John

Introduction
Youth and rivalry for the crown
Accession to the throne
War with France
Quarrel with the church
Baronial rebellion and the Magna Carta
Legacy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Family tree diagram of the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou or Angevin dynasty, showing royal lineage and connections to other European royal families, with names, titles, and dates organized by generation.

Seventeenth-century engraving of King John of England wearing a crown and ermine-trimmed robe, holding a scepter, with decorative script above his head.

Illustration of King John seated at a table, signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede, surrounded by standing nobles in medieval attire.

View the animation on the history behind the baronial revolt and the formulation of the Magna Carta in 1215

Illustration of King John seated at a table signing the Magna Carta at Runnymede, surrounded by standing nobles and clergy in medieval attire, under a canopy.

Know about the reign of King John of England and the events that led to the establishment of Magna Carta

At a Glance

John summary

Quizzes

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles to the crowd from Buckingham Palace (London, England) balcony at the end of the Platinum Pageant in London on June 5, 2022 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations. The curtain comes down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honor Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee with a day-long pageant lauding the 96 year old monarch's record seven decades on the throne. (British royalty)

Fit for a King (or Queen): the British Royalty Quiz

Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.

Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz

Related Questions

How did King John become king after Richard I died?
How did King John fight the barons after the Magna Carta was sealed?
How did King John settle his dispute with Pope Innocent III in 1213?
How did King John use the revenues of vacant church offices?
How did King John’s Magna Carta influence later ideas about the rule of law?
How did King John’s marriage to Isabella of Angoulême start a conflict with the Lusignan family?
How did the Magna Carta influence the idea of due process in England and the United States?
What did clause 39 of the Magna Carta say about imprisonment and judgment?
What events led English barons to rebel against King John in 1215?
What happened to Arthur of Brittany after King John captured him?
What happened to King John’s campaign at La Roche-aux-Moines in 1214?
What happened when King John captured Arthur of Brittany at Mirebeau?
What land did King John give up to Philip II of France in the Treaty of Le Goulet?
What rights did the Magna Carta protect for free men?
What role did King John play while Richard I was imprisoned in Germany?
What was clause 61 of the Magna Carta?
What was the Treaty of Le Goulet?
What was the papal interdict on England during King John’s reign?
When and where did King John die?
When did King John rule England?
Which French territories did King John lose during his reign?
Who succeeded King John as king of England?
Who was Arthur of Brittany and why did he challenge King John’s succession?
Who was Otto IV and how was he allied with King John?
Who were King John’s parents?
Why did English barons oppose King John’s campaign in Poitou?
Why did Henry III reissue the Magna Carta after King John’s death?
Why did King John lose Normandy to France?
Why did King John quarrel with Pope Innocent III?
Why did King John seal the Magna Carta?
Why did King John surrender England to the pope in 1213?
Why did Philip II of France declare King John’s French fiefs forfeited?
Why did Pope Innocent III support King John against the Magna Carta?
Why did Prince Louis of France invade England during King John’s reign?
Why did the Magna Carta allow 25 barons to monitor King John?
Why did the Magna Carta fail to prevent civil war in 1215?
Why was King John called Lackland?
Why was King John’s marriage to Isabella of Gloucester dissolved?
When did Charles de Gaulle become famous?
What were Charles de Gaulle’s policies as president of France?
When did Charles de Gaulle lose power?
Who was Napoleon III?
How did Napoleon III die?
Who was Napoleon?
How did Napoleon become emperor of France?
What did Napoleon accomplish?
What happened to Napoleon?
Was Napoleon short?

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External Websites

Alabama Law Scholarly Commons - King John, Magna Carta and the Origins of English Legal Rights (PDF)
British Royal Family - John Lackland
Potters Wax Museum - John I of England
History Today - John Lackland: The Loss of Normandy in 1204
Historic UK - Why has there only been one King John?
Lancaster Castle - King John 1199-1216
Live Science - King John: Magna Carta, rebellion and myth
National Geographic - Just how bad was Bad King John?
World History Encyclopedia - John of England

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

John - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
John of England - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

John

king of England

Also known as: Jean sans Terre, John Lackland

Written by

James Holt

Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge. Author of King John and others.

James Holt

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 19, 2026 •History

John (born c. 1166—died October 18/19, 1216, Newark, Nottinghamshire, England) was the king of England from 1199 to 1216. In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. In England, after a revolt of the barons, he was forced to seal the Magna Carta (1215). John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry’s plan (1173) to assign to John,...

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