John, King of England

John, also known as John Lackland or Softsword, was King of England from the 6^th of April 1199 until his death. During John’s reign, England lost the duchy of Normandy to the French king Philip II, which resulted in the collapse of most of the Angevin Empire and contributed to the subsequent growth in power of the Capetian dynasty during the 13^th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John’s reign led to the signing of the Magna Carta, a document often considered to be an early step in the evolution of the constitution of the United Kingdom.

John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his elder brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henry’s favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England and on the continent. John’s elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young; by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richard’s royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade. Despite this, after Richard died in 1199, John was proclaimed king of England, and came to an agreement with Philip II of France to recognize John’s possession of the continental Angevin lands at the peace treaty of Le Goulet in 1200.

When war with France broke out again in 1202, John achieved early victories, but shortages of military resources and his treatment of Norman, Breton and Anjou nobles resulted in the collapse of his empire in northern France in 1204. John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. John’s judicial reforms had a lasting, positive impact on the English common law system, as well as providing an additional source of revenue. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to John’s excommunication in 1209, a dispute finally settled by the king in 1213. John’s attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over John’s allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, who were unhappy with his fiscal policies and his treatment of many of England’s most powerful nobles. Although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France. It soon descended into a stalemate. John died of dysentery contracted whilst on campaign in eastern England during late 1216; supporters of his son Henry III went on to achieve victory over Louis and the rebel barons the following year.

Contemporary chroniclers were mostly critical of John’s performance as king, and his reign has since been the subject of significant debate and periodic revision by historians from the 16^th century onwards. John is today usually considered a “hard-working administrator, an able man, an able general”. Nonetheless, modern historians agree that he also had many faults as king, including what historian Ralph Turner describes as “distasteful, even dangerous personality traits”, such as pettiness, spitefulness and cruelty.

Exercise 7. Match each definition with the correct word. Translate the words into Russian and learn them by heart.

1. a heir	a) ownership;
2. hard-working	b) a famous person; celebrity;
3. a possession	c) having or using skill;
4. a king	d) to grow or come to be as indicated;
5. skillful	e) progress or development of a person through life or some aspect of life;
6. to attempt	f) tending to work hard;
7. to become	g) a person who receives or has the right to receive, upon another’s death, that person’s rank or property;
8. a personality	h) to receive (money, property, or the like) through a will made by, or legal succession to, a person who has died;
9. a career	i) to try or seek; undertake;
10. to inherit	j) a male head of a royal family who reigns for life as a monarch.

Exercise 8. Choose the right answer.

1. Under what name was John, King of England, known?

a) John Looseland; b) John Dutchland;

c) John Lackland; d) John Cartaland.

2. What did England loose during John’s reign?

a) duchy of French; b) duchy of England;

c) duchy of Empire; d) duchy of Normandy.

3. What document was considered to be an early step in evolution of the constitution of the UK?

a) the Carta Magna; b) the Magna Carta;

c) the Declaration; d) the Revolt.

4. What was NOT John expected to inherit?

a) money; b) throne; c) lands; d) power.

5. What title was he appointed in 1177?

a) the Lord of Ireland; b) the King of Ireland;

c) the Baron of France; d) the Enemy of England.

6. When was John proclaimed king of England?

a) in 1173; b) in 1199; c) in 1189; d) in 1177.

7. What did John’s judicial reforms provide?

a) armed forces; b) continental alliance;

c) military resources; d) additional source of revenue.

8. Whom did John attempt to defeat in 1214?

a) Richard I; b) Barons; c) Philip; d) Pope Innocent III.

9. Who was John’s son?

a) Henry III; b) Henry II; c) William; d) Geoffrey.

10. What faults did John have as king?

a) a hard-working administrator; b) an able man;

c) an able general; d) dangerous personality traits.

Exercise 9. Fill in the table. Add two more categories for comparison.

