King John has been perceived as one of England's most notorious monarchs. Medieval writers and later historians condemn him as a tyrant, seeing his long-running dispute with the church as evidence of a king who showed little regard for his faith. This book takes issue with orthodox opinion, arguing that in matters of religion, the critique obscures the evidence for a ruler who realized that outward manifestations of faith were an important part of kingship. It demonstrates that John maintained chapels and chaplains, prayed at shrines of the saints, kept his own collection of holy relics,...