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(John Lackland, John Sans Terre, John Soft-sword)
humanoid male, belongs to Robinhood (characters list)
An historical figure & most often used Robin Hood villain. As the youngest son with no inheritance, is schemed against his family for his own gain.

King Henry had a painting of three eagle chicks attacking their parent from the nest, with a fourth chick waiting to pounce. About it he said:

This painted prophecy came true, even the future King Richard participated in rebellions against him and Prince John struck when no one was expecting it. After his fathers death and in King Richard's absence, he tried to over through William Longchamp whom the king had appointed to rule in his absence. In effect, John traded promised democracy in exchange for popularity. Telling cities that they could rule themselves if the would imprison Longchamp. Indeed, John eventually consented to signing Magna Carta thus limiting the power of the monarchy. While he increased the power of the nobility, he invited new and strange ways to tax them. Squeezing nobility for taxes causes the peasants to feel the pinch. Thus the rich and the poor agreed about their dislike of John. Richard forgave John upon returning from the crusades (and a short detour while being held for ransom which their mother paid). John eventually became the legitimately recognized King soon after Richard died. He also managed to create a navy, after his scheming and bumbling started a war that necessitated one. He decided to attempt to interfere with the election of an archbishop and started a cold war with the Church of Rome. He lost and surrendered England and Ireland "to God and the Saints Peter and Paul" in exchange for money. He managed to lose many wars and territory and even sparked a civil war in England that continued after his death. Finally, he managed to lose the crown jewels to a high tide shortly before dying. People of the day were convinced he'd been justly poisoned but he probably died of dysentery aggravated by depression and failure to rest. He wasn't all bad. Strangely, John was considered a fair judge when he exercised his power in the courts and many sought his rulings. He also kept proper records of royal expenses for the first time in history, basically inventing the modern concept of a national budget. He was a decent administrator. And as mentioned above, he sort of initiated modern democracy and practically founded the Royal Navy.

His timing, numerous failures, and unpopularity make him the logical choice for a villain in the Robin Hood legend.

Zerothis - 2008-04-12 08:12:01