France his enemies in England joined forces under the banner of Stephen Langton, and forced John to accept the Magna Carta, which was sealed by John on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede near Windsor. Infuriated, John gained the support of the pope and gathered an army to fight his barons who were supported by the French king. Landing in England, King Louis marched on London. The barons promised the crown to the French king and a civil war began. During John's travels through England, one of his baggage-trains was swept away while crossing a river and he lost all his valuables including his crown. He became so depressed that he fell seriously ill. His illness was aggravated by his gluttony, and he was taken by litter to Newark Castle where he died, aged nearly forty-nine, on 18 October 1216.

  
  

• Sources

  [S807] Genealogics.org.