King+Richard+the+Lion+Heart

King Richard the Lion Heart was born September 8, 1157. He was the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was a beautiful man, he was muscular, a ladies man, had been educated and was one of the most popular kings in English history. These good looks made Richard vain, although he cared deeply for his people. Richard was also his mother’s favorite child. He was given the name King Richard the Lion Heart because he was a fearless military warrior, so brave, in fact, that he must have had the heart of a lion. He was a very smart person, he wrote poems, and was interested in politics.

Growing up, Richard didn't see much of his parents. He was raised by a wet nurse, Hodierna. Later when he became king he took care of his care taker. Richard had older brothers so he never even dreamed of being king. He was more interested in the French side (mother’s side) of his family. As a matter of fact he spoke very little English and spoke mostly French. As a twelve year old boy Richard was engaged. King Henry II and King Louis VII of France agreed that Richard should be married to Alice. Alice was the daughter of King Louis VII and she was sent away to England to await her marriage. At the same time Richard was in France among his people. Richard had a very bad relationship with his father, they did not get along. In 1173 Richard joined his brothers and rebelled against his father. They were encouraged by their mother, eventually due to her involvement Richard’s mother was sent to prison. Richard then decided it would be best to stop the revolt and beg his father for forgiveness.

After his brother Geoffrey and his father both died, Richard became king. He immediately began raising funds and forces to partake in a Crusade to the Holy Land. ==== Richard reigned during the third crusade, so he had to put down revolts, and deal with all of the problems of the crusade. Richard ruled England with an iron fist, but was never really there. During his nearly ten year reign, Richard only spent about half a year in England. While he was gone, his younger brother John betrayed him, taking control of the throne in his absence. John was an awful ruler, but used his brother's popular name to gain more power and wealth for himself. John became so greedy that he conspired to have his brother murdered while away in the Holy Land. ====

Richard was prompted to travel to Jerusalem, or the Holy Land, when Saladin captured it. He left in 1190, and met Berengaria, the daughter of the King of Navarre. They married, but never had any children. After arriving in the Holy Land in 1191, he was victorious at Arsuf, and gained possession of Joppa. He came close, but he was never able to conquer Jerusalem, so he made a truce with Saladin. He then started his journey back to England. On the journey back, Richard was imprisoned by Leopold of Austria, then given to Henry VI of Germany. He was held for a ransom of 150,000 marks, and released in 1194. A month after his release, he went to Normandy to fight Philip II, and was wounded when he was hit with a crossbow bolt in the shoulder. Soon after, he died due to unskillful treatment of the wound. While on his deathbed, Richard's wife was never called upon but he died in his mother’s arms.

As an adult Richard was in a grand tournament in Pamplona, his best friend Sancho had a sister named Berengaria. Richards’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, supported a marriage between her favorite son Richard and Berengaria. Due to the contract made by Henry II with King Louis VII king of France to marry Alice of France he could not be wed to Berengaria. However, Richard found out that his father took young Alice for his own purposes, and Alice gave birth to an illegitimate child. Alice betrayed Richard in which case Richard was defiantly not interested in a marriage to her. Later when Richards father dies Richard does not marry Alice instead he chooses to marry Berengaria. Henry the Younger died in 1183, Henry II's planed on a federal Angevin empire were being threatened. Henry tried to save his plans by telling Richard to hand over Aquitaine to his brother John. In the event of this forfeit Richard would take the place of Henry the younger as heir to the throne. This plan was unsuccessful because Richard refused to give his brother Aquitaine. This brought Henry to tell John that he should just build an army and take Aquitaine for himself. Henry did not think John would take him seriously but John did just that. He raised an army and attempted at taking the land for himself but failed in this attempt. John also betrayed Richard when Richard had joined a crusade, John had slid into the throne without actually naming himself king. Before Richard had left he had banished John form England for three years because Richard would be gone for that time. John had a bargain to divide up the country with French King, Philip Augustus. John was stopped by his mother and the throne would await Richards return. This is just one of the multiple times John tries to take over the throne while his brother is busy with kingly duties.

At the age of twenty five, his brother Geoffrey who was also called the young king died of dysentery. Which had made Richard the new heir of England he was thirty one, he became the king after his father had died. Richard was always interested in going on a Crusade to the Holy Land. As soon as he had gotten in the throne he started saving up for this great travel. He started out his journey taking 8,000 men with him and departed in the summer of 1190. Richard landed in the Holy Land at Acre on June 8. Upon Richards’s arrival he supported the side of Guy of Lusignan.

For two years King Richard the Lion Heart fought in the third crusade. Richard died on April 6th 1199, due to a battle wound that became infected

Richard became king on September 3, 1189. He reigned until his death on April 6, 1199,
By: Madelyn Rogge