142-473: On 26 July 1184, Henry VI , King of Germany (later Holy Roman Emperor ), held a Hoftag (informal assembly) at the cathedral provostry in Erfurt . The combined weight of the assembled nobles caused the wooden second storey floor of the building to collapse. Most of the attendants fell through into the latrine cesspit below the ground floor, where about 60 of them drowned in liquid excrement . This event
284-528: A diet in Erfurt, where he was staying, to mediate the situation between the two, and invited a number of other figures to the negotiations. All of the nobles across the Holy Roman Empire were invited to the meeting, and many arrived on 25 July to attend. Just as the assembly began, the wooden floor of the deanery, in which the nobles were sitting, broke under the stress, and people fell down through
426-539: A margrave of Namur , and at the same time he tried to reach a settlement with rivalling Duke Henry of Brabant . Further difficulties arose when the exiled Welf duke Henry the Lion returned from England and began to subdue large estates in his former Duchy of Saxony . A Hohenstaufen campaign to Saxony had to be abandoned when King Henry received the message of the death of King William II of Sicily on 18 November 1189. The Sicilian vice-chancellor Matthew of Ajello pursued
568-569: A Knight Templar, Richard sailed from Corfu with four attendants, but his ship was wrecked near Aquileia , forcing Richard and his party into taking a dangerous land route through central Europe. On his way to the territory of his brother-in-law Henry the Lion , Richard was captured shortly before Christmas 1192 near Vienna by Leopold of Austria, who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat. Moreover, Richard had personally offended Leopold by casting down his standard from
710-530: A Latin prose narrative of the Third Crusade , states that: "He was tall, of elegant build; the colour of his hair was between red and gold; his limbs were supple and straight. He had long arms suited to wielding a sword. His long legs matched the rest of his body". Marriage alliances were common among medieval royalty: they led to political alliances and peace treaties and allowed families to stake claims of succession on each other's lands. In March 1159, it
852-516: A financial settlement offered by the emperor. Albert of Louvain had to yield and sought support from the pope in Rome and from the Archbishop of Reims . In Reims , he took the holy orders with papal consent, but he was killed soon after by hired assassins. His brother Duke Henry chose to conclude a peace agreement with the emperor but remained a bitter enemy. Emperor Henry already was concerned with
994-568: A hereditary monarchy, the so-called Erbreichsplan , but met strong resistance from the prince-electors . Henry pledged to go on crusade in 1195 and began preparations. A revolt in Sicily was crushed in 1197. The Crusaders set sail for the Holy Land that same year but Henry died of malaria at Messina on 28 September 1197 before he could join them. His death plunged the Empire into the chaos of
1136-491: A major revolt there in 1179. Hoping to dethrone Richard, the rebels sought the help of his brothers Henry and Geoffrey. The turning point came in the Charente Valley in the spring of 1179. The well-defended fortress of Taillebourg seemed impregnable. The castle was surrounded by a cliff on three sides and a town on the fourth side with a three-layer wall. Richard first destroyed and looted the farms and lands surrounding
1278-585: A member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans ) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sicily as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Constance I . Henry was the second son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy . Well educated in the Latin language, as well as Roman and canon law , Henry
1420-684: A peace agreement in March 1194. Meanwhile, the situation in Southern Italy had grown worse: After Henry's defeat at Naples, Tancred's brother-in-law Count Richard of Acerra had reconquered large parts of Apulia, and Tancred himself had reached the allowance of his claims by the pope. Henry was granted free passage in Northern Italy, having forged an alliance with the Lombard communes. In February 1194, Tancred of Lecce died, leaving as heir
1562-768: A perspective to unite the Western and Eastern Empire under Hohenstaufen rule. According to the contemporary historian Niketas Choniates his legates were able to collect a large tribute from Isaac's brother and successor Alexios III but it was not paid before Henry's death. When an armistice between Pisa and the Republic of Venice ended, the Pisans attacked Venetian ships in Marmora and carried out raids against theỉr premises in Constantinople. The matters escalated and
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#17327756166711704-567: A ransom of 150,000 silver marks and officially declared a dowry of Richard's niece Eleanor , who was to marry Duke Leopold's son Frederick . The opposition princes had to face the defeat of their mighty ally and to refrain from their plans to overthrow the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Backed by his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who successfully defended his interests against his rival brother John, Count of Mortain and his ally King Philip of France, King Richard procured his release in exchange for
1846-657: A rebellion in Suffolk. The alliance with Louis was initially successful, and by July 1173 the rebels were besieging Aumale , Neuf-Marché , and Verneuil , and Hugh de Kevelioc had captured Dol in Brittany. Richard went to Poitou and raised the barons who were loyal to himself and his mother in rebellion against his father. Eleanor was captured, so Richard was left to lead his campaign against Henry II's supporters in Aquitaine on his own. He marched to take La Rochelle but
1988-407: A relieving force, led to the decision to retreat back to the coast. Richard attempted to negotiate with Saladin, but this was unsuccessful. In the first half of 1192, he and his troops refortified Ascalon . An election forced Richard to accept Conrad of Montferrat as King of Jerusalem, and he sold Cyprus to his defeated protégé, Guy. Only days later, on 28 April 1192, Conrad was stabbed to death by
