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Born

1167

Born At

Oxford

Died

18 Oct 1216

Buried At

Worcester Cathedral

Royal House

Plantagenet

Titles Include: King of England from 1199 to 1216; Duke of Normandy; Lord of Ireland; Earl of Mortain from 1189

John Lackland

ohn was born on Christmas Eve 1167 and was the last child to be born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. With three brothers who were older than him including Richard (the Lionheart), it seemed clear in his early years that John would have no lands of his own and would probably go into a position in the Church. 'Lackland' was a term given to him because of his lack of prospects of gaining any land. John's childhood took place away from his mother and father and his education was administered by Ranulf Glanvil who was his father's Chief Justiciar. John's prospects of becoming king became slightly better when his eldest brother Henry (the 'Young King') rebelled against their father and John became the King's favourite. In 1183 the Young King died and John was offered the lands of Aquitaine. Richard (the Lionheart) opposed this and so John was then offered control of Ireland instead.

Ireland

In April 1185 John was knighted and travelled to Ireland to take control. The expedition was a disaster as the Prince was too young and inexperienced. He had taken friends of a similar age with him who treated the Irish chieftains with contempt. The soldiers John took with him could not operate effectively against Irish in their terrain and so by the end of the year John and his followers returned in England. Instead it was left to William Marshal to take control in Ireland.

Betrayal

In 1186 Henry's next son died in a tournament. Now there was only Richard and John left, with Richard as heir to the throne. Both Richard and John were angry with their father Henry II as he would not give them any power of their own and would not let them go on Crusade. In 1187 Jerusalem had fallen to the Turks with the loss of many Crusader Knights. Philippe II of France used the conflict between the King of England and his two remaining sons for his own aims and managed to get both Richard and John to conspire against their father. In July 1189, abandoned by his own sons, Henry II died.

In Opposition

Richard became King and the first thing he did was go on Crusade. Richard was aware that John was pleased to see him go to the middle East where he could get killed and leave John to inherit his domains. To try to prevent John from claiming the English throne while he was away, Richard gave him several titles including the Count of Mortain and Lord of Ireland. Richard also ordered John to stay away from England for three years. Richard also nominated his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, as heir to the English throne even though the boy was only four years old. Another problem for Richard arose with the appointment of William Longchamp whose job it was to administer the country while Richard was away. Longchamp was an unpopular administrator with the Barons and John became popular in his opposition. Richard became aware of John's ambitions and the threat of civil war and sent Walter de Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen to sort out the problems. This Walter did this by taking Longchamp's place. At this point John sought help from the French king Philippe II who was eager to obtain lands that Richard owned in Normandy.

Richard returns from the Crusades

Richard had been captured returning through Europe from the middle east and was held captive until a ransom was paid. In March 1194 the King returned to England to take control. Richard punished his younger brother's betrayal by stripping him of all his castles and titles apart from Lord of Ireland. John stayed loyal to his brother Richard's from that point on and fought at his side.

As King

As Richard was dying of an arrow wound in April 1199 he nominated John as the heir to the English throne. John was crowned King in May 1199 at Westminster. In 1200 John had his marriage to Isabella of Gloucester annulled and he then married Isabella of Angouleme. Unfortunately Isabella of Angouleme was engaged to Hugh of Lusignan who complained to John. John ignored his protests and so Hugh went to Philippe II. Philippe summonsed John to his court to attempt to mediate between John and Hugh but John refused to attend and as a result, in 1202, Philippe confiscated John's French lands and gave them to Arthur of Brittany. Although John captured Arthur and several of his supporters by 1205 Normandy and Anjou had fallen to the French. John attempted to invade France and Philippe attempted to invade England but in October 1206 a truce was agreed.

Excommunication

John clashed with the Pope, Innocent III over the election of the Archbishop of Canterbury which led to the excommunication of John and the suspension of all church services in England and Wales. John decided to comply with the Pope's wishes when the Pope gave the French King the authority to remove John by force.

