Richard had formally named Arthur of Brittant as his heir - but on his deathbed named John.
John was supported by the barons of England & Normandy (help from William Marshall & Eleanor of Aquitaine), Arthur was supported by Philip Augustus and the barons of Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Brittany (led by William des Roches).
Upon Richard's death, Philip moved to invade Normandy and seized Evreux.
John moved to seize the throne, the treasury and the castle of Chinon, and secured support in England.
April 25th - John was invested as Duke at Rouen / May 27th - crowned at Westminster.
Eleanor went to Poitou to recieve homage from her subjects and she paid homage to Philip for the Duchy. She then gave Aquitaine to John, but he returned it to her to rule within her lifetime - this guaranteed John's authority over southwest France and denied Philip any excuse to invade (until Eleanor's death in 1204).
Arthur declared himself a vassal of Philip's and led a force in Anjou and Maine, and from April 28th onwards named himself Duke of Brittany, Count of Anjou and Earl of Richmond.
The three main barons of Anjou, Maine and Touraine (William des Roches, Juhel de Mayenne and Robert de Vitre) declared war on John after sweeping concessions from Philip, Arthur and Constance of Brittany.
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Continued Conflict
May 1199 - Aimeri (viscount of Thouars) and the 3 senior Lusignans (Hugh, Ralph and Geoffrey) attacked Tours and attempted to capture Arthur. John then chose Aimeri as seneschal of Anjou (as opposed to William des Roches).
June 1199 - John gathered support for himself, returned to Normandy and made a truce with Philip to confirm the alliances he'd inherited from Richard. 15 French counts then swore to support John against Philip (if needed).
September 1199 - William des Roches switched to support John and met him at Le Mans to swear an oath of loyalty, bringing Constance and Arthur with him. BUT the following night, Aimeri fled with Constance and Arthur to Philip's court, supposedly because Arthur had heard that John intended to imprison him.
November 1199 - John lost support as some French counts left for Philips court (including the counts of Flanders and Perche).
MAY 1200 - TREATY OF LE GOULET
John agreed that Philip was entitled to retain the territory he'd conquered in Normandy and also agreed to pay him a relief of 20,000 marks. Philip then recognised John as Richard's lawful heir in Anjou and other Plantagenet dominions.
BUT John was now politically isolated; had promised not to support Otto of Brunswick and not to aid any of his or Philip's vassals in rebellion against Philip.
Still, Philip stood aside as John captured Angers in June 1200 and took 150 hostages as a pledge of loyalty. He also didn't stand against John when he took Aquitaine.
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Events from 1202-03
April 1202 - after an ongoing conflict between John and the Lusignan family (who appealed to Philip for aid), Philip confiscated all of John's fiefs and accepted Arthur's homage for Poitou, Anjou, Maine and Touraine, and arranged for Arthur to marry his daugher, Mary. The war of succession then started up again.
John gained new allies; Aimeri returned to support him and Juhel of Mayenne was also persuaded. However, the counts of Boulogne and Toulouse were with Philip and the counts of Flanders, Blois and Perche were crusading.
May 1202 -Arthur and the Lusignans had launched an attack on Poitou, and Philip then invaded Normandy and captured several castles, while John moved south to meet the threat at Le Mans by July.
July 1202 - 30th - John heard that Arthur had captured Eleanor at Mirabeau.
August -John's troops (led by des Roches and Aimeri) took Arthur by surprise and not a single rebel escaped; over 200 knights were captured, as well as Arthur, Hugh & Geoffrey de Lusignan, and other noblemen.
BUT John's treatment of his prisoners permanently tarnished his reputation and made him an enemy of almost the entire aristocracy, as most knew at least one of the knights at Mirabeau.
September 1202 - William and Aimeri rebelled against John and by October had captured Angers.
By 1203, Arthur had disappeared while under John's imprisonment. Rumour was that John had killed Arthur in a drunken rage and thrown his body into the Seine as an attempt to cover it up - may have been why William des Roches rebelled.
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