by Sidney Painter (Author)
Originally published in 1949. Lacking the warlike bluntness of his predecessor, Richard the Lionheart, John came to the throne of England at a time when economic forces in the realm were threatening to undermine the very basis of feudal power. The Reign of King John covers his attempts to adjust a political system to cope with this threat and at the same time to assert the hegemony of the monarchy over its chief rivals--the barons and the church--made his reign one of particular importance and significance in English history.
Author Biography
Sidney Painter was a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. Specializing in medievalism, he served as a chairman of the Department of History. He is the author of Studies in the History of the English Feudal Barony, Scourge of the Clergy, and William Marshal: Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England.