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Richard the Lionheart Biography
Facts and
interesting information about this famous Medieval King of England - Richard the Lionheart Biography
Short Biography about the life of King Richard the Lionheart of England
The following biography, short history and interesting facts provide helpful information for history courses and history coursework about the life of King Richard the Lionheart - King Richard I of England:
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Country of Origin / Nationality:
English
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Also Known by
the Nickname: Richard the Lionheart, Coeur de Lion
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Lifetime: 1157 –
1199
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Period he reigned as King
of England: 1189 – 1199
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Date succeeded
to the throne of England: The coronation of King Richard I
the Lionheart was September 3, 1189
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Born:
King Richard the Lionheart was born on September 8, 1157 at
Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England
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Close family connections or relatives: He was the son of King Henry II and
Eleanor of Aquitaine
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Married:
Queen
Berengaria of Navarre (1170 – 1230). They had no children
and Richard was succeeded by his brother John
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Date when King Richard the Lionheart
died: April 6, 1199 at Châlus, in Limousin and was buried at
Fontevraud Abbey
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Cause of the
Death of King Richard the Lionheart:
He was struck in the shoulder by a
bolt from a crossbow, and the surgeons treated it so
unskilfully that in a few days he died
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Character of
King Richard the Lionheart: Strong, brave, terrible temper
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Accomplishments and Achievements or why King Richard the Lionheart was famous:
A brave leader of the Third Crusade where he fought against
Saladin
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King Richard the
Lionheart spent only six months of his ten year reign in
England, claiming it was "cold and always raining." He cared
little for England and during the period when he was raising
funds for his Crusade, Richard was heard to declare, "If I
could have found a buyer I would have sold London itself."
For more details click the following link to
The Third Crusade
King Richard the Lionheart
The story and biography of King Richard the Lionheart which contains interesting information,
facts & the history about the life of King Richard the Lionheart
Richard the Lionheart
Timeline
The story of King
Richard the Lionheart (Nickname : Richard the Lionheart, Coeur de Lion)
Richard and his brothers constantly fought with their father King Henry
II who had incarcerated their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. When King
Henry II died Richard was greatly grieved at his father's death. He
visited Fontevraud Abbey Church and when he saw his father's dead body, he cried
out, "Alas! it was I who killed him!" But it was too late and he
could not make up for what he had done. King Richard I of England had to think about the
Crusade he had promised to make. Richard was so brave and strong that
he was called Lion-heart; he was very noble and good in some ways, but
his fierce, passionate temper did him a great deal of harm.
King Richard the
Lionheart and Queen Berengaria
King Richard I and
King Philip of France, and several other great princes, all met in the
island of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, and sailed for the
Holy Land. The lady whom Richard was to marry came to meet him in
Sicily. Her name was Berengaria; but, as it was Lent, he did not
marry her then. Berengaria went on to the Holy Land in a ship with his
sister Joan, and tried to land in the island of Cypress; but the
people were inhospitable, and would not let them come. So Richard,
in his great anger, conquered the isle, and was married to Berengaria
there.
King Richard the
Lionheart, Saladin and the Crusades
The Mohammedans who held Palestine at that time were called Saracens,
led by Saladin, which means Splendor of Religion. Saladin was just, upright, and truthful, and his Saracens fought so well, that the Crusaders would
hardly have won a bit of ground if Richard the Lionheart had not been so
brave. At last, they did take one city on the coast named Acre; and
one of the princes, Leopold, Duke of Austria, set up his banner on
the walls. Richard did not think it ought to be there: he pulled it
up and threw it down into the ditch, asking the duke how he dare take
the honors of a king. Leopold was sullen, and brooded over the insult,
and King Philip thought Richard so overbearing, that he could not bear
to be in the army with him any longer. In truth, though Philip had
pretended to be his friend, and had taken his part against his father,
that was really only to hurt King Henry. He hated Richard quite as
much, or more, and only wanted to get home first in order to do him
as much harm as he could while he was away. So Philip said it was
too hot for him in the Holy Land, and made him ill. He sailed back
to France, while Richard remained, though the climate really did hurt
his health, and he often had fevers there. When he was ill, Saladin
used to send him grapes, and do all he could to show how highly he
thought of so brave a man. Once Saladin sent him a beautiful horse;
Richard told the Earl of Salisbury to try it, and no sooner was the
Earl mounted, than the horse ran away with him to the Saracen army.
