On this day in 1199, Richard I, the King of England was shot with a crossbow bolt and would die a week or so later from the wounds. The sotry goes a little like this...Richard was laying siege to a relatively minor castle at Chalus-Charbrol (allegedly there may have been a hidden cache of Roman gold there) and was inspecting the work of the sappers. With crossbow bolts and arrows flying around, Richard was walking around without armor and he got into a taunting match with someone from the castle. The unknown man had been firing bolts and using a frying pan as a shield throughout the day. Richard, being the cocky jerk that he was, dared the guy to shoot him. Well, he did and Richard was hit in the shoulder by the neck. Richard's surgeon, known as "the butcher" (not a nickname a person wants associated with their primary health provider) botched the operation and the wound became gangrenous. The crossbowman was captured and he was brought before Richard prior to his impending brutal death and Richard told him, "live on, and by my bounty behold the light of day." Richard ordered him to be set free and given 100 shillings. However when Richard passed, the man was flayed and hanged.
Richard was the son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine (history is divided on whether or not she was the ultimate overbearing mother). When Richard became King Of England in 1189, England was a different place. England included parts of France including Normandy. Richard never spoke English and spent very little actual time in the British Isles. Yet he gets painted in British history as this great English King. He even has a pretty kick ass statute outside Westminster Palace...
Richard is most famous for his exploits in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade. Before that he rebelled against his Father for the throne, unsuccessfully. It can also be said that he was a dick to his younger brother John.
Saladin was said to admire Richard, his courage and the loyalty he instilled in his men. Saladin also thought that Richard was a bit reckless, charging headling into a battle. When RIchard came down with a bad case of probably dysentary, Saladin sent his surgeons to aid him (the Crusdaders were woefully lagging behind in the field of medicine at the time). Despite increasing the the size of the crusdaer kingdom in the Levant, tt the end of the day, Richard realized if he liberated Jerusalem, he couldn't hold it. He and Saladin signed a truce and Richard headed back to the pressing affairs of his kingdom.
Here's where Richard's overall dickery will come back to bite him on the arse. Upon sailing home in 1192, Richard and what was left of his crew were shipwrecked and forced to travel through Central Europe. Right before Christmas, Richard was captured by Leopold VI, Duke of Austria. Seems old Leo was none too thrilled about Richard's alleged involvement in the murder ofhis cousin, COnrad of Montferrat. Also, Richard had pulled and "F-you" to Leopold by casting down his standard from the walls of Acre (that was a big offense in those days).
Leopold turned Richard over to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI in 1193. Henry VI didn't liked Richard because the Plantagenets had given support to someone Henry VI didn't like years earlier or something like that. Suffice to say, Henry wasn't letting Richard go until he go paid. The ransom was 65,000 pounds of silver and it was raised by his mother Eleanor (much to the chigrin of his brother, Prince John and his subjects). Needless to say John was thrilled to have his brother back. Once back on the throne, Richard had to go about the task of reconquering his kingdom.
After the truce, Saladin would die a year or so later and Richard's life would end in a little less than a decade.
Richard was the son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine (history is divided on whether or not she was the ultimate overbearing mother). When Richard became King Of England in 1189, England was a different place. England included parts of France including Normandy. Richard never spoke English and spent very little actual time in the British Isles. Yet he gets painted in British history as this great English King. He even has a pretty kick ass statute outside Westminster Palace...
Zoom in and check out the biceps on that guy.
Richard is most famous for his exploits in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade. Before that he rebelled against his Father for the throne, unsuccessfully. It can also be said that he was a dick to his younger brother John.
Much like this guy.
Historian Steven Runciman noted that Richard was, "a bad son, a bad husband, and a bad king." What Richard was really good at was battle and at the age of 16 he was quelling rebellions against his father (before he decided that perhaps he should run things). His exploits during the Third Crusade are legendary and he understood that one needed money (lots of it) to go on crusade (he introduced the Saladin tithe to fund his crusade). He arrived at the Siege of Acre in dramatic fashion, by jumping out of the boat going straight into battle. He was capable of great (if not head scratching) acts of bravery and not to mention brutality. After he ended the siege there were approximately 2500 Muslim prisoners. Ricahrd's plan was to ransom the prisoners back to Saladin. Apparently Saladin took too long to come up with the money and Richard ordered the deaths of the prisoners (things were a little different back then). When Richard started off towards the Holy Land there was some Anti-Jewish violence (not the first time this happened prior to a Crusade).Saladin was said to admire Richard, his courage and the loyalty he instilled in his men. Saladin also thought that Richard was a bit reckless, charging headling into a battle. When RIchard came down with a bad case of probably dysentary, Saladin sent his surgeons to aid him (the Crusdaders were woefully lagging behind in the field of medicine at the time). Despite increasing the the size of the crusdaer kingdom in the Levant, tt the end of the day, Richard realized if he liberated Jerusalem, he couldn't hold it. He and Saladin signed a truce and Richard headed back to the pressing affairs of his kingdom.
Here's where Richard's overall dickery will come back to bite him on the arse. Upon sailing home in 1192, Richard and what was left of his crew were shipwrecked and forced to travel through Central Europe. Right before Christmas, Richard was captured by Leopold VI, Duke of Austria. Seems old Leo was none too thrilled about Richard's alleged involvement in the murder ofhis cousin, COnrad of Montferrat. Also, Richard had pulled and "F-you" to Leopold by casting down his standard from the walls of Acre (that was a big offense in those days).
Leopold turned Richard over to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI in 1193. Henry VI didn't liked Richard because the Plantagenets had given support to someone Henry VI didn't like years earlier or something like that. Suffice to say, Henry wasn't letting Richard go until he go paid. The ransom was 65,000 pounds of silver and it was raised by his mother Eleanor (much to the chigrin of his brother, Prince John and his subjects). Needless to say John was thrilled to have his brother back. Once back on the throne, Richard had to go about the task of reconquering his kingdom.
After the truce, Saladin would die a year or so later and Richard's life would end in a little less than a decade.
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