For which Richard received the nickname Lionheart. Information boom. Alchemist and Troubadour

The image of the English king Richard I the Lionheart is surrounded by an aura of romance and courage. His name was often mentioned in medieval epic as a hero of legends and novels. But if we look at history, everything turns out to be not so rosy. And the king received the nickname “Lionheart” not for his outstanding courage, but for his incredible cruelty.


Fresco in the Cathedral of St. Radegunds in Chinon. Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband Henry II.

Richard the Lionheart was the son of King Henry II of the Plantagenet dynasty and Alienora of Aquitaine, one of the richest and most powerful women of that period. The mother actively interfered in the politics of England and France, which is why over time the relationship between the spouses became very strained. It got to the point that Eleanor of Aquitaine rebelled against the king and returned to her castle in Poitiers (Aquitaine). Henry II was supported by his three sons, and Richard chose to side with his mother.

Eleanor of Aquitaine is the mother of King Richard the Lionheart.

Historical chronicles have preserved a lot of information about the strong connection between Richard the Lionheart and Alienora of Aquitaine. The son was brought up under the influence of his mother and, in adulthood, always listened to her advice. The mother even went on a crusade with her son, although this was completely unusual for women of that time.

English King Richard I the Lionheart.

When Richard the Lionheart ascended the English throne (by the way, he didn’t even know English), he spent only six months in the country itself. The king immediately began to prepare for the Third Crusade, a vow to participate in which he had made long before. While Richard earned fame in battles on foreign soil, England suffered most of all, because the inhabitants were forced to pay huge taxes to support the army. During the reign of Richard I, the country was practically ruined.

The English king became the hero of numerous literary works. So, in the novels of the 14th-15th centuries, his image is almost ideal. Allegedly, in a fight with a lion, Richard put his hand into its mouth and tore out its pulsating heart. But in fact, he was nicknamed “Lionheart” for a completely different reason.

Richard the Lionheart took part in the Third Crusade.

During the Third Crusade, Richard I captured the city of Acre and negotiated with Saladin for a prisoner exchange. When the Muslim leader failed to exchange anyone, Richard the Lionheart ordered the death of 2,700 prisoners. For this, Muslims nicknamed him Stone Heart. A little later, when the peace treaty was signed, the English king executed another 2,000 captured Saracens because the Muslim commander was not in a hurry to fulfill all the terms of the treaty.

Another nickname for the king was Richard Yes-and-No. This is a kind of ridicule from his subjects for the fact that he often changed his decisions, being influenced from outside.

King of England Richard the Lionheart.

The English king had enough opponents not only among Muslims, but also among Christians. Intrigues and the struggle for influence in the European arena led to the fact that after returning from the Crusade, Richard was captured by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.

According to legend, at first no one knew that Richard was languishing in captivity. But one day the troubadour Blondel passed by the prison and hummed a song composed by the English king. And then suddenly a voice was heard from the prison window, singing along with him.

The emperor asked for 150 thousand marks for the king's ransom. This amount amounted to the taxes of the British for two years. The first to rush to the king's rescue was Alienor of Aquitaine. She ordered a quarter of their income to be collected from people. The English medieval historian William of Newburgh wrote that after the release of Richard, Emperor Henry VI lamented that he had not left “a strong tyrant, truly threatening the whole world” to languish in prison.


Richard I's tomb at Fontevraud Abbey.

The king died during another battle. It was the siege of the castle of Chalus-Chabrol in Limousin. The king was wounded by a crossbow arrow. The cause of death was blood poisoning. Richard the Lionheart died in the presence of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The king's mother herself lived a long life. Alienor of Aquitaine was adored by everyone except her husbands - the kings of England and France.

On September 3, 1189, Richard was crowned in England. I, whom we know as Richard the Lionheart. The most common version is that he received a sonorous nickname for his proud knightly disposition, but there is another...

The most important episode Third Crusade became siege of Acre(Now - Akka close to Haifa in Israel). After two years of grueling and bloody battles, the city surrendered - the piquancy of the situation was that the crusaders storming Acre, in turn, were surrounded by troops Saladin - but he did not have enough strength to drive them away. Immediately after the victory, Richard ordered the killing of two and a half thousand prisoners - according to some sources, he was angry because Saladin had not fulfilled some exchange agreements; according to others, he simply did not receive the required ransom. (There are stories that the corpses were gutted in search of swallowed valuables - but perhaps this is a false accusation against the English knights).

