John Sansterre

John Sansterre, or Lackland, the youngest son of Henry II. and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born in 1167, and destined by his father to found the kingdom of Ireland. He went to that country in 1185, but his unbearable temper caused his speedy recall. He then joined Richard in the revolt which proved a death-blow to the king, and was rewarded but distrusted by his brother with good cause. During the absence of the latter in the Holy Land he acquired a sort of titular authority in England, and allied himself with Philip Augustus of France, Richard's bitter foe. Richard, however, named him as his heir on his death-bed, ignoring the hereditary claim of Arthur of Brittany, whom Philip forthwith supported. John divorced his first wife and married Isabella of Angouleme, betrothed already to the Count of La Marche. In the war that ensued, though Arthur vanished mysteriously from the scene, all the English possessions in western France were lost. John's next trouble was with the Pope (Innocent III.), whose nominee for the Archbishopric of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, the king refused to accept until placed under an interdict and threatened with invasion by Philip. Against that monarch he now endeavoured to stir up the Germanic confederacy, but his barons both in England and France declined to serve, the Emperor Otho was defeated at Bouvines, and John was forced into the peace of Chinon, 1214, whereby he ceded all his territories north of the Loire. He now had to face a league of the English barons, stimulated by Langton, and as a means of escape signed the Magna Charta at Runnymede, June 15, 1215. His undisguised intention to violate this compact and enforce his will by the aid of mercenaries, in which scheme the Pope encouraged him, led the barons to seek aid from France. Louis, the son of Philip, landed in England, and within a few months made himself master of all the south. John, whilst leading his army across the Wash, was caught by the tide, lost all his baggage and treasure, and worn out by fatigue, depression, and excesses, took refuge in Newark, where he died in 1216.