Looking at the history of Britain, it can be said that there are few dark princes and tyrants in exchange for having few famous princes compared to the Chinese and Roman Empires.
It may be that the king's power was not so strong because the parliament was developing.
In England, there was a parliament called the Witan Council from the time of the Seven Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon, but it was during the time of King John that the power of the parliament, which is a group of princes in Britain, became stronger.
Let's take a look at King John of the Plantagenet dynasty, who was called the most foolish in Britain and has since made such a blunder that the king who speaks John's name disappears.
- Lackland John
- Invited by Philip II
- A series of mismanagement and dissatisfaction with the princes-John the Missing King-
- Conflict with the Pope-Excommunication of the King of England-
- Magna Carta (Great Charter)
- Personal evaluation of John
Lackland John
John was born as the youngest brother of Henry II, the founder of the Plantagenet dynasty, and Eleanor of Aquita.
Eight children were born between them, but Henry II was said to have been particularly fond of John.
England had a tradition of primogeniture like Japan, so John had no land to tell. For this reason, he was nicknamed "Lackland John," which means "John without land."
Henry II was disappointed with this and tried to get John to inherit the land of Anjou, but his second son, third son, fourth son and wife were dissatisfied with the cooperation of the Kings of France and Scotland. He attacked Henry II.
Henry II, who has vast land and military power, still wins, but when his second son and fourth son die in quick succession and he consults with his third son Richard if he wants to share the land with John again, Richard He teamed up with King Philip II of France to assault Henry II, who died during the war with his son.
Invited by Philip II
When Henry II died, his third son, Richard I, took over the vast land, including England.
However, almost at the same time as his coronation, the Third Crusade was formed, and Richard I left for a distant land in Syria. King Philip II of France also participated in this, but when he returned home on the way due to a bad deal with Richard I, he instigated John and took possession of the French territory of King England.
At this time John tried to take the throne himself, but was unable to become king because of opposition from all the forces in England. John is the "bad king" in Robinfoot's legend who is aiming for the robbery.
Richard I, who returned to Japan, was furious and died from the wounds inflicted in the battle of those who regained the land stolen from Philip II.
I wondered who should be the King of England after the death of Richard I.
Jeffrey's son Arthur, Richard's younger brother and John's brother, had the upper right to succeed, but John was the successor because he was only 12 years old.
Even after John's coronation, there was a rivalry with the faction that pushed Arthur, but the civil war ended and John followed the tradition of coronation at Westminster Abbey.
The first thing John did when he was enthroned was the ceding of land to King Philip II of France. He ceded the land of Vexin and Evreux. It is said that this was due to the support of King Philip II of France during his coronation.
The next thing he did was to part with his ex-wife, who was a princess, and marry Isabella, who has a vast land in the Ankitane region. Not only did the English princes oppose this marriage, but Isabella already had a fiancée. , This marriage is unjustly sued by the King of France.
Since John inherited his position as Count of Anjou, he was honored by the King of France as a homage, and he was obliged to accept the summons from the King of France, but ignored this and went to war with Philip II. I will rush.
Philip II justified John's coronation and claimed that Arthur was the legitimate king. John then defeats Arthur's army and imprisons him, but Arthur dies shortly thereafter.
With the death of the young Arthur, the princes of England and all other forces repelled, and John was forced to return to England, while Philip II began invading John's territory, including Normandy.
Before Philip II, who bears the name of King of Dignity (August), John loses his territory on the European continent one after another.
In 1204, all of the former Duke of Normandy, which can be said to be an ancestor, descended to the army gate of the King of France, and John's meaning of "Lackland" is that he lost the land because he could not inherit the land. It will turn to meaning.
In addition to "Lackland," he will be nicknamed "the murderer of his nephew," "the soft sword," and "the lost Normandy."
Conflict with the Pope of England-Excommunication of the King of England-
Philip II also had a natural enemy. He is Pope Innocent III, who came to be called the strongest Pope and left behind the words "the pope is the sun and the emperor is the moon."