Saladin was very much vexed, and was afraid it would be taken for
a trick to take the English king prisoner, and he gave the earl a
quieter horse to ride back with. Richard fought one terrible battle
at Joppa with the Saracens, and then he tried to go on to take
Jerusalem; but he wanted to leave a good strong castle behind him
at Ascalon, and set all his men to work to build it. When they
grumbled, he worked with them, and asked the duke to do the same; but
Leopold said gruffly that he was not a carpenter or a mason. Richard
was so provoked that he struck him a blow, and the duke went home in
a rage.
So many men had gone home, that Richard found his army was not strong
enough to try to take Jerusalem. He was greatly grieved, for he knew
it was his own fault for not having shown the temper of a Crusader;
and when he came to the top of a hill whence the Holy City could be
seen, he would not look at it, but turned away, saying, "They who are
not worthy to win it are not worthy to behold it." It was of no use
for him to stay with so few men; besides, tidings came from home that
King Philip and his own brother, John, were doing all the mischief
they could. So he made a peace for three years between the Saracens
and Christians, hoping to come back again after that to rescue
Jerusalem.
King Richard the
Lionheart held to Ransom and the story of the Minstrel Blondel
But on his way home there were terrible storms; his ships
were scattered, and his own ship was driven up into the Adriatic Sea,
where he was robbed by pirates, or sea robbers, and then was
shipwrecked. There was no way for him to get home but through the
lands of Leopold of Austria; so he pretended to be a merchant, and
set out attended only by a boy. He fell ill at a little inn, and
while he was in bed the boy went into the kitchen with the king's
glove in his belt. It was an embroidered glove, such as merchants
never used, and people asked questions, and guessed that the boy's
master must be some great man. The Duke of Austria heard of it,
sent soldiers to take him, and shut him up as a prisoner in one of
his castles in order to hold him for ransom.. Afterwards, the duke gave him up for a large sum of
money to the Emperor of Germany. All this time Richard's wife and
mother had been in great sorrow and fear, trying to find out what
had become of him. It is said that he was found at last by his
friend, the minstrel Blondel. It is said that Blondel sung at all the
castle courts in Germany, till he heard his master's voice take up
and reply to his song.
The Queens, Eleanor and Berengaria, raised a ransom to buy his freedom although his brother John tried to prevent
them. The King of France did his best to hinder the emperor from
releasing him; but the Pope insisted that the brave crusader should
be set free and Richard the Lionheart came home, after a year and a half of
captivity.
Blondel the Minstrel
King Richard the
Lionheart returns to England
King Richard the Lionheart freely forgave John for all the mischief he had done
or tried to do, though he thought so ill of him as to say, "I wish
I may forget John's injuries to me as soon as he will forget my pardon
of him."
Richard only lived two years after he came back to England, most of the time he
was fighting battles in Europe. He was besieging a
castle in Aquitaine, where there was some treasure that he thought was
unlawfully kept from him, when he was struck in the shoulder by a bolt
from a cross-bow, and the surgeons treated it so unskilfully that in
a few days he died. The man who had shot the bolt was made prisoner,
but the Richard the Lionheart's last act was to command that no harm should be
done to him. The soldiers, however, in their grief and rage for the
king, did put him to death in a cruel manner.
Richard desired to be burned at the feet of his father, in Fontevraud
Abbey and wished
his body forever to lie in penitence. The figures in stone, of the
father, mother, and son, who quarrelled so much in life, all lie on
one monument now, and with them Richard's youngest sister Joan, who
died nearly at the same time as Richard the Lionheart died, party of grief for him.
Famous Medieval Kings of the Middle Ages
- King Richard the Lionheart Biography
Interesting facts and information with a short biography about the Medieval Life, Times and history of King Richard the Lionheart.
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