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Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard Cœur de Lion (Norman French: Quor de Lion) or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199.
- 3 September 1189 – 6 April 1199
- Henry II of England
- Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou, France
- Eleanor of Aquitaine
- Overview
- Early life
- King of England
- Sicily
- The holy land
When his brother Henry died, Richard I became heir to the throne of England, and King Henry II asked Richard to yield Aquitaine to his brother John. Unwilling to surrender Aquitaine, Richard joined forces with King Philip II of France in 1189 and drove Henry into abject submission. They forced him to acknowledge Richard as his heir and harried him to his death.
What was Richard I like as a king?
Richard I spent little time in England during his reign as king. Rather than planning for the future of the English monarchy, he put everything up for sale to fund the Crusade that he would lead. He managed to raise a fleet and an army and departed for the Holy Land in 1191.
What happened to Richard I on his way back to England from the Crusade?
Sailing home via the Adriatic, Richard I was captured and imprisoned in the castle of Duke Leopold of Austria, whom he had insulted during the Crusade. He was later handed over to the German emperor Henry VI. He was released in 1194, once the enormous ransom that Henry demanded had been raised by the English.
How did Richard I die?
Richard was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was given the duchy of Aquitaine, his mother’s inheritance, at age 11 and was enthroned as duke at Poitiers in 1172. Richard possessed precocious political and military ability, won fame for his knightly prowess, and quickly learned how to control the turbulent aristocracy of Poitou and Gascony. Like all of Henry II’s legitimate sons, he had little or no filial piety, foresight, or sense of responsibility. He joined his brothers in the great rebellion (1173–74) against their father, who invaded Aquitaine twice before Richard submitted and received pardon. Thereafter Richard was occupied with suppressing baronial revolts in his own duchy. His harshness infuriated the Gascons, who revolted in 1183 and called in the help of the “Young King” Henry and his brother Geoffrey of Brittany in an effort to drive Richard from his duchy altogether. Alarmed at the threatened disintegration of his empire, Henry II brought the feudal host of his continental lands to Richard’s aid, but the younger Henry died suddenly (June 11, 1183) and the uprising collapsed.
Richard was now heir to England and to Normandy and Anjou (which were regarded as inseparable), and his father wished him to yield Aquitaine to his youngest brother, John. But Richard, a true southerner, would not surrender the duchy in which he had grown up, and even appealed, against Henry II, to the young king of France, Philip II. In November 1188 he did homage to Philip for all the English holdings on French soil and in 1189 openly joined forces with Philip to drive Henry into abject submission. They chased him from Le Mans to Saumur, forced him to acknowledge Richard as his heir, and at last harried him to his death (July 6, 1189).
Richard received Normandy on July 20 and the English throne on September 30. Richard, unlike Philip, had only one ambition, to lead the Crusade prompted by Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem in 1187. He had no conception of planning for the future of the English monarchy and put up everything for sale to buy arms for the Crusade. Yet he had not become king to preside over the dismemberment of the Angevin empire. He broke with Philip and did not neglect Angevin defenses on the Continent. Open war was averted only because Philip also took the Crusader’s cross. Richard dipped deep into his father’s treasure and sold sheriffdoms and other offices. With all this he raised a formidable fleet and an army, and in 1190 he departed for the Holy Land, traveling via Sicily.
Britannica Quiz
Richard found the Sicilians hostile and took Messina by storm (October 4). To prevent the German emperor Henry VI from ruling their country, the Sicilians had elected the native Tancred of Lecce, who had imprisoned the late king’s wife, Joan of England (Richard’s sister), and denied her possession of her dower. By the Treaty of Messina Richard obta...
Acre fell in July 1191, and on September 7 Richard’s brilliant victory at Arsūf put the Crusaders in possession of Joppa. Twice Richard led his forces to within a few miles of Jerusalem. But the recapture of the city, which constituted the chief aim of the Third Crusade, eluded him. There were fierce quarrels among the French, German, and English contingents. Richard insulted Leopold V, duke of Austria, by tearing down his banner and quarreled with Philip II, who returned to France after the fall of Acre. Richard’s candidate for the crown of Jerusalem was his vassal Guy de Lusignan, whom he supported against the German candidate, Conrad of Montferrat. It was rumoured, unjustly, that Richard connived at Conrad’s murder. After a year’s unproductive skirmishing, Richard (September 1192) made a truce for three years with Saladin that permitted the Crusaders to hold Acre and a thin coastal strip and gave Christian pilgrims free access to the holy places.
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Dec 11, 2019 · Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart (Cœur de Lion), reigned as king of England from 1189 to 1199 CE. The son of Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (c...
- Mark Cartwright
Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart (ed) French Richard Coeur de Lion , (born Sept. 8, 1157, Oxford, Eng.—died April 6, 1199, Châlus, Duchy of Aquitaine), Duke of Aquitaine (1168–99) and Poitiers (1172–99) and king of England, duke of Normandy, and count of Anjou (1189–99).
Jun 28, 2017 · Learn about the life and achievements of Richard I, Henry's eldest surviving son and the first English king to go on crusade in 1190. Find out how he was captured, released, and recrowned by Henry VI, and how he died in France in 1199.
Richard I of England (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was the King of England from 1189 to 1199. He was also Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overlord of Brittany at various times.
Richard I was a king of England, later known as the 'Lion Heart', who led the Third Crusade in 1191. He was born in Oxford in 1157, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He fought with his family against his father and joined forces with France against Saladin. He died in 1199 after being captured by the German emperor.
