King John Marries Isabella: Seeds of Future Conflict
King John of England married twelve-year-old Isabella of Angouleme in Bordeaux Cathedral on August 24, 1200, stealing a bride already betrothed to Hugh IX of Lusignan, a powerful French vassal. The Lusignans appealed to King Philip II of France, who summoned John to answer the complaint. When John refused to appear, Philip declared all English holdings in France forfeit and invaded Normandy. By 1204, John had lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine, reducing the once-vast Angevin Empire to a rump. The resulting financial pressure, as John taxed his English barons to fund failed reconquest campaigns, provoked the baronial revolt that forced him to seal the Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215.
August 24, 1200
826 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 24
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