One way or another, the king's inappropriate ferocity led to his abandonment by his European allies - and the Muslims nicknamed him "Lionheart"... Of course, this is only one version - historians prefer to depict the respectful relationship between the two commanders, when Saladin sent Richard ice during his illness, and stallions in return for the fallen; but, in fairness, let us note that this happened before the capture of Acre.

As for the allied monarchs, they could indeed leave on urgent matters, but a curious incident would soon occur. Upon learning that his brother, John (known to us as Prince John) actually usurped power in England, Richard hurried home. He quickly made peace with Saladin(having never reached Jerusalem, which was about to be liberated once again) - and set off on the way back through Europe. However, a recent comrade in arms was waiting for him on the way, Austrian Duke Leopold.(It was he who was the first to place a flag on the wall of Acre during the assault - but the jealous Richard threw it down and replaced it with his own. Well, the English king could not stand competition!)

...Now this intolerance turned into trouble - on Leopold's territory (and on his orders) Richard was captured - and kept in captivity for two years! (According to some sources, the treacherous Austrian performed the same trick with a considerable number of English crusaders). Of course, the monarch was not chained to the wall - but a ransom was demanded, and, quite royally, it amounted to two English annual budgets!

With this money, Leopold will build new walls in Vienna and organize a mint - in turn, Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, will literally shake the last out of his subjects, collecting the required amount. (Interestingly, Richard's brother John, and another former crusade ally, French PhilipII, allegedly, offered to pay so that he would never be released! True, they gave significantly less - and the number did not pass...)

However, the English people were no strangers - even before that, Richard himself was actively raising funds for the crusade... and in general, during the ten years of his reign, he spent at most six months in England. Upon return Lion Heart will be restored to his rights - but will soon leave for the war in France... and here he will be killed by a crossbow arrow during the next siege.

We started with the coronation... so - Richard came to her, twice rebelling against his own father (though it didn’t come to parricide - he died himself...)

PS: Since we’re talking about English affairs, let’s say in passing: in 1752 There was no third September either in Great Britain or in its many colonies. The Empire decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar, so after September 2 the 14th came immediately. Let us remind you that this event took place in February 1918... however, this is a completely different story.

The mummified heart of King Richard I was recently examined and analyzed by a team of historians and forensic experts

When the English monarch, known as Richard the Lionheart, died in 1199, his heart was embalmed and buried separately from his body.

The condition of the remains prevented scientists from determining the cause of death, but the team was able to rule out the theory that Richard I was killed by a poisoned arrow. Researchers were also able to learn more about the methods used to preserve the legendary heart.

The medieval king received the nickname Richard the Lionheart due to his reputation as a brave military leader. He led the Third Crusade, in which he fought against the Muslim leader Saladin.

Although the king ruled England, he spent most of his reign in France and was killed there by a crossbow bolt during the siege of a castle.

After the king's death, his body was dismembered - a common practice for the aristocracy of the Middle Ages. The king's entrails were buried in Chalus, a town near Limoges in central France. The rest of his body was buried in the north, at Fontevraud Abbey, and his heart was embalmed and buried in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen.

After the death of Richard I, his heart was separated from his body and buried in Notre Dame Cathedral. Photo from livescience.com

The remains of his heart (now just dark gray dust) were buried in a small lead chest and discovered during excavations in the 19th century.

The heart was buried in a small lead chest, which was discovered in 1838 during excavations. Photo from livescience.com

But until now, the heart of Richard I had never been studied in detail. To find out more, a team of forensic scientists and historians recently conducted biological research.

Dr Philippe Charlier, a forensic pathologist at Raymond Poincart University Hospital in France, said: “We did the same tests we normally do on exhumed bodies for forensic purposes. We carried out microscopic examination, toxicological analysis and also spore-pollen analysis.”

Time of death

The heart was too badly damaged by time to determine exactly how the king died. Most historians adhere to the version that gangrene or sepsis, which developed from the wound, became the cause of death.

However, another, less widely accepted theory, put forward in medieval chronicles, claims that Richard I was killed by an arrow tainted with poison. But Dr Charlier said tests showed there was no poisoning.

“Our toxicology analysis did not show the presence of arsenic or any other metals. "So we found no evidence of poisoning of any kind at the end of Richard the Lionheart's life," he explained. “We have no confirmation that he was poisoned: there is not a single argument to support this version.”

The team used forensic techniques to examine the king's heart. Photo from livescience.com

The team found pollen in the samples, including poplar and bluebell grains. This means that Richard I died in late April, May or early June, when these plants bloom. Historical sources indicate the date of his death as April 6, 1199.

