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Baby Boys · 4mo

What are some of your favorite things about John

I think you mean like personal things? Things about his actual personality rather than events in his reign that I'm interested in? I'm very interested in the small things that we know about him, some of which feel absolutely bananas to know about a person that has been dead for 850 years, like that he and Isabella liked to play chess together. Or that John loved music, but wasn't specifically fond of troubadour songs. I like that he was a dog guy and made special provisions for his dogs almost everywhere that he travelled, sometimes paying more for their care and transport than for his and Isabella's. He told a lot of jokes and liked to play with puns. I like that he created a little traveling library for himself and that when there were legal challenges against him, he was in the room, doing research and writing alongside his lawyers, especially if the question was on church law and the Bible. I like that he took the time to learn English and sometimes sat as a judge for common people in his country, often siding against nobles and Normans in favor of Englishmen. I like that he seems to have really loved him illegitimate children and looked out for them and for their mothers. I don't think any of these things absolve him of his more violent behaviors especially later in his reign, but I think we know enough about him to understand why he always had a strong, loyal group beside him, even when the Barons War was looking Bad. I feel like he and Young Henry actually have a bit of a similar personality.

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