sons of the Welsh princes, and had them all killed in sight of their parents.
John violated all the rules of war; after his victory over the King of France in 1202, he kept his prisoners ‘so vilely and in such evil distress that it seemed shameful and ugly to all those who witnessed this cruelty’. He massacred a garrison of his own men in Normandy, because he’d switched sides without telling them. Perhaps worst of all was the sexual depredations he committed against females of all ages, including several noblemen’s daughters; and he almost certainly murdered his 16-year-old nephew Arthur in a drunken rage.
One baron, Eustace de Vesci, accused the king of forcing himself on his wife, and when John came to stay at his home a prostitute was put in her bed just in case the king crept in – which he did. John’s rapacious sexual appetites alienated everyone. Among his most loyal soldiers was his half-brother, Henry’s bastard William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, but when he ended up in a French prison John made a pass at his wife. Even John’s own chronicler, who was paid to promote his image, conceded that he was ‘a very bad man, cruel and lecherous’.
John was initially engaged to a woman called Isabel of Gloucester, but the year after becoming king he sold his fiancée to a baron, Geoffrey de Mandeville, for 20,000 marks. Instead he married Isabella of Angouleme, which came as a surprise to her fiancé Hugh de Lusignan, who had postponed the wedding because she was only 12. Her age didn’t trouble John, who consummated the marriage straight away. To placate Hugh, John later offered him the hand in marriage of his daughter Joan, who was all of three years old.
The wronged man appealed to his overlord, Philippe of France, who was also John’s overlord for his French territories. Philippe in contrast had for 16 years refused to have marital relations with his Danish Queen, Ingeberg, who was said to be as beautiful as Helen of Troy but who for some reason repulsed him. In 1204, as punishment for John’s misdeeds, Philippe took away most of his lands in France, including all of Normandy, Brittany and Anjou. Philippe could do this because John was liked even less in France; after Richard’s death the Bretons chose his young nephew Arthur, son of Geoffrey, as their duke, and only Gascony-Aquitaine sided with John because he reduced the tax on wine.
Young Arthur certainly had his own ruthless streak: in 1202 he had besieged his own grandmother, Eleanor, in the castle of Mirebeau in the Loire Valley; the teenager also demanded England and said that while it was ruled by another he would not give a moment’s peace until the end of his life (which turned out to be quite soon). John travelled to Normandy, where he invited his nephew around for talks in his castle; there the adolescent refused to recognize him as king and denounced his ‘usurpation’. Arthur’s body was seen floating in the Seine a couple of days later.
In 1205 John amassed an invasion force at Portsmouth, but had to endure a humiliating climb-down in the face of a mutiny. To finance war with France the king increased tax by 300 per cent, mostly targeting the rich barons. He introduced ‘scutage’, literally a shield tax, forced payment for aristocrats who refused military service; but many Anglo-Norman barons no longer had family connections with France, and failed to see why they should risk their lives to help John keep hold of his land.
There was also inheritance tax. Some noblemen were charged up to £7,000 to take over their father’s or brother’s land, and the king often kept barons in a state of permanent debt, and threatened arrest or worse. The king kidnapped the wife and son of one such baron, his loyal follower William de Briouze, who had failed to cough up £3,500. When Matilda de Briouze blurted out to one of John’s men that they knew about his nephew’s murder, she and her son were taken prisoner and starved to death;
John violated all the rules of war; after his victory over the King of France in 1202, he kept his prisoners ‘so vilely and in such evil distress that it seemed shameful and ugly to all those who witnessed this cruelty’. He massacred a garrison of his own men in Normandy, because he’d switched sides without telling them. Perhaps worst of all was the sexual depredations he committed against females of all ages, including several noblemen’s daughters; and he almost certainly murdered his 16-year-old nephew Arthur in a drunken rage.
One baron, Eustace de Vesci, accused the king of forcing himself on his wife, and when John came to stay at his home a prostitute was put in her bed just in case the king crept in – which he did. John’s rapacious sexual appetites alienated everyone. Among his most loyal soldiers was his half-brother, Henry’s bastard William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, but when he ended up in a French prison John made a pass at his wife. Even John’s own chronicler, who was paid to promote his image, conceded that he was ‘a very bad man, cruel and lecherous’.
John was initially engaged to a woman called Isabel of Gloucester, but the year after becoming king he sold his fiancée to a baron, Geoffrey de Mandeville, for 20,000 marks. Instead he married Isabella of Angouleme, which came as a surprise to her fiancé Hugh de Lusignan, who had postponed the wedding because she was only 12. Her age didn’t trouble John, who consummated the marriage straight away. To placate Hugh, John later offered him the hand in marriage of his daughter Joan, who was all of three years old.
The wronged man appealed to his overlord, Philippe of France, who was also John’s overlord for his French territories. Philippe in contrast had for 16 years refused to have marital relations with his Danish Queen, Ingeberg, who was said to be as beautiful as Helen of Troy but who for some reason repulsed him. In 1204, as punishment for John’s misdeeds, Philippe took away most of his lands in France, including all of Normandy, Brittany and Anjou. Philippe could do this because John was liked even less in France; after Richard’s death the Bretons chose his young nephew Arthur, son of Geoffrey, as their duke, and only Gascony-Aquitaine sided with John because he reduced the tax on wine.
Young Arthur certainly had his own ruthless streak: in 1202 he had besieged his own grandmother, Eleanor, in the castle of Mirebeau in the Loire Valley; the teenager also demanded England and said that while it was ruled by another he would not give a moment’s peace until the end of his life (which turned out to be quite soon). John travelled to Normandy, where he invited his nephew around for talks in his castle; there the adolescent refused to recognize him as king and denounced his ‘usurpation’. Arthur’s body was seen floating in the Seine a couple of days later.
In 1205 John amassed an invasion force at Portsmouth, but had to endure a humiliating climb-down in the face of a mutiny. To finance war with France the king increased tax by 300 per cent, mostly targeting the rich barons. He introduced ‘scutage’, literally a shield tax, forced payment for aristocrats who refused military service; but many Anglo-Norman barons no longer had family connections with France, and failed to see why they should risk their lives to help John keep hold of his land.
There was also inheritance tax. Some noblemen were charged up to £7,000 to take over their father’s or brother’s land, and the king often kept barons in a state of permanent debt, and threatened arrest or worse. The king kidnapped the wife and son of one such baron, his loyal follower William de Briouze, who had failed to cough up £3,500. When Matilda de Briouze blurted out to one of John’s men that they knew about his nephew’s murder, she and her son were taken prisoner and starved to death;
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