The analysis also provided scientists with information about the methods that were used to preserve the king's heart, providing insight into medieval religious rituals.

“The spices and plants used in the embalming process were directly related to the substances used to embalm Christ. For example, we found incense. This is the only time incense is used: we have never found it in ritual burials before. This product is dedicated to some really important historical figures,” says Dr. Charlier.

The heart, which was wrapped in linen, also contained traces of myrtle, daisy, mint and possibly lime. Scholars believe that these ingredients were used for their scent to immortalize the king with the "aroma of holiness," which would mean "like Christ." They also found mercury, which was used to slow down the decomposition of the heart.

Dr Charlier said they aimed to use as little material as possible during the study. “We wanted to preserve it for future generations. These are not just specimens, these are also human remains and we must respect that,” he explained.

York University history lecturer Mark Ormrod said the research was extremely interesting. “The use of high-grade herbs, spices and other materials that were difficult to obtain shows that this man was truly associated with Christ,” he said. - Medieval kings were then considered to represent the divine on Earth: their position separated them from other people, as special and unlike mere mortals. So this attitude towards the king’s heart is completely understandable.”

The energy of self-affirmation in the people of the Middle Ages was such that in order to achieve a state of sacrificial intoxication, they had to draw from several of these sources at once. The priest put on armor over his cassock and mounted his horse to break the spear for the glory of the Lord; the lover went to the Holy Land at the first word of his lady; knights formed monastic orders; poets accompanied armies on their endless wanderings along the roads and waves of the Mediterranean.

This wandering society of holy rapists and criminal martyrs, which existed for about two hundred years, bore the name of the Army of Christ and was one of the most amazing forms of unification of people. His enthusiasm, already incomprehensible to us, knew how not to separate history from eternity and did not recognize reality as a force ready at any moment to crush both the flesh and the spirit of man.


...

He is worthy of praise, who is ready to strike and fall!
Bertrand de Born

Richard the Lionheart. Miniature from a medieval chronicle

Richard the Lionheart is one of those heroes of chivalry who, in our minds, eternally moves along the path that medieval chroniclers called “her transmarinus” and “Via Sacra” [in Latin, “the path across the sea” and “the sacred road”, respectively]. His name evokes, like the sound of a fairy horn, a whole string of visions: luxurious cities spread out among the sandy deserts of the Holy Land, dashing clashes with the flying horsemen of the noble Saladin, the ringing of swords, the rattling of sabers...

Meanwhile, his eastern epic lasted barely two years; He spent the remaining thirty-eight years of his life (minus two years of captivity with the German Emperor) mainly in France. In general, much in Richard’s fate, in his very character, leaves the impression of some kind of deceptiveness, understatement, and mystery. His contemporary biographers have left us a whole range of the most contradictory and sometimes opposing assessments of his personality. Some paint him as a strong man and handsome, others as a weak and pale degenerate; some are greedy and cruel, others are magnanimous and generous; some - a model of a sovereign, others - an insidious traitor; some are God's paladin, others are fiends of hell.

...

I don't know under what star
Born: I am neither good nor evil,
Neither everyone's favorite nor an outcast...
William of Aquitaine

Troubadour Bertrand de Born dedicated his best songs to Richard the Lionheart

From his father he inherited a powerful figure, golden-red hair and a Viking temperament. Richard studied the art of war to perfection. The young prince was surrounded by people like one brave knight, who, having received a blow from a sword in the heat of battle, flattening his helmet, ran out of the ranks, rushed to the forge, where, putting his head on the anvil, he waited until the blacksmith straightened his helmet with a hammer, after which he hurried again take part in the battle. This court had its own poets, who, like skalds, were inspired only by the ringing of swords and the groans of the dying. Troubadour Bertrand de Born was simply in love with Richard, to whom he gave the nickname “my Yes and No.” “Here comes a merry time,” one of his songs says, “when our ships will moor, when King Richard will come, valiant and brave, such as has never happened in the world. That’s when we will lavish gold and silver! The newly erected strongholds will fly to line, the walls will crumble, the towers will collapse, our enemies will recognize chains and dungeons. I love the tangle of scarlet and azure shields, colorful badges and banners, tents in the valley, breaking spears, pierced shields, sparkling, perforated helmets and good blows that are delivered from both. sides... I love to hear how horses neigh without riders, how the wounded fall in heaps and the dead with pierced sides lie on the grass." Richard was, undoubtedly, both more complex and smarter than these and similar warriors, he knew how to demonstrate both the peacefulness and justice of the sovereign , so is the mercy of a Christian. Sometimes “his severity softened,” Gerald of Cambresia testifies. “And yet,” the chronicler continues, “whoever has mastered a certain nature has also mastered its passions. Suppressing the violent movements of the spirit, our lion - and more than a lion - is wounded by the sting of a fever, from which even now he continuously trembles and trembles, filling the whole world with trepidation and horror."

