A Brief History
On October 12, 1216, King John of England lost his crown jewels!
Digging Deeper
England has had only one king named John for a good reason: their only king who had that name was quite possibly the country’s worst monarch in its entire over 1000-year-long history!
John “Lackland” or “Softsword” (December 24, 1166 – October 19, 1216) reigned as England’s king from April 6, 1199 until his death on October 19, 1216. He succeeded the famed crusader-king Richard the Lionhearted on England’s throne and experienced one debacle after another. Even before John’s reign officially began, he tried and failed to usurp his brother’s throne, while Richard was absent from England. Then, while ruler, John suffered a major military defeat in France, which cost him Normandy, a land previously ruled by English monarchs since William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, successfully invaded England in 1066.
The worst and most embarrassing of John’s disasters came in the final years of his reign. In July 1214, despite being allied with the Holy Roman Emperor and other powerful rulers, John and his allies suffered a decisive defeat by the French at the battle of Bouvines. John’s discontented barons back home subsequently forced him to sign the Magna Carta the next year. This document was the first ever forced upon an English king by any of his subjects. The king, however, did not want to abide by this “great charter” and ended up fighting a bloody war against his barons known as the First Barons’ War. The situation grew so perilous that Louis of France, son of the victor at Bouvines, was actually invited by the English barons to intervene. Facing a French invasion and major uprising, John’s situation continued to deteriorate.
In one of his greatest humiliations, his baggage train, including possibly some horses, but definitely including his personal belongings and even the crown jewels, were lost in a tidal estuary, sucked under by quicksand and whirlpools. By this point, John had contracted dysentery and succumbed to his illnesses but days after losing the crown jewels.
Question for students (and subscribers): What was John’s most important failure as a king? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
John went on to become a major villain in popular culture and a recurring antagonist of Robin Hood in numerous films and works of literature. For a fun and brutal cinematic depiction of John’s reign, we recommend watching the following films in this order: Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), which offers a humorous take on John’s actions while Richard was fighting the Third Crusade, Robin Hood (2010), which focuses on the period around the French invasion of England following John’s ascension to the throne, and Ironclad (2011), which depicts John’s siege of Rochester Castle in 1215 and concludes with John’s death the next year. No, these films are not entirely accurate, but they give you a sense of how John has been perceived and how so much of his life, not just losing the crown jewels, has been ridiculed and disdained. For a scholarly book offering various viewpoints on his reign, which can be previewed online, please see King John: New Interpretations.
The featured image in this article, an engraving by Edmund Evans (1826–1905) of King John signing the Magna Carta, is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1926.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="316 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=316">25 Comments
Howdy would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with?
I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult
time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique.
P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
my site エターナル ボトムス ダメージ加工
Somebody essentially lend a hand to make seriously articles I might state.
This is the first time I frequented your website page and up to now?
I surprised with the analysis you made to
make this particular publish extraordinary. Magnificent process!
Check out my weblog – ファッション雑貨 小物 モバイルケース アクセサリー をおすすめ
Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different subject but it has pretty much
the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!
My web page – ■グッズその他
Somebody essentially lend a hand to make severely posts I might state.
That is the very first time I frequented your website page and thus far?
I surprised with the analysis you made to make this actual post incredible.
Fantastic activity!
My web page メンズトップス メンズs sポロシャツス
Dear Matthew, would you like to join us at the book launch “The Lost Treasure of King John: The Greatest Mystery of the Fens”? (http://bit.ly/1uriztx)
The Wheatsheaf Hotel at Swineshead have kindly offered to host a book launch for the third edition. The launch will take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 15th January 2015.
Feel free to join us for a complimentary glass of wine (or soft drink if you prefer).
Dear Alex Wonderland, Thank you for the invitation; however, I will be teaching on that day. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Sincerely, Matthew
It had to have been rough to have so many bad events happen in one persons reign, yikes!
King John was in reign when times were changing which does make it difficult to reign but it is rough to have so many bad events happen during one reign.
I always thought of King John as the Robin Hood character, didn’t realize he was that bad of a king.
Honestly, he kind of deserved what he got
Kinda got what was coming to him be a bad king and this is what happens. I personally think of him from the Robin hood cartoon where there all animals and he was mean in that to so it must be true don’t be mean to people or you lose everything
I like King John’s depiction in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, “Soft-Sword” was an accurate nickname for him.
I guess it is true what they say, what goes around comes around. Which is exactly what happened to king John. They must not have had sayings like those back then, but he defiantly got what he deserved.
King John sounds awful. It seems like he got exactly what he deserved.
Wow.. King John really sounds like a terrible person
Why would they give the throne to someone that tried to take it away from their brother during his reign. Couldn’t they tell he wasn’t going to be the best ruler?
Maybe letting someone rule who tried to forcibly steal the throne from their ruler, their brother none the less, was a sign he was a horrible person.
I loved Robin Hood , it makes sense no one named their kids after him.
I never realized King John from Robin Hood was based on a real person. Robin Hood was one of my favorite movies when I was little.
I love that picture of King John in the cartoon Robinhood. That used to be one of my favorite movies growing up, makes me want to watch it again.
Had no idea King John was based on a real person.
i dont think i ever watched the cartoon robinhood??
has anyone ever found those jewels? i never seen the robin hood movie everyone is talking about.
People actually watched Robinhood?
Robinhood was really about that life so to speak.