KING JOHN 

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John was born around Christmas in 1166 or 1167 in Oxford, the favourite son of Henry II. When his father died Richard I became king and John received titles, lands and money, but this was not enough.  Three years later, when Richard was imprisoned in Germany, John tried to seize control. He was unsuccessful and, when Richard returned in early 1194, was banished. The two were soon reconciled and, when Arthur was captured by Philip II in 1196, Richard named John heir.  

In 1199, Richard died and John became king. The war with France restarted when John I married the Angoulame heiress Isabella, who had been betrothed to Hugh de Lusignan. A rebellion broke out and John was ordered to appear before his overlord, Philip II of France. His failure to do so resulted in war. By 1206, John had lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine and parts of Poitou, but John was determined to defeat France. Then his government became increasingly ruthless and efficient in its financial administration. Taxes soared and he began to exploit his feudal rights ever more harshly. Meanwhile the discontent of the barons increased as long as the negotiations with barons failed and a civil war broke out in May 1215.  When the rebels seized London, John was compelled to negotiate further and, on 19 June at Runnymede, he accepted the baronial terms embodied in the Magna Carta, which limited royal power, ensured feudal rights and restated English law.

It was the first formal document stating that the monarch was as much under the rule of law as his people, and that the rights of individuals were to be upheld even against the wishes of the sovereign. Prince Louis of France then invaded at the barons' request. With  the death of John the first in October 1216 was enabled a compromise peace and the succession of his son Henry III.