The violent breed of the elder Plantagenet, the murderer of Thomas Becket [(1118-1170) - Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England] and shameless libertine, is recognized both in the irrepressible luxuria [voluptuousness (lat.)] of Richard, and in his peculiar freethinking. The first especially irritated the laity, the second the priests. “He kidnapped the wives and daughters of free people,” says the chronicler, “and made concubines out of them.” However, unlike his father, Richard also knew strong feelings.

The Navarrese princess Bérenger held his heart for a long time. “She was a well-behaved girl, a sweet woman, honest and beautiful - without guile or deceit,” writes the poet Ambroise, Richard’s most faithful and benevolent biographer. “King Richard loved her very much; from the time he was Count of Poitiers, he pined for her strong desire."
...

I didn't want anything else
How to serve you - the most beautiful of donnas.
You, Donna, have become the only one I desire...
Guillaume de Cabestany

With the consent of her father, Bérenger accompanied Richard on his expedition to the Holy Land. As for freethinking, it only expressed the general rebellion of his nature and was more instinctive than conscious, although at times Richard made jokes of a downright Mephistophelian kind. His blasphemy and abuse caused particular embarrassment among church ministers. The Herald devoted a whole paragraph to his blasphemy in his book On the Education of a Prince, where, after praising the pious manners of the French kings and princes, he speaks with disapproval of the blasphemies of the principes alii, meaning Richard: "In his speech they continually resort to terrible spells, swear by God’s death, God’s eyes, feet, hands, teeth, God’s throat and God’s goiter.” However, Gerald further praises him for the religious enthusiasm with which Richard accepted the cross of a soldier of Christ, and only notes with regret that the king does not have a drop of humility and that he would be good for everyone if he relied more on God and believed less in his own strength, having curbed the swiftness of his desires and his arrogance with a pure soul.

There is no doubt that Richard was more a free soul than a free mind, and his sacrileges are quite in keeping with the mores of the era, which knew such celebrations as the “Feast of the Donkey” - a parody liturgy with texts from the Holy Scriptures, which ended with the braying of an ass made by the priest in unison with crowd of parishioners.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard's mother, came from a dynasty of troubadours and surrounded herself with a host of poets

The Norman fury in Richard's character was somewhat softened by the influence of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, heir to an entire dynasty of troubadours. She was the granddaughter of William IX of Aquitaine, who opened the age of Minnesang with his songs. He visited Jerusalem, where he “suffered the misfortunes of captivity,” but, as “a cheerful and witty man,” the chronicler says, he “sang about them funny in the presence of kings and barons, accompanying the singing with pleasant modulations.” His gallant love of life extended so far that he seriously intended to found a nunnery near Nior, where the sisters would be charged with obedience to the rules of heartfelt joys. The beautiful Eleanor would be a suitable abbess of this monastery.

...

Forgive my pettiness
I'll sing to you about poets,
That we welcome thoughts and words...
Peyre Auvergne

...

Only politeness forbade
Feel free to take off your clothes -
Love itself inspired her
Modesty without limit.
Bernart de Ventadorn

Eleanor was the president of one of these courts. She surrounded herself with poets who sang of her beauty. Poetry was held in high esteem at the court of the granddaughter of William IX. “Everything that has come down to us from this very peculiar civilization,” writes Stendhal in his book “On Love,” “comes down to poetry, and, moreover, rhymed in the most bizarre and complex way... Even a marriage contract was found in verse.” Therefore, it is no coincidence that Richard, as soon as he created his own court, populated it with troubadours. “He attracted them from everywhere,” Roger Hovdensky notes with disapproval, “singers and jugglers; he begged and bought their flattering songs for the glory of his name. They sang about him in the streets and squares, and it was said everywhere that there was no such prince in the world.” .

Richard himself willingly composed songs, like his grandfather, wanting to be the first in this glorious art. From his work, probably very extensive, only two late elegies have survived, written one in French, the other in Provençal (both were native to him).

