1167-1216. King of England from 1199 and
acting king from 1189 during his brother
Richard I (the Lion-Hearted)'s absence on the
third Crusade. He lost Normandy and almost
all the other English possessions in France
to Philip II of France by 1205. His
repressive policies and excessive taxation
brought him into conflict with his barons,
and he was forced to seal the Magna Carta
1215. Later repudiation of it led to the
first Barons' War 1215-17, during which he
died. John's subsequent bad reputation was
only partially deserved. It resulted from his
intrigues against his brother Richard I, his
complicity in the death of his nephew Prince
Arthur of Brittany, a rival for the English
throne, and the effectiveness of his ruthless
taxation policy, as well as his provoking
Pope Innocent III to excommunicate England
1208-13. John's attempt to limit the papacy's
right of interference in episcopal elections,
which traditionally were the preserve of
English kings, was resented by monastic
sources, and these provided much of the
evidence upon which his reign was later
judged.