King Henry II left England via Dover and sailed back across the Channel to the Continent. There he captured Maribeau and Chinon in Anjou. The area would remain in English hands until it was regained by the French in 1205 from King John.

Prince John is born at Oxford. ^[1]

After a year and a half of rebellion against him, King Henry II achieved peace agreements with Louis VII the French king and his own three sons. (Treaty of Falaise?) ^[2]

At the Council of Oxford King King Henry II gave his title of Lord of Ireland to his son Prince John. ^[3]

John is knighted by his father at Windsor Castle before travelling to 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.

Unhappy that King Henry would give the throne of England to John, Richard sided with Philippe Augustus of France.

John married Isabella of Gloucester who was the heiress of the Glamorgan lordship. ^[4]

King Henry II was now seriously ill and submitted at a conference with the French King to peace. Henry agreed to do homage to Philippe and several towns and castles were taken by the French. It was now that Henry learnt of John's allegiance with the French King and this news upset the English King so much it was a major cause of his death.

John 'Lackland' married Isabella of Gloucester. ^[5]

Richard set sail with his crusading army from Dover Castle at the end of the year. To ensure he had the allegiance of his younger brother John, Richard had bestowed upon him the title count of Mortain and had approved John's marriage to their cousin Isabelle. But Richard did not nominate John as his heir.  ^[6]

John began a campaign opposing William Longchamp who had been appointed administrator of England by Richard I while he was away on Crusade.

William Longchamp besieged Lincoln Castle accusing its owner of corruption. In response, Prince John captured Nottingham and Tickhill castles from William. The sheriff of the castle escaped and found refuge at Prince John's court while his wife Nicolaa successfully held the castle against the siege.

John and William Longchamp met at Winchester to discuss their differences. Several senior bishops were appointed as arbitrators and at the end of the meeting both John and William agreed to follow the recommendations. Longchamp was to return Lincoln Castle to it's owner and accept limits to his powers. In return John was to surrender Nottingham and Tickhill Castles.

Geoffrey, the illegitimate son of King Henry II and half-brother to Richard and John landed secretly at Dover. He had been consecrated as the new archbishop of York while in Tours and his return was banned by William Longchamp. Several days after he arrived he was arrested. Citing the Winchester treaty, John sought another meeting between himself and Longchamp. This was agreed and the two were to meet at Loddon bridge near Reading. Geoffrey was freed, but Longchamp decided to flee and headed to Dover Castle.

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. ^[7]

William Longchamp was captured when his disguise as a female merchant was seen through. John ordered that he should be expelled from the country.

King Richard I realised that he didn't have the resources to maintain control over the Cypriots. He worried that back in England, John, his younger brother could sieze the throne. So Richard sold the island to the Knights Templar for a sum of 100,000 besants. 40,000 of which needed to be paid straight away, while the rest was to be paid in instalments.

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.

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. Richard was buried at Fontevraud Abbey. ^[8]

John is crowned Duke of Normandy at Rouen by Walter the Archbishop of Rouen. ^[1]

John landed back in England on the 25th at Shoreham in Sussex. He reached London on the 26th and 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]

John is crowned as King of England at Westminster Abbey. ^[1]

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]

William the Lion of Scotland was eager to support John's claim to the throne of England in exchange for ownership of the northern territories of England iincluding Northumberland and Cumberland. John had promised to honour these demands while back in Normandy as long as the Scottish King kept the peace until he arrived. Through mediation the threat of conflict between England and Scotland was put aside. This allowed John to concentrate his efforts against France where King Philip was causing problems.

King John, along with many nobles, knights and soldiers, left England from Shoreham and sailed to Normandy. Within a few days John and Philip agreed a short peace treaty to last until the middle of August. ^[2]

At le Goulet on the River Seine, Philippe II of France signed a peace treaty with King 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. ^[9]

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 around fifteen years old. ^[9]

John and Isabella returned to England in late September and were both crowned at Westminster Abbey.

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]

Hubert de Burgh was granted the three castles of White, Skenfrith and Grosmont in the Welsh Marches by King John.

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 to hire mercenaries and took them instead.

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. ^[9]

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.

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. ^[9]

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.

King John lost the support of his allies after the capture of Mirabeau Castle and the cruel treatment imposed on the prisoners. The most important of these were William des Roches, the French knight who commanded Anjou, and Aimery de Thouars. They both defected to Philippe, the French King's side.