On the English throne, the Plantagenets continued that ill-fated dynasty, over which Merlin’s prophecy weighed: “In it, brother will betray brother, and son will betray father.” The existence of a curse over the family of Henri II was not in doubt among his contemporaries. “They came from the devil and will come to the devil,” Saint Bernard predicted at the court of Louis VII; “They come from the devil and will go to him,” Thomas Becket echoed. For Richard's medieval biographers, he was doomed from the start because of the "doubly accursed blood from which he took his root" (Herald of Cambresia). Richard himself believed in his own bad blood and repeatedly told the story of his distant grandmother, the Countess of Anjou, a woman of “amazing beauty, but of an unknown breed.” It was reported that this lady always left the church without waiting for the transubstantiation of the gifts. One day, when, at the command of her husband, four knights wanted to hold her, she flew out the window and never returned. “It is not surprising,” said Richard, “that in such a family fathers and sons, as well as brothers, do not cease to persecute each other, because we all go from devil to devil.” “Don’t you know,” Richard’s brother, Prince Geoffrey, asked Herald, “that mutual hatred is, as it were, innate to us? In our family, no one loves another.”
The Plantagenet family feuds were terrible. Eleanor was always at enmity with her husband, who at one time even kept her in captivity, and since Richard was her favorite, he constantly had to be on guard against his father, who shamelessly sacrificed the interests of his eldest sons [Henri III, Richard and Geoffroy] in favor of the youngest, his John's favorite. Richard had to endure a particularly bitter insult from his father: his bride Adelaide, daughter of Louis VII, was taken by Henri II to his castle and dishonored there. After the death of his older brother, Richard was forced to defend his inheritance rights by force. Together with the French king Philip Augustus, he hounded Henri II throughout Tourange, until he finally forced him to recognize himself as the heir to the English, Norman and Angevin thrones.

...

There are crowns, but no heads,
So that the mind shines under the crown.
About the glory of grandfather's coats of arms
The Marquis or the prince did not care.
Bertrand de Born

Original taken from sozero in Richard I the Lionheart. Who was he really?

Richard I the Lionheart - King of England from July 6, 1189 - to April 6, 1199 (b. September 8, 1157 - d. April 6, 1199)

Richard I, the English king and Duke of Normandy, spent most of his life on military campaigns away from England. One of the most romantic figures of the Middle Ages. For a long time he was considered the model of a knight.

An entire era in the history of the Middle Ages was made up of crusades, which, despite the remoteness of the events, never cease to attract the attention of historians and participants in movements united in various clubs under the code name “clubs of historical reconstruction.”

The English king Richard I, nicknamed the Lionheart, is one of the most famous, bright and controversial figures of that era, which left a significant imprint on the processes of relations between Christianity and Islam.

The first two Crusades, despite certain successes of the Christian West, were not crowned with the complete victory of Christianity over Muslims. Vizier Yusuf Salah ad-din (Saladin), who in 1171 seized supreme power in Egypt, was able to unite Egypt, part of Syria and Mesopotamia into one whole and threw all his strength into the fight against the crusaders. Its main goal was to destroy the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which emerged after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, which had been in the hands of Christians for almost a century.

Saladin's efforts were crowned with success: on October 2, 1187, after a month-long siege, the gates of Jerusalem opened to the Muslims. The news of the fall of Jerusalem sent Europe into a state of shock. Pope Urban III died from a stroke. His successor, Gregory VIII, called on Christians for a new Crusade to “return the Holy Sepulcher” and the lands captured by the Saracens.

The Third Crusade, unlike the previous two, can be considered a campaign of knights. This time the peasants, disappointed by past results, did not respond to the pope's call. The fact is that none of the survivors received the promised land plots. Nevertheless, the sovereigns of three countries - England, France and Germany - began to prepare for the campaign.

The idea of ​​a new Crusade was especially readily accepted by the King of England, Henry II Plantagenet, the largest European sovereign of those times, obsessed with the idea of ​​“world domination.” But in June 1189, Henry died and his son Richard ascended the throne, who was to become the main figure of the Third Crusade.

Richard was born in Oxford. He was the second son in the family and could not lay claim to the English crown. But he inherited Aquitaine from his mother, Alienora of Aquitaine. At the age of fifteen he put on the ducal crown, but for several years he was forced to fight for his duchy with arms in hand.

1183 - Henry II demanded that Richard take the oath of fief to his elder brother, who was declared King Henry III. Because there had been no such practice before, the Duke of Aquitaine flatly refused. The elder brother went to war against the rebellious one, but soon died of a fever. Thus, Richard became the direct heir to the crowns of England, Normandy and Anjou.

