King John's military reputation reconsidered

A measure that medieval chroniclers used for judging kings was success in battle. King John obviously failed this test with his loss of Normandy, 1202–04, and the failure of his 1214 continental campaign. Modern scholars prefer to depict the king as an able administrator, downplaying his military activity; they continue to follow medieval writers in labelling John an incompetent general, lacking boldness, even cowardly. In fact, John's poor military reputation is based on only a few comments in chronicles and verse narratives. While his defense of Normandy from the French was a disaster, partly because of his own failings, factors beyond his control contributed heavily to his loss of the duchy, such as the superior wealth of Philip Augustus. Critics neglect the link between the English king's warfare and his administrative activity, which aimed at raising men, money and other resources for wars. John conducted campaigns capably before and after the loss of Normandy. Some moderns accept traditional condemnation of his military skill, because of a misunderstanding of the nature of medieval warfare. Pitched battles were rare, and war consisted of seemingly aimless plundering raids and sieges of castles. John's supposed lack of boldness merely reflects a medieval commander's caution. His plans for the relief of Château Gaillard in 1203 and his 1214 two-pronged attack on Philip illustrate skill in strategy. Unlike many medieval generals John was skilled at siegecraft, seen at Rochester Castle in 1215. While King John's two greatest campaigns failed, costing him most of his continental lands, his failures in warfare are due neither to incompetence nor to cowardice

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