Foundation	Peter I	John Lackland
Date and Place of birth
Parents
Main achievements

Exercise 10. Fill in the gaps using the words given below, and translate the sentences into Russian.

marriage children

heir king

education nickname

successor document

reign reputation

son death

1. Up to Peter’s coronation, his … had been greatly neglected. 2. Peter the Great, was the … of Tsar Alexei Mikailovitch, by his second wife, Natalia Naryskina. 3. The first part of Peter’s … was characterized by his passion for the military and his desire to establish strong foreign relations. 4. Peter lived only four more years and died suddenly, without … . 5. On the 2^nd of March, 1712, Peter’s … with his mistress Catharine, was celebrated at St. Petersburg. 6. He married twice and had 11 …, many of whom died in infancy. 7. A month later Richard became … . 8. Shortly after Richard’s …, John was invested as duke of Normandy. 9. John was recognized as the rightful … to all Richard’s French holdings. 10. The Magna Carta was the first formal … stating that the monarch was as much under the rule of law as his people. 11. John was Henry’s favorite son, though Henry was not able to bestow on him the lands he had hoped; this is where John’s … of “Lackland” originated. 12. In 1185 John visited Ireland for several months and earned a … for recklessness and irresponsibility, which appeared to do nothing to lessen his father’s affections.

Exercise 11. Replace the underlined words with the synonym.

1. Peter I is generally denominated Peter the Great.

a) named; b) said; c) labeled; d) identified.

2. He became acquainted with Lieutenant Franz Timmerman.

a) opened; b) knew; c) told; d) was introduced to.

3. Peter was officially declared Sovereign of all Russia.

a) Lord; b) King; c) Baron; d) Monarch.

4. During his reign, Peter undertook extensive reforms in an attempt to reestablish Russia as a great nation.

a) dynasty; b) rule; c) tyranny; d) domain.

5. Peter overcame opposition from the country’s medieval aristocracy.

a) defeated; b) took; c) gave; d) got.

6. Mirroring Western culture, he modernized the Russian alphabet, introduced the Julian calendar, and established the first Russian newspaper.

a) showing; b) willing; c) imitating; d) liking.

7. The baronial revolt at the end of John’s reign led to the signing of the Magna Carta.

a) experienced; b) began; c) went; d) caused.

8. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177.

a) was delegated; b) was assigned; c) was fixed; d) was established.

9. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richard’s royal administrators.

a) tried; b) undertook; c) attacked; d) acted.

10. John’s elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young.

a) adolescent; b) adult; c) old; d) aged.

Exercise 12. Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right. Make up sentences with the phrases you have got.

1. to give	a) the collapse;
2. to initiate into	b) developing commerce;
3. to rule with	c) the Cathedral;
4. to undertake	d) lessons in the military;
5. to concentrate on	e) the Magna Carta;
6. to establish	f) brother;
7. to be buried in	g) a rebellion against;
8. to result in	h) the sciences;
9. to attempt	i) extensive reforms;
10. to agree to	j) the city.

Exercise 13. Choose the most suitable word in each sentence.

1. Peter the Great was the fourteenth boy/child of Tsar Alexis by his second wife. 2. Peter inherited/got a nation that was severely underdeveloped compared to the culturally prosperous European countries. 3. His first care, on assuming the government, was to form an army educated/disciplined according to European tactics. 4. He asked/demanded explanations of everything which he did not understand; and to his practice of shipbuilding and kindred trades. 5. After reorganizing his army, he prepared/attempted for strife with the Turks, who had declared war against him. 6. Nevertheless he was given the lordship/title of Ireland. 7. John joined military/forces with King Philip II of France and tried to take control of the country. 8. In May he was crowned/named King of England. 9. His prestige had dropped due to the win/loss of lands. 10. The barons, never particularly fond of/hating John, had grown more discontent, and in 1215 civil war broke out.

WRITING AND COMMUNICATION

Exercise 14. Write an essay on one of the given topics.

1. My Biography.

2. The Biography of a Famous Person in Russia.

3. The Biography of a Famous Person in the UK.

Exercise 15. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. Результатом бунта был политический компромисс: на трон были возведены вместе Иван и Петр. 2. За границей в основном следовали политической программе Петра. 3. Одновременно с первыми преобразованиями интенсивно шла подготовка к войне со Швецией. 4. В 1703 году в устье Невы Петр основал Санкт-Петербург – новую столицу России. 5. Петр поставил успех по службе для дворян в зависимость от образования. 6. Король Иоанн Безземельный даровал Великую Хартию Вольностей (the Magna Carta) народу Англии 15 июня 1215 года. 7. В 1199, 1201 и 1205 годах бароны предъявляли Иоанну требования о подтверждении своих прав, однако Иоанн продолжал только обещать. 8. Король Иоанн обещал Папе Римскому поддержку в Третьем Крестовом походе, поэтому он резко повысил налоги у себя в государстве. 9. Некоторые историки считают, что правление Иоанна было не лучше и не хуже царствований Ричарда I и Генриха III. 10. Иоанн получил подтверждение права владения на свои земли и женился на Изабелле, наследнице графства Глостер.