2130-516: A revolt over the succession to the county of Angoulême . His opponents turned to Philip II of France for support, and the fighting spread through the Limousin and Périgord . The excessive cruelty of Richard's punitive campaigns aroused even more hostility. After Richard had subdued his rebellious barons he again challenged his father. From 1180 to 1183 the tension between Henry and Richard grew, as King Henry commanded Richard to pay homage to Henry
2272-400: A romance that makes him forget all his earthly power, and neither riches nor royal dignity can outweigh his yearning for that lady ( ê ich mich ir verzige, ich verzige mich ê der krône – before I give her up, I'd rather give up the crown). Having returned to Germany in 1178, Henry supported his father against insurgent duke Henry the Lion . He and his younger brother Frederick received
2414-476: A settlement on 2 September 1192. The terms provided for the destruction of Ascalon's fortifications, allowed Christian pilgrims and merchants access to Jerusalem, and initiated a three-year truce. Richard, being ill with arnaldia , left for England on 9 October 1192. Bad weather forced Richard's ship to put in at Corfu , in the lands of Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos , who objected to Richard's annexation of Cyprus, formerly Byzantine territory. Disguised as
2556-570: A simple soldier; he refused to lead the army. Without a united command the army had little choice but to retreat back to the coast. A period of minor skirmishes with Saladin's forces commenced, punctuated by another defeat in the field for the Ayyubid army at the Battle of Jaffa . Baha' al-Din, a contemporary Muslim soldier and biographer of Saladin, recorded a tribute to Richard's martial prowess at this battle: "I have been assured ... that on that day
2698-537: A symbol of unity between the two countries, the kings of England and France had slept overnight in the same bed. Gillingham has characterized this as "an accepted political act, nothing sexual about it;... a bit like a modern-day photo opportunity". With news arriving of the Battle of Hattin , he took the cross at Tours in the company of other French nobles. In exchange for Philip's help against his father, Richard paid homage to Philip in November 1188. On 4 July 1189,
2840-407: A talented leader and his reign is also considered to be remarkable. Koenigsberger calls him an "immensely able politician", who was able to break the alliance of Western kings, who combined their forces against his great power. But the empire, depending much on the person of the ruler, like other mediaeval empires, collapsed when he died. Later historians stressed the fact of Henry's early death and
2982-556: A tournament held in her native Navarre . The wedding was held in Lemesos on 12 May 1191 at the Chapel of St George and was attended by Richard's sister Joan, whom he had brought from Sicily. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendour, many feasts and entertainments, and public parades and celebrations followed, commemorating the event. When Richard married Berengaria he was still officially betrothed to Alys, and he pushed for
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#17327756166713124-417: A truce on 8 September 1174, its terms specifically excluded Richard. Abandoned by Louis and wary of facing his father's army in battle, Richard went to Henry II's court at Poitiers on 23 September and begged for forgiveness, weeping and falling at the feet of Henry, who gave Richard the kiss of peace . Several days later, Richard's brothers joined him in seeking reconciliation with their father. The terms
3266-466: A while, but this resulted in increasing tensions between them and their men, with Philip plotting with Tancred against Richard. The two kings eventually met to clear the air and reached an agreement, including the end of Richard's betrothal to Philip's sister Alys. In 1190 King Richard, before leaving for the Holy Land for the crusade, met Joachim of Fiore , who spoke to him of a prophecy contained in
3408-576: A young boy, William III , under the tutelage of his mother Sibylla of Acerra . In May Emperor Henry, based on King Richard's ransom, again set out for Italy. He reached Milan at Pentecost and occupied Naples in August. He met little resistance and on 20 November 1194 entered Palermo capital of Kingdom of Sicily and was crowned king on 25 December. On the next day his wife Constance, who had stayed back in Iesi , gave birth to his only son and heir Frederick II ,
3550-626: Is an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France. Richard was born on 8 September 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace , in Oxford , England , son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine . He was the younger brother of William , Henry the Young King , and Matilda ; William died before Richard's birth. As a younger son of King Henry II, Richard was not expected to ascend
3692-507: Is called the Erfurter Latrinensturz ( lit. ' Erfurt latrine fall ' ) in several German sources. A feud between Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia and Archbishop Conrad of Mainz , which had existed since the defeat of Henry the Lion , intensified to the point that King Henry VI was forced to intervene while he was traveling through the region during a military campaign against Poland . Henry decided to call
3834-557: Is first recorded in Ambroise 's L'Estoire de la Guerre Sainte in the context of the Accon campaign of 1191. Henry seemed unwilling to entrust any of his sons with resources that could be used against him. It was suspected that the King had appropriated Alys of France, Richard's betrothed, as his mistress . This made a marriage between Richard and Alys technically impossible in the eyes of
3976-782: The Jus Spolii and the right to receive recurring earnings from church lands during a period of sede vacante . At the Diet of Würzburg , held in March/April 1196, he managed to convince the majority of the princes to vote for his proposal. However, Archbishop Adolf of Cologne did not even put in an appearance and several princes, predominantly in Saxony and Thuringia, were still dissatisfied. While in July 1196 Henry proceeded to Burgundy and Italy in order to negotiate with Pope Celestine III,
4118-525: The Anglo-Saxon kings of England and Alfred the Great , and from there legend linked them to Noah and Woden . According to Angevin family tradition, there was even 'infernal blood' in their ancestry, with a claimed descent from the fairy, or female demon, Melusine . While his father visited his lands from Scotland to France, Richard probably spent his childhood in England. His first recorded visit to
