England in the Middle Ages was alive with promise, controversy, plague, natural disasters, succession issues, and many more challenges.

King John: England's Oft-maligned Monarch
King John is one of England's most-remembered kings for two reasons, neither of which he would have liked. He is known as the king who gave up his ultimate authority in authorizing Magna Carta, and he is known as the villain in the Robin Hood stories.

Magna Carta: Inspiration for Modern Governments
Magna Carta was a 13th-Century pact between a king and 25 of his most powerful subjects to cooperate more fully in the future. Neither side kept their word, but the resulting agreement is widely regarded as one of the inspirations for the U.S. Constitution and for British common law and civil liberties.