Wo be to that préest yborne,
That will not cleanelie wéed his corne,
And preach his charge among:
Wo be to that shepheard (I saie)
That will not watch his fold alwaie,
As to his office dooth belong:
Wo be to him that dooth not kéepe,
From rauening Romish wolues his shéepe,
With staffe and weapon strong.
This (as not impertinent to the purpose) I haue recorded, partlie to shew the palpable blindnes of that age wherein king John liued, as also the religion which they reposed in a rotten rag, estéeming it as a Scala cœli or ladder to life; but speciallie inferred to this end, that we may fetch some light from this cléere candle (though the same séeme to be duskish & dim) whereby we may be lead to conceiue in reason and common sense, that the interrement of the king was according to the custome then in vse and request, and therefore by all likelihoods he was buried as the péeres and states of the land were woont to be in those daies, after the maner aboue mentioned.
King Johns children.
But to let this passe as a cold discourse of a coffen of bones cottered with clods of claie; you shall vnderstand that he left behind him posteritie of both sexes. For he had issue by his wife quéene Isabell two sonnes, Henrie who succéeded him in the kingdome, and Richard; thrée daughters, Joane married to Alexander king of Scotland, Isabell coupled in matrimonie with the emperour Frederike the second, and Elianor whome William earle of Glocester had to wife. He had also another daughter (as some haue left in writing) called Elianor.
He was comelie of stature, but of looke and countenance displeasant and angrie, somewhat cruell of nature, as by the writers of his time he is noted, and not so hardie as doubtfull in time of perill and danger. But this séemeth to be an enuious report vttered by those that were giuen to speake no good of him whome they inwardlie hated. Howbeit some giue this witnesse of him (as the author of the booke of Bernewell abbeie and other) that he was a great and mightie prince, but yet not verie fortunate, much like to Marius the noble Romane, tasting of fortune both waies: bountifull and liberall vnto strangers, but of his owne people (for their dailie treasons practised towards him) a great oppressour, so that he trusted more to forreners than to them, and therfore in the end he was of them vtterlie forsaken.
¶ Verilie, whosoeuer shall consider the course of the historie written of this prince, he shall find, that he hath béene little beholden to the writers of that time in which he liued: for scarselie can they afoord him a good word, except when the trueth inforceth them to come out with it as it were against their willes. The occasion whereof (as some thinke) was, for that he was no great fréend to the clergie. And yet vndoubtedlie his déeds shew he bad a zeale to religion, as it was then accompted: for he founded the abbeie of Beauleau in the new forrest, as it were in recompense of certeine parish-churches, which to inlarge the same forrest be caused to be throwne downe and ruinated.
Matth. Paris. Polydor. & alij.
He builded the monasterie of Farendon, and the abbeie of Hales in Shropshire; he repaired Godstow where his fathers concubine Rosamund laie interred; he was no small benefactor to the minster of Lichfield in Staffordshire; to the abbeie of Crokesden in the same shire, and to the chappell at Knatesburgh in Yorkshire. So that (to say what I thinke) he was not so void of deuotion towards the church, as diuerse of his enimies haue reported, who of méere malice conceale all his vertues, and hide none of his vices; but are plentifull inough in setting foorth the same to the vttermost, and interpret all his dooings and saiengs to the woorst, as may appeare to those that aduisedlie read the works of them that write the order of his life, which may séeme rather an inuectiue than a true historie: neuerthelesse, sith we cannot come by the truth of things through the malice of writers, we must content our selues with this vnfréendlie description of his time. Certeinelie it should séeme the man had a princelie heart in him, and wanted nothing but faithfull subiects to haue assisted him in reuenging such wrongs as were doone and offered by the French king and others.
Moreouer, the pride and pretended authoritie of the cleargie he could not well abide, when they went about to wrest out of his hands the prerogatiue of his princelie rule and gouernement. True it is, that to mainteine his warres which he was forced to take in hand as well in France as elsewhere, he was constreined to make all the shift he could deuise to recouer monie and bicause he pinched their pursses, they conceiued no small hatred against him, which when he perceiued, and wanted peraduenture discretion to passe it ouer, he discouered now and then in his rage his immoderate displeasure, as one not able to bridle his affections, a thing verie hard in a stout stomach, and thereby missed now and then to compasse that which otherwise he might verie well haue brought to passe.
Matth. Paris.