4260-628: The Assassins before he could be crowned. Eight days later Richard's own nephew Henry II of Champagne was married to the widowed Isabella, although she was carrying Conrad's child. The murder was never conclusively solved, and Richard's contemporaries widely suspected his involvement. The crusader army made another advance on Jerusalem, and, in June 1192, it came within sight of the city before being forced to retreat once again, this time because of dissension amongst its leaders. In particular, Richard and
4402-453: The Book of Revelation . In April 1191, Richard left Messina for Acre with an army of 17,000 men, but a storm dispersed his large fleet. After some searching, it was discovered that the ship carrying his sister Joan and his new fiancée, Berengaria of Navarre , was anchored on the south coast of Cyprus , along with the wrecks of several other vessels, including the treasure ship. Survivors of
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4544-652: The Byzantine Empire after 1194 and succeeded in extracting a ransom, the Alamanikon , from Emperor Alexios III Angelos in return for cancelling the invasion. He made the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia formal subjects of the empire and compelled Tunis and Tripolitania to pay tribute to him. In 1195 and 1196, he attempted to turn the Holy Roman Empire from an elective to
4686-490: The Church , but Henry prevaricated: he regarded Alys's dowry , Vexin in the Île-de-France , as valuable. Richard was discouraged from renouncing Alys because she was the sister of King Philip II of France , a close ally. After his failure to overthrow his father, Richard concentrated on putting down internal revolts by the nobles of Aquitaine, especially in the territory of Gascony . The increasing cruelty of his rule led to
4828-589: The Duchy of Aquitaine , in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his reign was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending the French portions of the Angevin Empire . Though regarded as a model king during the four centuries after his death, and seen as a pious hero by his subjects, from the 17th century onward he
4970-610: The German throne dispute for the next 17 years. Henry was born in autumn 1165 at the Valkhof pfalz of Nijmegen to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy . At the age of four his father had him elected King of the Romans during a Hoftag in Bamberg at Pentecost 1169. Henry was crowned on 15 August at Aachen Cathedral . Henry accompanied his father on his Italian campaign of 1174–76 against
5112-652: The Hoftag in Speyer during Holy Week 1194: the English king publicly regretted any hostilities, genuflected, and cast himself on the emperor's mercy. He was released and returned to England. At the same time, Henry settled the longstanding conflict with the Welf dynasty when he secured the marriage of Agnes of Hohenstaufen , daughter of his half-uncle Count Palatine Conrad , to Henry the Lion's son Henry of Brunswick, followed by
5254-583: The Hospitallers broke ranks to charge the right wing of Saladin's forces. Richard then ordered a general counterattack, which won the battle. Arsuf was an important victory. The Muslim army was not destroyed, despite the considerable casualties it suffered, but it did rout ; this was considered shameful by the Muslims and boosted the morale of the Crusaders. In November 1191, following the fall of Jaffa,
5396-520: The Lombard League , whereby he was educated by Godfrey of Viterbo and associated with minnesingers like Friedrich von Hausen , Bligger von Steinach and Bernger von Horheim . Henry was fluent in Latin and, according to the chronicler Alberic of Trois-Fontaines , was "distinguished by gifts of knowledge, wreathed in flowers of eloquence, and learned in canon and Roman law". He was a patron of poets and poetry, and he almost certainly composed
5538-471: The Saladin tithe ), raised taxes, and even agreed to free King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in exchange for 10,000 marks (£6,500). To raise still more revenue he sold the right to hold official positions, lands, and other privileges to those interested in them. Those already appointed were forced to pay huge sums to retain their posts. William Longchamp , Bishop of Ely and
5680-674: The Saleph River near Seleucia in the Kingdom of Cilicia (now part of Turkey ) on 10 June 1190. While he sent an Imperial army to Italy, Henry initially stayed in Germany to settle the succession of Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia , who had also died on the Third Crusade. He had planned to seize the Thuringian landgraviate as a reverted fief, but Louis' brother Hermann was able to reach his enfeoffment. The next year,
5822-485: The Third Crusade , leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France and achieving several victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin , although he finalised a peace treaty and ended the campaign without retaking Jerusalem . Richard probably spoke both French and Occitan . He was born in England , where he spent his childhood; before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in
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5964-549: The Crusader army advanced inland towards Jerusalem. The army then marched to Beit Nuba , only 12 miles (19 km) from Jerusalem. Muslim morale in Jerusalem was so low that the arrival of the Crusaders would probably have caused the city to fall quickly. However, the weather was appallingly bad, cold with heavy rain and hailstorms; this, combined with the fear that the Crusader army, if it besieged Jerusalem, might be trapped by
6106-590: The Emperor and declared to him, " I am born of a rank which recognises no superior but God ". The King was at first shown a certain measure of respect, but later, at the prompting of Philip of Dreux , Bishop of Beauvais and Philip of France's cousin, the conditions of Richard's captivity worsened, and he was kept in chains, "so heavy," Richard declared, "that a horse or ass would have struggled to move under them." The Emperor demanded that 150,000 marks (100,000 pounds of silver) be delivered to him before he would release
6248-687: The European continent was in May 1165, when his mother took him to Normandy. His wet nurse was Hodierna of St Albans , whom he gave a generous pension after he became king. Little is known about Richard's education. Although he was born in Oxford and brought up in England up to his eighth year, it is not known to what extent he used or understood English; he was an educated man who composed poetry and wrote in Limousin ( lenga d'òc ) and also in French. During his captivity, English prejudice against foreigners
