Richard the Lionheart: a true legend and a false truth. The heart of a lion and the head of a donkey? What is King Richard the Lionheart famous for?

RICHARD THE LIONHEART: DISASTER KING

Igor Plisyuk

There are characters in history who received absolutely undeserved fame and reputation, in reality, supported only by unreliable legends and the fiction of idle novelists. Meanwhile, an objective examination of their “glorious” deeds and “exploits” makes one only wonder at people’s gullibility and the wild imagination of enthusiastic writers...

One of the most bright examples what was said - English King Richard I , known to us by the nickname Lionheart. In the popular tradition, reinforced by the novels of Sir Walter Scott, when this name is mentioned, of course, a certain knight appears before us without fear or reproach. A brave and noble warrior, a wise and fair sovereign - a defender of the oppressed and a threat to the unjust, a hero-crusader and a worthy friend-rival of the glorious Saladdin... Moreover, he is also the unofficial patron of the famous Robin Hood, the leader of the robbers from Sherwood Forest. Well, the latter is a clear invention of Sir Walter, who in the novel “Ivanhoe” transferred a more or less real prototype of the glorious archer and fighter for justice Robin Loxley from XIII - XIV centuries one and a half centuries earlier, during the time when King Richard lived. It's clear. What will you do for the sake of a nice word? But what about the rest of the valor of the crowned lion, glorified in numerous legends, novels and films? How closely do they correspond to the real appearance of the English monarch? Well, let's try to figure it out based on facts, and not on the fabrications of writers and troubadours.

RANDOM HEIR

Eleanor of Aquitaine. Fragment of an image on a stained glass window in cathedral in Poitiers 12th century

Prince Richard was born in 1157. He would be Henry's second son II from the Plantagenet dynasty and Duchess Alienora of Aquitaine. This marriage was, rather, dynastic, there were no feelings between the spouses, and the powerful and loving king lived separately from his wife - a strong lady, at that time very educated and who treated her crowned husband with considerable hatred from an insulted woman. Richard grew up at her court. He could read and write, which was then a rarity among the nobility. He wrote good poems and even songs. But that's not the main point. From childhood, he combined frenzied belligerence, a penchant for knightly combat prowess, and enormous strength. Of course, even now he would be considered a giant - a handsome blond man about 193 centimeters tall with the powerful physique of a born fighter. But, in addition to excellent mastery of weapons and fighting techniques, he youth inherits his mother's penchant for political intrigue, his father's lust for power, indomitable vanity and unbridled pride, which often goes ahead of reason and ignores the interests of the country.

King Philip II Augustus of France.

From a young age, he participated in many conspiracies and rebellions against his hated and secretly beloved father-sovereign, even taking a vassal oath to the French king. More than once he repented before the king, betraying his brothers and comrades, and again went to great lengths.

Ostentatious courage was combined in him, in today's language, with homosexuality (his lover for a long time was the French Dauphin Philippe - the future King Philippe II Augustus), and external knightly valor - with cruelty and deceit. For example, in one of the internecine wars with rebellious vassals in his mother’s French possessions, he could use a gang of several thousand Brabant mercenaries, and after they honestly fulfilled their bloody duty, deceive them and not pay... After a justified rebellion, he could slaughter everyone "soldier of fortune" Agree, an act that does not fit well even with the then cruel but fair rules of knightly honor!

A scion of the Norman dynasty that ruled conquered England for just a century, a descendant of northern sea robbers who had relatively recently settled in Normandy, who spoke French and knew almost no English, Richard was a kind of anachronism even for the Middle Ages. A certain berserker¹ fierce combat cruelty could lead him into battle against dozens of enemies, but the approach of a true sovereign and commander was alien to his soul... Having the right only to the maternal duchy of Aquitaine plus several possessions on the continent, after early death He became heir to the throne after his elder brother Henry. And soon, after the death of his father in 1189, he became the king of England. The Irony of Fate…

STRANGE KING

Judge for yourself: out of the 10 years of his reign, he spent a total of... six months in England! Moreover, from the very beginning he showed himself to be by no means with the best side. It is significant that one of the first decrees he revived knightly tournaments, which had been abolished by the pragmatic king-father due to the fact that they were ruinous for the treasury and often brought senseless deaths to participants. Richard was definitely drawn to the past!

And from the first days of his reign, the new monarch began to squeeze all the juice out of the country, collecting money for an overseas war that was absolutely unnecessary for the British - the Third Crusade. The eternal mania of European sovereigns, who created from seemingly bright idea the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Land from Saracen Muslims is a reason for unbridled robbery and permanent pogrom of everyone and everything on the way to Jerusalem.

Dissatisfied with the progress of tax collection, it was Richard who became a “pioneer” in the dirty business of trading in government positions and titles, making them available to any scoundrel with money. His right hand it turned out to be a certain William de Longchamp - an ugly Norman dwarf who did not know English and hated the British. He was appointed bishop and chancellor. And in this post he applied all his dubious talents in order to literally rob the people with cruelty and treachery, supplying the army of the ruler and not at all forgetting about personal interest... Everything was put up for sale - state lands and the possessions of rebellious vassals. Even the rights of the sovereign himself, figuratively speaking, went under the hammer. Thus, by the way, Scotland gained temporary freedom. Of course, for a hefty sum, which was immediately thrown into the furnace of the coming war. And Richard himself did not let up: they say, I would sell London too, if there was a buyer with tight purses. A true example of state “wisdom” and “love” for one’s state, isn’t it? A little more, and the king went to Palestine. The subjects crossed themselves. It seemed to them that a respite had finally come. Oh, how wrong they were!

CRUSADER DESTROYER

Siege of Acre

Without retelling the history of the Third Crusade, we will only note the very reasonable conclusion of many of his contemporaries and current researchers: it was Richard who was one of his bravest warriors and... perhaps the most important “gravedigger” of this unsuccessful attempt hoist a banner with a cross over the towers of Jerusalem. A series of intrigues, the eternal inability of the knight king to put common interests above personal ambitions ultimately led to the fact that, despite many victories and personal valor of both Richard and his enemy comrades, the crusaders lost the Holy City forever. Essentially, this campaign was not so much another attempt to recapture the Holy Sepulcher, but rather a battle of greedy ambitious people who turned the original goal into a reason for profit and a battle of ambitions. This was all the more obvious in comparison with their main enemy. After all, the scattered and eternally warring crusaders were opposed by the brilliant commander and wise politician Salah ad-Din. More than once he showed both his nobility towards the European invaders and his skill as a strategist. Against his background, Richard looked like a barbarian and, in today's language, a war criminal! After all, he treacherously executed more than 2.5 thousand captured Saracens near Acre, without receiving a ransom for them on time. Even for those harsh Middle Ages, this was an unheard of crime.

Salah ad-Din

...The result of Richard's 5-year stay on the campaign was his very dubious agreement with Saladdin for Christians, which gave them a purely symbolic right of access to Jerusalem, which remained with the Muslims. The king himself, having found many strong enemies among his nominal associates, was captured by the Austrian Duke Leopold and the German Emperor Henry VI . They kept the monarch in an honorable, but still a prisoner, demanding a huge ransom, comparable to 2 years of income from the British treasury, for all the troubles and damage that he brought to his “sworn friends and allies.” For betraying the interests of the crusaders and plotting against his recent lover - the French monarch Philip II Augustus, whom the Lionheart tried to hand over to Saladdin. For the poisoning of the Duke of Burgundy and the murder of Conrad of Montferrat, Christian king of Jerusalem.

Ruins of Durnstein Castle , where Richard was imprisoned

Through the efforts of the Pope, his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Chancellor-Bishop Longchamp, Richard, who fled from England from universal hatred, they finally ransomed him. This cost the British treasury 23 tons of silver. Although the emperor who released him quickly changed his mind and went in pursuit of the recent captive... But it’s too late! "The devil is released," said Henry VI , as if warning the allies: the scoundrel is on the loose again, expect, to put it mildly, trouble. It is not without reason that for his numerous treacherous and inconsistent actions, the Lionheart received another nickname - “Yes-and-No.” A nickname that gives an idea of ​​him as a man and a ruler, whose word cannot be trusted under any circumstances!

