From Just History Posts, December 9, 2025:
King John is one of England’s most infamous kings. His reputation at the time of his death and afterwards was so disastrous that in the 800 years after his death, no other English king has taken the name John. King John is known for many things: his unusual ascent to the throne, the Magna Carta, his reputation as king, but perhaps most importantly to archaeologists and treasure hunters alike is the loss of his baggage trains containing the English Crown Jewels in what is known as the Wash in October 1216 shortly before his death. Many have tried and failed to locate the famous lost treasures but maybe all of that is about to change.
John was born in 1166 and his parents were a power couple of their time. His father was Henry II of England, a man who took control of the throne after the death of his cousin Stephen. Henry’s mother, Empress Matilda, had been heir to the kingdom but upon her father’s death Stephen had stolen the crown from her. Matilda did not want to give up her rights as queen, and for decades England was caught in a civil war known as The Anarchy, split between the two claimants. Henry had inherited his mother’s strength.
John’s mother was just as formidable a woman. Known as Eleanor of Aquitaine, she was a rich and powerful heiress who owned vast lands in the southwest of modern-day France. She was married to a French prince and later became Queen of France through the marriage. After fifteen years together, though, the couple parted ways, and Eleanor swiftly raced to marry Henry, later making her Queen of England too.
John was the youngest of four surviving sons of the couple, and he gained the nickname Lackland because being so far down the line of succession, it was considered he would have little inheritance and thus power in life. However, through a series of deaths and lack of male heirs, John soon became heir to the throne. In 1189 his brother Richard became king (later being known as “The Lionheart”) and John could start to see power within his grasp. His brother was rarely in England, spending most of his time on Crusade, fighting in France, or in captivity. This gave John great power in England, and in the early 1190s he even made an alliance with King Philip of France in order to rebel against those loyal to his brother in England. His rebellion was unsuccessful and upon Richard’s return to England John was forced to agree to a peace.
John finally got his wishes in 1199 when his brother died. Still, though, his path to power was not clear cut. There was another claimant to the throne – the oldest son of another of John’s brothers – but inheritance law was unclear on who should take precedence for the throne. Despite his misbehaviour during Richard’s reign, the majority of the English and Norman nobility supported his claim, and he won out. John had become king.
John’s reign has often been seen as a series of disasters. Whilst his brothers, father, and ancestors had gathered huge swathes of territory across modern-day France, John lived up to his Lackland name and instead lost huge pieces of land. Whilst fighting his nephew and the French king, he became known for his cruel treatment of prisoners which led to the death of many of them. When these important prisoners were fellow nobles, this behaviour was seen as reprehensible to his contemporaries, including his own people. This, combined with his tendency to ignore the opinions of his powerful allies, quickly lost him much support.
Across 1202-3 many of these allies started to abandon him, reducing the power of his army. By 1204, the King of France had taken control of Normandy, an important territory that had been part of English-controlled lands since its Duke took the English throne in 1066. King Philip quickly took control of other English territories in France, including Anjou and Poitou. John’s reign had now seen the collapse of the English empire in France. John was to spend the rest of his reign trying to reclaim these lost lands.
As the 1210s arrived, John started to face increasing hostility from his own nobles. This culminated in 1215 with the famous Magna Carta, a “Great Charter” of peace which addressed the barons’ complaints and was a proposal for general political reform to prevent discontent in the future. Though Magna Carta was intended to be a peace deal, both John and his barons quickly reneged on the deal, with John securing the excommunication of the rebel barons from the Pope. All-out war was now on the horizon....
....MUCH MORE, we're going treasure hunting.