6390-566: The French court that they would not make terms with Henry II without the consent of Louis VII and the French barons. With the support of Louis, Henry the Young King attracted many barons to his cause through promises of land and money; one such baron was Philip I, Count of Flanders , who was promised £1,000 and several castles. The brothers also had supporters ready to rise up in England. Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester , joined forces with Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk , Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester , and William I of Scotland for
6532-591: The Hohenstaufen conflict with Pope Urban III , Henry moved to the March of Tuscany , and with the aid of his deputy Markward von Annweiler devastated the adjacent territory of the Papal States . Back in Germany, he became sovereign ruler of the Empire, as his father had died while on the Third Crusade in 1190. Henry tried to secure his rule in the Low Countries by elevating Count Baldwin V of Hainaut to
6674-461: The Hohenstaufen dynasty were not realised during his lifetime. The negotiations with Pope Celestine III to approve the unification ( unio regni ad imperium ) in return of another crusade reached a deadlock. On the other hand, his beliefs of a universal rule according to the translatio imperii concept collided with the existence of the Byzantine Empire , reflected in Henry's expansionist policies by
6816-763: The Imperial army in Italy and was ostracized by the emperor at the Hoftag in Worms at Pentecost 1192. However, Henry VI had to realise that his powers were limited: after his closest ally in Saxony, Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg died, he concluded another armistice with inflammatory Henry the Lion. Meanwhile, despite the fact that his wife had been captured by Sicilians, Henry refused Celestine III's offers to make peace with Tancred. While Tancred would not permit Constance to be ransomed unless Henry recognized him, Henry complained of her capture to Celestine. In June 1192 Constance
6958-632: The King's chancellor, made a show of bidding £3,000 to remain as Chancellor. He was apparently outbid by a certain Reginald the Italian, but that bid was refused. Richard made some final arrangements on the continent. He reconfirmed his father's appointment of William Fitz Ralph to the important post of seneschal of Normandy. In Anjou, Stephen of Tours was replaced as seneschal and temporarily imprisoned for fiscal mismanagement. Payn de Rochefort, an Angevin knight, became seneschal of Anjou . In Poitou
7100-538: The King, the same amount raised by the Saladin tithe only a few years earlier, and two to three times the annual income of the English Crown under Richard. Meanwhile, Eleanor worked tirelessly to raise the ransom for her son's release. Leopold also requested Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany , niece of Richard, marry his heir Frederick . Both clergy and laymen were taxed for a quarter of the value of their property,
7242-574: The Lion's cousin Welf VI . During the election of a new Bishop of Lüttich in September 1191, he favored Albert de Rethel for Albert was a maternal-uncle of Empress Constance, whom both he and Constance had planned to be the next bishop of Liege, but at the time of election Empress Constance had been imprisoned by Sicilians, and the other candidate Albert of Louvain the brother of Duke Henry of Brabant gained more support. In January 1192 Henry claimed
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#17327756166717384-635: The Lionheart , King of England, whom he had captured on his way back from the Third Crusade and held at Dürnstein Castle . On 28 March 1193, Richard was handed over to the emperor in Speyer and imprisoned at Trifels Castle , taking revenge for Richard's alliance with Tancred of Lecce. Ignoring his near excommunication by Pope Celestine III for imprisoning a former crusader, he held the English King for
7526-408: The Mezzogiorno is documented by the chronicles of Archbishop Romuald of Salerno and Richard of San Germano . Henry's conflict with King Richard I of England is rendered by Roger of Hoveden and Gervase of Tilbury , expressing their negative attitudes towards the emperor. While being overshadowed by the legendary figures of his father and son, the two Fredericks, Henry is generally considered to be
7668-401: The Romans in March 1198. The German throne quarrel lasted nearly twenty years, until Frederick was again elected king in 1212 and Otto, defeated by the French in the 1214 Battle of Bouvines and abandoned by his former allies, finally died in 1218. During his rule in Germany, Henry moved from one Kaiserpfalz residence to another or—to a lesser extent—stayed at Prince-bishop 's sees in
7810-445: The Siculo-Greek Eugene of Palermo , transitioned into the new Hohenstaufen government with ease. William probably was deported to Altems (Hohenems) Castle in Swabia, where he died in captivity about 1198. In March 1195 Henry held a Hoftag in Bari and appointed his wife Constance Sicilian queen regnant , though with Henry's loyal vassal Conrad of Urslingen , elevated to a hereditary duke of Spoleto , as Imperial vicar to secure
7952-439: The Young King abandoned his father and left for the French court, seeking the protection of Louis VII; his brothers Richard and Geoffrey soon followed him, while the five-year-old John remained in England. Louis gave his support to the three brothers and even knighted Richard, tying them together through vassalage. Jordan Fantosme , a contemporary poet, described the rebellion as a "war without love". The brothers made an oath at
8094-406: The Young King, but Richard refused. Finally, in 1183 Henry the Young King and Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, invaded Aquitaine in an attempt to subdue Richard. Richard's barons joined in the fray and turned against their duke. However, Richard and his army succeeded in holding back the invading armies, and they executed any prisoners. The conflict paused briefly in June 1183 when the Young King died. With
