King John Provenance of Sources

**Cistercian Monks / Abbeys**

* Cistercian church fell out with John over carucage tax and his failure to fund them as promised
* 1200 onwards they refused to pay taxes levied, claiming to be exempt
* They felt John was denying them justice and were thus very critical of him
* John pressured them by threatening to confiscate all the grazing for their sheep in royal forests
* Many also resented John’s treatment of Arthur
* John eventually relented, tax was abolished, paid damages, and founded an abbey in their name (Beaulieu)
* Cistercians restored to John's favour and many abbots forgave him
* When John visited St Albans he didn't leave money as he was supposed to / promised and only took money from the church
* Also, when the Pope made amends with John after the Interdict, he regained the money he had lost but the English clergy received little to nothing
* When they complained to the pope, he essentially ignored it, so this may have caused anger towards the Pope and John

1. Roger of Wendover Positives (5)

* Monk residing in St Albans- in Walding street in Buckinghamshire many Barons would visit there after seeing John.
* Had access to key documents at St Albans
* St Albans was well-connected and located en route to London, so able to talk to key figures about events taking place
* Incorporates official texts - such as Magna Carta
* Claims to have based his accounts on 'religious writers of credit'

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Roger of Wendover Negatives (3)

* Famously disliked John


* Completed his account in 1225, 9 years after John’s reign
* Put together accounts after the interdict, thus making his sources deeply unreliable - due to the interdict he had to pay 600 marks and suffered greatly.
* Benedictine monk - English church after interdict never really forgave King John
* Told blatant lies such as Geoffrey's Archeadon's death due to John imprisoning and starving him however accounts show him still alive after John's death.
* Presented his work as morality lessons to Henry - saying how not to rule
* When John visited St Albans he didn't leave money as he was supposed to / promised and only took money from the church

Ralph of Cogeshall Positives (2)

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* Known erasures in his work indicates he had spent time perfecting accounts and cared for their accuracy.
* Balanced before 1203 fall of Normandy.

Ralph of Coggeshall Negatives (7)

* Cistercian monk had a disagreement with John badly affected by the interdict.
* Didn't begin his chronicle of post-1207 events until about 1221
* Post-1207 was when things really went downhill for John (Interdict, Magna Carta, excommunication) so it is bound to be remembered badly
* Not a court-insider, meaning his accounts are limited in provenance, however, can be deemed an eye witness to John's conflict with the Cistercians
* 1206 to 1212- later portion more hostile depictions - people seeing visions of John going to hell on his deathbed
* Access to people not documents- only three letters quoted in all his work.
* Adherent to the Mandeville family whom John had attacked with a harsh programme of relief.

The History of William Marshal negatives (3)

* Written in 1220s by WM’s children as an obituary to his death - will want to portray him in a positive light
* Written in poetry and gives a heavy focus on chivalry - likely to put everything in a more Romantic light.
* WM rebelled against John in 1205 and was part of MC. WM son rebelled against John at the end of his reign.
* Marshal may have been biased towards the royal family due to the patronage he received from both Richard and Jon (marriage to a wealthy heiress, resulting in his position as Lord of Lenistor in Ireland, William's claim to the earldom of Pembroke was accepted)

Adam of Eynsham Positives

* Chaplain of St Hugh of Lincoln- wrote 'The life of St Hugh of Lincoln', well informed
* ‘The life of St Hugh of Lincoln', written after end of John's reign, functioning as a reflection of John's personality
* Shows several examples of John's flaws, asked Hugh of Lincoln to hurry up with a sermon but also claimed he stayed by the deathbed of Hugh saying 'many kind words'

Adam of Eynsham Negatives (2)

* A monk that went to France during the Interdict, therefore quite biased against John
* Aims to foreshadow events to come

The Barnwell Chronicle Positives (4)

Contains "the best, the fullest and most sophisticated annals" written in England for the years 1202-25

