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| Richard The Lionheart
Richard The
Lionheart : Biography
Richard the Lionheart was born on
September 8, 1157, in Oxford, England. He was generally considered to be his
mother's favorite son, and has been described as spoiled and vain because of
it. Richard was also known to let his temper get the better of him.
Nevertheless, he could be shrewd in matters of politics and was famously
skilled on the battlefield. He was also highly cultured and well-educated, and
wrote poems and songs. Through most of his life he enjoyed the support and
affection of his people, and for centuries after his death, Richard the
Lionheart was one of the most popular kings in English history.
Richard the Lionheart was the third
son of King
Henry II and Eleanor of
Aquitaine, and although his eldest brother died young, the next in line,
Henry, was named heir. Thus, Richard grew up with little realistic expectations
of achieving the English throne. In any case, he was more interested in the
family's French holdings than he was in England; he spoke little English, and
he was made duke of the lands his mother had brought to her marriage when he
was quite young: Aquitaine in 1168, and Poitiers three years later.
In 1169, King Henry and King Louis VII
of France agreed that Richard should be wed to Louis's daughter Alice. This
engagement was to last for some time, although Richard never showed any
interest in her; Alice was sent from her home to live with the court in
England, while Richard stayed with his holdings in France.
Brought up among the people he was to
govern, Richard soon learned how to deal with the aristocracy. But his
relationship with his father had some serious problems. In 1173, encouraged by
his mother, Richard joined his brothers Henry and Geoffrey in rebelling against
the king. The rebellion ultimately failied, Eleanor was imprisoned, and Richard
found it necessary to submit to his father and receive a pardon for his
transgressions.
Duke Richard
In the early 1180s, Richard faced
baronial revolts in his own lands. He displayed considerable military skill and
earned a reputation for courage (the quality that led to his nickname of
Richard the Lionheart), but he dealt so harshly with the rebels that they
called on his brothers to help drive him from Aquitaine. Now his father
interceded on his behalf, fearing the fragmentation of the empire he had built
(the "Angevin" Empire, after Henry's lands of Anjou). However, no
sooner had King Henry gathered his continental armies together than the younger
Henry unexpectedly died, and the rebellion crumpled.
As the oldest surviving son, Richard
the Lionheart was now heir to England, Normandy, and Anjou. In light of his
extensive holdings, his father wanted him to cede Aquitaine to his brother John,
who had never had any territory to govern and was known as
"Lackland." But Richard had a deep attachment to the duchy. Rather
than give it up, he turned to the king of France, Louis's son Philip II, with
whom Richard had developed a firm political and personal friendship. In
November of 1188 Richard paid homage to Philip for all his holdings in France,
then joined forces with him to drive his father into submission. They forced
Henry -- who had indicated a willingness to name John his heir -- to
acknowledge Richard as heir to the English throne before hounding him to his
death in July, 1189.
 Richard the Lionheart: Crusader King
Richard the Lionheart had become King
of England; but his heart wasn't in the sceptred isle. Ever since Saladin had
captured Jerusalem in 1187, Richard's greatest ambition was to go to the Holy
Land and take it back. His father had agreed to engage in Crusade along with
Philip, and a "Saladin Tithe" had been levied in England and France
to raise funds for the endeavor. Now Richard took full advantage of the Saladin
Tithe and the military apparatus that had been formed; he drew heavily from the
royal treasury and sold anything that might bring him funds -- offices,
castles, lands, towns, lordships. In less than a year after his accession to
the throne, Richard the Lionheart raised a substantial fleet and an impressive
army to take on Crusade.
Philip and Richard agreed to go to the
Holy Land together, but not all was well between them. The French king wanted
some of the lands that Henry had held, and that were now in Richard's hands,
which he believed rightfully belonged to France. Richard was not about to
relinquish any of his holdings; in fact, he shored up the defenses of these
lands and prepared for conflict. But neither king really wanted war with each other,
especially with a Crusade awaiting their attention.
In fact, the Crusading spirit was
strong in Europe at this time. Although there were always nobles who wouldn't
put up a farthing for the effort, the vast majority of the European nobility
were devout believers of the virtue and necessity of Crusade. Most of those who
didn't take up arms themselves still supported the Crusading movement any way
that they could. And right now, both Richard and Philip were being shown up by
the septuagenarian German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, who had already pulled
together an army and set off for the Holy Land.
In the face of public opinion,
continuing their quarrel was not really feasible for either of the kings, but
especially not for Philip, since Richard the Lionheart had worked so hard to
fund his part in the Crusade. The French king chose to accept the promises that
Richard made, probably against his better judgment. Among these pledges was
Richard's agreement to marry Philip's sister Alice, who still languished in
England, even though it appeared he had been negotiating for the hand of
Berengaria of Navarre.
Richard the Lionheart in Sicily
In July of 1190 the Crusaders set off.
They stopped at Messina, Sicily, in part because it served as an excellent
point of departure from Europe to the Holy Land, but also because Richard had
business with King Tancred. The new monarch had refused to hand over the
bequest the late king had left to Richard's father, and was witholding the
dower owed to his predecessor's widow and keeping her in close confinement.
This was of special concern to Richard the Lionheart, because the widow was his
favorite sister, Joan. To complicate matters, the Crusaders were clashing with
the citizens of Messina.
Richard resolved these problems in a matter of days. He demanded (and
got) Joan's release, but when her dower was not forthcoming he began taking
control of strategic fortifications. When the unrest between the Crusaders and
the townfolk flared into a riot, he personally quelled it with his own troops.
Before Tancred knew it, Richard had taken hostages to secure the peace and
begun constructing a wooden castle overlooking the city. Tancred was forced to
make concessions to Richard the Lionheart or risk losing his throne.
The agreement between Richard the Lionheart and Tancred ultimately
benefited the king of Sicily, for it included an alliance against Tancred's
rival, the new German emperor, Henry VI. Philip, on the other hand, was
unwilling to jeopardize his friendship with Henry and was irritated at
Richard's virtual takeover of the island. He was mollified somewhat when
Richard agreed to share the monies Tancred paid, but he soon had cause for
further irritation. Richard's mother Eleanor arrived in Sicily with her son's
bride, and it was not Philip's sister. Alice had been passed over in favor of
Berengaria of Navarre, and Philip wasn't in either a financial or military
position to address the insult. His relationship with Richard the Lionheart
further deteriorated, and they would never recover their original affability.
Richard couldn't marry Berengaria
quite yet, because it was Lent; but now that she'd arrived in Sicily he was
ready to leave the island where he had tarried for several months. In April of
1191 he set sail for the Holy Land with his sister and fiancé in a massive
fleet of over 200 vessels.
 Richard the Lionheart in Cyprus
Three days out of Messina, Richard the
Lionheart and his fleet ran into a terrible storm. When it was over, about 25
ships were missing, including the one carrying Berengaria and Joan. In fact the
missing ships had been blown further on, and three of them (though not the one Richard's
family were on) had been driven aground in Cyprus. Some of the crews and
passengers had drowned; the ships had been plundered and the survivors were
imprisoned. All of this had occurred under the governance of Isaac Ducas
Comnenus, the Greek "tyrant" of Cyprus, who had at one point entered
into an agreement with Saladin to protect the government he'd set up in
opposition to the ruling Angelus family of Constantinople.
After having rendezvoused with
Berengaria and secured her and Joan's safety, Richard demanded restoration of
the plundered goods and the release of those prisoners who hadn't already
escaped. Isaac refused, rudely it was said, apparently confident in Richard's
disadvantage. To Isaac's chagrin, Richard the Lionheart successfully invaded
the island, then attacked against the odds, and won. The Cypriots surrendered,
Isaac submitted, and Richard took possession of Cyprus for England. This was of
great strategic value, since Cyprus would prove to be an important part of the
supply line of goods and troops from Europe to the Holy Land.
Before Richard the Lionheart left
Cyprus, he married Berengaria of Navarre on May 12, 1191.