Rebellion

In 1214 John invaded France, but his campaign failed and he returned to a hostile England. The Barons were unhappy with the amounts of money John had spent on his failed wars with France and they had decided to confront the king. John met the rebel barons in January of 1215 but the king delayed an answer to their demands while he attempted to get support. He gained support from the Pope by promising to go on a Crusade, but in May when he ordered that the rebels' estates should be confiscated, the rebels took control of London and invited Philippe II to England. In June the king met the rebels at Runnymede and he signed the Magna Carta agreeing to their terms. John did not take the agreement seriously and the rebels elected Philippe's son Louis as their king and in 1216 Louis arrived in London. John died in October of the same year leaving the country in a state of civil war.

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Preceded by
Richard (I, King of England 1189-1199)

Succeeded by
HENRY (III, King of England 1216-1272)

Family Tree Details

Father:	Henry (II, King of England 1154-1189) (b.1133 - d.1189)
Mother:	Eleanor (of Aquitaine) (b.1122 - d.1204)

JOHN (King of England 1199-1216) (b.1167 - d.1216)
         +Isabella of Gloucester ( - d.1217)
         +Isabella (of Angouleme)
                  =HENRY (III, King of England 1216-1272) (b.1207 - d.1272)
                  |        +Eleanor (of Provence)
                  |                 =EDWARD (I, King of England 1272-1307) (b.1239 - d.1307)
                  |                 |        +Eleanor (of Castile) (b.1241 - d.1290)
                  |                 |        |        =Katherine (Daughter of Edward I) (b.1264 - )
                  |                 |        |        =John (Son of Edward I) (b.1266 - d.1271)
                  |                 |        |        =Henry (Son of Edward I) (b.1268 - d.1274)
                  |                 |        |        =Eleanor (Daughter of Edward I) (b.1269 - d.1298)
                  |                 |        |        =Joan (daughter of Edward I) (b.1271 - )
                  |                 |        |        =Alfonso (Son of Edward I) (b.1275 - )
                  |                 |        |        =Margaret (b.1275 - d.1318)
                  |                 |        |        =Mary (Daughter of Edward I) (b.1279 - )
                  |                 |        |        =Elizabeth (b.1282 - d.1316)
                  |                 |        |        =EDWARD (II, King of England 1307-1327) (b.1284 - d.1327)
                  |                 |        |                 +Isabella (of France, Wife of Edward II, she-wolf of France) ( - d.1358)
                  |                 |        |                          =EDWARD (III, King of England 1327-1377) (b.1312 - d.1377)
                  |                 |        |                          =John (Earl of Cornwall) ( - d.1336)
                  |                 |        |                          =Joan (Daughter of Edward II)
                  |                 |        |                          =Eleanor (Daughter of Edward II)
                  |                 |        +Margaret (of France) ( - d.1317)
                  |                 |                 =Thomas (Earl of Norfolk) ( - d.1338)
                  |                 |                 =Edmund (Earl of Kent) ( - d.1330)
                  |                 |                          +Wake, Margaret ( - d.1349)
                  |                 |                                   =Joan (of Kent) ( - d.1385)
                  |                 =Edmund (Earl of Lancaster) ( - d.1296)
                  |                 |        +Fortibus, Aveline de
                  |                 |        +Blanche (of Artois)
                  |                 |                 =Thomas (Earl of Lancaster) ( - d.1322)
                  |                 =Margaret ( - d.1275)
                  |                 |        +Alexander (III, King of Scotland 1249-1286) ( - d.1286)
                  |                 |                 =Alexander (son of Alexander III) ( - d.1284)
                  |                 |                 =David (son of Alexander III) ( - d.1281)
                  |                 |                 =Margaret (daughter of Alexander III)
                  |                 |                          +Eric (King of Norway)
                  |                 |                                   =Margaret (Maid of Norway) (b.1283 - d.1290)
                  |                 =Beatrice ( - d.1275)
                  =Richard (Earl of Cornwall) (b.1209 - d.1272)
                  =Joan (Daughter of King John) (b.1210 - d.1238)
                  |        +Alexander (II, King of Scotland 1198-1249) (b.1198 - d.1249)
                  =Isabelle (b.1214 - d.1241)
                  =Eleanor (Daughter of King John) (b.1215 - d.1275)
                           +Marshal, William (the younger)
                           +Montfort, Simon de ( - d.1265)
                                    =Montfort, Henry de ( - d.1265)