However, apparently, Henry II did not like his son and did not see in him the ability for government activities. He decided to transfer Aquitaine to his youngest son John - the future reformer king John the Landless. The king went on campaign to Aquitaine twice, and Richard was forced to reconcile, but Aquitaine remained in the hands of his mother.

Henry II continued to insist on transferring the dukedom to John. It was also doubtful that he would leave the throne of England to Richard. In addition, the Duke learned that his father had asked King Philip II Augustus of France for the hand of his sister Alice for John. This deeply offended Richard, because Alice was then engaged to him. And the Duke took the extreme step. He entered into an alliance with Philip. Together they marched against Henry. In this fight, the king of England lost, a few days before his death he was forced to recognize Richard as his heir and confirmed his right to Aquitaine.

1189, July 6 - The Duke of Aquitaine was crowned at Westminster and he became King of England. Having lived in the country for only four months, he returned to the mainland and visited his kingdom again only in 1194, and even then he stayed there only for two months.

While his father was still alive, Richard vowed to take part in the Crusade. Now that his hands were free, he could carry it out. Then the young king was already well known as a valiant knight, who had repeatedly proven his military skill in battle and in tournaments. He was considered the model of a knight, and he, without a doubt, deserved this by impeccably fulfilling all the rules prescribed by courtly behavior. It is not without reason that one of Richard I’s virtues was his ability to compose poetry, for which his contemporaries often called him “the king of the troubadours.”

And of course, this knight of knights accepted the idea of ​​​​the Crusade with great enthusiasm. As the famous German historian B. Kugler wrote, “Richard, strong like a German, warlike like a Norman, and a fantasist like a Provencal, the idol of knight errantry, thirsted first of all for wonderful feats, his own greatest glory.”

But personal courage, dexterity in battle and physical strength do not yet make a warrior a commander. Therefore, many researchers present Richard I the Lionheart from directly opposite positions. A number of historians consider him the greatest military leader of the Middle Ages, while others do not find in him the slightest manifestation of the talent of a commander - after all, the Third Crusade, one of the main leaders of which was the king, completely failed. But almost everyone agrees that Richard was a rather mediocre ruler. True, this is very difficult to prove or disprove, because almost his entire adult life was spent on campaigns.

1190, summer - thanks to the efforts of the young king, preparations for the campaign were completed. Moreover, historians note “the exceptional indiscriminateness with which [...] Richard sought means for the “holy war”.”

This is confirmed not only by the so-called “Saladin tithe” - the collection of the 10th part of the income and property from those who did not take part in the campaign. At the same time, Jews suffered especially, from whom almost all their property was taken away under threat of physical violence. Richard sold various positions for next to nothing, including episcopal positions, rights, castles, and villages. For 100,000 marks, he ceded his feudal rights in this country to the Scottish king. Richard is known to have said that he would even sell London if he found a suitable buyer.

In the early summer of 1190, English troops crossed the English Channel and advanced to Marseille, where a fleet of 200 ships awaited them, rounding France and Spain. By September they were already in Sicily, where they planned to spend the winter in order to avoid the dangers of navigation at this time of year.

At that time, there was a struggle between baronial parties on the island, which broke out after the death of King William II. Following the aspirations of his father, who planned to seize Sicily, Richard I took advantage of the situation and came out on the side of the “legal rights” of the widow of the late king, his sister Joanna. The reason for the military action was a clash between one of the English mercenaries and a Messinian grain merchant, which escalated into a fight between the crusaders and the townspeople, who closed the city gates and prepared for a siege.

The king stormed Messina, captured the city and gave it up for plunder. It was there that he received the nickname Lionheart, which, judging by the bloody results, does not at all indicate nobility, but emphasizes the bloodthirstiness of the conqueror. Although, tradition assures that this nickname was given to him by the Messinians themselves, who made peace with Richard and admired his military valor.

In the art of making enemies, Richard I the Lionheart knew no rivals. Already at the first stage of the campaign, in Sicily, Philip II Augustus of France opposed his actions. Chronicles indicate that during the capture of Messina, the ally king tried to disrupt the assault and even personally shot at the English oarsmen with a bow.

According to legend, the King of England’s hatred of the French was based on an episode related to the fact that the king, who was proud of his physical strength, was thrown from his horse at a tournament by a French knight. There were also frictions between the monarchs on personal grounds: Richard refused to marry Alice, who was suspected of having an affair with his father, and preferred Berengaria of Navarre, who soon arrived in Sicily with Alienora of Aquitaine to marry the groom.

