Richard I, the third son of Henry II, is often lauded as one of England’s great martial kings – matching Edward I, Edward III or Henry V. When debating the attributes of ‘Coeur de Lion’, however, attention usually focuses on the ‘Crusader King’ and his exploits during the Third Crusade (1189-1192). Here, we will look instead at his other great campaign, the war with Philip II of France (1194-1199), to assess whether the ‘Lionheart’ deserves to share column inches with those others, and whether his nickname was really well earned.
Born in Oxford in 1157, Richard was just a child when he was invested with the Duchy of Aquitaine, the patrimony of his mother, the famed Eleanor of Aquitaine. Later, he would rule England for nearly ten years – but would spend less than a year of that time actually residing in the country. So, although we know him today as the king who gallops centre stage at the conclusion of Ivanhoe – and who is lauded in Robin Hood movies for saving our ancestors from the misrule of his nasty little brother John – the truth is that it is doubtful whether he could even speak the mother tongue. He has become a hero of medieval legend, but not necessarily of fact.
Richard was a thorn in his father’s side, joining his brothers, Henry and Geoffrey, in a rebellion (1173-1174) – a feat he repeated in 1189 in conjunction with Philip II (also known as Philip Augustus) of France. He would be elevated to kingship on 5 July 1189, and would become not only King of England but also Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou. By this time, however, he had already taken the crusader’s vows, and was flogging the family silver to fund an expedition to wrestle back the Holy Land from Saladin, the great Muslim leader who had grabbed it in 1187.
Riches from the sea