8236-559: The advice of Louis the offer was refused. Henry II's forces took Saintes by surprise and captured much of its garrison, although Richard was able to escape with a small group of soldiers. He took refuge in Château de Taillebourg for the rest of the war. Henry the Young King and the Count of Flanders planned to land in England to assist the rebellion led by the Earl of Leicester. Anticipating this, Henry II returned to England with 500 soldiers and his prisoners (including Eleanor and his sons' wives and fiancées), but on his arrival found out that
8378-481: The case of his death. However, he first again had to deal with the quarrels in the Wettin Margraviate of Meissen upon the death of Margrave Albert I. As Albert had tried to gain control over the adjacent Pleissnerland , an Imperial Hohenstaufen territory, Henry took the occasion to deny the inheritance claims of the margrave's younger brother Theodoric and seized the Meissen territory for himself. In October he reconciled with Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen at Gelnhausen and
8520-410: The castle was "notoriously strong", Richard's siege engines battered the defenders into submission. On this campaign, Richard acquired the name "the Lion" or "the Lionheart" due to his noble, brave and fierce leadership. He is referred to as "this our lion" ( hic leo noster ) as early as 1187 in the Topographia Hibernica of Giraldus Cambrensis , while the byname "lionheart" ( le quor de lion )
8662-464: 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 Henry II fell seriously ill in 1170, he enacted his plan to divide his territories, although he would retain overall authority over his sons and their territories. His son Henry was crowned as heir apparent in June 1170, and in 1171 Richard left for Aquitaine with his mother, and Henry II gave him
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#17327756166718804-412: The chronicle, most of the castles belonging to rebels were to be returned to the state they were in 15 days before the outbreak of war, while others were to be razed. Given that by this time it was common for castles to be built in stone, and that many barons had expanded or refortified their castles, this was not an easy task. Roger of Howden records the two-month siege of Castillon-sur-Agen ; while
8946-435: The conclusion of the war, the process of pacifying the provinces that had rebelled against Henry II began. The King travelled to Anjou for this purpose, and Geoffrey dealt with Brittany. In January 1175 Richard was dispatched to Aquitaine to punish the barons who had fought for him. The historian John Gillingham notes that the chronicle of Roger of Howden is the main source for Richard's activities in this period. According to
9088-429: The crusade, and offering his daughter in marriage to the person named by Richard. Isaac changed his mind, however, and tried to escape. Richard's troops, led by Guy de Lusignan, conquered the whole island by 1 June. Isaac surrendered and was confined with silver chains because Richard had promised that he would not place him in irons. Richard named Richard de Camville and Robert of Thornham as governors. He later sold
9230-589: The death of Henry the Young King, Richard became the eldest surviving son and therefore heir to the English crown. King Henry demanded that Richard give up Aquitaine (which he planned to give to his youngest son John as his inheritance). Richard refused, and conflict continued between them. This refusal is what finally made Henry II bring Queen Eleanor out of prison. He sent her to Aquitaine and demanded that Richard give up his lands to his mother, who would once again rule over those lands. In 1187, to strengthen his position, Richard allied himself with 22-year-old Philip II,
9372-508: The deposition of the Welf supporter Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen . He further had to arbitrate in a conflict in the Margraviate of Meissen on the eastern border of the Empire, where the Wettin margrave Albert I had to fend off the claims raised by his brother Theoderic and Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia. Meanwhile, the opposition in the west took on a dramatic scale, when the dukes of Brabant and Limburg joined forces with Archbishop Bruno III of Cologne . A massive confederacy against
9514-436: 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 pacify the locals. Together, they laid the foundation stone of St Augustine's Monastery in Limoges . In June 1172, at age 14, Richard was formally recognised as duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitou when he was granted the lance and banner emblems of his office; the ceremony took place in Poitiers and
9656-448: The election was under dispute and appointed his newly made imperial chancellor Lothar of Hochstaden , provost of the church of St Cassius in Bonn and brother of Count Dietrich of Hochstaden instead, and in September 1192 he proceeded to Lüttich (Liège) to enforce the succession. The majority of the electors of Liège accepted the imperial decision because of the emperor's threat, and Albert de Rethel also relinquished and indignantly refused
9798-422: The emperor and his ministeriales evolved the idea of a hereditary monarchy. Though they would have lost their right to elect the kings, the secular princes themselves wished to make their Imperial fiefs hereditary and to be inheritable by the female line as well, and Henry agreed to consider these demands. The emperor also bought the support of ecclesiastical princes by announcing that he would be willing to give up
9940-427: The emperor loomed ahead, including Archbishop Conrad of Mainz , Archchancellor of Germany, and Duke Ottokar I of Bohemia , as well Henry's old rival Henry the Lion, the Swabian House of Zähringen , the English Crown , and the pope, irritated by the killing of Albert of Louvain. At this stage, Henry had a stroke of good fortune when the Babenberg duke Leopold V of Austria gave him his prominent prisoner, Richard
10082-443: The emperor's conquest of Sicily) paint a bright picture of Henry's rule; while the annals by Otto of Sankt Blasien are considered more objective. In his Arnoldi Chronica Slavorum the chronicler Arnold of Lübeck concentrates on the dispute between the Hohenstaufen and Welf dynasties from a pronounced Welf perspective, while Gislebert of Mons tells of Henry's policies in Hainaut and Flanders . The Hohenstaufen rule in Italy and
10224-652: The emperor's position in Southern Italy. He placed further ministeriales in the Sicilian administration, like the Troia bishop Walter of Palearia who became chancellor. His loyal henchman Markward von Annweiler was appointed a duke of Ravenna , placing him in a highly strategic position to control the route to Sicily via the Italian Romagna region and the Apennines . Henry's younger brother Philip of Swabia
