The Reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216
What's covered
Key facts
Government and Administration
The Exchequer was the king's department of finance and treasury, responsible for collecting and accounting for royal revenue.
King John and Bad Kingship
The barons forced Magna Carta on King John in 1215 because of years of arbitrary taxation, unjust imprisonment, and humiliating military failure in France — driving them into open rebellion.
Richard I and John 1189–1216
In the First Barons' War the rebel barons turned to Louis, son of King Philip II of France, who landed in England with an army in 1216 and was proclaimed king in London, though never crowned.
Richard I and the Third Crusade
Richard's absence on Crusade and captivity caused major problems for England: he spent barely six months of his reign in the country, and his ransom of 150,000 marks (around £100,000) required extraordinary taxation.
The Angevin Empire
The Angevin Empire mattered because the English king held vast French territories — England, Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine, and more — making him as powerful as the French king.
Government and Administration
Hubert Walter, as Chief Justiciar (and Archbishop of Canterbury), ran day-to-day government in Richard I's absence, raised the king's Crusade ransom, and reorganised royal finance and justice.
King John and Bad Kingship
In 1208 Pope Innocent III placed England under an interdict — suspending most Church services and sacraments — as punishment for John's defiance.
Richard I and John 1189–1216
Richard I was captured returning from the Third Crusade in 1192, shipwrecked in the Adriatic and taken by Leopold V of Austria.
Richard I and the Third Crusade
Richard I was held captive in the Holy Roman Empire (initially by Leopold V of Austria, then handed to Emperor Henry VI).
The Angevin Empire
Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, bringing her vast south-western French duchy into the Angevin Empire.
Sample questions
A taste of the 41 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What role did Hubert Walter play in governing England during Richard I's absences?
- ✓As justiciar he ran day-to-day government, raised the Crusade ransom and reorganised royal finance and justice
- •He led the Crusade army in Richard's place and captured Jerusalem from Saladin in 1192
- •He served as Pope's legate to England and excommunicated barons who refused royal taxation
- •He was Richard's military rival who briefly seized the throne while the king was abroad
Why did the barons force Magna Carta on King John in 1215?
- •John handed Normandy to the Pope as a fief, which the barons saw as treason against the realm
- •John refused to lead the Fifth Crusade so the barons sought to depose him in favour of his nephew
- •John tried to abolish the Church in England, leading bishops and barons to revolt together
- ✓Years of arbitrary taxation, unjust imprisonment and military failure in France pushed the barons into open rebellion
Why is Magna Carta (1215) considered historically significant beyond its immediate context?
- •It ended the feudal system by requiring the king to pay all barons a fixed wage from the treasury
- ✓It established the principle that the king was subject to the law and that taxation required consent, influencing later constitutional development
- •It immediately abolished serfdom and gave all English people the right to vote in parliamentary elections
- •It transferred ownership of all royal forests to the Church, permanently limiting Crown land revenues
How did Richard I raise the money to launch the Third Crusade?
- •He borrowed from the king of France in return for surrendering Normandy and Anjou
- •He confiscated the wealth of the Pope's legate and seized monastic treasures in Canterbury
- •He minted a new gold coinage backed by Welsh silver mines opened during 1188
- ✓He sold offices, lands and royal rights, taxed heavily, and famously said he would sell London if he could
How did Henry II build up the Angevin Empire that Richard and John inherited?
- •By conquering France in a single campaign in 1154 and forcing the French king to abdicate
- •By marrying into the Byzantine imperial family and inheriting Constantinople and its territories
- •By purchasing Normandy, Aquitaine and Anjou from the Pope after the Second Crusade
- ✓Through marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, inheritance from his father and conquest, uniting England with vast French lands
Why did John's government rely so heavily on the Exchequer and royal sheriffs?
- •John dissolved the Exchequer and replaced it with a council of foreign mercenary captains
- •John handed government over to the Pope's legate after his excommunication in 1209
- ✓Losing Normandy in 1204 cut continental revenues, so John squeezed England through scutage, fines and harsh sheriffs
- •Parliament refused to meet under John, so taxation could only be collected through the Church
Try it for four weeks. Free.
One school. Unlimited classes. No card limit. No teacher limit. If your students aren't practising daily by the end of the trial, you owe us nothing.