LEGAL FINALE

John the Landless

Having returned to his possessions, the king did not spend too long on the shores of Foggy Albion. All he manages to do is “pinch the tail” of his younger brother, Prince John, who later went down in history under the name John Lackland. Not particularly strong, but quite reasonable and much more adequate, he struggled to restore order in the country that Richard had brought to the point of complete devastation, strife and anarchy... But it was this unfortunate man who got the reputation of “an insidious usurper and intriguer.” John did not perform meaningless feats and did not shed a sea of ​​innocent blood, he simply tried to equip the country devastated by his heroic brother and... forever became a kind of exemplary bastard of legends and novels. Well, is there truth on Earth?

And Richard, slightly bored in his homeland, returned to the continent again, where with renewed vigor he rushes into yet another war with his French neighbors over disputed possessions and indisputable interests...

CASTLE CHALUS-CHABROL - PLACE OF THE DEATH OF RICHARD THE LIONHEART

He died absurdly, but at the same time naturally. This happened during the storming of the useless castle of Chalus-Chabrol, in which some kind of chimerical treasure was supposedly kept. An accidental crossbow arrow from a simple warrior, Bertrand de Gudrun, overtook him, and a few days after being wounded on April 6, 1199, Richard died of blood poisoning. I can’t help but remember the song from the old Soviet film “The Hussar Ballad”: “And the old wicked man died as he lived!”

MARK ON HISTORY

Richard I's tomb at Fontevraud Abbey.

I repeat: through the efforts of unscrupulous chroniclers and writers, Richard the Lionheart appears before us as some kind of last king-knight. However, as a monarch, he clearly did not live up to the high calling of a ruler, since he constantly neglected state affairs for the sake of personal vanity and momentary impulses.

As a knight - despite personal strength and courage, the art of a warrior and an indomitable fighting spirit - he too often violated both the sanctity of his word and loyalty to his allies. And if the first part of the famous motto - “without fear...” - is undoubtedly about him, then the second - “without reproach...” - whatever one may say, does not apply to him. His inherent cunning and unbridled cruelty are rather reminiscent of his dashing Norman ancestors, who for centuries flooded the coastal European lands with blood.

And he clearly lacked the talent of a strategist, because the time of war as a series of personal duels of valiant knights was becoming a thing of the past, and the place of a commander was not in the thick of a bloody battle. And individual victories - for example, in Cyprus, at Messina and Acre during the same Third Crusade - were erased by catastrophic defeats from a much more skillful enemy. He was a relic even then, and his departure from the historical arena foreshadowed the decline of the entire Norman dynasty.

The era of the descendants of William the conqueror, the Plantagenets, still knew victories over the French, but they were no longer won by heavy and clumsy knights, but by mobile archers, who shot them down from afar with their smashing arrows. Sons of English yeomen², conquered at one time by overseas invaders.

AFTERWORD

The Disaster King died without leaving any heirs. Given Richard's inclinations, his marriage to Berengaria of Navarre was purely formal. The throne went to the unfortunate Prince John - John the Landless. A country weakened to the point of impossibility. Empty treasury. Ambitions of the vassals. And as a result - the Magna Carta, which, among other things, limited the power of the monarch in favor of the ruling barons, who received the right to go to war against their sovereign. But that's a completely different story...

¹ Berserkor berserker( other Scand. berserkr) - V Old Germanicand Old Norse society, a warrior who dedicated himself to God Odin . Before the battle, the berserkers became furious. In battle they were distinguished by their fury, great strength, quick reaction, and insensitivity to pain.

² Yeomen, yeomanry(English) Yeomen, Yeomanry) - in feudal England, free small landowners who, unlike gentry , independently engaged in cultivating the land.

Richard I the Lionheart (September 8, 1157 - April 6, 1199) - English king from the Plantagenet dynasty. Son of King Henry II Plantagenet of England and his wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He also had another nickname, Richard Yes-and-No, which meant he was easily swayed one way or the other.
Titles: Duke of Aquitaine (1189-1199), Count of Poitiers (1169-1189), King of England (1189-1199), Duke of Normandy (1189-1199), Count of Anjou, Tours and Maine (1189-1199).
Biography
Richard I the Lionheart- English king from the Plantagenet family, who reigned in 1189-1199. Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Guyenne. Richard was the second son of Henry Plantagenet. He was not considered as a direct heir, and this left a certain imprint on his character and on the events of his youth. While his elder brother Henry was crowned by the English crown in 1170 and declared co-regent with Henry II, Richard was proclaimed Duke of Aquitaine in 1172 and was considered the heir of his mother Eleanor. After this, until his coronation, the future king visited England only twice - at Easter in 1176 and at Christmas in 1184. His reign in Aquitaine took place in constant clashes with local barons, accustomed to independence. Soon to the domestic clashes with his father were added to the wars. At the beginning of 1183, he ordered Richard to take the oath of fief to his elder brother Henry. Richard refused to do this, citing that it was an unheard of innovation. Henry the Younger invaded Aquitaine at the head of a mercenary army, began to ravage the country, but in the summer of that year he suddenly fell ill with a fever and died. The death of the older brother did not put an end to the quarrels between father and son. In September, Henry ordered Richard to give Aquitaine to his younger brother John.
The younger brothers Gottfried and John attacked Poitou. Richard responded by invading Brittany. Seeing that nothing could be achieved by force, the king ordered the disputed duchy to be transferred to his mother. Richard obeyed. There were rumors that Henry, contrary to all customs, wanted to make him his heir, removing his rebellious older sons from the throne. This made the relationship between his father and Richard even more tense. The French king was not slow to take advantage of the discord in the English royal house. In 1187, he showed Richard a secret letter from the English king, in which Henry asked Philip to marry his sister Alice to John and transfer the duchies of Aquitaine and Anjou to the same John. Richard felt threatened by all this. A new rift began to brew in the Plantagenet family. Richard openly opposed his father in the fall of 1188. Against his will, he made peace with the French king in Bonmoulin and took him the oath of feud. The following year, the two of them captured Maine and Touraine. Henry waged war against Richard and Philip, but without success. Within a few months, all continental possessions fell away from him, except Normandy. At Lehman, Henry almost was captured by his son. In August, Richard arrived in England and was crowned in Westminster Abbey on September 3. After his coronation, he lived in his country for only four months, and then visited again for two months in 1194.
Having assumed power, Richard began to work on organizing the Third Crusade, which he vowed to participate in back in 1187. He took into account the experience of the Second Campaign and insisted that the sea route be chosen to reach the Holy Land. This saved the crusaders from many hardships and unpleasant clashes with the Byzantine emperor. The campaign began in the spring of 1190, when masses of pilgrims moved through France and Burgundy to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In early July, Richard met Philip Augustus in Wesel. From Lyon the French turned to Genoa, and Richard moved to Marseille. Having boarded ships here, the British sailed east and on September 23 were already in Messina. Here the king was detained by hostile actions of the local population. The Sicilians were very unfriendly towards the English crusaders, among whom there were many Normans. On October 3, a real war began because of an insignificant clash in the city market. The townspeople armed themselves, locked the gates and took up positions on the towers and walls. In response, the British launched an assault. Richard tried to keep his fellow tribesmen from ruining the Christian city. But the next day, during peace negotiations, the townspeople suddenly made a sortie. Then the king stood at the head of his army, drove the enemies back into the city, captured the gates and carried out harsh judgment on the vanquished. Due to the late time, the continuation of the campaign was postponed until next year. This months-long delay had a very bad effect on the relations between the two monarchs. In the autumn of 1190 they arrived in Sicily as friends, then in the spring next year left her as almost outright enemies. Philip went to Syria, and Richard did more forced stop In Cyprus. Due to the storm, some of the English ships were washed ashore on this island. Emperor Isaac Comnenus, who ruled Cyprus, took possession of them on the basis of coastal law.

