Robert of Braybrooke (1168–1210) was listed by the chronicler Roger of Wendover (d. 1236) as one of King John’s evil counsellors. Robert had risen from obscurity to become Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. In the process, he had acquired extensive lands across the English Midlands, largely by redeeming the mortgages of landholders who were in debt to Jewish moneylenders. This charter, issued at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, in 1208 and bearing the Great Seal of England, confirmed Robert in his new estates. Among the witnesses to the document were other chief supporters of King John at that time, including William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey (1166–1240), William d’Aubigné, Earl of Arundel (1160–1236), and Saer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester (1155–1219). Robert of Braybrooke’s son, Henry (1188–1234), succeeded him as Sheriff, but defected to the barons’ side in 1215.
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When Magna Carta was created, England had endured 16 years of John’s kingship – a rule based largely on extortion, legal chicanery, blackmail and violence. Here Dan Jones discusses King John's infamous reign.
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