Key learning points

1. Many consider John to be the model of a bad king with a reputation for untrustworthiness and greed.
2. King John raised unpopular taxes which caused anger amongst the English barons.
3. King John had a reputation for avoiding battle and was known as 'Softsword'.
4. King John was said to have killed his nephew.
5. King John lost a third of his lands, including his family’s ancestral homelands.

Keywords

• Crusade - a crusade is a military mission against a group considered by the Pope to be an enemy of the Church

• Tax - tax is a compulsory payment to the government to cover various costs

• Scutage - scutage was a tax paid by the barons when they were unable to send enough knights to fight for the king

• Tallage - tallage was a tax charged by Norman and Angevin kings on their lands and towns

• Ancestral - ancestral means relating to members of your family from the past

Common misconception