On May 6, the entire crusader fleet entered the harbor of Limassol. The king demanded satisfaction from Isaac, and when he refused, he immediately attacked him. Richard captured Isaac's banner and even knocked the emperor himself off his horse with a spear. On May 12, the king’s wedding to Berengaria was celebrated with great pomp in the conquered city. Isaac, meanwhile, realized his mistakes and began negotiations with Richard. The conditions of reconciliation were very difficult for him: in addition to a large ransom, Isaac had to open all his fortresses to the crusaders and send auxiliary troops to participate in the crusade. With all this, Richard has not yet encroached on his power - the emperor himself gave the reason for events to take a worse turn for him. After everything seemed settled, Isa He suddenly fled to Famagusta and accused Richard of encroaching on his life. The angry king declared Komnenos an oathbreaker, a violator of the peace, and instructed his fleet to guard the shores so that he would not escape. He himself first of all captured Famagusta, and then moved to Nicosia. On the way to Tremifussia, another battle took place. Having won his third victory, Richard solemnly entered the capital. Here he was detained for some time by illness.
With the arrival of the British, siege work began to boil with renewed vigor. IN short term towers, rams and catapults were built. Under protective roofs and through tunnels, the crusaders approached the enemy’s very fortifications. Soon battle broke out everywhere around the breaches. The position of the townspeople became hopeless, and on July 11 they entered into negotiations with the Christian kings for the surrender of the city. Muslims had to promise that the Sultan would release all Christian captives and return the Life-Giving Cross. The garrison had the right to return to Saladin, but part of it, including one hundred noble people, had to remain hostages until the Sultan paid the Christians 200 thousand ducats. The next day, the crusaders solemnly entered the city, which they had been besieging for two years. The joy of victory, however, was overshadowed by strong discord that immediately broke out between the leaders of the crusaders. The dispute arose over the candidacy of the king of Jerusalem. Richard believed that he should remain Guido Lusignan. But many Palestinian Christians could not forgive him for the fall of Jerusalem and preferred the hero of the defense of Tyre, Margrave Conrad of Montferrat. Philip Augustus was also entirely on his side. This discord was superimposed by another loud scandal associated with the Austrian banner. As can be inferred from the conflicting reports of this incident, shortly after the fall of the city, Duke Leopold of Austria ordered the Austrian standard to be raised above his house. Seeing this flag, Richard became furious and ordered it to be torn off and thrown into the mud. His anger was apparently caused by the fact that Leopold occupied a house in the English part of the city, while he was an ally of Philip. But be that as it may, this incident outraged everyone onossev, and they could not forget about him for a long time. At the end of July, Philip, as well as many French pilgrims, left the Holy Land and began their return journey.
This weakened the crusaders' forces. With Philip's departure, internal strife among Christians should have subsided, since Richard now remained the only leader of the crusader army. Many considered him a capricious and unbridled man, and he himself, with his first orders, confirmed this unfavorable opinion of himself. The Sultan could not fulfill the conditions imposed on him by Akkon’s capitulation as quickly as he was obliged to: release all captured Christians and pay 200 thousand ducats. Because of this, Richard became immensely angry and immediately, after the deadline agreed upon by Saladin - August 20 - had passed, he ordered more than 2 thousand Muslim hostages to be taken out and slaughtered in front of the gates of Akkon.
On September 7, a fierce battle took place near Arzuf, ending in a brilliant victory for the Christians. Richard was in the thick of the battle and contributed greatly to the success with his spear. A few days later, the pilgrims arrived in the destroyed Joppe and stopped here to rest. Saladin took advantage of their delay to completely destroy Ascalon, which he now had no hope of holding. The news of this upset all the plans of the crusaders. Some of them began to restore Joppe, others occupied the ruins of Ramle and Lydda. Richard himself participated in many skirmishes and often risked his life unnecessarily. At the same time, lively negotiations began between him and Saladin, which, however, did not lead to any results.
In the winter of 1192, the king announced a campaign against Jerusalem. However, the crusaders only reached Beitnub. They had to turn back because of rumors of strong fortifications around the Holy City. Returned to the original goal and strong bad weather - through a storm and rain - they moved towards Ascalon. This, until recently flourishing and rich city, appeared before the eyes of the pilgrims in the form of a deserted heap of stones. The Crusaders zealously began to restore it. Richard encouraged the workers with cash gifts and to show everyone good example, he himself carried stones on his shoulders. Ramparts, towers and houses were erected from terrible debris with extraordinary speed. In May, Richard took Daruma, a strong fortress south of Ascalon, by storm. After this, it was decided to move on to Jerusalem again. But, like last time, the crusaders only reached Beitnub. Here the army stopped for several weeks. Heated debates ensued between the leaders of the campaign about whether it was advisable or not to now begin the siege of such a powerful fortress, or whether it was better to move to Damascus or Egypt. Due to disagreements, the campaign had to be postponed. Pilgrims began to leave Palestine. In August, news arrived of Saladin's attack on Joppe. With the speed of lightning, Richard gathered the remaining military forces at hand and sailed to Joppe. In the harbor, ahead of his men, he jumped from the ship into the water in order to reach the shore without delay. This not only saved the citadel, but also recaptured the city from the enemy. A few days later, Saladin tried again with superior forces to capture and crush the king’s small detachment. A battle took place near Joppe and in the city itself, the outcome of which fluctuated for a long time, now in one direction or the other. Richard proved himself not only strong, courageous and persistent, but also a reasonable commander, so that he not only held his positions, but also inflicted heavy losses on his enemies. The victory allowed negotiations to begin.

After concluding an agreement with Saladin, Richard lived in Akko for several weeks and sailed home at the beginning of October. This journey presented great difficulty for him. Except sea ​​route around Europe, which he obviously wanted to avoid, almost all other roads were closed to him. The sovereigns and peoples of Germany were for the most part hostile to Richard. His outspoken enemy was Duke Leopold of Austria. The German emperor Henry VI was Richard's opponent because of the close relations of the English king with the Guelphs and Normans, the main enemies of the Hohenstaufen family. However, despite this, Richard decided to sail up the Adriatic Sea, apparently intending to go through southern Germany to Saxony under the protection of the Welfs. Near the coast between Aquileia and Venice, his ship ran aground. Richard left the sea with a few escorts and, in disguise, rode through Friaul and Carinthia. Duke Leopold soon became aware of his movement. Many of Richard's companions were captured, and with one servant he reached the village of Erdberg near Vienna. The elegant appearance of his servant and the foreign money with which he made purchases attracted the attention of the local residents. On December 21, Richard was captured and imprisoned in Dürenstein Castle.
When news of Richard's arrest reached the emperor, he immediately demanded his extradition. Leopold agreed after they promised to pay him 50 thousand marks of silver. After this, the English king became Henry's prisoner for more than a year. He bought his freedom only after he took the feal oath to the emperor and promised to pay a ransom of 150 thousand marks of silver. In February 1194, Richard was released, and in mid-March he landed on the English coast. John's supporters did not dare to confront him and soon laid down their arms. London greeted its king with magnificent celebrations. But after two months he left England forever and sailed to Normandy.
In Richard's absence, Philip II achieved some dominance over the English on the continent. The English king hastened to correct the situation. He took Loches, one of the main fortresses of Touraine, captured Angoulême and forced the submission of the inveterate rebel Count of Angoulême. The following year Richard marched to Berry and was so successful there that he forced Philip to sign a peace. The French had to give up eastern Normandy, but retained several important castles on the Seine. Therefore, the agreement could not be durable. In 1198, Richard returned the border Norman possessions, and then approached the castle of Chalus-Chabrol in Limousin, the owner of which was exposed in a secret relationship with the French king. On March 26, 1199, after dinner, at dusk, Richard went to the castle without armor, protected only by a helmet. During the battle, a crossbow arrow pierced the king deeply into the shoulder, near the cervical spine. Without showing that he was wounded, Richard galloped to his camp. Not a single important organ was affected, but as a result of the unsuccessful operation, blood poisoning began. After being ill for eleven days, the king died.
Richard's reign
His reign in Aquitaine took place in constant clashes with local barons, accustomed to independence. Soon to clashes with his father added to the internal wars. At the very beginning of 1183, Henry II ordered Richard to take the oath of fief to his elder brother Henry. Richard flatly refused to do this, citing the fact that it was an unheard of innovation. Henry the Younger invaded Aquitaine at the head of a mercenary army, began to ravage the country, but in the summer of that year he suddenly fell ill with a fever and died. The death of the older brother did not put an end to the quarrels between father and son. In September, Henry II ordered Richard to give Aquitaine to his younger brother John (John). Richard refused and the war continued. The younger brothers Geoffrey and John (John) attacked Poitou. Richard responded to this by invading Brittany. Seeing that nothing could be achieved by force, the king ordered the disputed duchy to be transferred to his mother. This time Richard complied. But although father and son made peace. There was no trust between them. Particularly suspicious was the closeness established between the king and his youngest son John (John). There were rumors that Henry II, contrary to all customs, wanted to make him his heir, removing his rebellious older sons from the throne. This made the relationship between his father and Richard even more tense. Henry II was a tough and despotic man, Richard could expect any dirty trick from him.
The French king was not slow to take advantage of the discord in the English royal house. In 1187, he showed Richard a secret letter from the English king, in which Henry II asked Philip to marry his sister Alice (already betrothed to Richard) to John (John) and to transfer the duchies of Aquitaine and Anjou to the same John. Richard felt threatened by all this. A new rift began to brew in the Plantagenet family. But Richard openly opposed his father only in the fall of 1188. Against his will, he made peace with the French king in Bonmoulin and took him the oath of feud. The following year, the two of them captured Maine and Touraine. Henry II waged war against Richard and Philip, but without much success. Within a few months, all continental possessions fell away from him, except Normandy. At Leman, Henry II was almost captured by his son. In July 1189, Henry II had to agree to humiliating terms dictated to him by his enemies, and died soon after. In August, Richard arrived in England and was crowned in Westminster Abbey on September 3, 1189. Like his father who spent most time not on the island, but in his continental possessions, he did not intend to stay in England for long. After his coronation, Richard I lived in his country for only four months, and then visited again for two months in 1194.