The young prince was being held in the castle at Falaise, where Hubert de Burgh had become castellan. King John ordered that Authur should be blinded and sent several of his court to carry this out. But only one reached the castle. The others could not commit such a crime and fled. When the man reached Falaise and told Hubert what had to be done Hubert refused. To protect the young prince, a story was concocted stating that Aurthur had died of grief. This caused an uprising by the Bretons and to avoid conflict Hurbert then declared that the prince was still alive. But Arthur could not be produced as he had been moved to Rouen. ^[10]

With even more defections to the French, King John lost his control over Anjou.

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. ^[11]

Arthur had been moved to Rouen from Falaise where he was being held captive. There it is said that King John killed Arthur and dumped his weighted-down body in the Seine. The body was discovered and later buried.

By the summer of 1203 John had retreated to Normandy and was surrounded by his enemies. He was losing ground and castles. It would not be long before he abandoned Normandy for good.

With events going badly in France for King John, the threat of invasion was a real possibility. To help prevent that John ordered Dover Castle to be handed over to William of Huntingfield who should defend it against attack. To ensure he did so, William's son and daughter were taken hostage and were not to be released until the castle was safely returned in person to the King or Hubert de Burgh. ^[10]

King John abandoned the lands that had been held by the Dukes of Normandy for over a hundred years and returned to England. Only two castles held out against Philip Augustus, they were Chinon, controlled by Hubert de Burgh and Loches, defended by Girard d'Athee. ^[10]

King John gave Goodrich Castle to William Marshal on his marriage to the heiress of the earldom of Pembroke. ^[12]

King John ordered the construction of a castle at Dublin.

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]

Eleanor, Henry II's wife and John's mother died. Eleanor was buried at Fontevraud Abbey . ^[1]

Philippe II, King of France won control of Rouen, the capital of Normandy and Normandy itself. John still had control of Aquitaine. ^[13]

William de Braose, King John's favourite, was granted the three castles of White, Grosmont and Skenfrith.

Philippe II of France held a meeting in Normandy to discuss invading England. This forced King 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]

While Hubert de Burgh was defending the castle at Chinon and then later in captivity, King John back in England gave orders for his land to be taken back. By the end of the year the order was given to transfer ownership of the tree castles Skenfrih, Grosmont and Llantilio (White Castle) to William de Braose. ^[10]

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. ^[9]

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]

Hubert Walter the Archbishop of Canterbury and King John's most important advisor died. ^[1]

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]

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]

A two year truce is agreed between the Kings of England and France.  ^[1]

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]

King John took the land of the Earl of Leicester (father of Simon de Montfort) and banished him from England. ^[14]

At a cost of £1200, King John built the castle at Odiham.

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. ^[15]

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]

Henry, the future king of England, was born at Winchester Castle.

King John visited Worcester and gave funds for the rebuilding of the Cathedral after the devastating fire. ^[16]

King John suspected that the loyalty of some barons towards the Crown was not strong so demanded they provide hostages to ensure they did not rise up against him. William de Braose was one of these barons. When a messanger arrived at Bramber Castle from the King with demands to hand over his children William de Braose refused stating that he could not trust the King with their safety. Together with his family William fled to Ireland. ^[17]

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. Many of the bishops of the great churches in the country fled abroad to the Continent. ^[1]

Stephen Langton landed at Dover from France to see King John and took the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. John refused to meet with him although John did meet Stephen's brother Simon. ^[1]

John mobilized an army with the help of Llywelyn 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]

King John is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III.

King John spent time and money on the castle at Kenilworth, building outer walls and raising the height of the lake. ^[18]

King John used Haverfordwest Castle as a staging post before and after travelling to 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 Braose fled but his wife and son were captured, taken back to England and starved to death in Windsor Castle.

The castle belonging to the Earl of Ulster was besiged by the English. It did not take long for the castle to fall into English hands.

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. ^[15]

King John took an army into Wales and subdued the princes of the regions. John and Llywelyn the Great of Wales reached an agreement and a peace treaty was signed. ^[1]

In Northampton the Papal legates Pandulf and a Knight Templar met King John after his return from Wales. They had been sent by Pope Innocent in an attempt to get the English king to see the error of his ways but when they failed they served King John with his excommunication. 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]

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. ^[14]

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]

The Pope's patience had run out and declared he would depose King John if he refused to back down. Pope Innocent wanted King Philippe of France to invade England and take the English throne. The French king began preparations for the invasion.

