His mother was well over forty when John, his parent's youngest
          child, was born. He was not only his mother's favourite but he also
          inherited many of her characteristics. He grew up enjoying the good
          things of life: food, women and fashion. His parents indulged him but,
          when at 18 he was sent to Ireland to complete its conquest, he was
          recalled when he aggravated the situation by making fun of the beards
          and clothes of the Irish chieftains.
              His father denied him any lands and nicknamed him John Lackland;
          but when John's brother, Richard I, became king, he granted him the
          county of Mortain in Normandy. Richard I also found him a wife,
          Isabella of Gloucester. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared
          the marriage void as John and Isabella were second cousins. The Pope
          reversed this decision but that did not improve the marriage and they
          soon lived apart, the marriage to be annulled in 1200.
              When Richard I went on crusade, being aware of John's character,
          he appointed William de Longchamp as Regent. However, as soon as
          Richard was gone, John found support not only by the people of England
          but also by his illegitimate half-brother Geoffrey, Archbishop of
          York. Marching on London, he won the city by allowing the people to
          elect their mayor. Realizing he could not withstand his sovereign's
          brother, Longchamp fled disguised as a woman. He was ready to sail
          from Dover when an amorous sailor discovered who he was.
              Before Richard I died, he declared John to be his heir, by-passing
          Arthur of Brittany whose deceased father, Geoffrey, was John's elder
          brother. On 25 April 1199 he was invested as Duke of Normandy as well.
          In 1200 he divorced his unwanted wife as he had become enamoured of
          the 12-year-old Isabella of Angouleme. Her parents, keen to see their
          daughter become queen, assisted and they were married by the
          Archbishop of Bordeaux.
              As king he had a great concern and interest in the administration
          of his territories. Ralph of Coggeshall recorded that he ruled
          'energetically enough'. He travelled widely in England, often dealing
          with mundane financial and legal matters. He was munificent and
          liberal to outsiders but a plunderer of his own people, trusting
          strangers rather than his subjects, wherefore he was eventually
          deserted by his own men and, in the end, little mourned.
              John produced some eight illegitimate children and, according to
          William of Newburgh, lusted after the wife of Eustace de Vesci, but
          who contrived to smuggle a prostitute into the king's bed in her
          place. Next day when John coarsely told him how good his wife had been
          in bed, de Vesci confessedÄÄÄthen fled.
              In 1203 John was responsible for the murder of his nephew and
          rival, Arthur. King Philippe of France, overlord for both Normandy and
          Brittany, was enraged by this action and, forfeiting Normandy,
          attacked and conquered Rouen.
              In 1205 John quarrelled with Pope Innocent III as he did not want
          to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury. As a result
          John was excommunicated in 1208. This lasted until 1213 when he had to
          accept England as a fief from the pope.
              Campaigns in 1214 in France were disastrous. While he was in
          France his enemies in England joined forces under the banner of
          Stephen Langton, then forced John to accept the Magna Carta which was
          sealed by John on 15 June 1215 at Runnymnede near Windsor. Infuriated,
          John gained the support of the pope and gathered an army to fight his
          barons who were supported by the French king. Landing in England, King
          Louis marched on London. The Barons promised the crown to the French
          king and a civil war was begun. During John's travels through England,
          one of his baggage-trains was swept away while crossing a river and he
          lost all his valuables including his crown. This caused so great a
          depression that he fell seriously ill. His illness was aggravated by
          his gluttony and he was then taken by litter to Newark Castle where he
          died, aged nearly forty-nine, on 18 October 1216.

Source: Leo van de Pas