RICHARD, THE LIONHEART, AND THE THIRD CRUSADE
Jesús Movellán Haro 1st. of History University of Cantabria
ABOUT THE KING’S BIRTH AND FAMILY
Richard I Plantagenet was born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, on 8th September, 1157.
He was the third son of Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ex wife of King Louis VII of France.
Henry II was the first one of the House of Plantagenet, son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who was married to Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, from the House of Normandy.
Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was the daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of Châtellerault, daughter of the Vicomte Châtellerault Aimeric I.
Eleanor was eleven years older than his second husband, Henry II. Thus, their marriage turned to be a difficult one.
When Richard was still a child, his parents became enemies, because his father made Rosamund Clifford his mistress, and, consequently, neglected Richard’s mother, Eleanor.
As a result, Eleanor returned to Aquitaine and established her own court, taking Richard, who was her favourite son, along with her, and designated him her heir.
Thus, Richard grew at his mother’s court. It’s known that he liked music, probably because of the troubadour atmosphere of his mother’s homeland. Besides, he inherited the energetic and brave character of the Plantagenet family.
RICHARD I, KING OF ENGLAND
In 1172, Richard was invested, at Limoges, with his mother’s inheritance of Aquitaine and Poitou.
In 1183 the death of his brother, young Henry, made him the heir of the entire Angevin Empire, while he was in an open rebellion against his father, Henry II, who had captured his mother for ten years.
Finally, at the death of the King, Richard was crowned on the 23rd of September of 1189, in Westminster Abbey.
One of his first actions as king was to order the freedom of his mother, Eleanor, from the captivity she had resisted for years.
Then, he focused on the Crusade, in order to free Jerusalem, which was under the authority of the Moslem leader Saladin, an action that he had sworn in 1187.
Thus, he travelled to the Holy Land with the French King, Phillip II Augustus. After the campaign, Phillip became his enemy, by joining forces with Richard’s brother, John.
Nevertheless, Richard gained several victories over the French. At these times, he adopted the motto “Dieu et mon Droit”, “God and my Right”, which, nowadays, is still used by British Monarchs.
About his personal life, he married Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of the King Sancho VI. They didn’t have any children.
Because of a bad-cured arrow injury, Richard the Lionheart died on the 6th of April of 1199, in the arms of his mother.
THE WAR THAT RICHARD LED: THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192)
After the death of the Pope Urban III, his successor, Gregory VIII, appealed to the leaders of Christendom for help.
The first to answer was King William II of Sicily. Then, Henry II of England, who died in 1189, and it was his son, Richard, who led the English army, and King Phillip II Augustus of France.
The first to arrive at the Holy Land was Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, but, later, because of his age (he was over seventy) and a horse accident near Cilicia, he died.
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The most powerful allies of the enterprise were Richard I of England, and the king of France, Phillip II August. They embarked for the Holy Land in July 1190, from Marseille.
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They travelled through Sicily and Cyprus, and, finally, the French army arrived at Acre in May, whereas English contingent arrived from Sicily at Whitsun, 1191.
THE BATTLE OF ARSUF (7/ 09/ 1191) ďƒ’
After the siege of Acre, in 1191, at Arsuf, the armies of Richard and Saladin clashed in battle, on the 7th of September.
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The Crusaders (from Richard the Lionheart) formed their army, estimated at around 1,200 horses and 10,000 soldiers in three columns. Saladin commanded about 20,000 men, which included 10,000 cavalry.
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Richard at first progressed towards Arsuf unhindered, at about 11 a.m., Saladin's cavalry began to launch attacks on the Crusading army's left flank.
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Richard endeavored to keep the army moving forward and maintain formation, but the terrible heat and growing casualties led the Knights Hospitallers and several squadrons of French knights to charge the Moslems, who drove back the Moslem right wing.
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Richard reacted quickly to this breach of orders and ordered the Knights Templar, the Bretons and Angevins to advance in a further charge that repelled Saladin's left wing.
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Richard's military brilliance had prevailed, forcing the Moslems into retreat. Saladin, his prestige having suffered a terrible blow, was never again to risk open battle with Richard.
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The Crusader army proceeded to Jaffa, and began to strengthen it as a garrison for Jerusalem. He went on to re-establish Christian control of the coast and refortified Ascalon to the south.
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The army arrived at the foothills of the Holy City on 3rd January, 1192. They were, however, exhausted , short of supplies and sick in their ranks, they were consequently obliged to return to the safety of the coast.
THE END OF THE CRUSADE
A truce was negotiated with the Moslems: “A superlative general but a poor politician, Richard proposed that Saladin should give the Holy Land to his nephew Saphadin, whom he suggested should marry his sister Joanna, forming a peaceful alliance between Christian and Moslem. Saladin, unable to believe his luck, accepted.” Having signed a three year truce on 2nd September, 1192, which retained his conquests and gave Christians access to Jerusalem, Richard, “the Lionheart”, left the Holy Land and sailed for England.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
About Richard the Lionheart: http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_2.htm
About the Third Crusade: Riley-Smith, J; What were the Crusades?, Macmillan, London, 1977 http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/third_crusade.htm
Images from Google Images.