King John (play) King John (play) The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England (ruled 1199–1216), son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England. It is believed to have been written in the mid-1590s but was not published until it appeared in the First Folio in 1623. King John receives an ambassador from France who demands with a threat of war, that he renounce his throne in favour of his nephew, Arthur, whom the French King Philip believes to be the
Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians of the king of the Cumbrians" from "Historia regum Anglorum". The "Chronicle of Melrose" may therefore be the earliest source to explicitly associate Máel Coluim mac Donnchada with the events of 1054. As as result of this identification, this Scottish monarch was portrayed as a man who only possessed his throne on account of English assistance. The catalyst behind the monks' misrepresentation of Siward's invasion appears to have been an English revolt dating to 1173 and 1174, when the reigning King of Scotland—a great-grandson of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada—backed a failed rebellion against the King of England. As a result