The date of Richard Plantagenet’s birth is September 8, 1157. Richard was descended from the southern French area of Aquitaine, even though he was born in Oxfordshire, England. He spoke relatively little English throughout his life because it was not his mother tongue.
He had three sisters and four brothers; the first one passed away at an early age. The others were Henry, who was declared the heir apparent to the English throne, Richard, who would inherit Aquitaine from his mother, and Geoffrey, who would get Brittany. John was the poorest; his father gave him nothing. John Lackland became his nickname as a result of this deed.
Richard, who was just twelve years old, showed respect for the French king and his lands. At the age of fourteen, he was made the Duke of Aquitaine at the St. Hillaire Cathedral in Poitiers, which was one of the royal cities of France. With their mother’s backing, Henry’s sons, who had been given land but had no actual authority, rebelled against their father. Eleanor was imprisoned by King Henry as payback. She spent a long time there.
Following the death of infant Henry in 1183, Richard became the heir apparent to the English crown. After Richard inherited his brother’s lands, there was yet another family conflict. Henry had meant to give his brother John his Aquitaine. Richard was not going to leave his mother’s country. Richard learned of the tragic defeat at Hattin, where the Crusader armies lost Jerusalem to the Saracen leader Saladin, even as the family land dispute continued. Richard quickly enlisted in the Crusades, much to his father’s disapproval.
After Henry II died in 1189, Richard took the throne of England in Westminster Abbey in London. Freeing his mother from captivity was one of his first acts. Second, he started gathering money for what was referred to as the Third Crusade in the past.He raised money for his military campaigns by levying a tithe known as the Saladin Tax on the English people.
Richard started his return voyage to England following the Third Crusade. Unfortunate weather caused him to become a shipwrecked and land in Austria, Leopold’s native country, whom Richard had offended throughout the campaign. After taking him prisoner in his fortress, Leopold executed King Richard. Anxious to act, Leopold offered the Holy Roman Emperor 75,000 marks to have Richard put in a German prison.
The lost king was the subject of rumors that swept across England. A minstrel named Blondel is said to have responded to his king’s singing in a castle with a tune they both undoubtedly knew, according to a legend. True or not, the fact remains that through the network of the church, two abbots were immediately sent on a mission for him. Richard’s mother Eleanor even wrote to the Pope pleading for help in this regard. After some time, Richard was located, and soon after that, a ransom was agreed upon to get him back to England. The amount was 150,000 marks, or around three tons of silver, or three years’ worth of revenue.
The monarch’s return.
King Richard died in a strange way for someone who was so brave and honorable. A peasant in Chalus, Aquitaine, while working in his field discovered a treasure chest full of gold coins and statues. Richard requested the treasure from the feudal lord, who refused, and the feudal lords in turn demanded it from their vassals. Richard decided to lay siege to the village as a result.
Richard rode his horse close to the castle during the siege without wearing his full armor. On the wall, he noticed an archer who was aiming for him. Richard is reported to have stopped to compliment the Bowman. He was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, but he rejected medical attention. Richard the Lionheart succumbed to an infection on April 6, 1199. He was buried in Anjou, France, in the Fontevraud Abbey.
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