A Monarch A Month - John

Hello all!

Over the course of the next four years I will be stitching Bothy Thread's Kings and Queens at the slow pace of one monarch per month.

This is number seven, John. He's not John I as there's never been another John. Maybe one day there will be but until then he's just King John.

John from Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads
Started - 10th July 2019

Finished - 15th July 2019

Total stitching time - 5 hours 15 minutes

John marks the end of the top row. Next month, bearing in mind I'm moving them around a little, I'll probably be pulling my hair out trying to make sure the next set of monarchs are all in the right place!

In the meantime, it's History lesson time. John's life was exceptionally hard to summarise in under 300 words so I hope I've picked out some interesting points.

JOHN
Preceded by Richard I (brother)
Succeeded by Henry III (son)
Lived 1166-1216
Reigned 1199-1216
Married (1) Isabella 1189-1199 (annulled) - no legitimate but 12-14 illegitimate children; (2) Isabella 1200-1216 - fathered 2 sons and 4 daughters despite Isabella being only 10-15 years old when they married.

John became King following his brother's death. He was the fifth, the youngest and probably favourite son of Henry II.

In England John was relatively popular with the people but not so much with the barons, many of whom begrudged his implementation of harsher taxes. These barons and their rebel forces became a thorn in John's side throughout his reign.

In France John lost most of his family's lands and, whilst trying to regain them, was implicated in his cousin Arthur's disappearance/murder. Arthur was popular with the French, and their preferred choice of monarch, so his demise did nothing to steady already strained Anglo-French relations.

In 1209 John was excommunicated by the Pope regarding disagreements over the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1213, and in return for financial compensation, John regained the Pope's support, the latter now excommunicating many of the rebellious barons instead.

The Magna Carta of 1215 sought to provide a truce between John and his enemies. It promised political, judicial and economic reforms in return for the rebel forces disbanding. A court of 25 barons would ensure John followed the terms.

John and the Pope both argued Magna Carta was illegal and, since neither John nor the rebels kept the conditions anyway, civil war ensued. John was initially the more successful but when the French supplied reinforcements to aid the rebels' cause, the result was stalemate.

John died in 1216 before the civil war could be resolved, the crown passing to his nine year old son, Henry.

So next month, how a monarch rules when so young, and what happened to the rebel forces...?

Take care,

Rachel x