10366-572: The ex-provost of Benon, Peter Bertin, was made seneschal, and finally, the household official Helie de La Celle was picked for the seneschalship in Gascony. After repositioning the part of his army he left behind to guard his French possessions, Richard finally set out on the crusade in summer 1190. (His delay was criticised by troubadours such as Bertran de Born .) He appointed as regents Hugh de Puiset , Bishop of Durham , and William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex – who soon died and
10508-556: The execution of those responsible for the most heinous murders and persecutions, including rioters who had accidentally burned down Christian homes. He distributed a royal writ demanding that the Jews be left alone. The edict was only loosely enforced, however, and the following March further violence occurred, including a massacre at York . Richard had already taken the cross as Count of Poitou in 1187. His father and Philip II had done so at Gisors on 21 January 1188 after receiving news of
10650-421: The fall of Jerusalem to Saladin . After Richard became king, he and Philip agreed to go on the Third Crusade, since each feared that during his absence the other might usurp his territories. Richard swore an oath to renounce his past wickedness in order to show himself worthy to take the cross. He started to raise and equip a new crusader army. He spent most of his father's treasury (filled with money raised by
10792-416: The first floor into the latrine in the cellar. About 60 people are said to have died, including Count Gozmar III of Ziegenhain , Count Friedrich I of Abenberg [ de ] , Burgrave Friedrich I of Kirchberg [ de ] , Count Heinrich I of Schwarzburg [ de ] , Count Burgrave Burchard von Wartburg, Count Hansteiner of Liechtenstein and Beringer von Wellingen. King Henry
10934-511: The forces of Richard and Philip defeated Henry's army at Ballans . Henry agreed to name Richard his heir apparent. Two days later Henry died in Chinon, and Richard succeeded him as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou. Roger of Howden claimed that Henry's corpse bled from the nose in Richard's presence, which was assumed to be a sign that Richard had caused his death. Richard I
11076-427: The fortress, leaving its defenders no reinforcements or lines of retreat. The garrison sallied out of the castle and attacked Richard; he was able to subdue the army and then followed the defenders inside the open gates, where he easily took over the castle in two days. Richard's victory at Taillebourg deterred many barons from thinking of rebelling and forced them to declare their loyalty to him. In 1181–82, Richard faced
11218-616: The future emperor and king of Sicily and Jerusalem. The young William and his mother Sibylla had fled to Caltabellotta Castle; he officially renounced the Sicilian kingdom in turn for the County of Lecce and the Principality of Capua . A few days after Henry's coronation, however, the royal family and several Norman nobles were accused of a coup attempt and arrested. Henry is said to have had William blinded and castrated, while many of his followers were burned alive . Some, however, like
11360-404: The gold and silver treasures of the churches were confiscated, and money was raised from the scutage and the carucage taxes. At the same time, Richard's brother John and King Philip of France offered 80,000 marks for Henry VI to hold Richard prisoner until Michaelmas 1194. Henry turned down the offer. The money to release the King was transferred to Germany by the Emperor's ambassadors, but "at
11502-421: The huge ransom, a further interest payment, and his oath of allegiance to Henry. In turn the emperor under threat of military violence demanded the restitution of the French lands, which John had seized upon approval by Philip during Richard's absence. Henry not only gained another vassal and ally, he could also assume the role of a mediator between England and France . He and Richard ceremoniously reconciled at
11644-654: The imposition of suzerainty over King Leo I of Armenia and King Aimery of Cyprus . In 1195 Henry's envoys in Constantinople raised claims to former Italo-Norman possessions around Dyrrachium (Durrës), one of the most important naval bases on the eastern Adriatic coast, and pressed for a contribution to the planned crusade. Upon the deposition of Emperor Isaac II Angelos Henry openly threatened with an attack on Byzantine territory. He already evolved plans to betroth his younger brother Philip to Isaac's daughter Princess Irene Angelina —deliberately or not—opening up
11786-521: 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, Countess of the Vexin , fourth daughter of Louis VII; because of the rivalry between the kings of England and France, Louis obstructed
11928-458: The island to the master of Knights Templar , Robert de Sablé , and it was subsequently acquired, in 1192, by Guy of Lusignan and became a stable feudal kingdom. The rapid conquest of the island by Richard was of strategic importance. The island occupies a key strategic position on the maritime lanes to the Holy Land, whose occupation by the Christians could not continue without support from
12070-587: The king followed his army across the Alps . In Lodi he negotiated with Eleanor of Aquitaine , widow of King Henry II of England , to break the engagement of her son King Richard with Alys , a daughter of late King Louis VII of France . He hoped to deteriorate English-French relations and to isolate Richard, who had offended him by backing Count Tancred in Sicily. Eleanor acted cleverly; she reached Henry's assurance that he would not interfere in her son's conflict with King Philip II of France , and she would also prevent
12212-493: The king of England, lance in hand, rode along the whole length of our army from right to left, and not one of our soldiers left the ranks to attack him. The Sultan was wroth thereat and left the battlefield in anger...". Both sides realised that their respective positions were growing untenable. Richard knew that both Philip and his own brother John were starting to plot against him, and the morale of Saladin's army had been badly eroded by repeated defeats. However, Saladin insisted on
