Richard the Lionheart… or Richard the Anti-Semite? – Part 1 of 2 (1157-1199 AD)
Richard I, commonly known as Richard the Lionheart and often associated in popular media with the legends of Robin Hood, was King of England from July 6th, 1189 to April 6th, 1199. The majority of his time in power was actually spent away from the kingdom, and he took part in a number of campaigns while on his way to participate in the Third Crusade.
As the third son of King Henry II of England, Richard was never expected to become king, though popular historical rumors often present him as the favorite son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, his mother. After his parents separated – likely due to Henry’s notorious liaisons – Richard remained with his mother, and received a very high level of education. He composed poetry, was gifted in terms of military and political abilities, and worked hard to keep his own territory under control… however, he and his brothers had a penchant for challenging his father’s authority.
In the spring of 1173, this rebellious streak resulted in Richard and his two brothers, Henry and Geoffrey, leading a revolt against their father. They had planned to dethrone Henry II, leaving the young Henry on the throne, but the King was able to crush the revolt and subsequently invade the lands belonging to Richard’s mother. By the end of the year, Henry II had captured and imprisoned his estranged wife. At only seventeen years old, Richard was the last of his brothers to hold out against his father – but because he refused to fight him in a face-to-face duel, Richard was forced to beg for a pardon and swear a new oath of allegiance.
Not long after, suspicions arose concerning Princess Alys, the woman betrothed to Richard. Henry II had made the arrangements for the engagement, and yet he kept the woman at his court for years, before the church demanded Henry II proceed with his son’s marriage. Unfortunately, by this time, rumors had circulated that Henry had made his son’s fiancée his own mistress, and that she had possibly borne Henry’s child – and somehow, Henry skirted the issue of his son’s marriage and kept Alys with him until his death, forcing Richard to later break the engagement and send Alys back to France on the grounds of having given birth to his own father’s child.
In the meantime, Richard seemed to take out his frustration over failing to overthrow his father on the territory of Gascony, and the increasing cruelty of his reign led to a severe and major revolt in 1179. The nobles of Aquitaine hoped to dethrone Richard, going so far as attempting to recruit his brothers against him, and stationed themselves inside a supposedly impregnable fortress. Naturally, Richard took the only logical option, and destroyed and sacked all the surrounding lands and towns – thereby isolating the revolting nobles from reinforcements or supplies.
With no way out and with an increasing sense of fear and hysteria, the nobles made a very poor choice: they left the safety of their castle and actually attempted to attack Richard outside of the fortress walls. Two days later, Richard had taken the fortress, subdued the rebels, and forced the remaining nobles to declare their loyalty to him. From that point on, Richard’s reputation as an extremely skilled military man commanded only grew.
And yet, he was still unsatisfied. Richard wanted the throne…
Want to read more?
Tomorrow: Richard challenges King Henry II and burns some Jews! (not cool!)
No comments yet
Leave a reply