Richard the Lionheart is the son of Alienora of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England. He was not trained for the role of king, so all his youth he was engaged in military affairs. But fate decreed that it was he who ascended the throne. He showed himself as a brave and cruel ruler, for which he is called Lionheart.
The personality of King Richard has never been deprived of the attention of researchers, and in the Victorian era, Richard was generally created the image of an ideal king, a model of valor and knightly courage. Richard was the third son of Alienora of Aquitaine and Henry II of the King of England.
Therefore, Richard was not raised as a future king, with an emphasis on older brothers. What was left to the royal son as not a military matter. In addition, Richard's excellent physical shape also contributed to this.
Prior to his coronation as king of England, Richard ruled "mother's" Aquitaine, as a result of this in England itself was extremely rare.
And he fought a lot. With rebellious feudal lords, with his own father.
During his lifetime, he was compared with King Arthur, Charlemagne and even with Alexander the Great.
After the death of his father and the death of his older brothers, Richard becomes King of England. Many researchers point out that Richard was a rather mediocre ruler, he devoted very little time to state affairs, and it was extremely difficult to find him in England. At the same time, the Crusades required a constant flow of money, which the king took from the state treasury, increasing taxes. So Richard was a participant in the Third Crusade.
Like all Crusades before it, it began under the command of several kings. However, the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa dies, and King Philip Augustus just returned home after a successful siege of Acre, only Richard remained.
Richard was charismatic, authoritative and well versed in military affairs, which allowed him to unite the disparate forces of the Third Crusade.
Why Lionheart?
Leo is by no means a synonym for not only the brave. Richard proved himself to be a brave and cruel general.
For example, after the agreement on the surrender of Acre was signed and that the envoys of Salah ad-Din would not appear, Richard executed 2,600 prisoners. And in the battle of Jaffa, he made an army that was 10 times larger than him, while he fought himself and managed to win.
In 1199, Richard had a conflict with his subject over gold. According to medieval chronicles, on March 26, the king and his entourage traveled around the castle's surroundings, choosing the most convenient place from where to attack.
And one of the castle crossbowmen fired his arrow. The king was taken to the camp and the bolt was removed, but from the consequences of his injury, Lionheart died on April 6. Until now, researchers have not established exactly whether Richard died from the wound itself, or the arrow was poisoned with poison. Because there is no clear information where exactly the arrow hit, in some chronicles it is indicated in the neck, in others that the arrow hit only the hand.
