war in france

When war with France
broke out again in 1202,
John achieved early
victories, but shortages of
military resources and his
treatment of Norman,
Breton and Anjou nobles
resulted in the collapse of
his empire in northern
France in 1204. John spent
much of the next decade
attempting to regain these
lands, raising huge
revenues, reforming his
armed forces and
rebuilding continental
alliances. John's judicial
reforms had a lasting,
positive impact on the
English common law
system, as well as providing
an additional source of
revenue. An argument with
Pope Innocent III led to
John's excommunication in
1209, a dispute finally
settled by the king in 1213.
John's attempt to defeat
Philip in 1214 failed due to
the French victory over
John's allies at the battle of
Bouvines. When he
returned to England, John
faced a rebellion by many
of his barons, who were
unhappy with his fiscal
policies and his treatment
of many of England's most
powerful nobles. Although
both John and the barons
agreed to the Magna Carta
peace treaty in 1215,
neither side complied with
its conditions. Civil war
broke out shortly
afterwards, with the barons
aided by Louis of France. It
soon descended into a
stalemate. John died of
dysentery contracted whilst
on campaign in eastern
England during late 1216;
supporters of his son Henry
III went on to achieve
victory over Louis and the
rebel barons the following
year.
Contemporary chroniclers
were mostly critical of
John's performance as king,
and his reign has since
been the subject of
significant debate and
periodic revision by
historians from the 16th
century onwards. Historian
Jim Bradbury has
summarised the
contemporary historical
opinion of John's positive
qualities, observing that
John is today usually
considered a "hard-working
administrator, an able man,
an able general".