Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was known as
Richard Cœur de Lion, or
Richard the Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. The Saracens called him
Melek-Ric or
Malek al-Inkitar – King of England.
By the age of sixteen, Richard commanded his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father, King Henry II.
Richard was a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France and scoring considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he did not reconquer Jerusalem.
Speaking only langue d'oïl and langue d'oc
and spending very little time in England (he lived in his Duchy of Aquitaine in the southwest of France, preferring to use his kingdom as a source of revenue to support his armies), he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects.He remains one of the few Kings of England remembered by his epithet, rather than regnal number, and is an enduring iconic figure in England and France
Richard was born on 8 September 1157,
probably at Beaumont Palace. He was a younger brother of William IX, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; and Matilda, Duchess of Saxony. As the third legitimate son of King Henry II of England, he was not expected to ascend the throne.He was also an elder brother of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Leonora of England, Queen of Castile; Joan of England; and John, Count of Mortain, who succeeded him as king. Richard was the younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France.
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's oldest son, William IX, Count of Poitiers, died in 1156, before Richard's birth. Richard is often depicted as having been the favourite son of his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine. His father, Henry, was Norman-Angevin and great-grandson of William the Conqueror. The closest English relation in Richard's family tree was Edith, wife of Henry I of England. Contemporary historian Ralph of Diceto traced his family's lineage through Edith to the Anglo-Saxon kings of England and Alfred the Great, and from there linked them to Noah and Woden. According to Angevin legend, there was even infernal blood in the family.
17th-century portrait of Richard I
While his father visited his lands from Scotland to France, Richard probably stayed in England. He was wet-nursed by a woman called Hodierna, and when he became king he gave her a generous pension. Little is known about Richard's education. Although born in Oxford, Richard could speak no English; he was an educated man who composed poetry and wrote in Limousin (lenga d'òc) and also in French.He was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond,
and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. He was apparently of above
average height: according to Clifford Brewer he was 6 feet 5 inches
(1.96 m)but his remains have been lost since at least the French Revolution,
and his exact height is unknown. From an early age he showed
significant political and military ability, becoming noted for his chivalry and courage as he fought to control the rebellious nobles of his own territory. His elder brother Henry was crowned king of England during his father's lifetime.
The practice of marriage alliances
was common among medieval royalty: it allowed families to stake claims
of succession on each other's lands, and led to political alliances and
peace treaties. 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.
Richard's older brother Henry 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
(Alice), 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 his wife's territories between their
sons, of which there were three at the time; Henry would become King of
England and have control of Anjou, Maine, and Normandy, while Richard
would inherit Aquitaine from his mother and become Count of Poitiers,
and Geoffrey would get Brittany through marriage alliance with
Constance, the heiress to the region. 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 he fell seriously ill in 1170, Henry II put in place his plan
to divide his kingdom, although he would retain overall authority of his
sons and their territories. In 1171 Richard left for Aquitaine with his
mother and Henry II gave him the duchy of Aquitaine at the request of
Eleanor. Richard and his mother embarked on a tour of Aquitaine in 1171 in an attempt to placate the locals. Together they laid the foundation stone of St Augustine's Monastery in Limoges.
In June 1172 Richard was formally recognised as the Duke of Aquitaine
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, who was the personification of Aquitaine
