The Black Sheep - Part I
© Phyllis Agronsky
The youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, John "Lackland" had little hope of succeeding his father, since he had three healthy and ambitious older brothers. Yet by 1186, two were dead, and by 1189, the oldest living son, Richard the Lionhearted, was king of England.
John has gotten a lot of bad press in the 800 years since his birth, much of it deserved. It was true that he was a schemer: he and Phillip Augustus of France plotted a coup while Richard I was a prisoner in Germany after the Third Crusade. Queen Mother Eleanor thwarted his plans during the years of her regency (1190-1194). It is true that in his reign many of the English territories in France were lost. And, the Pope ruled England after John swore fealty in an attempt to ward off a rebellion.
It's unfortunate that John's accomplishments have been so overshadowed by his shortcomings. For instance, in a flash of insight, John established a port at Liverpool and attempted to put the Royal Navy on a permanent basis by collecting a small private fleet. To that point, ships had belonged to merchants and were either bought or seized, as necessity demanded. John's foresight gave England the backbone of every defense of the island in the centuries to come. He was also well versed in the law, and many of his charters are still extant today. One charter, issued April 10, 1201, granted the Jews of England and Normandy protection (on paper at least) from persecution, gave them the right to appear as equals in English courts, and gave them the liberty to move about the realm.
John's seizure of Richard's crown was a usurpation, as Geoffrey's posthumous son Arthur of Brittany had a better claim to the throne. Knowing that possession was nine-tenths of the law John seized the Royal treasure. Any uneasiness on the part of the nobility was more than offset by the fact that Arthur was a boy who had never even been to England. With the treasury at his disposal, John was able to have himself crowned at Westminster within weeks of Richard's death.
Phillip II of France had been waiting for this sort of opportunity, and declared war in Arthur's name, invading Normandy while Prince Arthur headed for Mirabeau in Aquitaine. Arthur attacked Mirabeau because his grandmother Eleanor was there, and he hoped to capture her and force a treaty recognizing him as the rightful king.
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