![]() ![]() Son of the Black Prince Edward III, Richard II became king aged 10, so a series of regency councils governed England by his side. A year later in 1327, Edward was captured and was forced to abdicate. Instead, she plotted against Edward with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and together they invaded England with a small army. His wife Isabella (daughter of the French king) then left for France to sign a treaty. Although not Edward’s fault, the king exacerbated the discontent by continuing to make his closest friends very rich, and in 1321 civil war broke out.Įdward had alienated his allies. ![]() This humiliating defeat was followed by widespread harvest failures and famine. In June 1314, Edward marched one of medieval England’s mightiest armies to Scotland but was crushed by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn. Yet at the last minute, he disregarded the Ordinances and brought back Gaveston who was swiftly executed by the barons.įurther damaging his popularity, Edward was determined to pacify the Scots having followed his father on his earlier northern campaigns. Whether the king and Gaveston were lovers or intimate friends, their relationship enraged the barons who felt slighted by Gaveston’s position.Įdward was forced to exile his friend and institute the Ordinances of 1311, restricting royal powers. Piers Gaveston was Edward’s most notable favourite, so much so that contemporaries described, “two kings reigning in one kingdom, the one in name and the other in deed”. 1307-1327)Įven before he was king, Edward made the medieval royal error of unapologetically surrounding himself with favourites: this meant that throughout his reign, the threat of civil war was ever-present. In May 1215, a group of barons marched an army south forcing John to renegotiate England’s governance, and ultimately, neither side upheld their end of the bargain. When France invaded in 1216, John was almost 3 leagues away by the time any of his men realised he had abandoned them.įinally, while John was in part responsible for the creation of the Magna Carta, a document widely regarded as the foundation of English justice, his participation was at best unwilling. John was nicknamed ‘softsword’ for losing English land in France, including the powerful Duchy of Normandy. Medieval kings were also meant to be brave. After disregarding the Pope’s nomination for archbishop, he was excommunicated in 1209. For medieval England, a good king was a pious one and John had numerous affairs with married noblewomen which was considered deeply immoral. Image Credit: Library of Congress / Public Domainįurther damning John in his contemporaries’ eyes was his lack of piety. John even tried to negotiate extending his brother’s imprisonment and he was lucky to be pardoned by Richard after his release.Ī poster for Frederick Warde’s production of Runnymede, depicting Robin Hood facing up to the villainous King John, 1895. ![]() Then, in 1192, he attempted to seize Richard’s throne while he was held captive in Austria. John had already gained a reputation for treachery prior to becoming king. This was quite a legacy to live up to, and thanks to Richard’s ongoing holy wars, John also inherited a kingdom whose coffers had been emptied meaning any taxes he raised would have been wildly unpopular. John’s brother, Richard I, despite spending only 6 months in England as king, earned the title of ‘Lionheart’ due to his great military skill and leadership. John’s parents Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were formidable rulers and secured England a great deal of French territory. Nicknamed ‘Bad King John’, John I acquired a villainous image that has been reproduced time and again in popular culture, including film adaptations of Robin Hood and a play by Shakespeare. Martin didn't just get inspiration for Game of Thrones from the Wars of the Roses, but from all manner of historical circumstances and people, as Dan Jones explains to Dan Snow. ![]()
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