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Mini Timeline

1156		Henry captures Anjou
		Anjou was captured by Henry II in this year. It was regained by the French in 1205 from king John.
1167	Dec 24	John, the future king of England is born
		John is born at Oxford.¹
1174	Oct 11	Henry II reaches a peace agreement
		After a year and a half of rebellion against him, Henry II achieved peace agreements with Louis the French king and his own three sons. (Treaty of Falaise?)²
1177	May	Council at Oxford
		At the council Henry II gave his title of Lord of Ireland to his son Prince John.³
1185	Apr	John is knighted
		John is knighted by his father at Windsor Castle before travelling to Ireland.
	Apr	John in Ireland
		John accepted the post of Lord or Ireland and travelled there to take control. He was around eighteen years old and took his friends of the same age with him. They treated the native Irish barons with contempt and the English soldiers were unable to subdue the Irish fighters in unfamiliar conditions and the mission soon became a complete disaster. By the end of the year John returned to England. William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke was entrusted with the task of controlling Ireland.
1189		John marries Isabella
		John married Isabella of Gloucester who was the heiress of the Glamorgan lordship.⁴
	Aug 29	John marries
		John 'Lackland' married Isabella of Gloucester.⁵
1191		John opposes William Longchamp
		John began a campaign opposing William Longchamp who had been appointed administrator of England by Richard I while he was away on Crusade.
	Oct 6	Tower of London siege
		Bishop William Longchamp held the Tower of London against Prince John's supporters for only three days. The Bishop surrendered the Tower and escaped to continue his support for King Richard.⁶
1194	Mar	Richard returns to England
		Richard I returned to England after his Crusade and imprisonment in Germany. John had all his castles in England confiscated and the only title left to him was that of Lord of Ireland.
1199	Mar	Siege at the castle of Chalus, and Richard dies
		Richard besieged the castle at Chalus where some treasure had been unearthed. Richard believed it was his and tried to take the castle. Riding too close to the walls, Richard was shot in the shoulder. The castle then fell and the archer who shot Richard was brought before him. Richard forgave the archer but Richard's second in command had the archer executed. Richard died of his wounds. On his death bed, Richard nominated his brother John as his heir rather than Arthur of Brittany.⁷
	Apr 25	John is crowned Duke of Normandy
		John is crowned Duke of Normandy at Rouen by Walter the Archbishop of Rouen.¹
	May	Important Appointments
		John chose people to help him run the country. He appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, as Chancellor. Geoffrey fitz Peter was chosen as Justiciar and William, Earl of Pembroke, became Marshal of John's household.¹
	May 27	John is crowned King
		John is crowned as King of England at Westminster.¹
	Jun 20	King John leaves England
		King John, along with many nobles, knights and soldiers, left England from Shoreham and sailed to Normandy.²
1200		John divorces Isabella of Gloucester
		King John had been married to Isabella of Gloucester for several years but they had no children. When John became king he quickly obtained a divorce leaving himself free to arrange a marriage that would give him political gain. Within the year he would marry Isabella of Angouleme, the daughter of an important baron in Aquitaine.²
	May 22	Philippe and John sign a treaty
		At le Goulet on the River Seine Philippe II signed a peace treaty with John providing two years of peace. The agreement recognised John as overlord of most of the English owned lands in France, but John had to give Philippe the lands of Norman Vexin and Evreux and a large sum of money.⁸
	Aug 24	John marries Isabella of Angouleme
		Eager to make peace with the count of Angouleme, John marries his only daughter, Isabella. Isabella was engaged to Hugh of Lusignan, a family which John was worried about due to their power and influence and the fact that an alliance between Angouleme and Lusignan would be a danger to him. Isabella was twelve or thirteen.⁸
	Sep 8	John and Isabella are crowned
		John and Isabella returned to England in late September and were both crowned at Westminster Abbey.
