Richard the Lionheart

“Such a King seems born to

command the whole world.”
 Early Life
• Born September 8th, 1157 in Oxford England at
Beaumont Palace.
• Second son of King Henry II and Eleanor of
Aquitaine.
• Parents separated and he lived with his mother
in France. He grew up there, and only spoke
French. He always felt a special loyalty to his
French land.
• Became Duke of Aquitaine in 1172.
 Gaining the Crown
• Richard refused to give up land that belonged to him for
any reason.
• In 1175 King Richard I stopped a large revolt in its
tracks. It showed how powerful he was.
• His brother, Henry III, died in 1183 while in a campaign
against Richard and his father. This left Richard as the
heir to the throne.
• King Richard the overpowered his father in 1188, with
the help of Phillip II of France.
• His father died in 1189, leaving Richard to receive the
throne of England, Normandy and Anjou.
 Getting Ready for the Crusade
• Richard was not interested in being king, he was more interested in
warfare.
• Richard was determined to raise funds for the Crusades, he went to
extreme measures to do it.
• He sold high positions, made current position holders pay for them,
sold prisoners for money, and set taxes to raise money.
• In 1190, after raising 4,000 men-at arms, 4,000 foot soldiers and
100 transport ships, King Richard the Lionheart set out on the Third
Crusade.
 The Third Crusade
• After being insulted by the Cyprus
government, King Richard attacked the
island and overthrew the government.
• King Richard then continued on to the
coast town of Acre. He successfully
led an army to capture that town.
• King Richard then went on to take the
cities of Arsuf and Jaffa. Although, he
was never able to take the Holy City of
Jerusalem.
• Before returning to England he did
earned Christians a three year truce
with Muslims. Christians were now
able to go in and out of the Holy City
freely.
• On his return trip to England he was
captured and given to Henry VI, the
Roman emperor. He was released
once his empire paid 150,000 marks
for him .
• King Richard finally returned home to
fend off attacks from Phillip II of France
and his younger brother John.
 Massacres
• King Richard the Lionheart was known for being very cruel to his
enemies.
• When he was crowned King of England, he had a few Jews beaten
when they tried to attend the crowning. What followed was a
massacre of Jews throughout England. They thought their King
wanted all Jews killed.
• After taking Acre Richard had 2700 Muslim prisoners. Saladin the
Muslim leader was not able to come up with the ransom Richard
called for, King Richard had all 2700 prisoners killed.
 End of Reign
• On King Richard’s return he looked to strengthen his
empire.
• He built Chateau Gaillard, atop Les Andelys. It was a
strategic move, because it would be impossible to
take Chateau Gaillard.
• Kind Richard besieged Chalus after the lord there
refused to hand over a Roman treasure that was
found there.
• During this fight a young boy shot him in the shoulder.
The wound would prove fatal.
• King Richard died a few days later on April 6th, 1199.
He was buried at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou.
 Lasting Legacy
• King Richard gained his
nickname “The Lionheart” on
the battlefield. He was brave,
loyal, and an unstoppable
fighter.
• Richard was a bit reckless as
king, but he did all he could to
gain more land for his empire.
• He made sound decisions to
help his empire become
stronger.
• He was sung about by
troubadours for years to come,
even though he only spent six
months of his ten year reign in
England. He would always be
remembered for his
unmatchable military ability.