John Trivia

1. In which former palace was the future King John born in 1166?

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Beaumont Palace

Beaumont Palace was built under the instruction of King Henry I in Oxford, and he came there to stay in 1133, mainly because it was close to the hunting lodge at Woodstock that he enjoyed. John's elder brother, the future King Richard I, was also born at Beaumont Palace in 1157. Henry II, John's father, was the grandson of Henry I, who had the palace constructed. John was born in the palace his father had inherited. King Edward I, who reigned between 1272-1307, was the last king to use this building as a palace. By 1275 it was the private residence of an Italian lawyer, a gift from King Edward I for his legal advice and services.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: 1199

John was crowned on May 27th, 1199. He became King after his brother, Richard I died from gangrene caused by an arrow to the shoulder.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Berengaria of Navarre was John's sister-in-law and Constance of Britanny was another sister-in-law. Matilda was the name of John's paternal grandmother. Eleanor was the wife of two kings and the mother of three if we count Henry the young king crowned in his father's lifetime.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Louis VII

In 1137, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII were married in Bordeaux, at the Cathedral of Saint-André. The marriage was an unhappy one, fraught with disagreements, Louis' annoyance at Eleanor interfering in matters of state, and the lack of a male heir, with the marriage only producing two daughters. In 1152, they met at a castle in Beaugency to annul their marriage, about to do so because they were third cousins once removed, sharing a common ancestor of Robert II of France. John was very close to his mother, and heard all about Eleanor of Aquitaine's grievances and claims of mistreatment by Louis VII. Eleanor's scathing portrait of Louis certainly made it easy for John to go to war with his family. When Louis VII died in 1180, he was succeeded by his son Philip II, who Louis had had with his third wife, Adela of Champagne. Philip never forgot what he heard about Eleanor of Aquitaine's treatment of his father, spurring a personal motive against Eleanor and her family, as well as a political one. Eleanor of Aquitaine supported John as King of England without question. Like John hearing of Louis VII's misgivings, Philip II had been painted a scathing portrait of John and his mother, making any war with them much easier to fight and less likely to be open to diplomatic negotiations (and vice versa).

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: William

William, born in 1153, was the first son of Henry II. He lived for only three years, dying in 1156. During his short life he held the title of Count of Poitiers.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Christmas Eve

It is somewhat ironic that the King who was constantly at odds with the Church during his reign should be born so close to one of its holy festivals. He was the last child of Henry II and Eleanor and, for most of his father's life, was the favourite son.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: John Lackland

An ironic nickname, considering that John would later inherit the Angevin Empire. John would become his father's favourite son after his other sons had rebelled against him. John was the youngest of four sons, which meant that he would ordinarily be at the bottom of the pecking order, had it not been for his brothers displeasing his father so much. This is where the assumption came from, that he would inherit no significant lands.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Runnymede

The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 at Runnymede. John received approval from the Pope to break his word as he claimed that he had signed the document under duress.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Three

John's eldest brother was Henry who became the Young King who died in 1183. His second brother was Richard I who died in 1199. His third brother was Geoffrey who died in 1185. John himself died in 1216. The only child of his brothers' marriages to outlive him was his niece Eleanor (Geoffrey's daughter)who died in 1241.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Henry III

Henry III ruled England for fifty-six years. The longest reign of an English monarch until George III in 1760-1820.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Lackland

Of the four brothers John was scheduled to inherit no particular land or title. Young Henry would get England, Richard would get Aquitaine, Geoffrey would get Brittany and John would only receive money.This made it inevitable that he would join in with rebellions against his brothers or his father in the hope of gaining some advancement.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Ireland

John became Lord of Ireland in 1177, 22 years before he became King of England. His father gave him this title at the Council of Oxford. John took part in military expeditions to Ireland in the years of 1185 and 1210, making him one of the sole two English monarchs before Queen Victoria who had visited Ireland twice. John was 18 when he first came to Ireland in 1185, and almost immediately after docking and setting foot in Waterford, John and his court began to mock the native Irish, going as far as to pull on their long beards. However, John's time in Ireland was not all futile. He built castles at Lismore, Tybroughney, and Ardfinnan, setting up points to exploit the native rivalries the Irish dynasties had with each other. John was also partial to watching his barons fighting during his reign, taking pleasure in seeing them turn against and attack each other until they rose up against him in unison.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Isabelle of Angouleme

John was also married to Isabel of Gloucester but had the marriage annulled on grounds of consanguinity around the time of his coronation in 1199. She was never acknowledged as Queen.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Ireland

This appointment of Henry's youngest and favourite son to Ireland led to a total fiasco within six months. He was completely out of his depth and the frivolous young men who went with him upset all the other barons who had been keeping the Irish in check.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Isabella of Gloucester

Henry II had John bethrothed to Isabella of Gloucester since 1176. John and Isabella were both great-grandchildren of Henry I, and were half-second cousins. This upset the pope at the time because family was forbidden from marrying family. He refused to agree to the marriage. Nevertheless, John and Isabella of Gloucester were married at Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire (which no longer stands) in 1189. The pope was eventually persuaded to agree to the marriage, but only on the condition that the newly married couple never have sexual relations. Shortly after John became king in 1199, he acquired an annulment of their marriage. He was able to use the fact that they were cousins in order to achieve the approval of the bishops of Lisieux, Bayeux, and Avranches. John kept all of Isabella of Gloucester's lands in the separation, and she did not argue.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Arthur of Brittany

Arthur was chosen as Richard's heir in 1190 in order to betroth him to the King of Sicily's daughter. Richard named John as successor in 1194 when he returned from capture in Austria.

From Quiz King John

Answer: His name was found on a list of the rebels who had fought with the French against Henry.