	Nov 22	William does homage to John
		During a tour of the Midlands, John received homage from William 'the Lyon', King of Scotland at Lincoln. William was looking to move into the areas of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. John on the other hand ensured that those areas were controlled by Barons he could trust.¹
1201	May	John sails to Normandy
		In France the Lusignans were causing problems still angry over John's marriage to Isabella. John ordered that an army should assemble at Portsmouth. Instead of taking the assembled army, John used the money they had to hire mercenaries and took them.
	Jun	Philippe entertains John in Paris
		Even though Philippe was hearing complaints from the Lusignans about John's treatment towards them, he was not willing to go against John at this time and entertained him in Paris.⁸
1202	Spring	Philippe sides with the Lusignans
		John charged the Lusignans with treason. The Lusignans went to Philippe for help and Philippe demanded to see John in Paris and for John to surrender several castles in good faith.
	Apr 28	John fails to attend a summons to Philippe's court
		Failing to attend the court of Philippe II, John was declared to be a rebel and to have forfeited the areas of Aquitaine, Poitou and Anjou. Philippe tried to mediate in the problems between John and the Lusignans but was ignored by John. The lands were given to Arthur of Brittany. Philippe kept Normandy for himself.⁸
	Aug 1	Battle of Mirabeau
		Arthur of Brittany and the Lusignans had laid siege to Mirabeau Castle trapping Eleanor of Aquitaine inside. King John launched a rescue mission to free her. Arthur was captured by William de Braose and was handed over to King John. Many other important knights were also captured and it was an important and famous victory for the English king. Those that were captured were treated badly by King John. He could have ransomed them for their freedom and made a lot of money, instead he kept them prisoner locked in dungeons. Some he had shipped to England and imprisoned. Arthur was sent to the dungeon in the castle at Falaise in Normandy.
1203		Beaulieu Abbey founded
		Founded by King John who wanted to become an object of prayer by the Cistercian order. The abbey was built on the site of a hunting lodge in the New Forest and was colonised by monks directly from Citeaux.⁹
	Apr 3	Arthur is murdered
		Arthur was moved to Rouen from Falaise where he was being held. There it is said that John killed Arthur and dumped his weighted-down body in the Seine. The body was discovered and later buried.
1204		Goodrich given to William Marshal
		King John gave Goodrich castle to William Marshal on his marriage to the heiress of the earldom of Pembroke.¹⁰
		Dublin Castle construction started
		King John ordered the construction of a castle at Dublin.
	Spring	Peace negotiations with France
		After losing Normandy to the French, John sent an embassy to France to negotiate with Philippe. In the party that went from England were Hubert Walter and William Marshal. The negotiations failed due to Philippe's demands.¹
	Apr 1	Death of Eleanor of Aquitaine
		Eleanor, Henry II's wife and John's mother died.¹
	Jun	Normandy is taken by Philippe
		Philippe II, King of France won control of Rouen, the capital of Normandy and Normandy itself. John still had control of Aquitaine.¹¹
1205	Feb	Philippe plans invasion
		Philippe II of France held a meeting in Normandy to discuss invading England. This forced John to abandon his own plans of invading Normandy as he could not risk moving his army abroad when the French were about to attack. The planned French invasion never materialised.¹
	Jun	John prepares invasion
		Worried by rumours of an invasion from Philippe of France, led by heirs of king Stephen, John prepared an invasion fleet of his own. But the barons refused to cross the Channel and attack Normandy and so the fleet was disbanded.⁸
	Summer	More castles fall to the French
		The castles at Chinon and Loches both fell to the French as Philippe strengthened his position. Again William Marshall travelled to see Philippe to agree peace terms, but his attempts were destroyed by Hubert Walter who sent a secret letter to Philippe telling him not to accept William Marshal's promise that John would do homage to Philippe. (What's going on here?)¹
