l fact in Richard's reign was his
embarking in the Crusades. From them, directly or indirectly, England
gained two important advantages: first, a greater degree of political
liberty, especially in the case of the towns; secondly, a new
intellectual and educational impulse.

John--1199-1216

189. John Lackland; the King's Quarrels.

When Henry II in dividing his realm left his youngest son, John,
dependent on the generousity of his brothers, he jestingly gave him
the surname of "Lackland" (S171). The nickname continued to cling to
him even after he had become King of England and had also secured
Normandy and several adjacent provinces in France.

The reign of the new King was taken up mainly with three momentous
quarrels: first, with France; next, with the Pope; lastly, with the
barons. By his quarrel with France he lost Normandy and the greater
part of the adjoining provinces, thus becoming in a new sense John
Lackland. By his quarrel with the Pope he was humbled to the earth.
By his quarrel with the barons he was forced to grant England the
Great Charter.

190. Murder of Prince Arthur.

Shortly after John's accession the nobles occupying a part of the
English possessions in France expressed their desire that John's
nephew, Arthur, a boy of twelve, should become their ruler. John
refused to grant their request.

War, ensued, and Arthur fell into the hands of his uncle John, who
imprisoned him in the castle of Rouen, the capital of Normandy. A
number of those who had been captured with the young prince were
starved to death in the dungeons of the same castle, and not long
after Arthur himself mysteriously disappeared. Shakespeare represents
John as ordering the keeper of the castle to put out the lad's eyes,
and then tells us that he was killed in an attempt to escape.[1] The
general belief, however, was that the King murdered him.

[1] Shakespeare's "King John," Act IV, scenes i and iii.

191. John's Loss of Normandy (1204).

Philip, King of France, accused John of the crime, and ordered him as
Duke of Normandy, and hence as his feudal dependant (S86), to appear
at Paris for trial. John refused. The court met, declared him a
traitor, and sentenced him to forfeit all his lands on the Continent.

John's late brother, Richard Coeur de Lion (S185), had built a famous
stronghold on the Seine to hold Rouen and Normandy. He named it
"Saucy Castle." King Philip vowed in Richard's lifetime that he wou