King John: How England's Horrible Monarch Ended Up Granting Human Rights to the Western World

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You know he’s bad when you realise that Britain hasn’t even named an heir to the throne John in the past 800 years, let alone a king.

‘ …. So cartoonishly villainous, that he ended up as a villain in a Disney cartoon. ‘

As a rule, you know you're screwed up beyond repair when your greatest legacy is from something intended to suppress you.

Henry II: Too many sons. Henry VIII: Too many daughters.

King John was also well known for his cruelty towards his own people, one example being allowing a noblewoman and her son to starve to death in prison. I learned a lot about this awful man today, and now I truly understand why the Magna Carta was created! Very helpful and useful! Well done indeed again! Thank you!

Saw the new biographics video up and saw Rochester Castle in the thumbnail, I literally I walk past it everyday on my way to work!

"And speaking of domains, perhaps ... you want to own one!" Seriously the best segue to sponsor I've ever heard. WELL PLAYED SIR

2:00 - Chapter 1 - The spoiled little prince 4:15 - Chapter 2 - Crusader king 7:10 - Mid roll ads 8:45 - Chapter 3 - Conquering failure 10:55 - Chapter 4 - Taxman cometh 14:20 - Chapter 5 - The godforsaken king 17:40 - Chapter 6 - The great charter 19:35 - Chapter 7 - The final disaster 21:20 - Chapter 8 - Aftermath

Just because I love Men In Tights so much I can't not make this comment: "From this day forth! All the toilets in the kingdom shall be named... Johns!" "Put him in the Tower of London! Make him part of the tour."

England: no kings named John ever since Papacy: 👀

To be fair to John, at the time he took the throne, England was bankrupt after being forced to ransom Richard. How can anyone blame him for losing lands that Richard set up to fail in the first place? The Nobles were already war weary from Richard fairly robbing the coffers to pay for his foreign adventures, and between 15,000 and 50,000 British and French (or Acquitanes, whichever you choose to call them) had already died. This, at a time when England's population was likely south of 1.5 million would have likely made for a scenario where nearly every family in the country had lost someone in their immediate family to this war. Additionally, with France casting a jealous eye at England in such a weakened condition, how can one blame John for doing whatever it took to pay for his army and keep what he could of the country together. His seizure of the riches at Canterbury were almost justified - after all, it was the Church who goaded Richard into participation in the Third Crusade, and the fact that the Church had wealth at all to confiscate shows us that Church wasn't suffering like the rest of England. Why shouldn't they have had their wealth confiscated in order to keep England armed? I find it interesting that John isn't in country at all when things start to fall apart in England. Did Richard choose his royal babysitter unwisely, perhaps? Additionally, one thing we do know for certain is that Richard alienates nearly literally everyone he comes into contact with, so much so that one of his former "allies", Duke Leopold of Austria actually imprisons him and intentionally bankrupts England as payback. But John is the bad guy. The Nobles revolted because of Richard's absence, not John's interference. The country was literally falling apart. Should King John have stepped in? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It's easy, safe, and convenient to armchair quarterback these events a thousand years later when we know nothing but the virtual framework of what occurred back then, and nothing of the intrigue and what was said or done behind closed doors. I would be very careful repeating the common dogma regarding any historical account that benefits a deposing monarch or power. As we learn more and more as to how wrong The Venerable Bede has been in his history of England, although the vast majority of historians nearly read straight from his account, regardless of the fact that Bede wrote his account 250 years later, and never actually traveled anywhere to do any actual research, I do believe that in the future, history may be kinder to John. He was a diligent worker and record keeper, a lover of animals, and was so fond of spending time with common workers that his legitimacy was called into question on more than one occasion, the court assuming that because he enjoyed the company of workers, he must have been from common stock. The Robin Hood legends (although I do tend to believe there was an historical Robin Hood) have done King John no favors whatever, and so I suspect that his 'Bad-Guy Status' is somewhat colored by that fact. All kings murder. All kings are corrupt to some degree. John just happened to make the mistake of keeping records of it. I also find it hilarious that John becomes the bad guy because he wanted to annul the Magna Carta. No one ever had those rights before. Why didn't the ever-so-saintly Richard give his Nobles those rights? Alfred didn't. Henry didn't. Again, I wonder how any of us would survive if we inherited a bankrupt kingdom surrounded by enemies who had been scheming for the last two centuries to take your country. All of that being said, I loved this video, and none of this is said in anger. I enjoy the debate of it all. Thanks! In full disclosure, like many others, I am a direct descendant of King John, so I figure he deserves at least one advocate. Cheers!

Was at King John’s final resting place just the other day. Great story I know! It’s in Worcester Cathedral. Also in Worcestershire is a village called Bell End... Ha!

I’m lowkey obsessed with King John because of how much of a fuckup he is so thank you for this.

We need to be fair to king John though. King henry II never bothered to teach any of his children how to rule a country. This was entirely because Henry was scared shitless of totally losing control. King henry II was the original control freak.

His and Lionheart's father, the Plantagenet founder,Henry II needs a video. A lot of what transpired dates back to him.

And a lot of Robin Hood cartoons I've seen Prince John is often defined by two things, is greed and his jealousy for his brother Richard.

Can we please get one for Eleanor of Aquitaine?

"And from this day forth all the toilets in the kingdom shall be known as... Johns." "What?!? Noooooooooo!" "Take him to the Tower of London. Make him part of the tour!"

I spent a lot of time in Worcester Cathedral (Being born there) and at his tomb, also the catacombs are an amazingly eerie place. When we grew up we'd sing songs about "Mad" King John.