Potential Question #3- King John’s three losses & the Magna Carta Flashcards
(12 cards)
Describe the character of King John
Henry’s son John was greedy, cruel & untrustworthy – he was the bad son
How did John become king?
He became king because his brother (the good brother) Richard the Lionhearted left him to rule while he went to fight in crusades
Who were John’s enemies?
He had three enemies – King Philip II of France, Pope Innocent III, and his own English nobles. He lost to all three of them.
How did John lose English lands in France to Philip II?
When King William conquered England, he still controlled Normandy (he was William, Duke of Normandy)
When previous, more powerful kings (William, Henry II) ruled England, the French were too scared to take back Normandy
John, a weak king, lost Normandy to the French
John’s battle with the church-
John wanted to use lay investiture to pick the new bishop despite it being banned
What was the Pope’s reaction to John’s want of lay investiture?
Pope Innocent III excommunicated King John
King John did not care – he still had money and power
The Pope then put England under interdict – extremely powerful tool
What resulted from England being placed under the interdict?
John was now in trouble – for his people (all excommunicated) to get back into the church, they would need to get rid of him.
King John, beaten, agreed to the Pope’s demands:
Pay him a huge sum of money
Gave England to the Pope (The Pope did not directly control England, but John was forced to pay a tax (like paying rent for England).
Magna Carta
King John was forced to sign Magna Carta by nobility
He was forced to sign because the nobles provide the king with their armies – they threatened to withdraw these armies
A strong king would have resisted the nobles and threatened or killed them. John, being a weak and fearful king, gave in without a fight
The Magna Carta protected nobles’ rights, but not the rights of everyday people
Who did the Monarch have to obey under the Magna Carta?
What did this result in?
Monarch must obey the law
This lowered the king’s status to near that of the nobles
All the progress John’s predecessors had made in centralizing English royal power was undone in the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is very significant in the history of England – it set a trend of more and more power going to the nobles & people, and away from the rulers.
Eventually the rights of —— were protected by the Magna Carta
laymen
Magna Carta allowed for more ——- taxation rules
lenient
What lead to the creation of parliament?
Magna Carta
