Centre for Lifelong Learning Online Catalogue

No English king has suffered a worse reputation than 'bad' King John. Transformed into the mythical monster of Hollywood legend, forever associated with the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood, his seventeen-year reign has been reduced to a single image: the tyrannical monarch forced by rebellious barons into agreeing to Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. But does he deserve his evil reputation? Through illustrated lectures drawing on contemporary accounts, documents and images we will reassess John's reign. Examine John's style of kingship, his concerns with raising money by whatever means necessary, his loss of the vast and wealthy continental empire inherited from his father, Henry II, the causes of the baronial revolt of 1215-16, and the significance of Magna Carta. He was reputedly cruel, vindictive, and treacherous, yet was he any different to his predecessors? Has he been judged more harshly because he failed as a warrior? An unlucky king rather than a 'bad' one?