King John: Good Or Bad King?

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King John Historians have argued for many years about what kind of a king John was. Some historians think that he was a King who made terrible mistakes, leaving the country in a real mess by the end of his troubled reign. Other historians think that he did a good job, having had to deal with problems inherited from his father and brother. King John is often referred to as a bad king. There are a lot of sources in King John’s time, to give reason for that name. John is often viewed as having been a cruel King and this is supported with evidence from various websites which claim: ‘John was a thoroughly bad lot’ ‘He was cruel and beastly’ ‘He made many enemies and killed people with his bare hands.’ ‘He was the worst king ever to have sat on…show more content…
‘ Many of these sources were written by monks or religious people and their views may have been influenced by the fact that King John had had a big argument with the Pope and was responsible for the killing of several monks at Canterbury Cathedral. It can then be argued that these sources are less reliable as they enemies of King John and are biased against him. However, it could also be argued as these are a reliable sources as other tell us a similar things and the monks were there at the time. King John treated monks badly- he was in conflict with the church. A source written by Roger of Wendover, a monk and supporter of the barons against John says ‘The servants of a certain sheriff somewhere in Wales brought to the royal court a robber. He had robbed and murdered a priest. John said ‘he has killed an enemy of mine, let him go’. In 1209 Geoffrey, a priest said it was not safe for priests to work for the king any longer. John heard of this and in his fury had Geoffrey imprisoned in chains, clad in a cope made of lead and starved. Geoffrey died an agonising death.’ I don’t think this source is a trustworthy source because he can’t tell us the name or the whereabouts of the sheriff. Roger tells us that John let a robber that murdered a priest go because it was an enemy of his but government records show that John ordered anyone killing a priest

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