Pope Innocent III gave a ripple to Philip II on the divorce issue, and Philip II eventually succumbed to the Pope, but aside from that, the King of England and the Pope traditionally said that they had the right to investiture as a priest. There was a dispute over which of the papal authorities was superior.
The official documents at that time were in Latin, and only the priesthood could speak Latin, so it served more than just a spiritual pillar in the priesthood. There were many priestly seats in the wise parliament and other parliaments, and their authority was very important.
The origin of this was the issue of the appointment of a successor due to the death of Archbishop of Canterbury Halbert Walter, who has been confident since Richard I, and the Pope has recommended a person named Stephen Langton as his successor. John refused this appointment because he was also a long-time servant of the King of France, and the Pope sentenced John to excommunication and declared "interdetection."
John, in response, confiscated the priestly land and decided to impose a huge rent.
With this money, John sought to recapture Normandy, but no princes followed him.
In trouble, John succumbed to Pope Innocent III and said that Stephen Langton himself landed in England.
However, since then, Pope Innocent III has become John's patron, and even when John turned all of the British princes into enemies, he was on his side.
Magna Carta (Great Charter)
The history of the Constitution in junior high school textbooks begins with "Magna Carta (Great Charter)". It is the most important item in the subject of political economy and civilian rather than world history, but it is not well known that the Magna Carta was issued at the time of King John.
Nor would it be known that Magna Carta was issued because John was so terrible.
It all started with a tax for John to invade France. The impetus for the American Revolution was the Stamp Act and other taxation laws, but in the United Kingdom it was traditional to issue a bill to tax the parliament every time there was a war.
With the backing of Pope Innocentius, John joined hands with Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and French aristocrats, and was steadily preparing for the invasion of France, but apparently the military costs were insufficient. ..
Therefore, he abused the system of "scutage for military service" started by his father Henry II, and caused the opposition of the princes.
For reference, Henry II was overwhelmingly eight times during the 38-year reign, Richard I four times during the ten-year reign, and John 11 times during the 16-year reign.
Moreover, John's entourage was not an English-speaking Englishman like his brother and father, but a French-speaking Frenchman.
English-speaking English aristocrats were at the limit of their patience.
Recalling that since William, the Duke of Normandy, became King of England in 1066, French was spoken instead of English in the courts, and the land of England was treated as a nation of France.
In 1215, the angry aristocrats asked John to comply with the ancestral law.
Specifically, "The Law of the Holy King of Edwards" and "The Coronation of Henry I". John refused to do so, and a civil war broke out between the King of England and the princes of England.
At this time, the princes of England issued the "Magna Carta (Great Charter)". The content was not decided at the discretion of the king when taxing, and required the approval of the parliament, inviting representatives from priests, aristocrats, knights and civilians.
John once approved it, but refused it the following year, and in 1216, when he was in a state of civil war again, he died suddenly.
It was John who was struck by Magna Carta, but its realization will be carried over to the next Henry III era.
Personal John's Rating
It is rare for a king to have such a good point.
Any tyrant or dark tyrant has at least one merit, but John has none. Not so refreshing.
In recent years, there seems to be a movement to re-evaluate John, and in fact there is an evaluation that John has excellent administrative authority, but it is quite painful.
However, looking at the history of democratic politics and the Constitution, Magna Carta is the beginning and has a very important role. It comes from John's incompetence in a sense, so in that sense it may be more successful than any great man.
The history of current parliamentary democracy begins with John.
Besides, it's still better than the Roman emperor and the Chinese emperor. Compared to Emperor Huizong, who destroyed the Northern Song, and Liu Zen, who inevitably destroyed the 蜀 that was founded by Liu Bei and Komei, he is still better at politics, and it seems that Rome will decline for a long time like the Antoninus decree. Compared to Emperor Karakala, who issued a bad law, England has developed since then.
There is a point that it was supported by the parliament, but I think that there were many excellent people in the king of England because it was the worst in history like John.
There is no special name or charisma, but no special darkness.
For better or for worse, I feel that it is the history of England.
It's very different from China and Rome, where personal charisma speaks, but it certainly lacks dynamics in history.