Characteristics of Richard I.
His heroic life is known from novels and films - Crusades, conquests and the like. But in reality everything was somewhat different. Born into turbulent times, Richard became a cruel and intolerant man. During his reign, revolts constantly broke out in the country, which he suppressed with incredible cruelty. In legends he embodies perfect image a medieval knight who went on many well-documented valiant campaigns.
In the Third Crusade, he established himself as one of literally several brilliant military leaders throughout the Middle Ages. But according to the chronicler, “the king concluded terms as often as he took them back, he constantly changed decisions made or presented new difficulties, as soon as he gave his word, he took it back and when he demanded that the secret be kept, he himself broke it." Saladin's Muslims had the impression that they were dealing with a sick person. Also, Richard's situation was aggravated by the bloody massacre carried out them after Saladin did not have time to fulfill the conditions set to him. It must be said that Saladin, as a civilized person, refrained from retaliatory massacre and not a single European hostage was killed. Richard was a very mediocre ruler, since he spent almost his entire reign abroad: with the crusaders (1190 - 1191), in captivity in Austria (1192 - 1194), and then fought for a long time with the French king Philip II Augustus (1194 - 1199), and almost the entire war was reduced exclusively to sieges of fortresses. The only major victory Richard in this war - the capture of Gisors near Paris in 1197. Richard was not at all involved in governing England.In the memory of his descendants, Richard remained a fearless warrior who cared about personal glory more than the well-being of his possessions.

R Ichard I the Lionheart was an English king from the Plantagenet dynasty.
Son of King Henry II of England and Duchess Alienora of Aquitaine. The king also had another nickname - Richard "Yes-and-No", i.e. it was easy to sway him one way or the other. Surprisingly, this man became an idol for England. His life is truly worthy of a series))) ups and downs, victories and defeats, captivity, vagrancy...

Richard, third son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born on September 8, 1157, probably at Beaumont Castle in Oxford. Richard spent most of his life in the English colonies. He received an excellent education, even wrote poetry.

For his time he was very tall - 193 cm. Two planned marriages did not take place due to various reasons. Richard's mother chose the king's wife. She believed that the lands of Navarre, located on the southern border of Aquitaine, would protect her possessions. Therefore, Richard in 1191 married Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of Sancho VI the Wise.

There were no children in the marriage; Richard spent little time with his wife. The king's only son, Philippe de Cognac, was born from an extramarital affair with Amelia de Cognac.

In the 1940s, British historians raised the question of Richard's homosexuality. Currently, this issue remains controversial; leading historians have differing opinions about the monarch's sexual orientation.

In 1169, King Henry II divided the state into duchies: the eldest son Henry was to become king of England, and Geoffrey received Brittany. Aquitaine and the County of Poitou went to Richard.

In 1173, the future king Richard, incited by his mother, joined his brother's rebellion against his father. Pope Henry II gave a decisive rebuff to his sons. In the spring of 1174, after the capture of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard was the first of the brothers to surrender to his father and ask for forgiveness. Henry II forgave his rebellious son and left the ownership of the counties.

In the spring of 1183, Richard's brother died and left him his place on the English throne. This time is replete with various local skirmishes and battles with varying success.

In 1180, Philip II Augustus received the crown of France. Claiming the continental possessions of Henry II, Philip weaved intrigues and set Richard against his father.

In 1188, Richard and Philip began a war against the king of England. Henry fought desperately but was defeated by the French. According to the treaty with Philip, the kings of France and England exchanged lists of allies.

Seeing the name of John's son at the head of the list of traitors, the sick Henry II wilted. Without listening to Marechal, the king turned to the wall and remained motionless for three days, after which he died on July 6, 1189.

Richard I began his reign of England with the release of his mother. The coronation celebrations were marred by the Jewish pogroms in London. Richard forbade Jews to attend the coronation, but they ignored the ban. The guards acted harshly, but supposedly the people took over. Then the audit of the treasury began. Then the treasury was replenished - officials and church representatives who refused to pay for the position were sent to prison.

Richard's Coronation.

During the reign of England, Richard was in the country for no more than a year. The government was reduced to collecting money for the treasury and for the maintenance of the army and navy.

Richard I, having ascended the throne, dreamed of a crusade to the Holy Land. Having made preparations and raised funds through the sale of Scotland conquered by Henry II, Richard set off. King Philip II of France supported the idea of ​​going on a campaign to the Holy Land.

Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart receive the keys to Acre (1191). Fragment of a 14th century miniature.

The unification of French and English crusaders took place in Burgundy. The armies of Philip and Richard each had 100 thousand soldiers. Having sworn oaths of allegiance to each other in Bordeaux, the kings of France and England decided to go on a crusade by sea. But bad weather prevented the crusaders. I had to stay in Sicily for the winter. After waiting out the bad weather, the armies continued their journey.

At first Philip acted in concert with Richard, but then they began to set each other up. It must be admitted that the army of the crusaders, led by Richard, acted successfully. Soon the army approached the gates to Jerusalem - the Askalon fortress. The crusaders met with a 300,000-strong enemy army and won. But realizing that the siege of Jerusalem was beyond his strength, Richard ordered to move away from the city and return to Acre, which had previously been conquered.

This is where the English fake was born - the king received the nickname “Richard Heart of Stone”, which over time turned into the more beautiful “Lionheart”.

A description of the actions of the cruel king is present in the work of A. Granovsky “The History of King Richard I the Lionheart”. “... on the fortieth day after the signing of the agreement on the surrender of Acre... 2,600 prisoners with tied hands were taken outside the walls of the city. Here, in full view of the Sultan’s troops, they were executed with swords and spears.”

The Sultan was a few minutes late with the ransom money. This is what shocked everyone. Richard followed the principle, killing people and losing the money that the Sultan collected for ransom. The list of prisoners included women and children.

Having hardly fought off the Saracens near Jaffa, Richard concluded a three-year truce with Sultan Saladin. The seaports of Palestine and Syria remained in the hands of Christians, and pilgrims were guaranteed safety. This crusade of Richard the Lionheart and Philip extended the Christian position in the Holy Land for a hundred years.

