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King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant
No English king has suffered a worse press than King John: but how to disentangle legend and reality?
The youngest of the five sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the empire builders of the Angevin dynasty, John had small hope of securing any significant inheritance. Then, in 1199, on the death of his older brother Richard, John took possession of the vast Angevin lands in England and on the continent. But by his death in 1216, he had lost almost all that he inherited, and had come perilously close to losing his English kingdom, too.
Drawing on thousands of contemporary sources, Stephen Church tells John's story - from boyhood and the succession crises of his early adulthood, to accession, rebellion and civil war. In doing so, he reveals exactly why John's reign went so disastrously wrong and how John's failure led to the great cornerstone of Britain's constitution: Magna Carta. Vivid and authoritative, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant is history at its visceral best.
The youngest of the five sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the empire builders of the Angevin dynasty, John had small hope of securing any significant inheritance. Then, in 1199, on the death of his older brother Richard, John took possession of the vast Angevin lands in England and on the continent. But by his death in 1216, he had lost almost all that he inherited, and had come perilously close to losing his English kingdom, too.
Drawing on thousands of contemporary sources, Stephen Church tells John's story - from boyhood and the succession crises of his early adulthood, to accession, rebellion and civil war. In doing so, he reveals exactly why John's reign went so disastrously wrong and how John's failure led to the great cornerstone of Britain's constitution: Magna Carta. Vivid and authoritative, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant is history at its visceral best.
334 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2015
About the author
Stephen Church
13 books10 followersStephen Church is a writer and professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia and is regarded as an expert on King John.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 16, 2015
The copy I read was a preprint proof, so some of the issues I had may well be dealt with in the final version. I enjoyed the book, which seemed exactingly researched and gave a mixture of voices from contemporary chroniclers and modern historians, through the letters of John, Pope Innocent and - the standout figure of the book - Philip Augustus of France.
The title is somewhat misleading as it is a standard biography of John with Magna Carta occupying a relatively limited space -it doesn't even give the full text of the Charter, just quotes. That said the much more extended treatment of how John lost his continental possessions to the much more able Philip Augustus and how in the end it hung on one major battle and John was not there was both fascinating and an essential explanation of John's 1215 weakness. This treatment would have been immensely improved by maps showing where on earth the places are as my geography of medieval French regions is lacking (perhaps this will be in the final edition).
Some other reviewers have noted that the mixed use of endnotes and footnotes is not always well thought through with some footnotes adding little, and I would agree with that. I would also have liked a more developed conclusion capable of bringing the reign together in a balanced and thoughtful way and this was lacking. I chose this book in part because I enjoyed Shakespeare's King John in which he plays upon John's battles with the Pope to present him as a protoprotestant, and I hoped to get both some insight into how true this was (not very - Innocent and he were close in the end) and some discussion of later reception of John in Robin Hood, Shakespeare etc. but there is nothing on that. Nor, surprisingly, was there anything much on the later impact of Magna Carta: I learnt, much more on that from a 30 minute In Our Time.
The title is somewhat misleading as it is a standard biography of John with Magna Carta occupying a relatively limited space -it doesn't even give the full text of the Charter, just quotes. That said the much more extended treatment of how John lost his continental possessions to the much more able Philip Augustus and how in the end it hung on one major battle and John was not there was both fascinating and an essential explanation of John's 1215 weakness. This treatment would have been immensely improved by maps showing where on earth the places are as my geography of medieval French regions is lacking (perhaps this will be in the final edition).
Some other reviewers have noted that the mixed use of endnotes and footnotes is not always well thought through with some footnotes adding little, and I would agree with that. I would also have liked a more developed conclusion capable of bringing the reign together in a balanced and thoughtful way and this was lacking. I chose this book in part because I enjoyed Shakespeare's King John in which he plays upon John's battles with the Pope to present him as a protoprotestant, and I hoped to get both some insight into how true this was (not very - Innocent and he were close in the end) and some discussion of later reception of John in Robin Hood, Shakespeare etc. but there is nothing on that. Nor, surprisingly, was there anything much on the later impact of Magna Carta: I learnt, much more on that from a 30 minute In Our Time.
August 17, 2015
The perfect myth-buster.
September 16, 2015
A good companion to all of the events happening around Magna Carta this year. I had a few key bits of the timeline wrong in my head. Well worth reading.
July 21, 2019
King John is undoubtedly one of the most unpopular kings in British History. Over the years, his image has been constructed again and again in order for him to be presented as one of the worst villains of all time. Stephen Church's book successfully manages to depict a more realistic figure of the king. He is still flawed and ineffective, but we now have the possible reasons behind the evolution of King John from the unexpected heir to the Angevin Empire into the man who lost it all and went as far as to concede to the terms of Magna Carta.
The book is extremely intriguing and enlightening, revealing essential information about a man who, undeniably, should never have been king. King John never managed to acquire the respect and devotion his brother, King Richard, had inspired in his subjects. Certainly, King Richard's reign was far from impeccable, but he never provoked his people like John did. King John was all about the pomp and his need to appear as the most magnificent king rather than actually act like one. In addition, he was never really raised to be king and, as a result, he was not properly equiped for kingship. His series of catastrophic decisions led to Magna Carta, the steady decline of the power of the monarchy, and cost him all that his father, mother and brother had zealously fought for: the lands of their ancestors. Along with the Angevin Empire, King John lost a place among the admirable figures of history.
Stephen Church's brilliant book allows the reader to form their own opinion about the reign of King John without favouring one side of the story or the other. In the end, it is the reader's decision whether they can find any redeeming qualities in him; whether John was genuinely a wicked, incompetent and selfish king or a severely misguided and unprepared ruler.
The book is extremely intriguing and enlightening, revealing essential information about a man who, undeniably, should never have been king. King John never managed to acquire the respect and devotion his brother, King Richard, had inspired in his subjects. Certainly, King Richard's reign was far from impeccable, but he never provoked his people like John did. King John was all about the pomp and his need to appear as the most magnificent king rather than actually act like one. In addition, he was never really raised to be king and, as a result, he was not properly equiped for kingship. His series of catastrophic decisions led to Magna Carta, the steady decline of the power of the monarchy, and cost him all that his father, mother and brother had zealously fought for: the lands of their ancestors. Along with the Angevin Empire, King John lost a place among the admirable figures of history.
Stephen Church's brilliant book allows the reader to form their own opinion about the reign of King John without favouring one side of the story or the other. In the end, it is the reader's decision whether they can find any redeeming qualities in him; whether John was genuinely a wicked, incompetent and selfish king or a severely misguided and unprepared ruler.
October 27, 2018
A fascinating and highly readable, well-researched history of King John, bringing to life one of the most reviled English king of all time- and exploring why he probably doesn't deserve (all) the reputation we've given him.
October 8, 2022
Really interesting biography of a dreadful King, looking at what made him what he was.
October 4, 2023
Great book, gave me some new insights into the various aspects of John's life and troubles.
September 3, 2024
'Hugely enjoyable' says BBC History magazine. I wouldn't go quite that far but it is quite enjoyable, being written in a readable style with some wit. It is a compelling portrait of King John and a good guide through the complexities of his reign. It is not without some slight errors of detail: Church says that Rochester Castle fell as soon as the corner of the donjon was undermined (236) but in fact, incredibly, the garrison held out for some time after their defences were breached.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews