Richard The Lionheart: A History of England's Greatest Warrior

 

Richard I succeeded his father as King of England in 1189. Henry II had died a worn out and defeated man, exhausted from years of fighting with his own sons. Henry The Young King, the oldest of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's children, had died in 1183 aged just 28. He had been spurred on not only by his mother but also by the King of France, Louis VII. Louis was still embittered by Eleanor's divorcing of him, to only then go and marry Henry in 1152, shortly before he became King of England. It had been a tremendous blow to his pride and made matters politically very dangerous for the French king. So, presented with an opportunity to stir up trouble in England, Louis took it. Eleanor herself had been sidelined by Henry in their marriage. Having done her duty and produced for the king the required heirs and spares to secure his dynasty, Henry started to take mistresses with Eleanor moving past her prime and with Henry over a decade younger than her. This did not please her in the slightest and it's said that she had Henry's most well known mistress, a young woman name Rosamund, murdered. But that wasn't her most damaging action. Knowing her sons were chomping at the bit under their father's suffocating grip on power, she incited them into open rebellion. It would cause tremendous harm to Henry's reign and, when he heard who was the real mastermind behind the boys revolt, he was absolutely furious and had Eleanor thrown into prison. She was only released on the death of Henry II in 1189. It was Richard who had released Eleanor from her captivity. Richard was her favourite out of all her children and she would play a key role in not only his reign but also in the reign of her other son, John, up until shortly before her death aged 80 in 1204. Eleanor's role was particularly important, taking charge of administrative matters, with Richard spending very little time in England in his decade-long reign.

At Richard's coronation, all the key nobility were there from throughout the Angevin Empire, including the brilliant knight William Marshall. Said to be the only man Richard was ever afraid of, William had come face to face with Richard during one of his rebellions against Henry II. Having unseated Richard from his horse. William now had the prince at his mercy. With Richard pleading for his life, William said he would spare him (as he always was going to do. After all, Richard was still the son of a king, no matter how troublesome he had been). But as a warning to Richard, Marshall drove a spear into the horse he had fallen from. This must have had a tremendous impact on Richard and his ideas on Chivalry. And also brought into stark contrast the loyalties to the crown demonstrated by William Marshall throughout his career and the lack of it shown by Richard and his brothers towards their own father.At the coronation, Richard was stripped down to basic clothing and instead dressed in fine royal regalia, including golden sandals, a tunic, golden spurs and then finally a royal cloak. He was anointed king and in his hand was placed a sword, a symbol of the justice he was to wield in his kingdom before he was made to swear oaths of good kingship. And then finally, he was crowned King of England. There is, unfortunately, an extremely unsavoury tale from the coronation of Richard. After the end of the celebration feasts, some members of the Jewish community came to pay homage to the new king. Richard had expressly forbidden this and had banned any Jews from attending. The result was that the Jews were seized violently, flogged and beaten viciously with some done so to the brink of death and others actually being killed. One man was so badly treated that he accepted forced conversion before later being allowed to return to his true faith. It was an extremely unsavoury start and the violence had spread through London with some of the citizens using it as an excuse to demonstrate their own rabid antisemitism and inflicted great misery on the Jewish communities in London.  There was some repression of the violence with some being hanged for their roles but not for anything they did to the Jews but for the consequences that had been felt by the Christians such as fires that had been started in Jewish areas spreading to other areas with houses of Christians being burnt down. It's certainly not the first time a coronation in English history had gone wrong but it's certainly one of the most repugnant. How responsible Richard was for for the spreading of the violence is difficult to say but he certainly played a part in the abuse given to the Jewish people who arrived at his banquet. It's situations like this that you have to remember to keep the context of the time in mind but it's still hard to not feel great sympathy for the people involved and it's just another in a long line of examples of violence against Jewish people in medieval history.
Shortly after his coronation, Richard had homage paid to him by the King of Scotland, William the Lion, at Canterbury. Elsewhere, Eleanor had banned a foreign cardinal from meeting the king as he had entered the country without the king's knowledge and was thus ordered to remain with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Richard's brother, John, came whinging to the king as he had been placed under interdict, not for the last time, because of his marriage to Isabella of Gloucester. This was overturned and John would eventually divorce her and marry again. Two years prior to Richard's succession, Jerusalem had fallen to Saladin and his Muslim forces. The news of this catastrophe had made it's way back to the west with Henry II taking a vow of Crusade. Henry actually going on crusade was extremely unlikely as his realm, as i have mentioned, was extremely turbulent and he was an old man by this point (or at least by the standards of the day). However, the cause was taken up by his successor and also by King Phillip II of France. Crusades would prove to be an extremely expensive venture and even though Richard had inherited a reasonably healthy financial state of affairs, further money was required and, in some cases, it was gathered by any means necessary. 
Taxes were imposed and collected with such brute force, that it caused great fear across the country. Phillip and Richard attempted to agree to a treaty with Richard recognising Phillip as his overlord but when they reached the Holy Land, that would prove to be entirely unenforcable. As had been the case when Pope Urban II had pleaded his cause nearly a century earlier, a great Crusading energy had been whipped up. And, like the First Crusade, Jewish communities had been on the receiving end of this frenzy with slaughters of innocent people taking place in areas In England as far apart as Norwich and York. The actions are condemned by certain chronicles and attempts were made to prevent the slaughters but during the religious fervour of crusades, atrocities such as these were sadly inevitable. So Richard had made his plans for the crusade. He set sail and he and Phillip II reached Sicily in the Autumn of 1190 where they'd spend the winter. The next two years would define Richard as one of the greatest warrior kings of his, or any, generation. But the consequences of his crusade would be felt in England for the decades to come. Not only for the brutal taxes that his government had imposed but also for the lack of kingship he provided. He would only spend 6 months in the country and would leave himself open to the machinations of his own brother and also the man he was now going to fight a crusade with. He had no heir and even if he survived the crusade, there was no guarantee of an easy 

Spending the winter in Sicily, it wasn't long before Richard I and Phillip II were arguing among themselves. That agreement that had been reached for Richard to treat Phillip as his overlord whilst on crusade together had begun to unravel in very quick fashion. One of the first major issues occurred when it became clear the French king had been in communications with Tancred, king of Sicily about Richard. Tancred presented the letters that had been sent to him and it appeared to prove Phillip's treachery. He had implied to Tancred that the English king would cause him nothing but trouble in Sicily. When Richard had proved that wasn't the case, he had won over the trust of Tancred who, in turn, alerted him to Phillip's untrustworthiness.

Unsurprisingly, Richard was not amused by this and great tension between the two arose. Phillip attempted to clear himself of the charges but Richard refused to accept any claims of innocence and instead broke of to his arranged marriage with Phillip's sister Alice. Instead, Richard arranged a marriage with the daughter of the king of Navarre, named Berengaria. Richard's mother, Eleanor, once again proved her worth as she went to collect the young woman and bring her to Richard so the two could be married. The marriage was hardly an overwhelming success. The two barely saw each other with Berengaria probably never even setting foot in England and the two would produce no heirs which would prove fateful in the extreme. Departing from Sicily, Richard landed on the island of Cyprus. His welcome was far from hospitable and the ruler of the island, a man by the name of Isaac, decided to attack Richard's fleet and, in doing so, caused great damage. Richard's journey to the Holy Land was proving to be far from straightforward. Richard responded swiftly, soon bringing Isaac into submission and taking hostage his daughter whom he left with Eleanor and Berengaria. A treaty was agreed and Richard had conquered Cyprus although this hadn't exactly been a part of his initial plans.

Richard then finally reached Acre in the middle of 1191. The Muslims there were being besieged by the Christians who had been joined by Phillip II around Easter of 1191. The Muslim ruler Saladin had sent a small fleet to the aid of the defenders of Acre but before it could reach them, they were accosted by the king of England. The Muslim ships were overwhelmed by Richard and most of it's crew were thrown into the sea. And after this success, Richard made his way to the port of Acre where he was greeted by great enthusiasm from the Christian army and great despair by those holding out in the city of Acre. Eventually the city surrendered with an agreement being arranged. Saladin was to return to the Christians around 1500 hundred captives he had taken as well as restoring to them the supposed True Cross. However, it seemed that Saladin reneged on his promise and over 2,000 Muslims were executed in retaliation and some of their key nobility were put in chains. After Richard had demonstrated his ruthless side, Phillip showed his treacherous streak and departed home, despite the best efforts of Richard to make him stay. It seems fairly clear that Phillip always had this in mind.

