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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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John
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(1167–1216) King of England from 1199, succeeding his elder brother *Richard I; youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine; married Isabella of Gloucester (1189) and Isabella of Angoulême (1200).
As a child he was given the nickname Lackland by his father, whose favourite he was and who did his best to provide him with appropriate territories (they included Ireland). John's early adult years were marked by an alternating pattern of support and treachery towards his brother, Richard.
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His own reign was dominated by two major struggles. One was with the papacy over whether Stephen *Langton should be archbishop of Canterbury; it ended with a compromise, and John became soon afterwards a vassal of the pope. The other, with his own barons, had a famous outcome in 1215 in *Magna Carta. Later that same year, at John's request, the pope annulled the new charter and excommunicated the baronial leaders. The result was civil war, and the country was in a state of armed upheaval when John's 9-year-old son succeeded as *Henry III (see the *royal house).
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