Richard I - The Lionheart King

Richard I (1157 - 1199) was King of England from July 6, 1189 until he died on April 6, 1199. He was well known for his bravery and abilities as a great military leader and warrior even before his accession, which earned him the nickname ¡®C©«ur de Lion¡¯ or ¡®The Lionheart.¡¯

He is also known as ¡®the absent king,¡¯ due to the fact that the king spent only a total of six months in England during his ten-year reign from 1189-1199.

Richard was born on Sept. 8, 1157 in Oxford, to King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. His brother Henry was named heir to the English throne, Richard was to succeed his mother¡¯s Aquitaine and Geoffrey was to inherit Brittany. John was the poorest, receiving nothing from his father.

His brother Henry died in 1183, leaving Richard heir to the throne. King Henry II wanted to give Aquitaine to his youngest son, John, but Richard refused to give up the homeland of his mother to his younger brother. In 1189, Richard joined forces with Philip II of France against his father. Henry II died in 1189.

Upon the death of Henry II, Richard was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey London. As the king of England, Richard focused on the Third Crusade, prompted by Saladin¡¯s capture of Jerusalem in 1187. He began to raise funds by imposing tax on the English people for his crusade, in which he led the campaign as a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade against Saladin.

On his way home from the Holy Land in March of 1192, Richard was shipwrecked due to bad weather and was imprisoned by Duke Leopold of Austria, whom Richard had angered by actions during the crusade. He was freed in February 1194, after paying a 150,000-mark ransom. A large portion of the ransom was raised through heavy taxing of the people of England.

Upon returning to England, he had a second coronation to show that he still had control of the country as the king. Then, he went to Normandy, never to return. During his last five years, Richard I fought against Philip II. While besieging the castle of Chalus in central France, he was hit by an arrow in the shoulder, got fatally wounded and died on April 6, 1199. His younger brother John succeeded his throne.

Richard the Lionheart remains one of the enduring, iconic figures in England and his name can be seen in literary works such as ¡®Robin Hood¡¯ and Sir Walter Scott¡¯s novel ¡®Ivanhoe.¡¯