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* Measured - observed both faults and strengths
* Was favourable to John - 'a great but unlucky prince,'
* Detailed - describes John’s popularity in concession with the Pope.
* Disliked foreigners in England - says that this was the cause of John's downfall
* The abbot of Crowland \[Henry Longchamp) had seen John's good side when he ruled in his favour in a dispute despite John being an enemy of his brother, William de Longchamp

The Barnwell Chronicle Negatives

* Gives the nicest account of John of any of its contemporaries - potential for bias?
* The Chronicler disliked foreigners and regrets John's use of foreign mercenaries, blaming them for the initial failures against the French invasion in 1215
* Implies John's failure was due to bad luck instead of several cases of poor management

Ralph of Diceto Positives

* Archdeacon and friends with royal officials so well connected with the church and John's political affairs
* Had a reputation for his education, was largely conscientious and accurate
* Studied in Paris with the reputation of respect and integrity

Ralph of Diceto Negatives

* Died in 1202 so limited account of John's reign

Richard of Devises Negatives

* Monk at Winchester, justifies his standpoint on John due to his dispute with the pope and his confiscation of church property during the interdict
* Very anti-John with dramatic language, humour and inaccuracies - only however covers Richard's reign
* Described King John as a raging madman who "emitted foam from his mouth"
* Against money-lending and openly criticised people who did, against John's treatment of financial system, use of wardships, money-lending, and keeping people in debt
* Writing style humour-filled and over-exaggerated, more than likely to include inaccuracies
* Criticised others for relying on worldly pleasures as opposed to finding enjoyment through spiritual means - further reason for him to dislike John (who was often seen as indulgent)

Richard of Devises Positives

* There were none

Matthew Paris Positives

* Had sources such as Hugh De Burgh and Peter Des Roches where he could obtain treasury documents.

Matthew Paris Negatives

* Born in 1200 a year after the beginning of John’s reign
* A monk who worked off Wendover but made it even more imaginative, often wanted to give a moral story to warn Henry and his subjects of what would occur is they did not co-operate with Native born subjects.
* St Albans- links to barony in London- justify baron's decisions

Gerald of Wales Positives

* Royal clerk close to John in his life before kingship
* After becoming a royal clerk and chaplain to Henry II in 1184, he was chosen to accompany John to Ireland in 1185 - since he was there is likely to be more reliable
* Aspired to be a bishop, so more likely to have information on church affairs

Gerald of Wales Negatives

* Prejudiced- claimed John's betrayal killed Henry II
* Less supportive of John as Gerald witnessed John's disrespectful act of pulling native rulers' beards on the Ireland trip (1185)
* Less so in close quarters with John during his reign - only well informed for his prior behaviours
* Critical of Henry II, Richard, and John
* Only cited around 3 sources + lacked documents in comparison to others
* Disliked foreigners - of Welsh origin but supported Norman marcher rule
* Grew more and more critical over time, is regarded as 'a prolific and prejudiced author'

The Anonymous of Béthune Negatives

* Entourage of Robert Bethune- in the service of John from 1213 until he switched sides in 1216 (Magna Carta period)
* Was written by a lower class man who commended John for generosity at certain points but is largely negative
* Containing anecdotes, vivid scenes and quotations for comic effect- with purpose to entertain not to necessarily be accurate

The Anonymous of Béthune

* Author is thought to be with Robert de Bethune meaning he would most likely be an eye-witness.
* Flemish, not writing from English or French point of view
* Not personally invested since would not have known many who fought or died in the conflict when Louis invaded England, an event he writes about

Roger of Howden Positives

* Royal clerk under Henry II- administrative background and good connections - had first hand knowledge
* Went on Third Crusade with Richard the Lionheart
* Wrote that when Richard was released in Feb 1194, Philip of France told John 'look to yourself, the devil is loose'
* Head of the minster of Howden- also church connections
* Detailed and Balanced with both strengths and weaknesses
* Acted as a negotiator between kings and religious houses and often acted as an English agent in Rome, so he had diplomatic career, thus arguably fair

Roger Bigod Positives

* Earl of Norfolk - took part in negotiations for Richard's release, acting as a diplomat
* Frequently with John on royal business- first-hand knowledge of royal affairs
* Involved in Magna Carta negotiations in opposition to John, one of the 25 who ensured he followed it - likely to have an accurate account of John’s affairs

Roger Bigod Negatives

* John laid siege to his castle in East Anglia 1216

Gervase of Canterbury Positives

* Monk during 1163-1210, location gave first-hand information from those who had just travelled from France.