 

With Richard preoccupied in the Middle East, the Angevin empire that he had inherited from his father looked decidedly vulnerable and Phillip absolutely would have known this. Having supposedly done his bit in overseeing the capture of Acre, he left and would use Richard's brother John to cause great strife in the West. Richard too must have suspected that foul play would be taking place back at home but, despite this obvious antagonism, he remained and would firmly establish himself as one of the great warriors of his age and strike fear into Muslims everywhere. In the early Autumn of 1191, Richard and his men faced off against Saladin at Arsuf. The battle looking to be heading for a disaster before the intervention of, first, the Hospitallers and then Richard himself. Not fearing death, the Hospitaller knights launched a counterattack against the fierce Muslim assaults and drove them back. Richard then threw himself in the middle of the battle and fought with such ferocity that he is said to have been "beserk". He struck at every enemy side, cutting a wide path around him and absolutely irrepressible in his progress. It proved to be an absolute rout. The Muslims had now felt the full force of Richard The Lionheart and generations of young children would be told, for their misbehaviour, "if you don't behave, the King of England will get you!"

Into 1192, Richard continued to turn the tide against Saladin. He recaptured Darum from the Muslims, taking over 5,000 prisoners and from there landed at Jaffa. Although he was militarily outnumbered, this didn't prevent Richard once again engaging Saladin's forces in battle and wiped out the majority of the enemy. The gains that Saladin had made for his own empire before the Third Crusade had almost been entirely reversed and it's largely due to the military might and brilliance of Richard I. He and his men arrived at Jerusalem but, despite the pleas of some, Richard would make no attempt to recapture the Holy City. Why? Richard must have calculated that his forces were simply not strong enough in either numbers nor physical strength after a long and draining war to make such an effort. You wonder here if he rued, Phillip's rather weak decision to leave after Acre. You most also wonder what Saladin had made of the events of the Third Crusade. He was, after all, one of the great generals of his generation in his own right and made significant and widespread conquests. But he had encountered a unique and brilliant foe. Richard had stormed into battle in a way completely unique to a king, paying little regard to his own safety and inspiring his forces in hostile conditions that were physically demanding on an extraordinary scale. Saladin died the following year and must have cursed, and perhaps begrudgingly admired, Richard. As for Richard, although he departed the Holy Land, this did not mean, he would have an easy journey home and there were now other enemies lying in wait.passage home.

In October 1192, Richard I made his departure from the Holy Land and headed back to Europe. He made his way through the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople. As he made his way back to the West, conditions for travel would have gradually become more difficult as it was now the middle of Winter. However, once he reached Austria, Richard had far bigger things to worry about then the weather as he was captured and taken prisoner by the Archduke of Austria, Leopold. Despite the awesome accomplishments Richard had made on the Crusade, which his captors would have been well aware of, he was not treated with the due respect a man of his stature warranted. He was verbally abused and his captors are said to have behaved in a manner worse than animals. Archduke Leopold then handed over the English king to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. earning handsomely from the deal. Richard was held in an obscure German castle, specifically built for the purposes of holding enemies of the Holy Roman Empire. On hearing the news of the king's imprisonment, his brother John started his designs on becoming king and so endeavoured to ensure that Richard remained stuck in Germany as long as possible, if not indefinitely. The Emperor was demanding an enormous ransom so the possibility of Richard's remaining a captive for a long period was a strong one. And John had every intention of making the most of the situation. Strengthening his castles and winning over allies to his cause, John then went to France to visit Phillip II, another man who stood to gain from Richard's predicament. For John to claim the throne, he didn't just have to usurp Richard but he also had to deal with Arthur, Duke of Brittany, who, with Richard having no children, was technically heir to the English throne. Arthur was the son of Geoffrey, Richard and John's other brother. With no heirs for Richard, the succession passed to the next brother Geoffrey who, having died, the succession passed onto his eldest son Arthur and NOT the youngest of the brothers John. However, this didn't matter a jot to John and, as i shall talk about in my blog on him, the lengths he'd go to to secure power would prove to be quite despicable. For the time being, he made an agreement with the French king to ensure that Arthur would be disinherited in the event of Richard not returning.

