Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/267

* JOHN. 241 JOHN. JOHN (c.l 167-1210). King of England from 1199 to 1216. He was the youngest son of Henry II. by his wife, Eleanor of Guienne, and was l)orn probably on December 24, 1167. His lather called him "Lackland' early, probably, be- cause Henry had divided his dominions among his elder sons, and thus left .John without a por- tion. .John was appointed in a council, held at Oxford in 1177, King of Ireland, and in April, 1185, he went over to take the reins of govern- ment, but ruled so badly that he was recalled the following September. .John united with his brothers in their repeated rebellions against their father, and it was the sudden communication of the news of his having joined his brother Kichard's uprising that caused the death of Henry. When Richard I. succeeded to the crown, he conferred upon his young brother earldoms which amounted to nearly one-third of the King- dom. This did not. however, prevent .John from endeavoring to seize the crown during Richard's captivity. .John was, nevertheless, pardoned on Richard's return and treated with great clem- ency, and is said to have been designated by his brother on his deathbed as his successor. .John hastened, at his brother's death, to obtain the support of the Continental barons, and then re- turned to England, being crowned at Westmin- ster ilay 27, 1199. Arthur (q.v.), the son of his elder brother Geoffrey, was, according to modem laws of heredity, the lawful heir to the cro^-n, but at this time the rules of succession to the croTi were still imperfect. The claims of Arthur were supported by the King of France, but John bought off the latter's influence. In 1200 he obtained a divorce from his first wife, Avice of Gloucester, and married Isabella of Angouleme, who was betrothed to Hugh le Brun, son of Hugh, Count of La ilarche. one of his vas- sals. In revenge Le Brun stirred up the nobles of Poitou against him, and embraced the cause of young Arthur. In the war which ensued. Arthur, who was again assisted by France, was taken prisoner, and confined in the Castle of Rouen, where, according to tradition, he was put to death. As a result of the war, the English mon- arch lost to Philip Augustus of France Xorniandy, Touraine, Maine, Anjou. and Poitou. In 1207 John quarreled with the Pope concerning the ap- pointment of a new .rchbishop of Canterbury, and. as a result, the Kingdom was placed under an interdict in 1208; John in return confiscated the property of the clergy who obeyed the inter- dict, and banished the bishops. He also com- pelled William, King of Scotland, who had joined his enemies, to do him homage (1209), put down a rebellion in Ireland (1210), and sub- dued Llewelyn, the independent Prince of Wales (1211). The Pope, in 1212. solemnly deposed John, and absolved his subjects from their al- legiance, and commissioned Philip Augustus of France to execute his sentence. .John, denounced by the Church, and hated for his cruelty and tyranny by his subjects, found his position un- tenable, and was compelled, in 1213, to make abject submission to Rome, and to hold his king- dom as a fief of the Papacy. Philip Augustus, nevertheless, proceeded with his scheme of in- vasion, though no longer approved by Rome; but the French fleet was totally defeated in the har- bor of Damme. Subsequent events, however, proved more favorable to France, and John's strength was crushed in 1214 by the defeat at Bouvines (q.v.). At length the English barona saw the opportunity to end the tyranny of -John; they drew up a petition demanding the redress of abuses in the government and the administration of justice and the issuance of a charter of liber- ties modeled on that of Henry I. This was re- jected by the King, and became the signal for war. The array of the barons assembled at Stam- ford and marched to London; they met the King at Ruiraymede, and on .June 1.5. 1215, was signed the great charter. Magna Charta (q.v.), the basis of the English Constitution. The Pope soon after annulled the charter, and the war broke out again. The barons now called over the Dauphin of France to be their leader, and I.ouis landed near Sandwich. May 21, 1216. In crossing the Welland .John lost his regalia and treasures and part of his baggage and array. He was taken ill, and died at Newark Castle October 19, 1216. Consult: Xorgate. England Under the Angevin Kings (London. 1887); Stubbs, Consti- tutional History of England, vol. i. (6th ed., Oxford, 1897) ; Pauli. Gesehichte von England, vol iii. (Haraburg. 1853) ; Xorgate, John Lack- land (Xew York, 1902). JOHN II. (1319-64). King of France from 1350 to 1364, surnamed the Good. He succeeded his father. Philip VI. of Valois, in 1350. and commenced his reign by acts of despotism and cruelty. The English, in 1356, invaded France, and .John was defeated by Edward the Black Prince, at Poitiers ( q.v. ). He was carried to Bordeaux and then to London, where he was a prisoner until October 25. 1300. His ran- som was fixed by a treaty with Edward III. at Bretigny (q.v.). In 1363 he gave to his son Philip the Duchy of Burgundy, which was des- tined to become a danger to France. His son, the Duke of Anjou. who had been in London as a hostage for the payment of .John's ransom, escaped in violation of his parole, and thereupon John voluntarily returned in 1364 as a prisoner to London, where he suddenly died. Consult Cosneau, Les qrandes traites de la guerre de cent ans (Paris, 1889). JOHN HI., V.A.T.TZEs (1193-1254). An Em- peror of X'icjea, known as 'Ducas.' His skill as a soldier led to his being chosen to succeed Theo- dore I. in 1222. He was a very successful gen- eral and an able administrator. JOHN IV., L.iSCAEis. An Emperor of Xicaea. He succeeded his father, Theodore II., in 1258, ■when he was scarcely ten years old. Three years afterwards he was deposed and blinded by ilichael Paloeologus. JOHN II., C.siMlR (1609-72). King of Po- land from 1648 to 1008. He was the young- est son of Sigismund III., and on his father's death in 1032 became lord of an extensive appanage in Poland. In 1640, however, he en- tered the Jesuit Order at Rome and was made a cardinal by Pope Innocent X. Returning to Po- land, he was elected to succeed his brother, Ladislas IV., as King in 1648, and married his widow. Maria I^iiisa (ionzaga. receiving from the Pope absolution from his vows. The first part of his reign was disturbed by the revolt of the Cos- sacks under Chmielnicki. In 1655 Charles X. of Sweden made war upon Poland, and in 1656 was joined by Frederick William. Elector of Branden- burg. In 1657 the Elector went over to the side of Poland, which in return formally renounced