Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion (Old Norman French: Quor de Lion) because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.
By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France. Despite achieving several victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, he was ultimately forced to end his campaign without retaking Jerusalem.
Richard probably spoke both French and Occitan, and based on the testimony of Roger of Howden, most likely understood Middle English. He was born in England, where he spent his childhood; before becoming Duke of Aquitaine, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession to the crown of England, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his reign was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending the French portions of the Angevin Empire. Though regarded as a model king and a paragon of chivalry during the four centuries after his death and viewed as a pious and chivalrous hero by his subjects, he was later perceived by historians as a ruler who treated the kingdom of England merely as a source of revenue for his armies rather than a land entrusted to his stewardship. This "Little England" view of Richard has come under increasing scrutiny from modern scholars who regard it as anachronistic and point out his wider continental responsibilities as a ruler. Richard I is an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France.
Early life and accession in Aquitaine
Richard was born on 8 September 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace, in Oxford, England, son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was the younger brother of William, Henry the Young King, and Matilda; William died before Richard's birth. As a younger son of Henry II, Richard was not expected to ascend the throne. Four more children were born to King Henry and Queen Eleanor: Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John. Richard also had two half-sisters from his mother's first marriage to Louis VII of France: Marie and Alix.
Richard is often depicted as his mother's favourite son. His father's Angevin-Norman lineage made Richard the great-great-grandson of William the Conqueror. Contemporary historian Ralph de Diceto traced his family tree through Matilda of Scotland to the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, including Alfred the Great. From there, legend linked them to Noah and Woden. According to Angevin family tradition, their ancestry even contained 'infernal blood': they claimed descent from the fairy, or female demon, Melusine.
While his father visited his lands from Scotland to France, Richard probably spent his childhood in England. His first recorded visit to the European continent was in May 1165, when his mother took him to Normandy. His wet nurse was Hodierna of St Albans, to whom he gave a generous pension after he became king. Little is known about Richard's education. Although he was born in Oxford and brought up in England up to his eighth year, it is not known to what extent he used or understood English; he was an educated man who composed poetry and wrote in Limousin (lenga d'òc) and also in French.
During his captivity, his brother John calculatedly used English prejudice against foreigners to help destroy the authority of Richard's chancellor, William Longchamp, a Norman. John's supporter Hugh Nonant specifically alleged that Longchamp could not speak English, indicating that by the late 12th century, those in positions of authority in England were expected to know English.
Richard was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond, and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. According to Clifford Brewer, he was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), although that is unverifiable since his remains have been lost since at least the French Revolution. John, his youngest brother, was known to be 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m).
The Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi, a Latin prose narrative of the Third Crusade, states that: "He was tall, of elegant build; the colour of his hair was between red and gold; his limbs were supple and straight. He had long arms suited to wielding a sword. His long legs matched the rest of his body".
Marriage alliances, common among medieval royalty, often led to political alliances and peace treaties, additionally allowing families to stake claims of succession on each other's lands. In March 1159, it was arranged that Richard would marry one of the daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona; however, these arrangements failed, and the marriage never took place. Henry the Young King was married to Margaret, daughter of Louis VII of France, on 2 November 1160. Despite this alliance between the Plantagenets and the Capetians, the dynasty on the French throne, the two houses were sometimes in conflict. In 1168, the intercession of Pope Alexander III was necessary to secure a truce between them. Henry II had conquered Brittany and taken control of Gisors and the Vexin, which had been part of Margaret's dowry.
Early in the 1160s there had been suggestions Richard should marry Alys, Countess of the Vexin, fourth daughter of Louis VII; because of the rivalry between the kings of England and France, Louis obstructed the marriage. A peace treaty was secured in January 1169 and Richard's betrothal to Alys was confirmed. Henry II planned to divide his and Eleanor's territories among their three eldest surviving sons: Henry would become King of England and have control of Anjou, Maine, and Normandy; Richard would inherit Aquitaine and Poitiers from his mother; and Geoffrey would become Duke of Brittany through marriage with Constance, heir presumptive of Conan IV. At the ceremony where Richard's betrothal was confirmed, he paid homage to the king of France for Aquitaine, thus securing ties of vassalage between the two.
After Henry II fell seriously ill in 1170, he enacted his plan to divide his territories, nevertheless retaining overall authority over his sons and their holdings. His son Henry was crowned as heir apparent in June 1170. In 1171 Richard left for Aquitaine with his mother; Henry II gave him the duchy of Aquitaine at Eleanor's request. Richard and his mother embarked on a tour of Aquitaine in 1171 in an attempt to pacify the locals. Together, they laid the foundation stone of St Augustine's Monastery in Limoges. In June 1172, at age 14, Richard was formally recognised as Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou when he was granted the lance and banner emblems of his office; the ceremony took place in Poitiers and was repeated in Limoges, where he wore the ring of St Valerie, the personification of Aquitaine.
According to Ralph of Coggeshall, Henry the Young King instigated a rebellion against Henry II; he wanted to reign independently over at least part of the territory his father had promised him, and to break away from his dependence on Henry II, who controlled the purse strings. There were rumors that Eleanor might have encouraged her sons to revolt against their father.
Henry the Young King abandoned his father and left for the French court, seeking the protection of Louis VII; his brothers Richard and Geoffrey soon followed him, while the five-year-old John remained in England. Louis gave his support to the three brothers and even knighted Richard, tying them together through vassalage.