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]

At a camp near Canterbury called Barham Down King John mobilized an army against the threat of invasion from the French. He also prepared a navy on the south coast to try and prevent the French landing on English soil.

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. Plans were put forward at the Council of Soissons in early April. The Count of Flanders refused to join the Crusade againt the English so the French king had to overrun his country to ensure France was safe from attack if the invasion of England took place. ^[1]

King John made his first act of submission to the Pope's envoy at Temple Ewell after the papal legate Pandulph asked members of the Knights Templar to arrange the meeting. Temple Ewell was a Templar preceptory located near Dover. ^[19]

Rather than wait for the French to set sail, King John ordered his fleet to attack the French ships. The English fleet attacked the French fleet at Damme, Flanders near the town and port of Bruges. The French were taken by surprise and many of their ships were captured or destroyed. The French plans of invasion were destroyed. ^[1]

When King John agreed to meet Stephen Langton at Winchester he was absolved from excommunication. ^[1]

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]

King John appeared at St. Paul's Cathedral in a second act of submission to the Pope. ^[19]

John met the Barons at Wallingford in an attempt to prevent them from rebelling against him. The king had planned to invade France but the northern barons had refused to provide the necessary assistance. ^[1]

At the age of four, Joan of England was taken to the court of Hugh of Lusignan as a future bride for this son.

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]

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]

At St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, the Interdict was finally lifted. ^[1]

English forces under the control of Emperor Otto IV were defeated by Philip II of France.

After a disastrous campaign by the English this peace treaty signed by King John of England and Philippe Augustus of France ceded huge amounts of territory including Anjou, Poitou and Brittany held by the English to the French King.

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]

A group of barons, after finding a copy of King Henry I's Charter of Liberties, swore an oath at the altar of t. Edmunds at Bury St. Edmunds to force King John to acknowledge thier rights.

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.

The castle at Abervagenny was captured from King John's forces by Llewellyn. ^[20]

Promising the Barons safe passage, John met them in London to discuss their demands. John postponed any answer until Easter. ^[1]

Hoping to gain the support of the Pope against the Barons, John took the oath to go on Crusade. ^[1]

Pope Innocent III sent a letter to the Barons asking them to halt their actions against King John. ^[1]

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]

Stephen Langton and William Marshall attempted to get the Barons and John to meet and find a settlement to the civil war.  ^[1]

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. ^[14]

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.

In a letter dated 13th September 1215, King John sought help from Pope Innocent III in his fight against the barons. In the letter, written while the King stayed at Dover Castle, John stated that he believed the defence of England was ultimately the responsibility of God and the Pope. Pope Innocent III agreed and declared that the Magna Carta should be annulled.

After the Magna Carta was annulled and it was clear that King John was not going to agree to the terms of the charter the civil war between King John and the rebel barons began.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.

During the early 13th century, the abbey expanded its land holdings, particularly through the acquisition of good quality farmland in the area granted to them by King John in 1216. This enabled the abbey to become wealthy, especially through the sale of wool, and as a result the abbey was largely rebuilt in the Early English style. The presbytery was expanded, and additional chapels, a processional ambulatory, and domestic buildings including a chapter house were added. ^[21]

King John attacked Berwick and forced the Scots to leave. He also raided the lowlands.

King John put down a revolt in East Anglia. The Barons and the French kept hold of London.

A small French army landed in London. Their commander informed the rebel barons that Prince Louis would soon arrive from France.

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]

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.

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.

King John's last visit to Odiham Castle was on April 14th, staying there for five days. In the middle of June Louis captured Winchester and marched to Odiham where a siege began. The small castle held out for several weeks and defied the French siege engines. Inside the castle were less than twenty men, a hand full of knights and ten sergeants. Finally on the 9th of July, they surrendered being assured they would retain their freedom, arms and horses.

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. ^[22]

King John was at Cambridge Castle before heading north. He left the castle in the hands of Falcasius de Brent. The castle fell into the hands of the rebel barons. ^[23]

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?

King John's wishes were to be buried at the cathedral at Worcester due to his affection for the late saint Wulfstan who was buried there. This was done and King John's body was placed in a tomb at the centre of the Cathedral. ^[16]

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.