Gervase of Canterbury Negatives

* Located in Canterbury so took side of monks at Canterbury who had strong dislike for John
* In the election of archbishop may have been biased, as generally Canterbury monks felt that they should have more say.
* Had a reputation to be uncritical to those he talked about.
* Wrote during the reign of Richard and the first decade of John's rule so does not have a full account of John’s reign
* 1201-2 him and other monks had quarrel with J over patronage of Faversham - only resolved by HdW

Margam Abbey Negatives

* Cistercian Monastery
* Margam Abbey was being funded by William de Briouze and his family, who were very much against John - Matilda de Briouze (William's wife) accused John of murdering Arthur and was starved to death along with her son at Corfe Castle in 1210, and William fled to Ireland, and John held William's 4 sons hostage until 1218
* Although John gave them charters to aid in a land dispute, they paid a lot for it: 20 marks + 2 palfreys (docile horses) for one in 1205, and 100 marks + 2 horses in 1207
* This suggests John was mostly in it for the payment (and the jump in prices suggests something may have happened to make relations worse)

Margam Abbey Positives

* 32/60 of Margam's surviving charters are confirmation charters (securing feudal rights etc.) and John gave them charters to aid in a land dispute against the nearby Neath Abbey, possibly suggesting good relations
* Margam Abbey was mostly unaffected by the Interdict (didn't even record it in the Annals of Margam) and the Abbot of Margam had no problem attending the court of an excommunicated king

St Hugh of Lincoln Positives

* Was a friend of Henry II and officiated at Richard's funeral so would have had good information
* John visited Hugh when he was deathly ill and attended his funeral in 1200, even helping to carry the coffin - could be argued how much he would know of John's reign seeing as he died a year into it

St Hugh of Lincoln Negatives

* Only Bishop of Lincoln from 1186 to 1200 - how much did he actually see of John’s reign
* Provenance is questionable as the account focuses on John's personality rather than his kingship

The Record Sources Positives

* Government sources so are more likely to be reliable as they would probably be statistical

The Crowland Chronicle Positives

* Written by a monk at Crowland Abbey in Southern Lincolnshire - this monk may have been closely linked to the abbot of Crowland, Henry de Longchamp, who was a witness to John's reign

The Crowland Chronicle Negatives

* Provenance is limited as Henry de Longchamp was biased against John as he was promoted by William de Longchamp, Richard's chancellor and an enemy of John

The Magna Carta 1215+

* Official document written by the barons and churchmen who held particular grudges against John
* Clergy probably wrote the actual document, so could have influenced the order / importance of clauses i.e. prioritised freedom of the church
* John pressured into signing so doesn't reveal his own views
* Shows what was most important to the barons i.e. wardships and reliefs

Letters from John

* Not private, more public statements to subjects to let them know what was happening, downplaying the severity to restore their confidence in him
* May portray himself in the way that he wants to be seen i.e. a good leader
* Used to accelerate his campaign, like PR
* Exaggerated successes and downplayed failures
* Letters to the Pope are more raw and real, but may be worded based on what he wants from the Pope

Pipe Rolls

* Primary source
* Collection of financial record maintained by the Exchequer or Treasury
* Recorded info from yearly audits performed by the Exchequer
* Showed accounts and payments presented by sheriffs and other royal officials
* Showed payments made to government, debts owed to the crown, and some elements of royal income and expenditures (NOT ALL)