Soon, Richard nevertheless had a chance to resolve the conflict with the ruler of Sicily, Tancred of Lecce. The latter remained in power, but paid Richard 20,000 gold ounces. When Philip II demanded, according to the agreement, half the amount, the Englishman gave him only one third, which aroused the hatred of his ally.

Disagreements between the two main leaders of the Crusade led to the fact that both left Sicily at different times. Both had the same goal - Acre (modern Acre), besieged by the Italian and Flemish knights who had arrived earlier, as well as the Syrian Franks. But he left Messina ten days later than his opponent

Richard captured the island of Cyprus on the way, received rich booty and married Berengaria there. It is known that the king fought in the front ranks, he himself captured the enemy’s banner and knocked the emperor Isaac Comnenus, who ruled Cyprus, off his horse with a spear. The King of England, not inferior in guile to the eastern rulers, ordered the Cypriot ruler to be shackled in silver chains, since he, upon surrender, put forward the condition that iron shackles should not be placed on him. The prisoner was sent to one of the Syrian castles, where he died in captivity.

Despite the fact that the capture of Cyprus was a matter of chance, it became a rather successful acquisition from a strategic point of view. Richard I the Lionheart made the island an important base for the Crusaders. Subsequently, through Cyprus, he established an uninterrupted supply of troops by sea, avoiding the mistakes of the military leaders of the First and Second Crusades, who killed many people precisely because of the lack of sufficient supplies and the impossibility of replenishing them.

Meanwhile, in Acre there was a struggle for primacy between the leaders who arrived from Europe and those who had long settled on the “sacred” land for Christians. Guido Lusignan and Conrad of Montferrat fought for the right to the throne of Jerusalem, which, by the way, was in the hands of Salah ad-din. Arriving in Acre, the English king took the side of his relative Lusignan, and Philip took the side of the Marquis of Montferrat. As a result, the contradictions intensified even further. And Richard's success as the military leader of the crusaders brought the situation to its highest point of tension.

Arriving in Acre, Richard I the Lionheart at a military council insisted on an immediate assault on the city. Philip was against it, but the opinion of the King of England prevailed. Siege towers, rams, and catapults were hastily prepared. The assault was carried out under protective roofs. In addition, several tunnels were made.

As a result, Acre fell on July 11, 1191. The humiliated Philip, under the pretext of illness, left the crusaders, returned to France and, while Richard was in the “holy land,” attacked his possessions on the mainland, and also entered into an alliance with John, who ruled England in the absence of his older brother. In addition, the King of France agreed with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI to capture Richard if he returned from Palestine through the lands subject to the Emperor.

At this time, the English king was busy with completely different problems. First of all, Richard I brutally dealt with the inhabitants of Acre. On his orders, the crusaders slaughtered 2,700 hostages without receiving ransom from Saladin in time. The ransom amount was 200,000 gold, and the Muslim leader simply did not have time to collect it. It should be noted that the Saracens did not take revenge and did not touch any of the Christian captives.

After this, the Englishman became a real scarecrow in the eyes of Muslims. It was not for nothing that mothers in Palestine frightened capricious children, saying: “Don’t cry, don’t cry, here comes King Richard,” and the riders reproached the shying horses: “Did you see King Richard?” During the campaign, the king repeatedly confirmed the opinion of his belligerence and bloodthirstiness, returning from the next operation with a necklace of opponents’ heads that adorned the neck of his horse, and with a shield studded with Muslim arrows. And once, when some emir, who was known among Muslims as an amazing strongman, challenged the Englishman to a duel, the king cut off the Saracen's head and shoulder with his right arm with one blow.

Richard I the Lionheart was not only feared by his opponents: due to inconsistency in decision-making and violation of his own instructions, he earned a reputation among Muslims as an unhealthy person.

At Acre, the king acquired another enemy. He became one of the leaders of the crusaders - Duke Leopold of Austria. During the capture of the city, he hastened to hoist his banner. Richard ordered it to be torn off and thrown into the mud. Leopold later recalled this insult when he played a major role in Richard's capture on the way to England.

After the capture of Acre, the crusaders advanced to Jerusalem. The English king again played a leading role in this campaign. He managed to overcome the ambitions of the other leaders of the campaign and the barons, and to bring together the scattered forces of the Europeans. But attempts to take Jaffa and Ascalon ended ingloriously. Salah ad-din, realizing the impossibility of defending the cities, simply ordered the destruction of both, so that the crusaders received only ruins.

Then the 50 thousandth army of the crusaders moved along the coast in short passages. Lionheart did not want to prematurely tire the warriors, who faced a long siege under the scorching sun. The king was able to establish a headquarters service and regular supplies to the army. He also introduced some innovations unfamiliar to medieval military leaders. In particular, in the army, in order to avoid epidemics, camp laundries operated.

