John
John (1167–1216), king of England, 1199–1216. Though clever and energetic, John was a poor ruler. His entire reign was marked by foreign wars or rebellions at home. In 1215 John was forced to sign the Magna Charta, or Great Charter. This document bound the king to respect law and laid the foundations for English freedoms.
John was the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was called Lackland because unlike his older brothers he held no lands in France. John and his older brother Richard (later Richard I "the Lion-hearted") rebelled against Henry in 1189. Later, when King richard was on the Third Crusade, John plotted against him.
As king, John continued an earlier war against Philip II of France. In 1204 he lost the duchy of Normandy to Philip. To conciliate another enemy, Pope Innocent III, John acknowledged papal overlordship in 1213. His invasion of France in 1214 was a failure. Seeing John weakened by these humiliations, the English nobles and clergy forced him to accept the Magna Charta. He soon disavowed it, however, with the pope's support. John died in the midst of civil war and was succeeded by his son, Henry III.