Richard the Lion Heart - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Research Paper Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction Richard was the king of England for the period between 1189 until when he died in 1199. He was a great military warrior and this earned his name Richard the Lion heart. The Muslims called him Malek al-Inkitar, meaning the king of England. By the time Richard had attained sixteen years of age, he had his own army to command setting up a rebel group in Poitou to go against his father, King Henry. Richard spoke very little English and did not spend most of his time in England1. He spent most of the time in southwest France, in Duchy of Aquitaine. Richard liked to use his kingdom as a basis for getting revenue that he used to support his armies. His subjects viewed him as a religious leader and he is among the few leaders in England who is being remembered for his appellation and endurance. Richard’s early life Richard portrayed a considerable political and military ability at a very early age, a time when he was noticed for his loyalty and courage when he fought to manage the rebellious aristocrats of his own territory. While he was fourteen years old, Richard was made the Duke of Aquitaine at a ceremony held in a church in Poitiers, one of the lands that had been made in reverence to the king. His brother who had been offered the lands without real power rebelled against his father with the assistance of his mother who was later jailed2. Richard’s crusades In the year 1183, Henry died leading to the succession of his throne by Richard. At this time, a family dispute arose because Richard had been given the lands which belonged to hid brother John, who was supposed to be given the land of Aquitane by Henry. Richard however refused to give up the land since it was his mother’s homeland. While the disputes were still on, Richard learnt that the Crusaders had lost Jerusalem to Saladin, the leader of Saracen. Richard decided to take up the cross of the crusaders, an act that was against his father’s wish3. When Henry II died in 1189, Richard was crowned to be the king of England. His first mission was to release his mother from prison and secondly to raise money for his crusade, which was to be named the ‘Third Crusade’. To raise the money, Richard imposed a tax called the Saladin tithe to the people of England as a way of assisting his war. All his attention was on the crusade that he had pledged to lead. To him, England was to be a source of funds for the crusade4. He was once captured saying that he would sell London if he finds a rich buyer. Richard wrote his will declaring Arthur of Brittany, his nephew to become his successor. In July 1190, people form England and their friends from France were led by Philip Augustus to begin their vital venture. The group of crusaders stopped on the way at Sicily where Joanna, Richard’s sister had been held captive by her nephew Tancred and he had refused to give back the dowry. Before he arrived in Jerusalem, he captured Cyprus from the hands of the Byzantines in 1191. This was to be used as the crusaders base for the next centuries and was to remain in the hands of Western Europeans. After a lengthy siege, Richard recaptured the Acre city and took the entire Muslim battalion under captive. This was then implemented after a sequence of negotiations which ended up failing5. After recapturing of Acre from the hands of the Muslims, the crusaders moved towards the coast of Mediterranean sea where they fought the Muslims and captured the city of Jaffa from where they could clearly see Jerusalem. Richard did not however have faith that he would be able to take Jerusalem if it was captured especially because most of the crusaders returned to Europe. The third crusade therefore ended before they took Jerusalem6. Richard was left behind until the following year after signing for a treaty with Saladin. The treaty was to allow unarmed Christian pilgrims to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem while the city is under the control of the Muslims. While Richard was going back to England, his ship was ruined and he landed in Austria where he was held captive by his enemy Duke Leopard. The Duke later handed him over to the emperor Henry IV who kept him under captivity until a ransom was paid. Richard’s late life Richard spent the last part of his life in trying to strengthen the Angevin empire form the plans of Philip Augustus. He built an estate named “saucy castle” on a strategic place from where he could watch his dominions, on a high rock. He then built his fortress where river Seine created a sharp curve. The castle was constructed for a period of more than one year and it stood on a cliff of a hundred meters high. Richard later formed a coalition against Philip in conjunction with his father-in-law who led attacks on the land of the French king form the southern area7. Richard won various victories against French and in 1198 he adopted his motto of “God and my Right”, which is up to now being used by the British rulers8. In March 1199, Richard was strolling around the castle on one evening investigating the advancement of the sappers on the walls of the castle. The king noticed a man standing on the castle walls holding a bow with arrows, and a frying pan for use as a shield against missiles. The man aimed an arrow towards the king which he applauded. Another arrow followed which struck him on his left shoulder. He tried to remove it but it failed. A surgeon removed it carelessly crushing the King’s shoulder. The wound later become gangrenous. The boy claimed that the king had murdered his father and his two brothers and he therefore killed the king for revenge. However, the King forgave the boy as an act of mercy and he later died on 6th April 1199 on the hands of his mother. Richard the lion heart is respected as being among the great fighters of England. However, he is also referred to as “the absent king”. This is because for the time he was in leadership, from 1189 to 1199, he spent only six months in England. He was also known for brave heart which led him to be named “The Lion heart”. During his reign, Richard was just involved in a series of crusades that left many people dead including soldier in his army. Richard signs a treaty with the Saracen ambassadors where he pretends that their customs or those of the English people allow them to consume the bodies of their enemies. He directs the beheading of the most noble hostage and preparation of feats of their heads. He clearly states that the reason for the preparation of the grim feast was to disturb, unsettle and frustrate his enemies9. Richard’s only talks of power and that when one is in fear of his enemies he gets power. However, his willingness to depart form the customs of his society leaves him as another thing rather than a human. After Richard failed in the crusade, he directed his attention into organizing for rebels for the dissatisfied rulers of Aquitaine. His much cruelty during his reign raised a major rebel in 1183 in Gascony. He had a bad reputation, where he was accused of several cases of murder and rape10. His rebels aimed to remove him from the throne with the assistance of his brothers Henry and Geoffrey whom they had requested to assist them succeed. His father however was worried that the war between his sons could result in demolition if his empire and made part of his army to support Richard against his brothers11. Richard was not concerned about the future of England. He was interested in involving himself in an exploit that would make the troubadour to commemorate his name and also to assure him a position in heaven. He had strong spiritual need and had taken an oath to deny his former sinfulness so as to make him commendable to take the cross12. To raise funds for the crusade, he sold rights, official posts, and lands to those who were interested. He engaged England in a lot of fights which took most of his time and attention. Conclusion Richard however brave and a great warrior, he was not a good leader for England. He did not have time to attend to his leadership duties and rights, some of which he sold to earn money for the crusades. He did not portray any nobleness during his leadership rather than a series of crusades that le to murder of innocent people and betrayal of his soldiers. For the period of ten years that he was in power, he spent only six months in England and the rest time was in his murdering crusades. Bibliography Bridge, A., 1990, Richard the Lionheart, Boston, M.Evans publishers, pg 120-125 Edbury, P., 1996, The conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: sources in translation, Birmingham, Scolar Press, p. 12-15. Gillingham, J., 1998, Richard the Lion heart, New York, Times Book, p. 221-227. Hilliam, D., 2003, Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade: the English king confronts Saladin, AD 1191, New York, The Rosen Publishing Group, p. 67-69. Reston, J., 2001, Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade, London, Doubleday, p.201. Read More