J O H N. 



John V., Cantacuzexus, emperor of tlie Eaft, de- 

 fcended from the Paladins of France, was one of the prin- 

 cipal confidants of the younger Androniciis, at the time 

 of his revolt from his grandfather, and ailed with great 

 fidelity in the fervice of the young prince, in whofe reign 

 he held the office of great domeltic, by virtue of which he 

 ruled both t!ie emperor and the etnpire. At the death ot 

 Androniciis in \^^i, Cantacuzenus was left guardian to 

 the eldcll of his fons, then but nine years of age, and was 

 made regent of the empire. His adminiftration was dif- 

 turbed by the ambition of the great duke Apocaucus, who 

 encouraged the emprefs dowager to aflert a maternal right 

 to the tutelage of her fon, and by the patriarch John, who 

 laid claim himfelf to the office of guardian. In felf- 

 defence, therefore, Cantacuzenus caufed himfelf to be made 

 emperor in 1342, which produced a civil war, in which he 

 was, at firft, fu far unfuccefsful, that he was obliged to 

 quit his country and take refuge in Sersia. Alter a feries 

 of misfortunes he was at length, in 1347, received as a 

 conqueror into Conilantinoplc. He now aflbciated himfelf 

 with his ward in tlie empire, but the union was foon inter- 

 rupted by inteftine divifions, which, in 1355, he put an end 

 to by a voluntary abdication, when he took the religious 

 habit in a monailery of mount Athos. Here he employed 

 hinifelf in compoling a hillory of the tranfadions to wliich 

 he had been witncis ; and this work, comprifing a period 

 of forty years, from the revolt of the younger Androni- 

 cus to his own abdication, is one of the moil elegant pro- 

 duftions of the modern Greeks. He likewife engaged in a 

 religio iS controvefy, and compofed four books againit the 

 Jews and Mahometans. This work was publilhed at Bafil 

 in 1 543 ; and of his Hillory there is a Louvre edition in 

 three volumes, fol. 165?. He is faid to have died in 141 1 : 

 a letter to him from pope Gregoi-y XL, in 1375, is ftill 

 extant. Thefe are the only emperors of the name of John 

 that require any notice in this work. Gibbon. Univerfal 

 Hillory. 