	Jul 13	Hubert Walter dies
		Hubert Walter the Archbishop of Canterbury and King John's most important advisor died.¹
	Dec	John forces election of De Gray
		When Hubert Walter died a dispute began between King John and the monks of Canterbury over who should become the new Archbishop of Canterbury. King John wanted John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, to have the position but the monks wanted their sub-prior, Reginald. The matter was delayed until December when a mission sent to Rome could consult the Pope. Reginald himself went as part of the mission and stated that he had been elected by the monks. When King John heard of this he demanded that De Gray should be elected and the monks dutifully did.¹
1206	Jun	John defends Aquitaine
		After Philippe failed to invade England the year earlier, John took to opportunity to land an army at La Rochelle to defend his interests in Aquitaine which was his from his inheritance from Eleanor of Aquitaine, John's mother. John moved his army north and took back some of the lands he had lost to Philippe.¹
	Oct 26	Philippe and John reach a truce
		A two year truce is agreed between the Kings of England and France. ¹
	Dec	The Pope chooses Stephen Langton for Canterbury
		Although the monks of Canterbury wanted their own sub-prior for the post of Archbishop and King John wanted John de Gray, Pope Innocent III chose Stephen Langton. Langton was originally from Lincolnshire but after teaching in Paris had moved to Rome where he had become a Cardinal. The monks of Canterbury accepted the Pope's decision and voted Langton in as the new Archbishop. King John did not agree.¹
1207		Earl of Leicester loses land
		King John took the land of the Earl of Leicester (father of Simon de Montfort) and banished him from England.¹²
1207 - 1212		Odiham Castle built
		At a cost of £1200, King John built the castle of Odiham.
		John introduces the first income tax
		King John introduced the first income tax in England. One thirteenth of income from rents and moveable property had to be paid. Collected locally by sheriffs and administered by the Exchequer. The amount was one shilling on each mark of income, where a mark was 13 shillings and 4 pence. The tax was unpopular with the barons and especially in the churches and monasteries. The tax did raise a lot of money for the king, doubling his annual income for the year.¹³
	Aug	The Pope threatens an Interdict
		The Pope threatened King John with the sentence of Interdict unless he accepted Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. An Interdict meant that church services would be banned in England except for baptisms and confessions. ¹
	Oct	Birth of Henry III
		Henry, the future king of England, was born at Winchester Castle.
	Christmas	John at Worcester
		King John visited Worcester and gave funds for the rebuilding of the Cathedral after the devastating fire.¹⁴
1208	Spring	Interdict served by the Pope
		With King John still refusing to accept Langton as Archbishop the Pope served the sentence of Interdict on England. In response King John confiscated church property. ¹
1209		Langton lands at Dover
		Stephen Langton landed in England from France to see King John and take the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. John refused to meet with him although John did meet Stephen's brother Simon.¹
	Aug	John prepares to invade Scotland
		John mobilized an army with the help of Llewelyn of Gwynedd a Welsh chieftain and moved them up to Norham Castle. William 'the Lyon', the king of Scotland was not ready for conflict and paid John to leave and a treaty was signed.¹
	Nov	John excommunicated by the Pope
		King John is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III.
1210 - 1215		Kenilworth Castle defences improved
		King John spent time and money on the castle at Kenilworth, building outer walls and raising the height of the lake.¹⁵
		Haverfordwest Castle hosts King John
		King John used Haverfordwest Castle as a staging post before and after travelling to Ireland.
	Jun 10	John lands in Ireland
		John landed at Waterford looking for the rebel baron William de Braose who had fled to Ireland. John took the opportunity to visit his lands in Ireland receiving homage from the Irish Chieftains. de Broase fled but his wife and son were captured, taken back to England and starved to death in Windsor Castle.
