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Richard I of England

Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. In his own time, the troubador Bertran de Born called him Oc-e-Non (Yes-and-No), while some later writers referred to him as Richard the Lionheart, Cœur de Lion.

Family

The third of King Henry II's legitimate sons, Richard was never expected to ascend to the throne. He is generally considered to have been the favourite son of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of England, and Matilda of England. He was also an older brother of Joan Plantagenet and John Lackland of England.

Early Life

Although born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England, like most of the Royal Family at the time he was, to all intents and purposes, French. When his parents effectively separated, he remained in Eleanor's care, and was invested with her duchy of Aquitaine in 1168, and of Poitiers in 1172. This was his consolation prize for the fact that his eldest surviving brother, Henry the Young King, was simultaneously crowned as his father's successor. Richard and his other brother, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, thus learned how to defend their property while still teenagers. As well as being an educated man, able to compose poetry in French and Occitan, he was also very attractive; his hair between red and blond, blue-eyed, his height estimated at six feet four inches (1.93 m) tall. He gloried in military activity. From an early age he appeared to have significant political and military abilities, became noted for his chivalry and courage, and soon was able to control the unruly nobles of his territory. Like his brothers, Richard had limited respect for his father and lacked foresight and a sense of responsibility.

Revolt against Henry II

In 1172, his elder brother Henry the Young King was crowned king of England as Henry III. Historians know him as Henry "the Young King" so as not to confuse him with the later king of this name who was his nephew. In 1173, Richard joined his brothers, Henry and Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, in a revolt against their father. They were planning to dethrone their father and leave the Young King as the only king of England. Henry II invaded Aquitaine twice. At the age of seventeen, Richard was the last of the brothers to hold out against Henry; though, in the end, he refused to fight him face to face and humbly begged his pardon. In 1174, after the end of the failed revolt, Richard gave a new oath of subservience to his father.

Richard had several major reasons for discontent with his father. First was Henry's refusal to allow Richard any real power or funds despite pleas by Richard for more of both. Though placated by titles such as Count of Poitou, Richard wanted more and Henry seemed unwilling to entrust any of his sons with resources that could be used against him, with very good reason. Secondly, Henry had appropriated Princess Alys Richard's betrothed, the daughter of Louis VII of France by his second wife, as his mistress. This made a marriage between Richard and Alys technically impossible – at least in the eyes of the church, but Henry, not wishing to cause a diplomatic incident, prevaricated and did not confess to his misdeed. As for Richard, he was discouraged from renouncing Alys because she was the sister of King Philip II of France, a close ally.

Other Political Struggles

After his failure to overthrow his father, Richard concentrated on putting down internal revolts by the dissatisfied nobles of Aquitaine, especially the territory of Gascony. The increasing cruelty of his reign led to a major revolt of Gascony in 1183. Richard had a terrible reputation, including reports of various rapes and murders. The rebels hoped to dethrone Richard and asked his brothers Henry and Geoffrey to help them succeed. Their father feared that the war between his three sons could lead to the destruction of his kingdom. He led the part of his army that served in his French territories in support of Richard. The Young King's death on June 11, 1183, ended the revolt, and Richard remained on his throne.

Young Henry's death left Richard as the eldest surviving son and the natural heir when the old King eventually died. However, there was some uncertainty over King Henry's intentions. When Geoffrey also died, Richard was the only realistic possibility, his youngest brother, John, being too weak and inexperienced to be considered as an alternative. From the Young King's death Richard was considered – though not officially proclaimed – heir to the joint thrones of England, Normandy and Anjou. In 1188 Henry II planned to concede Aquitaine to his youngest son John Lackland, later King John of England. To strengthen his position, Richard allied himself with Philip II, who was the son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis VII by his third wife, Adele of Champagne. In exchange for Philip's help against his father, Richard promised to concede his rights to both Normandy and Anjou to Philip. Richard gave an oath of subservience to Philip in November of the same year. In 1189 Richard attempted to take the throne of England for himself by joining Philip's expedition against his father. They were victorious. Henry, with John's consent, agreed to name Richard his heir. On July 6, 1189 Henry II died in Chinon, and Richard I succeeded him as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou. He was officially crowned duke on July 20 and king in Westminster on September 3, 1189.

Reign

Richard has been criticised for doing little for England, siphoning the kingdom's resources to support his Crusade and campaigns in what is now France. He spent only six months of his reign in England, claiming it was "cold and always raining." During the period when he was raising funds for his Crusade, Richard was heard to declare, "If I could have found a buyer I would have sold London itself." However, England was just a small part of his territories, only important in that it gave him a royal title with which to approach other kings as an equal. Like most of the Plantagenet kings before the 14th century, he had no need to learn the English language. Leaving the country in the hands of various officials he designated (including his mother, at times), Richard was far more concerned with his French possessions. His father Henry II and Philip of France had already taken the cross at Gisors on 21 January 1188, inspired by the loss of Jerusalem to the Muslims under the command of Saladin. Richard, too, had done so as Count of Poitou. Having become king, he and Philip agreed to go together, since each feared that, during his absence, the other might usurp his territories.

Richard swore an oath to renounce his past wickedness in order to show himself worthy to take the cross. He started to raise a new English crusader army, though most of his warriors were Normans, and supplied it with weapons. He spent most of his father's treasury (filled with money raised by the Saladin tithe), raised taxes, and even agreed to free King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in exchange for 10,000 marks. To raise even more money he sold official positions, rights, and lands to those interested in them. Even those already appointed were forced to pay exorbitant sums to retain their posts. Even William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely and the King's Chancellor, made a show of bidding £3,000 to remain as Chancellor. He was apparently outbid by a man named Reginald the Italian, but his bid was refused. He finally succeeded in raising a huge army and navy. After repositioning the part of his army he left behind to guard his French possessions, Richard finally started his expedition to the Holy Land in 1190. He appointed as regents Hugh, Bishop of Durham, and William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex, who soon died and was replaced by Richard's chancellor William Longchamp. Richard's brother John was not satisfied by this decision and started scheming against William.

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