JOHN, king of England: b. Oxford, 24 Dec. 1166; d. Newark, Nottinghamshire, 19 Oct. 1216. He was the youngest son of Henry II, by Eleanor of Guienne. Being left without any particular provision he received the name of Sans Terre or Lackland; but his brother, Rich ard I, on his accession conferred large pos sessions on him. He obtained the crown on the death of Richard in 1199, although the French provinces of Anjou, Touraine and Maine declared for his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, who was lineally the rightful heir, then with the king of France. A war ensued, in which John recovered the revolted provinces and received homage from Arthur. In 1201 disturbances again broke out in France, and Arthur, who had joined the malcontents, was captured and confined in the castle of Rouen and never heard of more. John was universally suspected of his nephew's death, and in the war which followed he lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine. In 1205 his quarrel with the Pope began regarding the election to the see of Canterbury, to which the Pope had nom inated Stephen Langton. The result was that
Innocent III laid the whole kingdom under an interdict, and 1211 issued a bull deposing John. Thereupon John made abject submission to the Pope, even agreeing to hold his kingdom as a vassal of the Pope (1213). His arbitrary pro ceedings led to a rising of his nobles, and he was compelled to sign the Magna Charta or Great Charter 15 June 1215. But he did not mean to keep the agreement, and obtaining a bull from the Pope annulling the charter, raised an army of mercenaries and commenced war. The barons, in despair, offered the crown of England to the Dauphin Louis, who accordingly landed at Sandwich 30 May 1216, and was re ceived as lawful sovereign. The issue was still doubtful when John died. Consult Stubbs, W., 'Lectures on Early English History' (Vol. I, London 1906) ; Norgate, K., 'England under the Angevin Kings' (1887), and 'John Lack land' (1902).