Richard the Lionheart in the Holy Land
Richard's first success in the Holy
Land, after having sunk an enormous supply ship encountered on the way, was the
capture of Acre. The city had been under siege by Crusaders for two years, and
the work Philip had done upon his arrival to mine and sap the walls contributed
to its fall. However, Richard not only brought an overwhelming force, he spent
considerable time examining the situation and planning his attack before he
even got there. It was almost inevitable that Acre should fall to Richard the
Lionheart, and indeed, the city surrendered mere weeks after the king arrived.
Shortly afterward, Philip returned to France. His departure was not without
rancor, and Richard was probably glad to see him go.
Although Richard the Lionheart scored
a surprising and masterful victory at Arsuf, he was unable to press his
advantage. Saladin had decided to destroy Ascalon, a logical fortification for
Richard to capture. Taking and rebuilding Ascalon in order to more securely
establish a supply line made good strategic sense, but few of his followers
were interested in anything but moving on to Jerusalem. And fewer still were
willing to stay on once, theroretically, Jerusalem was captured.
Matters were complicated by quarrels
among the various contingents and Richard's own high-handed style of diplomacy.
After considerable political wrangling, Richard came to the unavoidable
conclusion that the conquest of Jerusalem would be far too difficult with the
lack of military strategy he'd encountered from his allies; furthermore, it
would be virtually impossible to keep the Holy City should by some miracle he
manage to take it. He negotiated a truce with Saladin that allowed the
Crusaders to keep Acre and a strip of coast that gave Christian pilgrims access
to sites of sacred significance, then headed back to Europe.
 Richard the Lionheart in Captivity
The tension had grown so bad between
the kings of England and France that Richard chose to go home by way of the
Adriatic Sea in order to avoid Philip's territory. Once again the weather
played a part: a storm swept Richard's ship ashore near Venice. Although he
disguised himself to avoid the notice of Duke Leopold of Austria, with whom he
had clashed after his victory at Acre, he was discovered in Vienna and
imprisoned in the Duke's castle at Dürnstein, on the Danube. Leopold handed
Richard the Lionheart over to the German emperor, Henry VI, who was no more
fond of him than Leopold, thanks to Richard's actions in Sicily. Henry kept
Richard at various imperial castles as events unfolded and he gauged his next step.
Legend has it that a minstrel called
Blondel went from castle to castle in Germany seeking Richard, singing a song
he had composed with the king. When Richard heard the song from within his
prison walls, he sang a verse known only to himself and Blondel, and the
minstrel knew he had found the Lionheart. However, the story is just a story.
Henry had no reason to hide Richard's whereabouts; in fact, it suited his
purposes to let everyone know that he had captured one of the most powerful men
in Christendom. The story cannot be traced back any earlier than the 13th
century, and Blondel probably never even existed, although it made for good
press for minstrels of the day.
Henry threatened to turn Richard the
Lionheart over to Philip unless he paid 150,000 marks and surrendered his
kingdom, which he would receive back from the emperor as a fief. Richard
agreed, and one of the most remarkable fund-raising efforts began. John
was not eager to help his brother come home, but Eleanor did
everything in her power to see her favorite son return safely. The people of
England were heavily taxed, Churches were forced to give up valuables,
monasteries were made to turn over a season's wool harvest. In less than a year
nearly all of the exhorbitant ransom had been raised. Richard was released in
February, 1194, and hurried back to England, where he was crowned again to
demonstrate that he was still in charge of an independent kingdom.
The Death of Richard the Lionheart
Almost immediately after his
coronation, Richard the Lionheart left England for what would be the last time.
He headed directly to France to engage in warfare with Philip, who had captured
some of Richard's lands. These skirmishes, which were occasionally interrupted
by truces, lasted for the next five years.
By March of 1199, Richard was involved
in a siege of the castle at Chalus-Chabrol, which belonged to the Viscount of
Limoges. There was some rumor of a treasure having been found on his lands, and
Richard was reputed to have demanded the treasure be turned over to him; when
it was not, he supposedly attacked. However, this is little more than a rumor;
it was enough that the viscount had allied with Philip for Richard to move
against him.
