2021-05-27 Thu

John was King of England reigning from 1199 until his death in 1216.

In a war with the French king Philip II, he lost Normandy and almost all his other possessions in France. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document sometimes considered an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

He was extraordinarily active, with a great love of hunting and a readiness to travel that gave him knowledge of England matched by few other monarchs. He was the first king of England since the Norman Conquest who could speak English.

He took a personal interest in judicial and financial administration, and his reign saw important advances at the Exchequer, in the administration of justice, in the importance of the privy seal and the royal household, in methods of taxation and military organization, and in the grant of chartered privileges to towns.

Depicted here is a silver King John penny, amongst the first struck in Dublin.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org