Editing John, King of England (section)

==Death==
[[File:King John's tomb.jpg|thumb|alt=A photograph of the tomb of King John; a large carved, square, stone block supports a carved effigy of John lying down.|King John's tomb in [[Worcester Cathedral]]]]
In September 1216, John began a fresh, vigorous attack. He marched from the [[Cotswolds]], feigned an offensive to relieve the besieged Windsor Castle, and attacked eastwards around London to [[Cambridge]] to separate the rebel-held areas of [[Lincolnshire]] and East Anglia.<ref>Turner, p. 194; Warren, p. 253.</ref> From there he travelled north to relieve the rebel siege at Lincoln and back east to [[King's Lynn|Lynn]], probably to order further supplies from the continent.<ref name="WarrenP253">Warren, p. 253.</ref> In Lynn, John contracted [[dysentery]], which would ultimately prove fatal.<ref name=WarrenP253/> Meanwhile, Alexander II invaded northern England again, taking Carlisle in August and then marching south to give homage to Prince Louis for his English possessions; John narrowly missed intercepting Alexander along the way.<ref>Turner, p. 194; Duncan, p. 267; Warren, p. 253.</ref> Tensions between Louis and the English barons began to increase, prompting a wave of desertions, including William Marshal's son [[William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke|William]] and William Longespée, who both returned to John's faction.<ref>McLynn, p. 455; Warren, p. 253.</ref>

=== Crown Jewels ===
John returned west but is said to have lost much of his baggage train along the way.<ref name="WarrenP254">Warren, p. 254.</ref> [[Roger of Wendover]] provides the most graphic account of this, suggesting that the King's belongings, including the [[English Crown Jewels]], were lost as he crossed one of the tidal estuaries which empties into [[the Wash]], being sucked in by [[quicksand]] and [[whirlpool]]s.<ref name=WarrenP254/> Accounts of the incident vary considerably between the various chroniclers and the exact location of the incident has never been confirmed; the losses may have involved only a few of his pack-horses.<ref>Warren, pp. 284–285; Barlow, p. 356.</ref> Modern historians assert that by October 1216 John faced a "stalemate", "a military situation uncompromised by defeat".<ref>Turner, p. 195; Barlow, p. 357.</ref>

John's illness grew worse and by the time he reached [[Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire]], he was unable to travel any farther; he died on the night of 18/19 October.<ref name=Handbook37/><ref>Warren, pp. 254–255.</ref> Numerous—probably fictitious—accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a "surfeit of peaches".<ref>Given-Wilson, p. 87.</ref> His body was escorted south by a company of mercenaries and he was buried in [[Worcester Cathedral]] in front of the altar of St Wulfstan.<ref>Warren, p. 255; McLynn, p. 460.</ref> A new [[sarcophagus]] with an [[effigy]] was made for him in 1232, in which his remains now rest.<ref>Danziger and Gillingham, p. 270.</ref>