On the evening of March 26, Richard
was shot in the arm by a crossbow bolt while observing the progress of the
siege. Although the bolt was removed and the wound was treated, infection set
in, and Richard fell ill. He kept to his tent and limited visitors to keep the
news from getting out, but he knew what was happening. Richard the Lionheart
died on April 6, 1199.
Richard was buried according to his
instructions. Crowned and clothed in royal regalia, his body was entombed at
Fontevraud, at the feet of his father; his heart was buried at Rouen, with his
brother Henry; and his brain and entrails went to an abbey at Charroux, on the
border of Poitous and Limousin. Even before he was laid to rest, rumors and
legends sprang up that would follow Richard the Lionheart into history.
The Real Richard
Over the centuries, the view of
Richard the Lionheart held by historians has undergone some notable changes.
Once considered one of England's greatest kings by virtue of his deeds in the
Holy Land and his chivalrous reputation, in recent years Richard has been
criticized for his absence from his kingdom and his incessant engagement in
warfare. This change is more a reflection of modern sensibilities than it is of
any new evidence uncovered about the man.
Richard spent little time in England,
it is true; but his English subjects admired his efforts in the east and his
warrior ethic. He didn't speak much, if any, English; but then, neither had any
monarch of England since the Norman
Conquest. It's also important to remember that Richard was more than the
king of England; he had lands in France and political interests elsewhere in
Europe. His actions reflected these diverse interests, and, though he didn't
always succeed, he usually attempted to do what was best for all his concerns,
not just England. He did what he could to leave the country in good hands, and
while things sometimes went awry, for the most part, England flourished during
his reign.
There remain some things we don't know about Richard the Lionheart,
beginning with what he really looked like. The popular description of him as
elegantly built, with long, supple, straight limbs and hair a color between red
and gold, was first written nearly twenty years after Richard's death, when the
late king had already been lionized. The only contemporary description that
exists indicates that he was taller than average. Because he displayed such
prowess with the sword, he could have been muscular, but by the time of his
death he may have put on weight, since the removal of the crossbow bolt was
reportedly complicated by fat.
Then there's the question of Richard's sexuality. This complex issue
boils down to one salient point: there is no irrefutable proof to
support or contradict the assertion that Richard was a homosexual. Each piece
of evidence can be, and has been, interpreted in more than one way, so every
scholar can feel free to draw whatever conclusion suits him. Whichever
Richard's preference was, it apparently had no bearing on his ability as a
military leader or a king.
There are some things we do know about Richard. He was very fond
of music, though he never played an instrument himself, and he wrote songs as
well as poems. He reportedly displayed a quick wit and a playful sense of
humor. He saw the value of tournaments as preparation for war, and although he
rarely participated himself, he designated five sites in England as official
tournament locations, and appointed a "director of tournaments" and a
collector of fees. This was in opposition to numerous decrees of the Church;
but Richard was a devout Christian, and diligently attended mass, evidently
enjoying it.
Richard made many enemies, especially through his actions in the Holy
Land, where he insulted and quarreled with his allies even more than his foes.
Yet he apparently had a great deal of personal charisma, and could inspire
intense loyalty. Though renowned for his chivalry, as a man of his times he did
not extend that chivalry to the lower classes; but he was at ease with his
servants and followers. Although he was talented at acquiring funds and
valuables, in keeping with the tenets of chivalry he was also notably generous.
He could be hot-tempered, arrogant, self-centered and impatient, but there are
many stories of his kindness, insight and goodheartedness.
In the final analysis, Richard's reputation as an extraordinary general
endures, and his stature as an international figure stands tall. While he
cannot measure up to the heroic character early admirers depicted him as, few
people could. Once we view Richard as a real person, with real foibles and
quirks, real strengths and weaknesses, he may be less admirable, but he is more
complex, more human, and much more interesting.
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