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Richard's sudden death left two possible heirs to the English throne along with the vast territories in France that the crown held--John as Richard's brother and Arthur of Brittany as Richard's nephew.
理查德国王的突然去世留下了两个英国王位继承人，以及在法国的大片领土——这两位继承人是理查德的兄弟约翰和理查德的侄子布列塔尼的亚瑟。
Richard hadn't designated a successor before he died and the law of the period was confused and unclear making conflict inevitable.
理查德死前没有指定继承人，当时的法律混乱不清，冲突不可避免。
Much of the English nobility supported John who was crowned king Westminster Abbey, while nobles from Brittany, Anjou and Maine supported Arthur.
许多英国贵族支持在威斯敏斯特教堂加冕为国王的约翰，而来自布列塔尼、昂儒和缅因的贵族则支持亚瑟。
So did king Philip of France who saw a weakened England as strengthening his own position.
法国国王菲利普也支持亚瑟，他认为孱弱的英国可以巩固自己的地位。
Initially, John saw success in the war against Philip and Arthur.
起初，约翰看到了对菲利普和亚瑟战争的胜利。
He was able to defend his position in Normandy from Phillip's forces while scoring a surprise victory over Arthur's forces at the battle of Mirebeau, on the first of August, 1202, capturing Arthur and almost all of the rebel leadership.
1202年8月1日，他在米雷博战役中击败了亚瑟的军队，俘虏了亚瑟和几乎所有的叛军领导人，并在诺曼底守住了自己的阵地，免受菲利普军队的攻击。
But all that he had gained he promptly squandered through his own personal shortcomings.
但是，他所获得的一切，很快就因为自己的缺点而失去了。
Government in the middle ages revolved around the king but no king could run his government effectively without support from the nobles.
中世纪的政府以国王为中心，但没有贵族的支持，没有国王能有效地管理自己的政府，
And John seemed incapable of getting along with his.
约翰似乎无法与他的贵族好好相处。
The king routinely alienated angered and ignored advice from the nobles no matter how close they were to him or how powerful they were.
约翰王经常疏远愤怒的贵族，无视他们的建议，无论他们与他有多亲近或他们有多强大。
Added to this was John's pension for cruelty that was considered excessive even by the standards at the time.
除此之外，约翰的行为残忍，即使以当时的标准来看，也被认为是过度的。
The nobles he captured at Mirebeau were imprisoned in such deplorable conditions that many of them died offending and angering their surviving relatives.
米雷博战役中俘获的贵族们被他囚禁在极其恶劣的环境中，他们中的许多人死于冒犯和激怒了他们幸存的亲属。
Then John shocked all of Europe when in 1203, he murdered his 16-year-old nephew Arthur after a drinking binge, throwing the boy's body in the river.
1203年，约翰震惊了整个欧洲，他在酗酒后将16岁的侄子亚瑟杀害，并将他的尸体扔进了河里。
More and more French nobles turned away from John and allied themselves with Philip who was on the offensive in Normandy.
越来越多的法国贵族不再支持约翰，转而与在诺曼底进攻的菲利普结盟。
By the end of 1204, the entire duchy which had belonged to English monarchs since the days of William the Conqueror was now entirely in Phillips hands.
到1204年底，自征服者威廉时代以来一直属于英国君主的整个公国现在完全掌握在菲利普手中。
The French king followed up on his success in Normandy by seizing Anjou and Poito as well.
法国国王继诺曼底战役成功之后，又夺取了昂儒和波伊托。
Suddenly and spectacularly, John had lost almost all of his continental possessions that his father and brother had captured and offended for decades.
突然间，令人震惊的是，约翰失去了几乎所有他的父亲和兄弟几十年来占领和打下来的领土。