Richard himself still attempted to govern his kingdom even whilst in prison. He ordered the Bishops of England to convene and appoint a new Archbishop of Canterbury. For this, they elected Hubert Walter. Richard's and John's mother, Eleanor, continued to oversee matters and ensure there was peace in the kingdom and work to raise the enormous figure for Richard's release. At Worms in Germany, in July 1193, a figure was settled upon. The Emperor Henry VI had paid the Archduke of Austria 50,000 marks to hand over Richard and now he doubled his money with 100, 000 marks being the eventual figure received. Heavy contributions to raising the ransom was made by the church with the clergy donating some of their personal income. The larger churches in England donated their finest treasures and the nobility also contributed financially. It was a severe undertaking and would leave the country in a poorer state. When you consider the harsh taxes Richard had imposed for his crusade, this latest demand would have been economically quite crippling. 

Richard was finally released in early 1194 but not before an agreement on how the ransom was to be paid had been reached. Hostages were handed over to the Emperor until a sizable portion had been paid and Henry VI also demanded that Richard acknowledged him as his overlord. Very little regard was given to that though as the king had only done so under duress. Richard returned to England briefly before he turned his attentions back to his old nemesis, Phillip II. Having got wind of his brother's attempts to keep him in Germany, Richard met John and accepted his begs for forgiveness. Phillip II also would not have been too pleased to see Richard return. Richard now took the attack to him and invaded France. On more than one occasion Phillip beat a hasty retreat when encountered by the sight of Richard's army drawing up against him. I think it's safe to say that Phillip had been left more than a little intimidated by Richard's efforts during The Third Crusade. After Richard made significant gains, a peace between the two sides broke out.

The security of England didn't escape Richard's thinking despite his war with Phillip. One of his ideas was to encourage jousting tournaments so English knights could sharpen their skills in case of foreign invasion with him preoccupied on the continent. Between 1197 and 1198, Richard was once again engaged in a struggle with Phillip over continental supremacy and he pressed for further financial assistance. Given the burdens he had already loaded on the country with his Crusade and ransom, and that also he was hardly ever present in England, Richard's excessive demands for financial assistance is certainly worthy of condemning and it played no little part in the disastrous reign to follow. A Medieval king's duty was not simply to make great military conquests but to also think about the future. Richard produced no heirs so left a contested throne and left England in a dire financial state. 

In 1198, Richard was enraged by the Bishop of Lincoln's refusal to grant further aid to the king. Richard was on the back foot in his struggle with Philip having stronger forces and resources at his disposal. But the church had already made generous donations to the king's cause and the Bishop refused to burden it any further with a foreign war. The only way he would have accepted Richard's demands is if it had actually been for the defence of England. Tension between the Bishop and the king grew and it was requested that the Bishop should travel to see Richard. After a period of Richard having a child like sulk, the Bishop eventually won him over and Richard lodged the Bishop at his stunning new castle at Chateau-Gaillard 

In 1199, Richard was laying siege to a castle when he was struck by an arrow. Mortally wounded, he was carried to his bed. The perpetrator was brought before him where he was asked to justify his actions. The young man responsible replied that his father had died whilst at war with Richard and stated that he was simply getting revenge. Richard seems to have been impressed by the response and asked for his attacker to be released. His soldiers didn't comply with this wish however and the young man was hanged. Richard died of his injuries soon after. But to sum up Richard. He was an extraordinary military leader and a king completely unique in English history in the sense of what he accomplished during The Third Crusade. He has to be regarded as one of the finest warrior kings of the medieval period, if not the finest. However, as king of England, you could hardly call him a great king. He paid little to no attention to the future of his father's dynasty. He left the country in an economically difficult situation. He had left no heirs of his own and spent less than 6 months in the country he was supposed to be king of. England was simply not his priority.