	Nov 1	Arrest of Wealthy Jews
		King John ordered that Jews across the country had to pay a 'tullage', a sum of money to the king. Those who did not pay were arrested, imprisoned and forced to pay the money in return for their release. May Jews were executed or left the country.¹³
1211	Summer	Excommunication served
		In Northampton the Papal legate Pandulf served King John with his excommunication ordered by the Pope. For John this was a serious blow to his ability to rule the country as it absolved the King's subjects from their oaths of allegiance, gave the Barons reason to revolt and allowed the King of France to invade England to remove John from power.¹
	Jul	Peace with Wales
		John and Llewelyn the Great of Wales reached an agreement and a peace treaty was signed.¹
1212		John extorts money from the barons
		Obsessed with regaining the Angevin empire, John tried all means to get money from the barons to pay for it. He held inquiries into tenures, confiscated estates, took hostages all in the hope that the barons would be forced to be loyal and to give him funds.¹²
		William gives son as hostage
		William, King of the Scots was prepared to give John his eldest son, Alexander as hostage to keep the peace between the two countries. William was also eager that Alexander should become King of the Scots after himself. Earning the trust of John was to be repaid later when John sent an army to Scotland to help William put down a rebellion.¹
	Nov	John accepts Pope's demands
		Taking the advice of William Marshal John accepted the demands of the Pope and that Stephen Langton should become Archbishop. A peace mission was also sent to the Pope.¹
1213	Mar	John prepares against invasion
		At a camp near Canterbury called Barham Down King John mobilized an army against the threat of invasion from the French.
	Spring	French plan invasion
		Because King John had been excommunicated by the Pope the French king, Philippe, had the right to invade England and remove John from the throne. Philippe wanted to put his son Louis in John's place.¹
	Jul	Excommunication lifted
		When King John agreed to meet Stephen Langton at Winchester he was absolved from excommunication.¹
	Sep 26	Pope's envoy arrives in England
		Cardinal Nicholas De Romanis arrived in England to prepare for the settlement of the Interdict. John's punishment was to pay 100,000 marks to compensate the church for the losses he had caused it.¹
	Nov	John meets the Barons
		John met the Barons at Wallingford in an attempt to prevent them from rebelling against him.¹
1214	Feb 1	Peter Des Roches becomes Justiciar
		John elects Peter Des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester as his Justiciar. Des Roches had supported John through the years of Interdict and was repaid for his loyalty, but he was not popular with the other Barons.¹
	Feb 2	John sails for France
		John's conflict with Philippe of France started again with John's departure from Portsmouth. With him sailed his wife and second son, Richard. He also took a large amount of treasure.¹
	Jun 29	Interdict lifted
		At St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, the Interdict was finally lifted.¹
	Jul 27	Battle of Bouvines
		English forces under the control of Emperor Otto IV were defeated by Philip II of France.
	Oct 15	John returns from France
		Upset by demands for higher taxes and less control over affairs in England, the Barons met John on his return with a charter from the time of Henry I which they wanted John to agree to and abide by. ¹
1215		Colchester Castle occupied by the French
		An invasion force from France under direction of Philippe II, the king of France captured Colchester Castle. Their objective was to help the cause of the Baron's against king John.
		Llewellyn captures Abervagenny Castle
		The castle at Abervagenny was captured from King John's forces by Llewellyn.¹⁶
	Jan	John meets the Barons in London
		Promising the Barons safe passage, John met them in London to discuss their demands. John postponed any answer until Easter.¹
	Mar 4	John takes oath for Crusade
		Hoping to gain the support of the Pope against the Barons, John took the oath to go on Crusade.¹
	Apr 1	Pope sides with John
		Pope Innocent III sent a letter to the Barons asking them to halt their actions against John.¹
	May 17	London falls to the Rebels
