The Reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216
What's covered
Key facts
The Exchequer was the king's department of finance and treasury, responsible for collecting and accounting for royal revenue.
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'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 was English-ruled lands in France and Britain — England plus the duchies of Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine and Maine.
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.
In 1208 Pope Innocent III placed England under an interdict — suspending most Church services and sacraments — as punishment for John's defiance.
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 was a vast territory across England and western France held by the House of Plantagenet.
Losing Normandy and trying to recover it forced John to squeeze England through scutage, fines, and harsh sheriffs — driving the fiscal grievances behind Magna Carta.
John has been judged a "bad king" because he lost Normandy in 1204, was excommunicated, levied heavy taxes without consent, and provoked his barons to civil war and Magna Carta.
Sample questions
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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 did the barons force King John to seal Magna Carta in 1215?
- ✓Arbitrary taxation, unjust imprisonment and military failures in France had pushed barons into open revolt
- •John had tried to abolish the Church in England, turning bishops and barons against him together
- •John handed England to the Pope as a fief, which the barons regarded as treason against the realm
- •John refused to lead the Fifth Crusade, so the barons sought to depose him in favour of his nephew
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
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