| John I | |
|---|---|
| |
| John I | |
| King of Anglia | |
| Reign | 17th July, 1236 - 1st July, 1241 |
| Predecessor | Charles II |
| Successor | Conrad |
| Born | August, 1214 Ghent, Flanders |
| Died | 1st July, 1241 Vignacourt, Artesië |
| Spouse | Elizabeth of Brittany |
| Issue | Elizabeth Jonsdotter |
| Full name | |
| John Karlsson | |
| House | Estridsson |
| Father | Charles II |
| Mother | Laurette of Hainault |
The second son of Charles II, John I was implicated in the Flemish revolt against his father's clumsy rule. While his mother Laurette of Hainault and elder brother Cnut took an invasion force to Anglia itself John was left to run Anglia's continental lands in defiance of his father's direct rule. John was much-liked by his lords however this may have had more to do with his relative inexperience allowing them a freer hand than any active policies. After Cnut and his uncle Baldwin IV deaths at the Battle of Holbeach John became heir apparent and despite a public reconciliation tensions between father and son were much apparent and chroniclers stress the hostility which intervention from the Pope and Archbishops did little to stem.
It was probably a reaction to this that John spent much of the remainder of his father's reign campaigning elsewhere in Europe. He took up arms with Emperor Frederick II and fought in campaigns in Italia and against Frederick's rebellious son Henry.
On his coronation in October 1236 his Scottish vassals refused to reconfirm their fealty to Anglia and in response the Scottish lords in Lincoln were executed. This started a another chapter in the Long Scottish War (1212-1290). Once again Scotland was invaded however John's defeat at Gorebridge in August 1237 secured Scotland's tenuous independence for now.
He married Elizabeth of Brittany. They had one child, Elizabeth, who would marry Frederick's grandson Conradin, becoming Queen of Arles and Sicily.
John's reign was short and he left little in the way of legislature as a mark of it. His last act in Anglia itself was to raise a memorial (now ruined) at Holbeach to honour his brother and uncle. The final months of his life were taken up organising defenses on the continent in the face of a French attack on Artesië, whose borders were ill-defined and its lords happily pledging their loyalties to both monarchs. His death, during the Battle of Vignacourt, followed several months of poor health. His brother Conrad, Count of Hainault, succeeded him, adding another realm to the growing Anglian kingdom.
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