But events in England demanded the return of the king, and in 1192 he went home. During the trip he was caught in a storm and thrown ashore. Disguised as a pilgrim, he tried to pass through the possessions of the enemy of the English crown - Leopold of Austria. But Richard was recognized and shackled. The German king Henry VI ordered Richard to be brought and placed the English king in the dungeon of one of the castles. The subjects ransomed King Richard for 150 thousand marks. The vassals greeted the monarch's return to England with reverence.

According to legend, Richard's subject, while digging a field in France, found a gold treasure and sent part of it to the high lord. Richard demanded that all the gold be given back. Having been refused, the king went to the Chalet fortress near Limoges, where the treasure was supposedly kept.

On the fourth day of the siege, while walking around the structure, Richard was wounded in the shoulder by the French knight Pierre Basil with a crossbow.

On April 6, 1199, the king died at the 42nd year of his life from blood poisoning. Next to the dying man was his 77-year-old mother Alienora...

Richard's entrails were buried at Chalus, the rest of his body was buried in the north at Fontevraud Abbey next to his father, and his heart was embalmed and buried in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen.

Richard's military vicissitudes made him one of the most prominent figures in medieval history and literature. Richard became the hero of numerous legends...

Basic information: Granovsky A.V. History of King Richard I the Lionheart / A.V. Granovsky. - M.: Russian Panorama, 2007. - 320 p.
Vyushkina D. A. The emergence of the nickname Lionheart among Richard I // Young scientist. - 2016. - No. 3. - pp. 733-734. etc. Internet

“They come from the devil and will come to him.
There will be a brother in this family
to betray his brother, and the son to betray his father..."

(Bishop of Canterbury on the Plantagenet dynasty)

Statue of Richard I outside the Houses of Parliament

The Early Years of King Richard

Richard Plantagenet, who mixed Norman and Angevin, English and Provençal, Aquitaine and French blood, was a descendant of the great William the Conqueror, who captured England after the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, a woman of "amazing beauty, but of an unknown, apparently demonic, breed," was a patron of the arts, "the queen of the troubadours."
In 1137, she became the wife of Louis VII and over 15 years bore him almost a dozen daughters.
After the divorce, sanctified by the Pope, Eleanor deals a brilliant blow to her ex-husband - she marries King Henry II of England.
The English crown received as a dowry all of Western France with its numerous ports, forts and fortresses.

When Richard was 12 years old, the division of possessions in France took place: Henri the Younger became prince in Anjou and Normandy, Richard in Aquitaine, Geoffroy in Brittany.
The youngest brother, John (in the ballads about Robin Hood he was nicknamed Prince John), did not get anything. He went down in history as John the Landless.

Coronation of Richard I.

In 1186, Richard became the direct heir to the crown of England.
At this time, disturbing news comes from the east. The ruler of Egypt, Saladin, managed to unite Muslims under his rule and attacked the counties and duchies of Christians. The Muslims captured most of Palestine, Acre, Ascalon, and on October 2, 1187, Jerusalem itself.
On January 21, 1188, prompted by papal legates, many European kings, dukes and counts accepted the cross. Richard also made a vow.
After the death of his father Henry II, on September 3 of that year, Richard was crowned in London. Now nothing prevented him from devoting himself to the cause of faith.

On the way to the Holy Land

The Third Crusade (1191 - 1192) began far from Palestine.
Tens of thousands of Christian soldiers from all over Europe marched to the Holy Land.
They joined the ranks of the crusader army that began the siege of Acre. The French king gathered his troops reluctantly, remaining in his thoughts on the banks of the Seine. But the newly-crowned English monarch directed all the resources of England, without a trace, to the altar of victory in the campaign.
Richard converted everything into money. He either leased out his possessions, or mortgaged and sold them, and ordered the rights to senior government positions to be auctioned off.
He would not have hesitated, as contemporaries said, to sell London, if only he had found a buyer for it. Thus, the king really collected enormous funds.
His army was well armed, but the national composition of the army was varied: there were far fewer Englishmen than Angevins and Bretons.

Handmade oil painting reproduction of Richard, Coeur De Lion, On His Way To Jerusalem (Richard, the Lion Heart, On His Way To Jerusalem), a painting by James William Glass.

This time the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the French King Philip II Augustus, Duke Leopold of Austria and the King of England Richard I went on a campaign.
The combined forces of the Crusaders represented a significant force, but things did not go well from the very beginning. In June 1190, while crossing a small river in Asia Minor, Frederick Barbarossa, no longer a young man, drowned.
Richard, distinguished by extreme ambition, tried to take command himself. He was indeed a talented and experienced military leader, but he quickly quarreled with other leaders of the united army.

The crusaders stood under the walls of the fortress of Acre in Palestine for two whole years, but could not take it. Finally, the French king agreed with the commandant of the fortress that he would surrender Acre, and for this its defenders would remain alive and receive freedom.
Upon learning of this agreement, which had not been agreed upon with him, Richard became furious. And then Leopold of Austria was the first to climb the fortress wall and strengthen his banner on it. Seeing this, the English king tore the banner from the wall, thereby insulting the Austrians. Leopold has since become the blood enemy of the English king. This episode later found a continuation...
When Acre was finally taken, Richard ordered the killing of all its surviving defenders.

Philip-Augustus, under the pretext of his “ill health,” hastened to sail home to France.
He decided to seize some of the English possessions on the continent while Richard and his army were in Palestine. Philip Augustus was followed by the Duke of Austria with many noble knights, who also suddenly had a lot to do at home.

Thus the Third Crusade failed. The restless Richard remained in the Middle East for another whole year, preparing for the final push on Jerusalem, performing, as recorded in the chronicles, many feats of chivalry. Richard set out for Jerusalem a second time, and again did not reach the city.
Richard accomplished his last feat on the streets of Jaffa, when the knights he led, sweeping away everything in their path, defeated the superior forces of Saladin. When the success of the Crusaders' enterprise seemed to be close, news came from Europe that the younger brother John, who remained in London for the king, had decided to seize the English throne. Richard should have urgently returned to England. Peace had to be made with Saladin.

Sculptural composition of Saladin in Damascus.

In October 1192, Richard boarded a ship at Jaffa and left the Holy Land.
The Third Crusade is associated primarily with the names of Richard and Saladin, who “are heroes of the great epic... The first was bolder and more courageous, the second was distinguished by prudence, sedateness and ability to conduct business. Richard had more imagination, Saladin had more prudence."

Lionheart returns home

Almost two months later, a terrible storm broke out in the Adriatic Sea and Richard's ship ran aground. He, accompanied by several servants, tried to make his way through Austria and Saxony to his relatives - the German Welfs. Near Vienna, Richard was identified, captured and sent to his blood enemy Leopold of Austria, who put him in Durenstein Castle.

The long battle for ransom was resolved after the urgent demand of the Pope - the “Holy Knight” was released. His return to England was strongly opposed by the French king and brother- John. Returning to London, Richard punishes his brother and brings him into submission.
The crusader king completely ruined England: he extorted from his subjects “gifts on the occasion of the joy of the royal return” and raised taxes several times.

The Lionheart spends his last years in constant victorious wars - in Ireland, Brittany and Normandy, “not leaving alive even a dog that would bark after him.”

At the end of March 1199, the king of England besieged the castle of Chalu, which belonged to the rebel vassal - Viscount Aimard of Limoges. Richard I the Lionheart also suspected him of hiding the treasures of his father, the late Henry II of England. It was on his native land of Aquitaine that death awaited the “knight of centuries.” So many times - in England and France, in Syria and Germany, at sea and on land - he was one step away from the abyss...

The crossbowman fired a poisoned arrow from the castle walls and wounded Richard in the shoulder. The castle was taken by storm three days later, and the king ordered all the defenders to be hanged. He only left the one who wounded him alive. The agony lasted 11 days. Dying, Richard I ordered the brain, blood and entrails to be buried in Sharru, the heart in Rouen, the body in Fontevrault, “at the feet of his beloved father.”

