Richard I "The Lionheart" (1157-1199)


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XeniaCasaraghi said:
I have seen on this board that some posters have a low opinion of the first King Richard and I wonder why. The only thing I know about Richard is crusades, he was his mothers favorite, and Robin Hood. Was Richard a good king or nay? Was John better or just as bad?
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Actually I think the reason why a lot see him as a different kind of King is because he was more of a warrior than a ruler. It was a time in history when actually the court of what we'd term the British court was actually in France hence why Richard the Lionheart (Richard Coeur de Lion) strove to do what many did back then. It was the time of the Templars and Crusades. It was a time of chivalry and the stuff that tales of the Holy Grail were made of. Of course there had to be a way to provide funds for his endeavors and a lot of it came from heavy taxation of the serfs working his lands back home. He was more involved in going into battle in the Crusades more so than what we'd see today as being an actual King and being available in England. I can see why a lot of folks back home would be grumbling. The nobles went to the crusades and the peasants/serfs were left to work to fund it all with an absentee King.

I'm NO way an expert on this but I do like the medieval times. To me, it seemed like the church came first. They were the main powers that be back then. Holy Roman Empire and all.

I'm sure there is a lot more information from our historians here that can fill in the gaps.
 
XeniaCasaraghi said:
I have seen on this board that some posters have a low opinion of the first King Richard and I wonder why. The only thing I know about Richard is crusades, he was his mothers favorite, and Robin Hood. Was Richard a good king or nay? Was John better or just as bad?
Click to expand...
Well, he only spent about six months of his ten-year reign in England - when he was crowned, and when he needed to ask Parliament for money. His Queen, Berenguela of Navarre, never set foot in England at all. England was just a small piece of his empire, and he much preferred Aquitaine when he was "at home."
 
Richard only considered England his cash cow to fund his crusades, so heavily taxed his people. As was mentioned upthread, he was a warrior first so spent the majority of his life on the battlefields.
 
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LauraS3514 said:
Well, he only spent about six months of his ten-year reign in England - when he was crowned, and when he needed to ask Parliament for money. His Queen, Berenguela of Navarre, never set foot in England at all. England was just a small piece of his empire, and he much preferred Aquitaine when he was "at home."
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I'm sorry but I don't think that makes someone necessarily a bad king. If he indeed had an empire to fun then I don't fault him for not putting a lot of focus on the small parts of it. If that is his greatest crime than he is better than a few kings who spent all their time in England.
 
He sent England bankrupt to fund wars that didn't benefit England, or any other part of his empire but to stroke his own ego. He was selfish and totally uncaring about the pain and suffering he caused.
 
LauraS3514 said:
Well, he only spent about six months of his ten-year reign in England - when he was crowned, and when he needed to ask Parliament for money. His Queen, Berenguela of Navarre, never set foot in England at all. England was just a small piece of his empire, and he much preferred Aquitaine when he was "at home."
Click to expand...

His Queen,Berengaria of Navarre was very much a neglected wife during Richards life and was very much eclipsed by Richards mother and sister Joan.After Richards death,her brother in law King John treated her very badly and rarely paid her pensions.
 
Richard I's mother, Queen Eleanor referred to her daughter-in-law as "Queen Berengaria" without adding the affectionate "dilectissima" or "carissima" appended to the names of her daughters.
​

In Kings & Queens of England, Nigel Cawthorne wrote:

Richard I regarded his realm as little more than a source of revenue for his crusades. 'I would have sold London itself if I could have found a rich enough buyer,' he said.
​

In Kings & Queens of Great Britain, David Soud wrote:

When Richard I returned from captivity, John was left at his mercy. Combining magnanimity and condescension, Richard forgave John, saying that he was, at the age of 27, merely a child who had been led astray by Philip, and stripped him of all his lands save Ireland.
​
 
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The Lionheart died on this day,6th of April 1199.Tomb effigy of Richard I from Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou, France.

640px-Church_of_Fontevraud_Abbey_Richard_I_effigy.jpg
 
I'm sorry, but I find that depiction of Berengaria horrible and likely has no basis in reality.

I understand that many scholars also disagree with this sort of "forensic" sculpting. Even when a skull is used as the basis, there is so much of the face that is not governed by the skull. The shape of the nose and lips to name only two.

In my opinion this depiction is very masculine.

Ana
 
OK I looked a little more into Richard and I see why some one here consider him a bad king. He is definitely over glorified. I still question if he was better or worse than John?
 
CyrilVladisla said:
The Armour of King Richard I
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This is clearly a mistake.

This is late 1300's armour. The only thing remotely resembling Richard I's armour would be the great helmet and the leg protection. And that was state of the art by the time he died - albeit in a much more primitive design.

This is akin to soldiers of the American Revolution being armed with M-16 rifles - and as far as I know they weren't.

You can see the difference here: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nhIP6dfr_FE/maxresdefault.jpg
 
Was King Richard I more interested in the Crusades or in defending his Duchy of Aquitaine against King Philip II of France?
 
In 1193 fifty miles from Vienna, King Richard I was arrested and delivered as a prisoner to Leopold, Duke of Austria. In February 1193 Leopold sold him to Emperor Henry VI, for a fee of half the ransom the emperor could raise for the captive king.
 
CyrilVladisla said:
In 1193 fifty miles from Vienna, King Richard I was arrested and delivered as a prisoner to Leopold, Duke of Austria. In February 1193 Leopold sold him to Emperor Henry VI, for a fee of half the ransom the emperor could raise for the captive king.
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Richard's mother, queen Eleanor who was ruling as his Regent was left with task of the King's ransom which was enormous.
 
Tomb containing the heart of King Richard I at Rouen Cathedral
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Richard1Rouen.jpg

Tomb at Fontevraud
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Richard1TombFntrvd.jpg

Berengaria of Navarre (c. 1165–1170 – 23 December 1230) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval English queens, little is known of her life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Navarre
 
Blog Real said:
Tomb containing the heart of King Richard I at Rouen Cathedral
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Richard1Rouen.jpg

Tomb at Fontevraud
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Richard1TombFntrvd.jpg

Berengaria of Navarre (c. 1165–1170 – 23 December 1230) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval English queens, little is known of her life.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Navarre
Click to expand...

The tombs at Fontevraud Abbey are sadly empty as the vaults were pillaged in 1793 during the Terror and its believed the royal remains were dumped into the nearby river.
Originally the Abbey contained the Tombs of Henry II,Eleanor,Richard,Isabella,Joan of England and her son Raymond,Count of Toulouse.

The tombs of Isabella and her son were totally destroyed in 1793.

Berengaria of Navarre was buried at Le Mans where she died and her tomb and remains survived the Huguenots and the Terror!
 
Richard signed the Treaty of Jaffa in September 1192,which was more or less a truce between himself and Saladin.
Soon after the signing of the Treaty, Richard departed Acre in October and was was returning home.
During his absence,England was governed by his mother ,Queen Eleanor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Jaffa_(1192)
 
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