All of Henry II's sons had at various times rebelled against him. Young Henry, Richard and Geoffrey were no more innocent than John. However, John was his father's favourite upon whom he placed an absolute trust. The French King often used the rivalry amongst Henry's sons as a weapon in their continuous wars.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Count of Mortain

Richard was interested in crusading before he became king, but was worried that Henry II would name John heir to the throne in his absence. Richard and Philip II of France fought together against Henry II, and by 1189 the king had promised his son, Richard, the throne. At first, John once again took his father's side in this conflict, but once it became apparent that Richard would win, he sided with him instead. Henry II died shortly after John's betrayal in 1189. Perhaps this final shock was what made the king's health decline to the point of no return. Richard was now king, but he recognised John's ambition. He granted him the title Count of Mortain (which was in Normandy), but excluded his brother from any shares or real power in the government. When Richard made his way to the Third Crusade, John did everything he could to seize power, opposing Richard's chancellor at every opportunity while his brother was away.

From Quiz King John

Answer: William Longchamp

Richard had given John vast estates of his own to rule on both sides of the Channel. These included the Norman county of Mortain, the honour of Lancaster and the revenues of six English counties. In spite of this John set out to undermine Longchamp's authority. Walter of Coutances was sent home by Richard to sort things out.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Orleans

Maine and Normandy were annexed by France, in 1203 and 1204 respectively, and permanently lost to England. Aquitaine was taken by the French in 1453 during the Hundred Years' War.

From Quiz King John

Answer: Philip of France

Philip of France had long been an enemy of Henry II and his sons. He had also been a comrade to Richard on part of the crusade.John and Philip tried to get the German emperor to sell the imprisoned Richard to them for about £100,000.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Proclaim him dead

Richard was on his way back to England when he was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria. He sent him to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI who held him for ransom. When John realised his brother was alive, he still saw this as an opportunity to seize power, and went to Paris to ally with King Philip of France. Eleanor of Aquitaine had previously advised against him doing this. While negotiating with Philip, he agreed to cast aside his wife, Isabella of Gloucester and marry French princess, Alys of France, Countess of Vexin. However, these wedding plans never came to fruition, as forces loyal to Richard overwhelmed John's army, forcing John to agree to a truce. John's forces surrender fully when Richard returned to England in 1194. John fled to Normandy, but Richard found him. John threw himself at Richard's mercy, and Richard proclaimed that John was no more than a misled child, taking bad advice from unscrupulous people and manipulated by them. This was all despite that fact that John was a 27 year old man by this point. Richard did, however, confiscate John's lands, apart from Ireland. John remained seemingly loyal to his brother and accepted him as king, right up until Richard I's death in 1199.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Ireland

John was very unpopular as ruler of Ireland. He was forced to leave and return to England after only 8 months.

From Quiz King John

Answer: He forgave him immediately and said he had been a mere child misled by others.

Richard treated his brother as a mere child but by the year 1194 John was already twenty-seven years old. For the remaining five years of Richard's life John appears to have behaved himself enough for Richard to nominate him as his heir.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Ascension Day

Despite protests that Arthur, son of John's deceased brother Geoffrey, was the rightful heir to the throne by some, John was crowned in 1199. He was 32 years old and was crowned by Hubert Walter, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. When he came to the throne, he had the full backing of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as most of the English and Norman nobility - at first. Judging from the ensuing wars John had with the barons over the years, and his loss of lands to France, those who initially supported John likely later regretted their decision.

From Quiz King John of England

Answer: Sir Peter Ustinov

King John was portrayed as a thumb sucking lion. My favourite quote from this movie is "Mommy always did like Richard best".

From Quiz King John

Answer: Her marriage to John was annulled and he married someone else.

The Gloucester inheritance had been one of the things that Richard had arranged for his brother when he set off on crusade. When he became King John disposed of his wife and married Isabella of Angouleme who had already been promised in marriage to someone else. It also started a new French war. The original Isabella remarried twice more.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Treaty of Le Goulet

In this treaty, Philip recognised John as Richard's legitimate successor. Philip II had originally supported Geoffrey's son Arthur, claiming he was the rightful heir to the throne and going as far as to invade Normandy. However, when John's military campaigns became more and more successful, as well as negotiating with William des Roches (an influential Anjou nobleman and knight), and persuading him to switch support from Arthur to John, Philip II understandably thought again about supporting Arthur. This came at a heavy price, however, for John. He had to pay 20,000 marks as relief for his succession, and accept Philip as feudal overlord for the lands John had acquired in France. For his weak negotiating skills, especially in comparison to the more aggressive haggler Richard, John received the nickname "John Softsword" from several English chroniclers.

From Quiz King John

Answer: soft-sword

Once again Philip of France had taken his opportunity to attack the English monarchy. In April 1202 he proclaimed all John's continental lands to be forfeit. In December 1203 John crossed to England leaving the men in charge of his castles to make their own terms with the enemy.

From Quiz King of England: Life and Reign of King John

Answer: Hugh IX of Lusignan

Isabella of Angoulême married John in 1200. She was the sole daughter of Aymer Taillefer (the last Count of Angoulême from the House of Taillefer) and French noblewoman Alice of Courtenay. She was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London in 1200 in an extravagant ceremony. Hugh IX le Brun, Count of Lusignan, was an important noble, the grandson of the Count of La Marche. Because John had the audacity to steal Isabella away from Hugh, Philip II of France was enraged, insulted, and incredulous. He repaid John's behaviour by confiscating his lands in France. It did not help that rather than try to negotiate some sort of compensation for Hugh, John was hostile and rude to him, showing him nothing but contempt. Armed conflict broke out finally in 1202, when John refused to be summoned to the court of King Philip II to explain himself.

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