In the 42nd year, the life of a vagabond knight, patron of troubadours and brave adventurer, was cut short...
“The ant killed the lion. Oh woe! The world dies with his burial!” - the Latin chronicler wrote in the epitaph.
The king's closest assistant, Mercadier, ordered the daredevil crossbowman to be recaptured: his skin was torn off.

He was sung by the troubadours of France and England. Arabic tales were written about him.
The chronicles of Byzantium and the Caucasus tell about the knight-king with the heart of a lion. Richard the Lionheart belonged to the era of the Crusades and was one of the most prominent figures in the great confrontation between West and East.

Richard's tombstone. Fontevraud Abbey

Richard the Lionheart

Richard I.

Typical knight adventurer

Richard I the Lionheart (French Coeur de Lion, English Lion-Hearted) (8.IX.1157 - 6.IV.1199) - king (1189-1199) from the Plantagenet dynasty. He spent his childhood, youth and most of his reign outside England, the management of which he transferred to the governor. A typical medieval knight-adventurer, Richard I waged continuous wars that were alien to the interests of England and cost her enormous amounts of money. Participated in the 3rd Crusade (1189-1192), during which he captured the island of Cyprus and the fortress of Acre (in Palestine), on the way back he was captured by the Austrian Duke Leopold V (who handed him over to the emperor Henry VI) and was released only in 1194 for a huge ransom. From 1194 - in France, he waged war with Philip II Augustus, who sought to reconquer the lands owned by the Plantagenets in France. During this war he was killed.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 12. Reparations - SLAVS. 1969.

Literature: Chronicles and memorials of the reign of Richard I, ed. by W. Stubbs, v. 1-2, L., 1864-65; Landon L., The itinerary of King Richard I, L., 1935.

Preserved in the image of a noble knight and a just king

Richard I
Richard the Lionheart
Richard the Lionheart
Years of life: September 8, 1157 - April 6, 1199
Years of reign: 1189 - 1199
Father: Henry II
Mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine
Wife: Berengaria of Navarre

Richard was the third son Henry II and was not considered as the main heir to the English throne. When distributing possessions between his sons in 1172, Henry allocated the Duchy of Aquitaine to Richard. Until his coronation, the future king visited England only twice, spending all the time in his lot. In 1183, Henry the Younger demanded an oath of allegiance from Richard, and when he refused, he invaded Aquitaine with an army of mercenaries, but that same year he unexpectedly fell ill with a fever and died. This led to discord between Richard and his father. Henry demanded that Aquitaine be given to himself youngest son, John. Richard asked the French king for help Philip II and swore allegiance to him in 1188. Richard, Philip and allies opposed Henry and defeated him. Henry II accepted peace on humiliating terms and soon died, leaving the English throne to Richard.

On September 3, 1189, Richard was crowned in Westminster Abbey and lived in England for 4 months, and later came for another 2 months in 1194 - that’s all.

Richard accepted Active participation in preparation for the Third Crusade, a vow to participate in which he made in 1187. Taking into account the problems of the first campaigns, he insisted on reaching the Holy Land by sea. The campaign began in the spring of 1190, when crowds of crusaders moved across France to Mediterranean Sea. In Marseilles, Richard's army boarded ships and was already in Sicily in September. There, the crusaders had friction with the local residents. It came to an armed conflict with the citizens of Messina, which ended with the victory of Richard and the plunder of the city. Richard spent the winter of 1190/1191 in Sicily. During this time, he quarreled with his associate, the French king Philip II, and then they moved separately. In the spring of 1191, Richard arrived in Cyprus. Some of his ships were thrown ashore during a storm, and the emperor Isaac Komnenos, who ruled the island, refused to give them back in an amicable way. Richard had to use force, and as a result of a 25-day war, he captured the entire island. He left half of the captured property to the residents, and distributed the other half to his knights, who were supposed to settle on the island to protect it. There in Cyprus, Richard had a magnificent wedding with the Navarrese princess Berengaria. On June 5, Richard sailed to Syria and three days later joined the participants in the siege of Acre, which had already lasted two years. With the arrival of the British, work began with renewed vigor on the construction of rams and catapults, on digging tunnels, and within a month Acre was taken. The crusaders kept hostages from among the most noble townspeople with the possibility of ransoming them for 200 thousand chervonets. However, after this success, discord began in the Christian camp, caused by the discussion of the candidacy of the King of Jerusalem. The quarrels ended with Philip II and many of the French deciding to return, and Richard becoming the sole leader of the crusaders. Meanwhile, the weakened Christian army faced the most important thing - to take Jerusalem. However, they did not reach Jerusalem, frightened by rumors about powerful fortifications around the city, and turned to Ascalon. Just recently, the pilgrims found the flourishing city in ruins. It was Saladdin who ordered the destruction of Ascalon, since he did not hope to hold it. The crusaders restored the fortifications in the shortest possible time, and Richard himself set an example, carrying stones on his shoulders for construction. A few weeks later, a second campaign was launched against Jerusalem, but again the crusaders did not reach the city. On the way, news was received of Saladdin's attack on Jaffa, and Richard rushed to the rescue. During the defense of Jaffa, Richard showed himself to be a strong, brave and reasonable commander.

Meanwhile, news began to arrive from England about the atrocities of John, who ruled the country in the absence of the king. Richard, in a hurry to return home, abandoned the idea of ​​​​taking Jerusalem, and signed a peace treaty with Saladdin on unfavorable terms. On the way home, Richard ran into trouble. He did not want to sail around Europe by sea, and the route by land lay through the lands of Leopold of Austria, with whom Richard also quarreled during the Crusade and Emperor Henry VI, the fierce enemy of the Normans. Nevertheless, Richard decided to climb north along the Adriatic Sea, and then through southern Germany to get to France, but near Venice his ship ran aground, and Richard and a few companions, in disguise, began to secretly make their way through Leopold’s possessions. Nevertheless, near Vienna he was recognized, captured and imprisoned in Castle Dürenstein. Leopold handed over the prisoner to Emperor Henry for a ransom of 50 thousand marks of silver, and Henry released Richard for a promise to send a ransom of 150 thousand marks. Finally, in the spring of 1194, Richard landed in England. John did not dare to engage in armed confrontation with his brother and submitted to him. Despite his unseemly deeds, John received forgiveness, and Richard left England two months later, never to return there again.

In France, Richard successfully fought against Philip II, who, in Richard's absence, seized some of his possessions, and managed to return part of the lands in Normandy.

On March 26, 1199, returning home at dusk, without armor, Richard was deeply wounded by an arrow in the shoulder. The wound was not very dangerous, but after an unsuccessful operation, blood poisoning began, and Richard died 11 days later. The royal title was inherited by his brother John.

IN people's memory The image of Richard the Lionheart as a noble knight and a just king has been preserved. This is due to the fact that only rumors about the king’s heroics in the Holy Land reached England, and the lawlessness that was happening in the country at that time was associated with the name of John. The plot, on the theme of the sudden return of the rightful king, restoring justice and punishing the guilty, was reflected in literature, for example, in the ballads about Robin Hood and W. Scott’s novel “Ivanhoe.”

Material used from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Richard I the Lionheart - English king from the family Plantagenets, reigned 1189-1199. Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Guyenne.

Wife: from 1191 Beranger, daughter of Sancho VI, King of Navarre (+ 1230). Genus. September 8, 1157

Richard was the second son of Henry Plantagenet. He was not considered as the direct heir of his father, and this left a certain imprint on his character and on the events of his youth. While his elder brother Henry was crowned by the English crown in 1170 and declared co-regent of Henry II, Richard was proclaimed Duke of Aquitaine in 1172 and was considered the heir of his mother Eleanor. After this, until his coronation, the future king visited England only twice - at Easter in 1176 and at Christmas in 1184. His reign in Aquitaine took place in constant clashes with local barons, accustomed to independence. Soon clashes with his father were added to the internal wars. At the very beginning of 1183, he ordered Richard to take the feal oath to his elder brother Henry. Richard flatly refused to do this, citing the fact that it was an unheard of innovation. Henry the Younger invaded Aquitaine at the head of a mercenary army, began to ravage the country, but in the summer of that year he suddenly fell ill with a fever and died. The death of the older brother did not put an end to the quarrels between father and son. In September, Henry ordered Richard to give Aquitaine to his younger brother John.