John, king of France, fucceeded his father, Philip 

 of Valois, ir. 1350, being, at the time, forty years of 

 age. One of his firil acts was to put to death, without the 

 form of trial, the conftable, count d'Eu, wiio was fuf- 

 pecled of being in the interell of Edward HI., king of 

 England. This arbitrary aCl occafioned much dilcontent 

 among his nobles, whom he attempted to appeafe by the 

 inllitution of the order of the ftar, in imitation of Ed- 

 ward's order of the Garter, but being too lavidi of the 

 new honour, it was brought into contempt. A war broke 

 out between England and France, and John fumm.oned the 

 ftates-general for the purpole of raifing the neceflary fup- 

 plies. In tlie alfembly of thefe dates it was agreed that 

 no propofition fliould be admitted without the unanimous 

 confent of the three orders, which gave to the third eftate 

 an authority and independence which affimilated them to the 

 commons of England. John made conliderabie conceffions, 

 and was enabled thereby to raife a powerful army. It was 

 ill this contell that the king of France was oppofed to the 

 Black Prince of England : at Maupertuis, near Poiftiers, 

 they met ; the former with an army of fixty thoufan<l men, 

 the latter could fcarcelyenumerate twelve thoufahd effedlive 

 foldiers. Edward, feeling the difadvant^geous ground on 

 which he flood, offered to rt-r ' ' , and the booty 



which lie had already mad truce for feven 



years, provided he might be ; nn to his own 



country in fecurity, but John, v.,.,,,, ,^,,. ^,, ..iccefs. required 

 him to furrender himfelf a prifoner, with the principal offi- 

 cers of his army. This demand brought on the famous 

 battle of Poicliers, on tlie icjth of September, 1356, in 



which John was made prifoner, and many of the French 

 nobility loft their lives. The captive monarch, though re- 

 fpedlfully treated, was brought to England to grace the 

 triumph of the conqueror ; the peace, in 1360, put an end 

 to his captivity, but to obtain his liberty he made over many 

 of the motl valuable provinces of his kingdom to the king 

 of England, and agreed to pay a ranfom of three m.illions 

 of gold crowns. The difallers to which he had already 

 been fubjetl, had fo little efFcd in teaching him pohtical 

 wii'dom, that at the perfiiafion of pope Urban V. he took 

 the crofs, and fcrioufly ivfolved upon an expedition into the 

 Holy Land. The e.^ecution of this project was prevented 

 by tiie dilhonourable efcape of his fon Lewis, count of 

 Anjou, from England, where he was detained as a hollage. 

 The kinn-'s fenfe of juftice and honour determined him in- 

 ftantly to return to England in the ftead of his fon. He 

 landed in 1364, and was received by Edward with great 

 magnificence ; but he was fhortly after attacked with a dif- 

 eafe, of which he died at the palace at the Savoy in April, 

 in the 56th year of his age, and the 14th of his reign. John 

 was poifefTed of many noble qualities, but he was not gifted 

 with very fuperior talents : he was author of the maxim, 

 " That if juliice and good faith were banifhed from the rell 

 of the world, they ought to find refuge in the hearts of 

 princes." Univer. Hid. Hume. 



JOHK, king of England, born in 1 166, was theyoungeft 

 fon of Henry II. by queen Eleanor of Guienne. He was 

 his father's favourite, nevertlielefs he joined his brother 

 Richard in thofe projedls againfl Henry, whi' h induced the 

 unhappy king, on his dealh-bed, to pronounce a curfe upon 

 his children. He was left without any particular provifion, 

 which circumflance gave him the name of " Lack-land." 

 Richard, upon his accefTion to the throne, behaved with the 

 utmoft liberality to John, but his generofity could not at- 

 tach him to his interell. During his abfence in the Holy 

 Land, he formed fecret intrigues with Richard's rival and 

 inveterate foe, Philip king of France. Thefe broke out 

 into open rebellion, but being unfiiccefsfiil, he threw him- 

 felf upon )iis brother's mercy. With a knowledge of his 

 character, Richerd laid to his iiiterccffor, queen Eleanor, 

 " I forgive him, and hope I fliail as eafily forget his ingra- 

 titude and injuries, as he \vill my pardon." John, who 

 was utterly void of all fenfe of honour and generofity, 

 proved the bafenefs of his nature by the aft with which he 

 purchafed forgivenefs. He invited the officers of Philip's 

 garriion of Evreux to an entertainment, caufed them to be 

 all maffacred, put the foldiers to tlie fword, and delivered 

 up the town to his brother. He afcended the throne at the 

 death of Richard in 11 9, but he did not obtain an undif- 

 piited fuccefTion. War was excited in favour of Arthur 

 of Britanny, in which the young prince fell into the hand* 

 of his uncle John : he was at firil confined in the caflle of 

 Falaife, and his uncle in vain endeavoured to procure his 

 affafTuiation. At length he was condudted to the caftle of 

 Rouen, where John refided, and he was never after heard 

 of. The manner of his death was uncertain, but it is gene- 

 rally believed that the king ilabbed him with his own hands. 

 From this period John became the objeCl of univerfal detef- 

 tation, and all his foreign fubjeCls prepared to throw off 

 the yoke. The pope alfo excommunicated him, and ab- 

 folved his fubjefts from their allegiance. He for fome time 

 refilled the papal authority, but in 1 2 13 he made his fuh- 

 miilion. The pope, now regarding England as his owhi^ 

 and jealous of the aggrandizement of Philip of France, 

 fent a metTage to that prince, acquainting him with John's 

 return to his duty towards the church, and requiring him 

 to defiil from hoilihties againft a country now under the 

 5 proteiftJOn 



