early life

John was born to Henry II
of England and Eleanor of
Aquitaine on 24 December
1166.[3] Henry had
inherited significant
territories along the
Atlantic seaboard – Anjou,
Normandy and England –
and expanded his empire
by conquering Brittany.[4]
Henry married the
powerful Eleanor of
Aquitaine, who reigned
over the Duchy of
Aquitaine and had a
tenuous claim to Toulouse
and Auvergne in southern
France, in addition to being
the former wife of Louis VII
of France.[4] The result was
the Angevin Empire, named
after Henry's paternal title
as Count of Anjou and,
more specifically, its seat in
Angers.[nb 1] The Empire,
however, was inherently
fragile: although all the
lands owed allegiance to
Henry, the disparate parts
each had their own
histories, traditions and
governance structures.[6]
As one moved south
through Anjou and
Aquitaine, the extent of
Henry's power in the
provinces diminished
considerably, scarcely
resembling the modern
concept of an empire at
all. Some of the traditional
ties between parts of the
empire such as Normandy
and England were slowly
dissolving over time.[7] It
was unclear what would
happen to the empire on
Henry's death. Although
the tradition of
primogeniture, under
which an eldest son would
inherit all his father's lands,
was slowly becoming more
widespread across Europe,
it was less popular amongst
the Norman kings of
England.[8] Most believed
that Henry would divide
the empire, giving each son
a substantial portion,
hoping that his children
would then continue to
work together as allies
after his death.[9] To
complicate matters, much
of the Angevin empire was
owned by Henry only as a
vassal of the King of France
of the rival line of the
House of Capet. Henry had
often allied himself with
the Holy Roman Emperor
against France, making the
feudal relationship even
more challenging.[10]
Shortly after his birth, John
was passed from Eleanor
into the care of a wet
nurse, a traditional practice
for medieval noble
families.[11] Eleanor then
left for Poitiers, the capital
of Aquitaine, and sent John
and his sister Joan north to
Fontevrault Abbey.[12] This
may have been done with
the aim of steering her
youngest son, with no
obvious inheritance,
towards a future
ecclesiastical career.[11]
Eleanor spent the next few
years conspiring against her
husband Henry and neither
parent played a part in
John's very early life.[11]
John was probably, like his
brothers, assigned a
magister whilst he was at
Fontevrault, a teacher
charged with his early
education and with
managing the servants of
his immediate household;
John was later taught by
Ranulph Glanville, a
leading English
administrator.[13] John
spent some time as a
member of the household
of his eldest living brother
Henry the Young King,
where he probably received
instruction in hunting and
military skills.[12]
John grew up to be around
5ft.-5in. (1.62 m) tall,
relatively short for royalty
of the day, with a
"powerful, barrel-chested
body" and dark red hair; he
appeared to
contemporaries to look like
an inhabitant of Poitou.[14]
John enjoyed reading and,
unusual for the period,
built up a travelling library
of books.[15] He enjoyed
gambling, in particular on
backgammon, and was an
enthusiastic hunter, even
by medieval standards.[16]
He liked music, although
not songs.[17] John would
become a "connoisseur of
jewels", building up a large
collection, and became
famous for his opulent
clothes and also, according
to French chroniclers, for
his fondness for bad wine.
[18] As John grew up, he
became known for
sometimes being "genial,
witty, generous and
hospitable"; at other
moments, he could be
jealous, over-sensitive and
prone to fits of rage,
"biting and gnawing his
fingers" in anger.[19][nb 2]