Richard And John

Question 1

What was Richard I’s reign like?

Answer 1

• Richard was a strong, brave, good soldier but he could be disloyal and selfish
• He was the eldest surviving son of Henry II
• During his reign, he made peace with those who fought against his father.
• He appeased those with strong claims to the the throne
• Allowed William the Lion to not have to do homage
• Won the support of many barons and restored land to nobles
• Treated nobles with respect
• He died without children and due to a battle wound

Question 2

What was Johns reign like?

Answer 2

• only surviving son of Henry II
• he was intelligent and hardworking but short tempered and had the ability to be cruel and disloyal
• John acted quickly to secure power by being crowned quickly as many key men supported Arthur’s claim instead
• John shower his religious devotion and ensured England was protected from invasion
• secured the support of the Court of Angouleme
• Arthur’s disappearance and murder caused John to lose support- many people blamed him

Question 3

What was England like under Richard?

Answer 3

• Richard was frequently absent from the throne as he was on crusade
• Longchamp was promoted as justiciar whilst he was gone but he was unpopular with the barons as he was arrogant and attempted to start rebellions
• John attempted to seize the throne with Longchamp and seized castles in England but he didn’t have many supporters
• Walter was the justiciar after Longchamp and England was governed well under him because Walter had the support of the barons and he had the approval of Richard

Question 4

Why was John unpopular?

Answer 4

Reasons for unpopularity:
- blamed for bad situations
- replaced his advisors with new and unexperienced men
- John did little to gain support of barons
- John raised money through taxes whixh caused annoyance
- Suspcted murder of Arthur
- dispute with Pope

Question 5

What were some reasons for Johns popularity?

Answer 5

• John was interested in governing
• hardworking, energetic
• paid great attention to detail
• generous

Question 6

Royal revenues

Answer 6

• Demense: kings land raised money through crops and livestock + rent from towns
• Tallage: peasant tax
• Feudal incidents: charges to king for ransom
• Court cases
• Aids
• Scutage: alternative to knight service, king set an amount to be paid and used to hire professional soldiers

Question 7

Role of sheriff

Answer 7

• collected taxes
• allowed to keep extra money
• sheriffs increased pressure on people as taxes rose