Talk:John, King of England/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: Shimgray | talk | 10:02, 30 January 2011 (UTC)


 * GA review (see here for criteria)


 * 1) It is reasonably well written.
 * a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):
 * 1) It is factually accurate and verifiable.
 * a (references): b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR):
 * 1) It is broad in its coverage.
 * a (major aspects): b (focused):
 * 1) It follows the neutral point of view policy.
 * Fair representation without bias:
 * 1) It is stable.
 * No edit wars, etc.:
 * 1) It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
 * a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:
 * 1) It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
 * a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:


 * I've been summoned away this afternoon, so I'll have to put off a full check of the content until later - I'll try to get it done tonight, though. Shimgray | talk | 14:25, 30 January 2011 (UTC)


 * ...and that took longer than planned! A couple of minor notes:


 * According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, John was recognised as heir presumptive by 1197 and named as heir sometime early in 1199 - there's no mention of this in the text.


 * I really like the fact that you've included a footnote explaining that giving modern currency values would be silly! If only more editors were confident enough to do this :-)


 * Some more on his involvement with Wales,- Scotland & Ireland would be nice - it's not an essential requirement, but it's something that seems to be lacking in detail compared to other sections of the article. (Perhaps an avenue for future expansion?)


 * Overall, I think you give an appropriate amount of weight to Magna Carta in the article; we don't treat it as the single big event of his reign, which is good. However, I think a good chunk of people will be looking for it when skimming - would it be worth adjusting the headings so that it's explicitly mentioned in some way?


 * "Much of John's later reputation was established by two chroniclers writing after the king's death, Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris." - I think it might be worth being explicit here that Wendover and Paris were both very negative about him; it's a bit ambiguous as it stands.


 * Otherwise, historiography all looks fair and balanced. The ODNB article tends to suggest that "he was a bad king after all" is gaining ground, but I think the current text gets this across with a bit more nuance.

Overall I don't think any of these changes are significant enough to hold up passing it; it's an excellent article and a pleasure to read. Shimgray | talk | 01:22, 3 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Many thanks! I've just made a couple of those changes, and will fish out the reference books in a bit and tackle the others. Hchc2009 (talk) 10:11, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Just covered off the 1197/9 bit - I think its less clear cut; Turner thinks that Richard was in the process of clarifying the succession before his death, and I've added this into the text. Hchc2009 (talk) 08:17, 23 February 2011 (UTC)