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The Rule of King John Facts & Worksheets

King John ruled England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He had presided over the loss of the extensive region that his father King Henry II had ruled.

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King John ruled England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He had presided over the loss of the extensive region that his father King Henry II had ruled. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and nearly all his other possessions in France in a war with the French King Philip II. He was forced to seal the Magna Carta in 1215.

See the fact file below for more information on the Rule of King John or alternatively, you can download our 22-page The Rule of King John worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BECOMING KING

  • John was the youngest son of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.
  • He is regarded as King Henry II’s favorite child.
  • He was granted the Lordship of Ireland in 1177.
  • His older brother Richard succeeded Henry II as king and ascended to the throne in July 1189.
  • John was made Count of Mortain and was granted lands and revenues in England.
  • In 1190, John had vowed not to enter England during Richard’s participation in the Third Crusade.
  • However, John broke his promise when Richard made it known that his son Arthur was to be his heir, which threatened John’s position as successor to the throne.
  • John returned to England and unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against the king’s royal chancellor, William Longchamp.
  • In January 1193, upon learning about Richard’s imprisonment in Germany, John formed an alliance with King Philip II Augustus of France and unsuccessfully attempted to gain control of England.
  • A few months later, John made arrangements with Philip for the division of Richard’s possessions in England.
  • Richard returned to England early in 1194, consequently leading to John being banished and deprived of his estates.
  • John was reconciled to Richard in May in 1194 and was recognized as heir in 1196.
  • John was proclaimed king following the death of King Richard in 1199.

JOHN’S UNPOPULARITY

  • King John was a very unpopular king, living in the shadow of his brother Richard.
  • When war with France was renewed in 1202, John was victorious at the early stages, but a growing lack of military resources and his treatment of Norman, Breton, and Anjou nobles led to the collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204.
  • He spent much of his reign trying to gain back the land in Normandy which he had lost in 1204, mainly by raising huge revenues.
  • At that time, he had control of the justice system in England and exercised arbitrary powers for his own sake.
  • He used his power as king to demand an increase of a tax called scutage.
  • Scutage was a tax paid to the king by wealthy nobles, such as barons and knights, to avoid serving in the army and fighting in the war.
  • The scutage during John’s reign was asked for 11 times between 1199 and 1214, and the amount increased each time.
  • John wanted to appoint archbishops who agreed with his fiscal policies, which also put him in problematic conflict with the Church.
  • An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John’s ex-communication in 1209 and a ban of all church services in England until John submitted.
  • Their dispute was finally settled in 1213.
  • In 1214, John lost yet another battle in France: the Battle of Bouvines.
  • His defeat in the Battle of Bouvines proved to the barons that John was incapable of taking back his Normandy estates.
  • What made it worse is that John asked for more scutage in 1215.

EVENTS LEADING TO CIVIL WAR

  • Naturally, John’s fiscal policies upset his barons and pushed them to revolt against the king.
  • In November 1214, some barons met to discuss the charter for Henry I’s coronation as king and planned to stage a rebellion if King John refused to accept the terms.
  • In January 1215, King John met with the barons in London to discuss their demands, but in the end, he did not accept their terms.
  • In March 1215, King John brought the cross with him on a crusade and received the support of the Catholic Church and the Pope.
  • In April 125, King John sent William Marshall and Stephen Langton to discuss and negotiate with the barons but commanded them to not agree with anything, which all the more angered the barons.
  • This triggered the barons’ rebellion.
  • On May 5, 1215, the barons broke their sworn loyalty to King John and marched to Northampton.
  • They failed to take control of Northampton, but they marched towards London, where they successfully seized Lincoln, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
  • John responded by seizing the lands of the barons, but even so, the barons were able to take control of London.

THE MAGNA CARTA

  • In June 1215, the king’s army and the superior barons’ army faced off across a meadow in Runnymede, near the River Thames.
  • King John’s army was outnumbered and so had no choice but to sign the Magna Carta, a document that placed restrictions on John’s scope of power.
  • John had only signed the Magna Carta to buy time to build his troops.
  • Written in Latin, the Magna Carta was composed of 63 clauses.
  • Most of those clauses were related to 13th-century life, but ten of them were of particular importance:
    • Clause 1: The English church is free and can’t be impaired.
    • Clause 2: An heir can inherit crown lands upon payment of a ‘relief’.*
    • Clause 8: A widow doesn’t have to remarry.
    • Clause 12: Scutage levied only with general consent.
    • Clause 35: A standard measure to be introduced (London quarter).
    • Clause 39: Freemen can’t be arrested or jailed without a legal trial.
    • Clause 40: Justice cannot be bought.
    • Clause 42: Freedom of movement in and out of England.
    • Clause 52: Can’t take property or rights without a lawful trial.
    • Clause 61: 25 barons to be elected to ensure the charter is observed.

The Rule of King John Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Rule of King John across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use The Rule of King John worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about King John who ruled England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He had presided over the loss of the extensive region that his father King Henry II had ruled. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and nearly all his other possessions in France in a war with the French King Philip II. He was forced to seal the Magna Carta in 1215.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • The Rule of King John Facts
  • Profiling The King
  • Fact Checker
  • Sequencing Events
  • Because Of The Clause
  • The Story In History
  • Excerpt Analysis
  • A Historian’s Perspective
  • Comparing Kings
  • Editorial Cartooning
  • Representative Banner

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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