Richard refused and the war continued. The younger brothers Gottfried and John attacked Poitou. Richard responded by invading Brittany. Seeing that nothing could be achieved by force, the king ordered the disputed duchy to be transferred to his mother. This time Richard complied. But although father and son made peace, there was no trust between them. Particularly suspicious was the closeness established between the king and his youngest son John. There were rumors that Henry, contrary to all customs, wanted to make him his heir, removing his rebellious older sons from the throne. This made the relationship between his father and Richard even more tense. Henry was a tough and despotic man, Richard could expect any dirty trick from him. The French king was not slow to take advantage of the discord in the English royal house. In 1187, he showed Richard a secret letter from the English king, in which Henry asked Philip to marry his sister Alice (already betrothed to Richard) to John and to transfer the duchies of Aquitaine and Anjou to the same John. Richard felt threatened by all this. A new rift began to brew in the Plantagenet family. But Richard openly opposed his father only in the fall of 1188. Against his will, he made peace with the French king in Bonmoulin and took him the feudal oath. The following year, the two of them captured Maine and... Touraine. Henry waged war against Richard and Philip, but without much success. In a few months, all continental possessions fell from him, except

Normandy. At Lehman, Henry almost was captured by his son. In July 1189, he had to agree to humiliating conditions dictated to him by his enemies, and died soon after. In August, Richard arrived in England and was crowned in Westminster Abbey on September 3. Like his father, who spent most of his time not on the island, but in his continental possessions, he did not intend to stay in England for long. After his coronation, he lived in his country for only four months, and then came here again for two months in 1194.

Having assumed power, Richard began to work on organizing the Third Crusade, a vow to participate in which he made back in 1187. He took into account bad experience of the second campaign and insisted that the sea route be chosen to reach the Holy Land. This saved the crusaders from many hardships and unpleasant clashes with the Byzantine emperor. The campaign began in the spring of 1190, when masses of pilgrims moved through France and Burgundy to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In early July, Richard met Philip Augustus in Wesel. Kings and troops greeted each other and continued their march to the south together with joyful songs. From Lyon the French turned to Genoa, and Richard moved to Marseilles. Having boarded ships here, the British sailed east and on September 23 were already in Messina. Here: the king was detained by enemy actions local population. The Sicilians were very unfriendly towards the English crusaders, among whom there were many Normans. They not only showered them with ridicule and abuse, but at every opportunity tried to kill unarmed pilgrims. On October 3, due to an insignificant clash in the city market, a real war began. The townspeople hastily armed themselves, locked the gates and took up positions on the towers and walls. In response, the British, without hesitation, launched an assault. Richard, as much as he could, tried to keep his fellow tribesmen from ruining the Christian city. But the next day, during peace negotiations, the townspeople suddenly made a bold foray. Then the king stood at the head of his army, drove the enemies back into the city, captured the gates and carried out harsh judgment on the vanquished. Until the evening, robberies, murders and violence against women were rampant in the city. Finally, Richard managed to restore order.

Due to the late time, the continuation of the campaign was postponed until next year. This multi-month delay had a very bad effect on the relationship between the two monarchs: Every now and then minor clashes occurred between them, and if in the fall of 1190 they arrived in Sicily as intimate friends, then in the spring of the next year they left it as almost outright enemies. Philip went straight to Syria, and Richard made a forced stop in Cyprus. It so happened that due to a storm, some of the English ships were washed ashore on this island. Emperor Isaac Comnenus, who ruled Cyprus, took possession of them on the basis of coastal law. But on May 6, the entire crusader fleet entered the harbor of Limassol. The king demanded satisfaction from Isaac, and when he refused, he immediately attacked him. The galleys of the crusaders approached the shore, and the knights immediately began the battle. Richard, along with others, boldly jumped into the water, and then was the first to enter the enemy shore. The battle, however, did not last long - the Greeks could not withstand the blow and retreated. The next day the battle resumed outside Limassol, but was just as unsuccessful for the Greeks. As the day before, Richard was ahead of the attackers and most distinguished himself by his valor. They write that he captured the banner of Isaac and even knocked the emperor himself off his horse with a blow of a spear. On May 12, the king’s wedding to Berengaria was celebrated with great pomp in the conquered city. Isaac, meanwhile, realized his mistakes and began negotiations with Richard. The conditions of reconciliation were very difficult for him: in addition to a large ransom, Isaac had to open all his fortresses to the crusaders and send auxiliary troops to participate in the crusade. With all this, Richard has not yet encroached on his power - the emperor himself gave the reason for events to take a worse turn for him. After all matters seemed settled, Isaac suddenly fled to Famagusta and accused Richard of encroaching on his life. The angry king declared Komnenos an oathbreaker, a violator of the peace, and instructed his fleet to guard the shores so that he would not escape. He himself first of all captured Famagusta, and then moved to Nicosia. On the way to Tremifussia, another battle took place. Having won his third victory, Richard solemnly entered the capital. Here he was detained for some time by illness. Meanwhile, the crusaders, led by King Guido of Jerusalem, took the strongest castles in the mountains of Cyprus. Among other captives, Isaac's only daughter was captured. Broken by all these failures, the emperor surrendered to the victors on May 31. The only condition of the deposed monarch was the request not to burden him with iron chains. But this did not make his fate any easier, because Richard ordered him to be shackled in silver and exiled to one of the Syrian castles. Thus, as a result of a successful 25-day war, Richard became the owner of a rich and prosperous island. He left half of their property to the inhabitants, and used the other half for the formation of fiefs to the knighthood, which was supposed to take upon itself the defense of the country. Having placed his garrisons in all cities and castles, he sailed to Syria on June 5. Three days later he was already in the Christian camp under the walls of besieged Akkon.

With the arrival of the British, siege work began to boil with renewed vigor. In a short time, towers, rams and catapults were built. Under protective roofs and through tunnels, the crusaders approached the enemy’s very fortifications. Soon battle broke out everywhere around the breaches. The position of the townspeople became hopeless, and on July 11 they entered into negotiations with the Christian kings for the surrender of the city. Muslims had to promise that the Sultan would release all Christian captives and return the Life-Giving Cross. The garrison had the right to return to Saladin, but part of it, including one hundred noble people, had to remain hostages until the Sultan paid the Christians 200 thousand ducats. The next day, the crusaders solemnly entered the city, which they had been besieging for two years. The joy of victory, however, was overshadowed by strong discord that immediately broke out between the leaders of the crusaders. The dispute arose over the candidacy of the king of Jerusalem. Richard believed that he should remain Guido Lusignan. But many Palestinian Christians could not forgive him for the fall of Jerusalem and preferred the hero of the defense of Tyre, Margrave Conrad of Montferrat. Philip Augustus was also entirely on his side. This discord was superimposed by another loud scandal associated with the Austrian banner. As can be inferred from the conflicting reports of this incident, shortly after the fall of the city, Duke Leopold of Austria ordered the Austrian standard to be raised above his house. Seeing this flag, Richard became furious and ordered it to be torn off and thrown into the mud. His anger was apparently caused by the fact that Leopold occupied a house in the English part of the city, while he was an ally of Philip. But be that as it may, this incident outraged all the crusaders, and they could not forget about it for a long time. At the end of July, Philip, as well as many French pilgrims, left the Holy Land and began their return journey.