12354-693: The knightly accolade at the Diet of Pentecost Mainz in 1184. That same year, Henry had almost lost his life during the Erfurt latrine disaster , where about 60 nobles had perished in a latrine cesspit after the Erfurt Cathedral ’s second story floor had collapsed. Henry had only survived due to being seated in a separate part of the alcove which was made of stone. The emperor had already entered into negotiations with King William II of Sicily to betroth his son and heir with William's aunt Constance by 1184. Constance, almost 30 years old at that time,
12496-554: The legal heir was William's aunt Constance , wife of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor . Tancred had imprisoned William's widow, Queen Joan, who was Richard's sister, and did not give her the money she had inherited in William's will. When Richard arrived he demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance; she was freed on 28 September, but without the inheritance. The presence of foreign troops also caused unrest: in October,
12638-465: The majority of the army council wanted to force Saladin to relinquish Jerusalem by attacking the basis of his power through an invasion of Egypt . The leader of the French contingent, Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy , however, was adamant that a direct attack on Jerusalem should be made. This split the Crusader army into two factions, and neither was strong enough to achieve its objective. Richard stated that he would accompany any attack on Jerusalem but only as
12780-609: The marriage of Henry's younger brother Conrad with Berengaria of Castile to confine the Hohenstaufen claims to power. Henry entered into further negotiations with the Lombard League cities and with Pope Celestine III on his Imperial coronation , and ceded Tusculum to the Pope. At Easter Monday on 15 April 1191, in Rome , Henry and his consort Constance were crowned Emperor and Empress by Celestine. The crown of Sicily, however,
12922-515: 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 Eleanor's territories among their three eldest surviving sons: Henry would become King of England and have control of Anjou, Maine, and Normandy; Richard would inherit Aquitaine and Poitiers from his mother; and Geoffrey would become Duke of Brittany through marriage with Constance , heir presumptive of Conan IV . At
13064-560: The match in order to obtain the Kingdom of Navarre as a fief, as Aquitaine had been for his father. Further, Eleanor championed the match, as Navarre bordered Aquitaine, thereby securing the southern border of her ancestral lands. Richard took his new wife on crusade with him briefly, though they returned separately. Berengaria had almost as much difficulty in making the journey home as her husband did, and she did not see England until after his death. After his release from German captivity, Richard showed some regret for his earlier conduct, but he
13206-449: The people of Messina revolted, demanding that the foreigners leave. Richard attacked Messina, capturing it on 4 October 1190. After looting and burning the city Richard established his base there, but this created tension between Richard and Philip. He remained there until Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty on 4 March 1191. The treaty was signed by Richard, Philip, and Tancred. Its main terms were: The two kings stayed in Sicily for
13348-507: The people of London attacked the Jewish population. Many Jewish homes were destroyed by arsonists , and several Jews were forcibly converted . Some sought sanctuary in the Tower of London , and others managed to escape. Among those killed was Jacob of Orléans , a respected Jewish scholar. Roger of Howden, in his Gesta Regis Ricardi , claimed that the jealous and bigoted citizens started
13490-517: The person who had the custody thereof, carried off the greater part of his father's treasures, and fortified his castles in Poitou with the same, refusing to go to his father. Overall, Howden is chiefly concerned with the politics of the relationship between Richard and Philip. Gillingham has addressed theories suggesting that this political relationship was also sexually intimate, which he posits probably stemmed from an official record announcing that, as
13632-430: The razing of Ascalon's fortifications, which Richard's men had rebuilt, and a few other points. Richard made one last attempt to strengthen his bargaining position by attempting to invade Egypt – Saladin's chief supply-base – but failed. In the end, time ran out for Richard. He realised that his return could be postponed no longer, since both Philip and John were taking advantage of his absence. He and Saladin finally came to
13774-464: The rebellion had already collapsed. William I of Scotland and Hugh Bigod were captured on 13 and 25 July respectively. Henry II returned to France and raised the siege of Rouen , where Louis VII had been joined by Henry the Young King after abandoning his plan to invade England. Louis was defeated and a peace treaty was signed in September 1174, the Treaty of Montlouis. When Henry II and Louis VII made
13916-447: The rebels, even though recent research like the work of Theo Kölzer shows that this was unlikely. Kölzer opines though that Henry's "discipline methods" in Sicily had put a dent on the relationship between wife and husband, and it was possible that Constance passively tolerated the rebels. In the midst of preparations Henry fell ill with chills while hunting near Fiumedinisi and on 28 September died, likely of malaria (contracted since
14058-597: The release and submission of King Richard I of England , he conquered Sicily in 1194; however, the intended unification with the Holy Roman Empire ultimately failed due to the opposition of the Papacy . In Sicily, Henry had a reputation for ruthless suppression of political opponents. To this day, he is sometimes given the epithet "the Cruel" ( il crudele ) by Italian historiographers. Henry threatened to invade
14200-558: The remains of a shoe, a head band and an ornate silk textile that originally wrapped the body. Henry's minor son Frederick II was to inherit both the Kingdom of Sicily and the Imperial crown. However, a number of princes around Archbishop Adolf of Cologne elected the Welf Otto of Brunswick , son of Henry the Lion, anti-king. To defend the claims of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, Frederick's uncle Philip of Swabia had himself elected King of
