Hi there,
Can anyone recommend a decent book about Prince/King John? I am trying to find out about his adolescent life when he was plotting to become King behind Richards back.
I have heard he spent a lot of time in Bristol as a youth. I have got a couple of books but they tend to ignore his early life and concetrate on his period as King.
Any suggestions would be mint!
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King John bio of early life
[quote=""stu1883""]Hi there,
Can anyone recommend a decent book about Prince/King John? I am trying to find out about his adolescent life when he was plotting to become King behind Richards back.
I have heard he spent a lot of time in Bristol as a youth. I have got a couple of books but they tend to ignore his early life and concetrate on his period as King.
Any suggestions would be mint![/quote]
Stu, You might already have this but the ODNB of John is pretty informative:
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14841?docPos=2
Can anyone recommend a decent book about Prince/King John? I am trying to find out about his adolescent life when he was plotting to become King behind Richards back.
I have heard he spent a lot of time in Bristol as a youth. I have got a couple of books but they tend to ignore his early life and concetrate on his period as King.
Any suggestions would be mint![/quote]
Stu, You might already have this but the ODNB of John is pretty informative:
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14841?docPos=2
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W.L. Warren and R.V. Turner have written the two standard biographies of John. I think the Warren is better overall as Turner, although more recent, is a bit patchy and tends to refer back to other secondary sources all the time. There's also King John: New Interpretations, ed. S. Church, but as the title suggests it concentrates on John's reign.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, Lord and Lady, a collection of essays edited by John Carmi Parsons and Bonnie Wheeler, has two relevant articles:
'The Birth and Childhood of King John: Some Revisions', by Andrew W. Lewis, mainly deals with John's childhood but makes the point that there is no evidence that he ever lived in his older brother Henry's household - in August 1170 when Henry II was seriously ill and expected to die, he asked Henry the Young King to "advance and maintain" John. The King didn't die, however, and nothing suggests John went to live with Henry. He probably travelled with his father, in which case Henry II's Itinerary (Robert William Eyton, Court, Household and Itinerary of King Henry II, London: Taylor, 1878) would give you the best idea of where he was up till Henry's death (with the exception of six months in 1185 when Henry sent him to Ireland).
The other article is Ralph Turner's 'Eleanor of Aquitaine in the Governments of her sons Richard and John', in the same book, which covers John's rebellion.
On his accession Richard made John Count of Mortain in Normandy and married him to Isabella of Gloucester. John also held the counties of Nottingham, Derby, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. With such wide-ranging lands he probably was constantly on the move, as the royal household was. Warren says his major castles were Lancaster and Marlborough. As John held Gloucester through his wife it's likely he spent time in Bristol and Gloucestershire. There's a published itinerary for him too, but as it only begins with his accession it's not much use to you.
I think beyond what I've mentioned, the best place to look for information on John's rebellions is biographies of Richard and Eleanor. I don't know which the best Richard book is. I have been warned off Lionheart and Lackland by Frank McLynn by various reviewers including this one. Eleanor biographies tend to be very romanticised but the one I am reading by Jean Flori (2004) is very down to earth and has plenty about her relationship with her sons. It is by a French scholar but has been translated into English. Biographies of Philip Augustus might also be helpful as he was John's on/off ally.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, Lord and Lady, a collection of essays edited by John Carmi Parsons and Bonnie Wheeler, has two relevant articles:
'The Birth and Childhood of King John: Some Revisions', by Andrew W. Lewis, mainly deals with John's childhood but makes the point that there is no evidence that he ever lived in his older brother Henry's household - in August 1170 when Henry II was seriously ill and expected to die, he asked Henry the Young King to "advance and maintain" John. The King didn't die, however, and nothing suggests John went to live with Henry. He probably travelled with his father, in which case Henry II's Itinerary (Robert William Eyton, Court, Household and Itinerary of King Henry II, London: Taylor, 1878) would give you the best idea of where he was up till Henry's death (with the exception of six months in 1185 when Henry sent him to Ireland).
The other article is Ralph Turner's 'Eleanor of Aquitaine in the Governments of her sons Richard and John', in the same book, which covers John's rebellion.
On his accession Richard made John Count of Mortain in Normandy and married him to Isabella of Gloucester. John also held the counties of Nottingham, Derby, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. With such wide-ranging lands he probably was constantly on the move, as the royal household was. Warren says his major castles were Lancaster and Marlborough. As John held Gloucester through his wife it's likely he spent time in Bristol and Gloucestershire. There's a published itinerary for him too, but as it only begins with his accession it's not much use to you.
I think beyond what I've mentioned, the best place to look for information on John's rebellions is biographies of Richard and Eleanor. I don't know which the best Richard book is. I have been warned off Lionheart and Lackland by Frank McLynn by various reviewers including this one. Eleanor biographies tend to be very romanticised but the one I am reading by Jean Flori (2004) is very down to earth and has plenty about her relationship with her sons. It is by a French scholar but has been translated into English. Biographies of Philip Augustus might also be helpful as he was John's on/off ally.