		The gates to London were opened by a supporter of the rebellious Barons and the houses of Jews were targeted for ransacking and burning. The rebels called for those Barons still on the side of John to join them. The Tower of London held by John's supporters was too well defended to fall into the hands of the rebels.¹
	May 27	A truce is sought
		Stephen Langton and William Marshall attempted to get the Barons and John to meet and find a settlement to the civil war. ¹
	Jun 15	John's Great Charter (the Magna Carta)
		A large number of barons, led by Stephen Langton the archbishop of Canterbury, meet King John on an island in the Thames at Runnymede. They forced the king to sign the 'Great Charter' or Magna Carta that would limit the power of the monarchy. The barons insisted that the old feudal contract should be reinstated and that the king should abide by the laws that the rest of the population did. The feudal contract allowed the barons to run their own lands, renting it from the king but paying rent by supplying knights rather than money. This feudal system had been set up by William the Conqueror.¹²
	Aug 24	The Magna Carta is annulled
		Pope Innocent III annulled the Magna Carta freeing King John from its limitations. The Pope annulled the charter on the grounds that the King only signed it because he was forced to and that the document was illegal. The Pope was prepared to support John against the rebel barons because he wanted him to take a key role in a new crusade.
	Oct	Baron's war
		After the Magna Carta was annulled and it was clear that John was not going to agree to the terms of the charter the civil war between King John and the rebel barons started. The barons offered the English crown to Prince Louis, the son of King Philippe II of France and invited him to invade England. John confiscated the rebel barons' lands and gave them to his own supporters. King John besieged Rochester Castle where a garrison of men had been left by the barons. The garrison was starved out and the castle fell to the King.
1216	Jan	King John attacks Berwick
		King John attacked Berwick and forced the Scots to leave. He also raided the lowlands.
	Feb	King John puts down revolt
		King John put down a revolt in East Anglia. The Barons and the French kept hold of London.
	Feb	Small French fleet land in London
		A small French army landed in London. Their commander informed the rebel barons that Prince Louis would soon arrive from France.
	May 18	A storm hits John's fleet
		John's fleet of ships was badly damaged by storms as they prepare to defend against an invasion from France. This left the way open for Prince Louis to sail to England a few days later.¹
	May 21	Prince Louis of France claims English Throne
		Invited by the barons opposed to king John, Prince Louis of France landed in England to claim the English Throne. Louis captured Rochester Castle after a short siege.
	Jun	Prince Louis advances across England
		Prince Louis advanced on Winchester and captured the city and its castle. Elsewhere, Windsor Castle and Dover Castle were besieged by the rebel barons. Both castles were defended and held out against the sieges. King John used Corfe Castle in the south-west as his base of operations while he planned his campaign against the rebel barons and Prince Louis.
	Sep	William of Cassingham
		A man called William of Cassingham, possibly known as Willekin of the Weald, supported King John against the invaders and attacked the rebel barons and French in whatever means he could using a form of guerrilla warfare.¹⁷
	Oct	Death of King John
		King John died at Newark from excessive eating and drinking. Protestant historians of the 16th century wrote that he was poisoned by a monk at Swineshead in Lincolnshire. The monk received orders from the Pope to kill King John and took a small amount of poisoned wine himself to reassure the King and also died. But had King John become the Pope's ally before his death?
	Oct	King John buried at Worcester
		King John's wishes were to be buried at the church at Worcester.This was done and King John's body was placed in a tomb at the centre of the Cathedral.¹⁴
	Oct 19	King John dies
		King John died at Newark. This was shortly after he lost his baggage train in the Wash estuary as the tide returned. There was supposed to be a large amount of treasure in the baggage train at the time and it has never been found.