[MR] Wikipedia: Death of "Bad" King John,

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

On this date in 1216, "Bad" King John of Magna Carta fame finally died,
ending one of the worst reigns in English history.

Born in 1166, he was the youngest surviving son of Henry II and Eleanor of
Aquitaine. John was always a weakling compared to his three older brothers.
He was even called John "Lackland" because he wasn't expected to inherit
any significant territories. Yet he became Henry's favorite because he was
the only son who DID NOT rebel against the King.

During the reign of his older brother, Richard the Lion Heart, John did
attempt to seize power while Richard was fooling around on a crusade. In
1199 the childless Richard had a fatal appointment with a crossbow bolt
while besieging a small French castle, Châlus-Chabrol. John was the last of
Henry's sons left standing and so became King of England. Oh, there was a
nephew, Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, who had a strong claim to the throne.
King John chucked him into prison in 1203. Arthur was never heard from
again, and is presumed to have been murdered on John's orders.

Within three years of gaining the throne, John had mismanaged a war with
France and lost Normandy. His heavy handed rule, and a ruthless squeezing
of money from his barons, led to the revolt that forced John to put his
seal on the Magna Carta in 1215 (he never signed it, that's not how things
were done in those days). He quickly repudiated the Magna Carta. John also
torqued off the Pope, and got himself excommunicated.

After John trashed Magna Carta, his barons invited French Crown Prince
Louis (later King of France as Louis VIII) to rule England. In June 2016
Louis brought over a French army, which with the allied rebel English
barons controlled half of England. Louis set himself up in London as king,
making laws, granting lands, and raising taxes. Just when things looked
like they couldn't get any worse for John, they did.

While crossing "The Wash" in East Anglia, John's baggage train was caught
in tidal quicksand, with his crown jewels, much of his treasure, and
probably some of his servants sucked down to oblivion. Now weakened with
disease (possibly dysentery), John reached Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire
and could go no farther. He died there on the night of 18/19 October 1216.

A pretty sad story, but it does make for some great history. "Bad" King
John lives on as one of the more memorable kings of England, though as the
most inept and reviled. He is still mocked in popular culture, including as
the hapless bad guy in numerous Robin Hood movies.

Oh, and King Louis? After John's death, most of the barons decided to
support his infant son, Henry III. Seeing English allies melt away, in late
2017 Louis agreed to leave (with a 10,000 mark bribe). Louis also agreed
his name would never appear on any roll of English kings (removing possible
future claims to the English throne by the French). His "reign" had lasted
just over a year.

More about John is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_King_of_England .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge 🦆
[Now back from WoW and posting again]