Dec 23, 2009

King John | John (King John of England)

The king of England, he is the son of Elinor and uncle to Arthur and Blanch. Historically, he became king in 1199 upon the death of his brother Richard I, who had named him his successor two years earlier. John is reported to have been a wicked, tyrannical monarch. Yet Elizabethan historians praised him for being the only English king before Henry VIII to openly defy the pope. King John's defiance later turned to submissiveness, and he eventually acknowledged Rome's authority in English affairs. His noblemen supported him in his contest with the pope, but when he gave up the fight, they...