JOHN was in Brittany, visiting his nephew Arthur, when
he received the news of Richard's death. His first concern, of
course, was to make sure of his succession to the throne. The
only other prospective heir was this same Arthur, now twelve years
old, the son of John's brother Geoffrey. He had been recognized as
Duke of Brittany by virtue of his mother's position as only heir of
Conan the Little, Duke of Brittany. On Richard's death the nobles
of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine, as well as those of Brittany, were
disposed to receive him as the rightful heir. In England the principle
of strictly hereditary succession by primogeniture did not yet obtain,
and little effort seems to have been made there to advance the claims
of Arthur to the crown that Richard had bequeathed to John.

The support of two of the most influential men of the kingdom no
doubt played a large part in securing John's uncontested succession.
Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, and William Marshal,
the close friend and trusted advisor of both Henry II and Richard,

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