OF ALL the Kings of England, none, with the possible exception
of William Rufus and Richard III, bears a worse reputation
than John. How much of that reputation is based on the known facts
of his life and how much on Shakespeare's play it is hard to say, but
it is safe to assert that many more people have read the play than have
read a history of John's reign. The general reader, however, could
probably sum up his knowledge of King John in three statements:
he ordered Hubert de Burgh to blind the young Arthur, he signed
Magna Carta, and he lost all his treasure while attempting to cross
the Wash.

What are called the known facts of his life are largely the accounts
given in the contemporary chronicles. These were all written by

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