The Werewolf King

King John died of dysentery on this day in 1216 at Swineshead Abbey near Boston in Lincolnshire. The official story was that he'd over-indulged in unripe peaches and sweet ale. But other stories circulated that he'd been poisoned - which is no great surprise as he was pretty much the most hated king in British history. 

There is almost nothing good ever written about the man.

As I'm sure you know from countless Robin Hood movies, the outgoing King Henry II passed the crown to King Richard ('Lionheart') who then went off to lead the Crusades. While he was away his brother John acted as caretaker monarch and attempted to stage a coup. He failed. In addition he imprisoned Richard's heir, the 14-year-old Prince Arthur, who then 'disappeared'. It's generally accepted that he had the boy murdered. 

John finally became king upon Richard's death in 1199 and almost immediately used his new found power and influence to indulge his bad behaviour. He kept dozens of mistresses and particularly enjoyed seducing the wives and daughters of his nobles. He was excessively cruel and is known to have starved prisoners - including children - to death. And he was rude and snobbish to foreign dignitaries. Small wonder then that War with France broke out, the Pope excommunicated him, English nobles rebelled over taxes and John’s obnoxious attitudes towards them, and he was forced to sign the Magna Carta (which he then failed to honour). 

Basically, John was a complete horror. 

And that extends into the afterlife too because, as legend would have it, upon his death he became a werewolf. 

The origins of this myth may lie with John's relationship with the Kings of Ossory. John had been named Lord of Ireland as a teenager and, in 1185, he toured the Kingdom of Ossary, or Osraigh (most of present-day County Kilkenny), in the company of the Archdeacon of Brecknock and historian Gerald of Wales. While there he forced his attentions upon some female members of the Ossory family, which was a bad move as Norse accounts suggest that they were direct descendants of the legendary Laignech Fàelad, a fearsome warrior who frequently shapeshifted into a werewolf. 

The Norse work Konungs Skuggsjá suggests that the entire population of Osraigh/Ossory were cursed by St Patrick himself because they were so resistant to Christianity. As the unknown chronicler wrote: 'Later these clansmen did suffer a fitting and severe though very marvelous punishment, for it is told that all the members of that clan are changed into wolves for a period and roam through the woods feeding upon the same food as wolves; but they are worse than wolves, for in all their wiles they have the wit of men, though they are as eager to devour men as to destroy other creatures. It is reported that to some this affliction comes every seventh winter, while in the intervening years they are men; others suffer it continuously for seven winters all told and are never stricken again' (translation by Larson, 1917). 

Perhaps King John picked up a less than passionate love bite?

Upon his death, John was originally laid to rest in Worcester Cathedral in front of the altar of Saint Wulfstan (Old English: 'Wolf Stone'). At his insistence, he was buried in a monk's habit - perhaps he feared that his mortal sins would deny him entrance to Heaven and he was trying to hoodwink St Peter? 

Meanwhile, the werewolf story had taken root and at least one old Norman chronicle states that the monks of Worcester were compelled by the frightful howling emanating from his grave to dig up his body and cast it out of consecrated ground. And so, in 1797 the tomb was opened to see if he was in there. Inside was a stone coffin containing the royal remains, the head wrapped in the remains of a cowl. The Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral were immediately summoned, and inspection made of the King’s body before the coffin was closed and the tomb re-sealed.

  

However, you can't keep a bad king down and his lycanthropic spirit is said to be particularly fond of loping around Surrey near Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed. Some people have linked this to the numerous stories and sightings - mostly in the 1960s - of a beast which was christened 'The Surrey Puma'. 

Therefore, my advice to you is to avoid anywhere south of the A308 between Windsor and Staines when there's a full moon ... 

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Click here to read more about the Werewolves of Ossory.