This weakened the forces of the crusaders, while the most difficult part of the war - for the return of Jerusalem - had not yet begun. True, with the departure of Philip, internal strife among Christians should have subsided, since Richard now remained the only leader of the crusader army. However, it was not clear how up to this difficult role he was. Many considered him a capricious and unbridled man, and he himself, with his first orders, confirmed this unfavorable opinion of himself. The Sultan could not fulfill the conditions imposed on him by Akkon’s capitulation as quickly as he was obliged to: release all captured Christians and pay 200 thousand ducats. Because of this, Richard became immensely angry and immediately, after the deadline agreed upon by Saladin - August 20 - had passed, he ordered more than 2 thousand Muslim hostages to be taken out and slaughtered in front of the gates of Akkon. Of course, after this the money was not paid at all, not a single captured Christian received freedom, and the True Cross remained in the hands of the Muslims: Three days after this massacre, Richard set out from Accon at the head of a large number of crusaders. Ascalon was chosen as the goal of the campaign this time. Saladin tried to block the road. On September 7, a fierce battle took place near Arzuf, ending in a brilliant victory for the Christians. Richard was in the thick of the battle and contributed greatly to the success with his spear. A few days later, the pilgrims arrived in the destroyed Joppe and stopped here to rest. Saladin took advantage of their delay to completely destroy Ascalon, which he now had no hope of holding. The news of this upset all the plans of the crusaders. Some of them began to restore Joppe, others occupied the ruins of Ramle and Lydda. Richard himself participated in many skirmishes and often risked his life unnecessarily. At the same time, lively negotiations began between him and Saladin, which, however, did not lead to any results. In the winter of 1192, the king announced a campaign against Jerusalem. However, the crusaders only reached Beitnub. They had to turn back because of rumors of strong fortifications around the Holy City. In the end, they returned to their original goal and, in severe bad weather - through storm and rain - moved towards Ascalon. This, until recently flourishing and rich city, appeared before the eyes of the pilgrims in the form of a deserted heap of stones. The Crusaders zealously began to restore it. Richard encouraged the workers with monetary gifts and, to set a good example for everyone, he himself carried stones on his shoulders. Ramparts, towers and houses were erected from terrible debris with extraordinary speed. In May, Richard took Daruma, a strong fortress south of Ascalon, by storm. After this, it was decided to move on to Jerusalem again. But, like last time, the crusaders only reached Beitnub. Here the army stopped for several weeks. Heated debates ensued between the leaders of the campaign about whether it was advisable or not to now begin the siege of such a powerful fortress, or whether it was better to move to Damascus or Egypt. Due to disagreements, the campaign had to be postponed. Pilgrims began to leave Palestine. In August, news arrived of Saladin's attack on Joppe. With the speed of lightning, Richard gathered the remaining military forces at hand and sailed to Joppe. In the harbor, ahead of his men, he jumped from the ship into the water in order to reach the shore without delay. This not only saved the citadel, but also recaptured the city from the enemy. A few days later, Saladin tried again with superior forces to capture and crush the king’s small detachment. A battle took place near Joppe and in the city itself, the outcome of which fluctuated for a long time, now in one direction or the other. Richard showed himself not only to be strong, brave and persistent, but also a reasonable commander, so that he not only held his positions, but also inflicted heavy losses on the enemies. The victory allowed negotiations to begin. Bad news came from England about autocratic actions younger brother King John the Landless. Richard rushed home with restless haste, and this prompted him to make concessions. According to the agreement concluded in September, Jerusalem remained in the power of the Muslims, the Holy Cross was not issued; The captured Christians were left to their bitter fate in the hands of Saladin, Ascalon was to be razed by workers on both sides. This outcome of the campaign filled the hearts of Christians with grief and rage, but there was nothing to be done.

After concluding an agreement with Saladin, Richard lived in Akko for several weeks and sailed home at the beginning of October. This journey presented great difficulty for him. Apart from the sea route around Europe, which he obviously wanted to avoid, almost all other roads were closed to him. The sovereigns and peoples of Germany were for the most part hostile to Richard. His outspoken enemy was Duke Leopold of Austria. The German emperor Henry VI was Richard's opponent because of the close relations of the English king with the Guelphs and Normans, the main enemies of the Hohenstaufen family. However, despite this, Richard decided to sail up the Adriatic Sea, apparently intending to go through southern Germany to Saxony under the protection of the Welfs. Near the coast between Aquileia and Venice, his ship ran aground. Richard left the sea with a few escorts and, in disguise, rode through Friaul and Carinthia. Duke Leopold soon became aware of his movement. Many of Richard's companions were captured, and with one servant he reached the village of Erdberg near Vienna. The elegant appearance of his servant and the foreign money with which he made purchases attracted the attention of the local residents. On December 21, Richard was captured and imprisoned in Dürenstein Castle.

As soon as news of Richard's arrest reached the emperor, he immediately demanded his extradition. Leopold agreed after they promised to pay him 50 thousand marks of silver. After this, the English king became Henry's prisoner for more than a year. He bought his freedom only after he took the feal oath to the emperor and promised to pay a ransom of 150 thousand marks of silver. In February 1194, Richard was released, and in mid-March he landed on the English coast. John's supporters did not dare to confront him and soon laid down their arms. London greeted its king with magnificent celebrations. But after two months he left England forever and sailed to Normandy. In Lizo, John appeared before him, whose unseemly behavior during the absence of his elder brother bordered on outright treason. Richard, however, forgave him for all his crimes.

In the king's absence, Philip II achieved some dominance over the English on the continent. Richard hastened to correct the situation. He took Loches, one of the main fortresses of Touraine, captured Angoulême and forced the submission of the inveterate rebel Count of Angoulême. The following year Richard marched to Berry and was so successful there that he forced Philip to sign a peace. The French had to give up eastern Normandy, but retained several important castles on the Seine. Therefore, the agreement could not be durable. In 1198, Richard returned the Norman border possessions, and then approached the castle of Chalus-Chabrol in Limousin, the owner of which was exposed in a secret relationship with the French king. On March 26, 1199, after dinner, at dusk, Richard went to the castle without armor, protected only by a helmet. During the battle, a crossbow arrow pierced the king deeply into the shoulder, near the cervical spine. Without showing that he was wounded, Richard galloped to his camp. Not a single important organ was affected, but as a result of the unsuccessful operation, blood poisoning began. After being ill for eleven days, the king died.

All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999.

Richard I (1157–1199), nicknamed Lion's Heart, French Coeur de Lion, king England, third son of Henry II. Born in Oxford on September 8, 1157. In 1170 he became Duke of Aquitaine, in 1175–1179 he brought the rebellious barons to submission and subjugated the duchy to his authority. From 1173 to 1189 he waged continuous wars against his father in alliance with his brothers, then against his brothers and against the king of France. Since by the time of his father's death in 1189 his two older brothers had already died, Richard became king of England. However, already in December 1190 he set off on the 3rd Crusade. After a winter in Sicily, Richard captured Cyprus, where he married Berengaria of Navarre. Largely thanks to the personal courage Richard showed during the siege of Acre, this city was taken. In 1191, Richard defeated Salah ad-din at Arzuf and approached Jerusalem. However, he quarreled with his allies - Duke Leopold V of Austria and King Philip II Augustus of France (who left the Holy Land for France and began active actions against English possessions), and his brother John rebelled in England. As a result of these reasons, Richard concluded a truce with Salah ad-din and went home. In Vienna, Richard was captured by Leopold (he was mortally insulted by Richard, who ordered Leopold’s banner, which he had strengthened on one of the towers of Acre, to be torn down and thrown into the mud), and he handed it over to Emperor Henry VI. As a result, Richard had to spend more than a year in captivity until he paid a large ransom for his release. Arriving in England, he remained here for several weeks, and spent the rest of his reign in France, in the fight against Philip Augustus. Richard died from an accidental arrow shot at him during the siege of the Chalu fortress on April 6, 1199, undertaken for personal reasons (dividing a treasure of gold).

Materials from the encyclopedia "The World Around Us" were used.

Read further:

England in the 12th century(chronological table).

Plantagenet Dynasty(family tree).

Historical figures of England(biographical index).

Literature on British history(lists).

British History Course Syllabus(methodology).

Literature:

England in the era of feudalism. M., 1988

Chronicles and memorials of the reign of Richard I, ed. by W. Stubbs, v. 1-2, L., 1864-65;

Landon L., The itinerary of King Richard I, L., 1935.