The army of Salah ad-Din accompanied the army of the crusaders, but did not enter into battle with it, limiting itself to minor skirmishes on the flanks. The Englishman ordered not to pay attention to them, accumulating forces for the battle near Jerusalem. He understood that the Muslims wanted to provoke the dismemberment of the army so that the heavily armed knights would become easy prey for the swift Muslim horsemen. By order of Richard I, the attacks were repelled by crossbowmen, who were placed at the edges of the entire army.

But the Sultan did not give up his attempts: in early September, not far from Arsuf, he set up an ambush, and the rear of the crusaders was subjected to a powerful attack. Salah ad-Din hoped that the rearguard would nevertheless get involved in the battle and be destroyed before the advanced detachments deployed and could help their co-religionists. But the king ordered not to pay attention and go forward. He himself planned a counterattack.

Only when the Saracens became completely bold and came close was a predetermined signal given, at which the knights, ready for this, turned and rushed into a counterattack. The Saracens were scattered in a few minutes. They lost about 7,000 killed, the rest fled. Having repulsed the attack, again on Richard's orders, the crusaders did not pursue the enemy. The king understood that the knights, carried away in battle, scattered across the desert, could become easy prey for the Saracens.

The Sultan no longer dared to openly disturb the army of the crusaders, limiting himself to individual forays. The army safely reached Askalon (modern Ashkelon), spent the winter there, and in the spring advanced to Jerusalem.

Saladin, not having the strength to give the crusaders open battle, held back the enemy army as best he could, leaving scorched earth ahead of him. His tactics were successful. On the approaches to the coveted city, Richard realized that there would be nothing to feed and water the army: all the crops around were destroyed, and most of the wells were filled up. He decided to abandon the siege so as not to destroy the entire army. 1192, September 2 - peace was concluded between the crusaders and Saladin.

Christians retained a narrow coastal strip from Tire to Jaffa. The main goal of the crusade - Jerusalem - remained with the Saracens; however, for 3 years, Christian pilgrims could freely visit the holy city. Christians did not receive the Holy Cross, and Christian captives were not released.

Not the least role in the fact that Richard I the Lionheart left Palestine was played by rumors that his younger brother John wanted to take the throne of England. Therefore, the king wanted to get to England as quickly as possible. But on the way back, a storm brought his ship into the Adriatic Gulf. From here he was forced to travel through Germany. The king, disguised as a merchant, was identified by Leopold of Austria, who had not forgotten the insult during the capture of Acre. 1192, December 21 - in the village of Erdberg near Vienna he was captured and imprisoned in Dürenstein Castle on the Danube.

In England, nothing was known about the fate of the king for a long time. According to legend, one of his friends, the troubadour Blondel, went in search of him. While in Germany, he learned that a noble prisoner was being held in a castle not far from Vienna. Blondel went there and heard a song coming from the castle window that he and the king had once composed.

But this did not help the king gain freedom. The Duke of Austria handed him over to the hands of Emperor Henry VI, who declared that the king could not be held captive by the duke, because this honor belonged only to him, the emperor. In reality, Henry wanted a rich ransom. But Leopold also agreed to give up the prisoner only after paying compensation in the amount of 50,000 marks of silver.

The emperor had the king for two years. Pope Celestine III, concerned about popular unrest in England, had to intervene. Richard had to take a fief oath to the emperor and pay 150,000 marks in silver. 1194, February 1 - Richard was released and hurried to England, where the people received him with delight. Prince John's supporters soon laid down their arms. The king forgave his brother, sailed to Normandy and never visited his kingdom again.

During the Crusade, the English king saw what powerful fortifications Byzantium and Muslim cities had, so he began to build something similar in his own country. The Château-Gaillard castle in Normandy became a monument to his desire to strengthen the defensive power of the state.

The legendary king spent the remaining years of his life in endless wars with his longtime friend and foe Philip II Augustus. In this case, everything usually came down to the siege of fortresses. On the evening of March 26, 1199, Richard went to a castle owned by Viscount Adhemar of Limoges, who was suspected of having connections with the king of France. Probably, Richard I the Lionheart was not prepared for the ambush, since he was not protected by armor, so one of the arrows hit him in the shoulder. The wound was not dangerous, but infection began, and 11 days later, on April 6, 1199, Richard died, leaving in his memory the romantic image of a knight without fear or reproach, but without giving anything to his people.

V. Sklyarenko