14342-775: The resistance in Germany grew. At the following diet at Erfurt in October, a majority of the princes rejected the emperor's plans. Furthermore, the Pope, still concerned in view of the Hohenstaufen rule over Sicily, broke off the talks. Nevertheless, on Christmas Henry's son Frederick II was elected King of the Romans in Frankfurt. At the same time, the emperor stayed in Capua , where he had Count Richard of Acerra, held in custody by his ministerialis Dipold von Schweinspeunt , cruelly executed. He entered Sicily in March 1197 and applied himself to prepare his crusade in Messina . Soon after,
14484-411: The rioting, and that Richard punished the perpetrators, allowing a forcibly converted Jew to return to his native religion. Baldwin of Forde , Archbishop of Canterbury , reacted by remarking, "If the King is not God's man, he had better be the devil 's". Offended that he was not being obeyed, and aware that the attacks could destabilise his realm on the eve of his departure on crusade, Richard ordered
14626-563: The same time he overstretched the Hohenstaufen realm to an extent that finally could not be kept together. King Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard Cœur de Lion ( Old Norman French : Quor de Lion ) or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy , Aquitaine , and Gascony ; Lord of Cyprus ; Count of Poitiers , Anjou , Maine , and Nantes ; and
14768-513: The sea. Cyprus remained a Christian stronghold until the Ottoman invasion in 1570. Richard's exploit was well publicised and contributed to his reputation, and he also derived significant financial gains from the conquest of the island. Richard left Cyprus for Acre on 5 June with his allies. Before leaving Cyprus on crusade, Richard married Berengaria, the first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre . Richard had first grown close to her at
14910-574: The siege of Napoli in 1191 and had never completely healed), in Messina, although some immediately accused Constance of poisoning him. His wife Constance had him buried at Messina; in 1198, his mortal remains were transferred to Palermo Cathedral . Various items were removed from Henry VI's grave in the late eighteenth century, some of which are now in the British Museum in London. They include
15052-561: The siege. Upon his retreat, those cities that had surrendered to Henry resubmitted to Tancred. As a result, Constance, who was left in the palace of Salerno as a sign that Henry would soon return, was betrayed and handed over to Tancred. Henry had to return to Germany when he learned that Henry the Lion had again incited a conflict with the Saxon House of Ascania and the Counts of Schauenburg . His son Henry of Brunswick deserted from
15194-441: The son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis VII by Adela of Champagne . Roger of Howden wrote: The King of England was struck with great astonishment, and wondered what [this alliance] could mean, and, taking precautions for the future, frequently sent messengers into France for the purpose of recalling his son Richard; who, pretending that he was peaceably inclined and ready to come to his father, made his way to Chinon , and, in spite of
15336-497: The song Kaiser Heinrich , now among the Weingarten Song Manuscripts. According to his rank and with Imperial Eagle ( Reichsadler ), regalia , and a scroll, he is the first and foremost to be portrayed in the famous Codex Manesse , a 14th-century songbook manuscript featuring 140 reputed poets; at least three poems are attributed to a young and romantically minded Henry VI. In one of those he describes
15478-467: The song, in French and Occitan versions, to express his feelings of abandonment by his people and his sister. The detention of a crusader was contrary to public law, and on these grounds Pope Celestine III excommunicated Leopold. On 28 March 1193, Richard was brought to Speyer and handed over to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, who imprisoned him in Trifels Castle . The Emperor was aggrieved by
15620-423: The succeeding throne quarrel as a stroke of fate and a major setback for the development of a German nation state begun under his father Frederick Barbarossa. On the other hand, the emperor's stern measures in Sicily earned him the reputation of a cruel and merciless ruler. Present-day historical research classifies Henry as a man of his time; though a capable ruler he had to cope with the centrifugal forces while at
15762-505: The succession of Count Tancred of Lecce and gained the support of the Roman Curia . To assert his own rights in the inheritance dispute, Henry initially supported Tancred's rival Count Roger of Andria and made arrangements for a campaign to Italy. The next year he concluded a peace agreement with Henry the Lion at Fulda and moved farther southwards to Augsburg , where he learned that his father had died on crusade attempting to cross
15904-514: The support the Plantagenets had given to the family of Henry the Lion and by Richard's recognition of Tancred in Sicily. Henry VI needed money to raise an army and assert his rights over southern Italy and continued to hold Richard for ransom. Nevertheless, to Richard's irritation, Pope Celestine hesitated to excommunicate Henry VI, as he had Duke Leopold, for the continued wrongful imprisonment of Richard. He famously refused to show deference to
16046-408: The surrender negotiations with Saladin's forces inside Acre and raised the banners of the kings in the city. Richard quarrelled with Leopold over the deposition of Isaac Komnenos (related to Leopold's Byzantine mother) and his position within the crusade. Leopold's banner had been raised alongside the English and French standards. This was interpreted as arrogance by both Richard and Philip, as Leopold
16188-698: The terms of the surrender of the lands around Acre. Philip, before leaving, had entrusted his prisoners to Conrad, but Richard forced him to hand them over to him. Richard feared his forces being bottled up in Acre as he believed his campaign could not advance with the prisoners in train. He, therefore, ordered all the prisoners executed . He then moved south, defeating Saladin's forces at the Battle of Arsuf 30 miles (50 km) north of Jaffa on 7 September 1191. Saladin attempted to harass Richard's army into breaking its formation in order to defeat it in detail. Richard maintained his army's defensive formation, however, until
16330-553: The three brothers accepted were less generous than those they had been offered earlier in the conflict (when Richard was offered four castles in Aquitaine and half of the income from the duchy): Richard was given control of two castles in Poitou and half the income of Aquitaine; Henry the Young King was given two castles in Normandy; and Geoffrey was permitted half of Brittany . Eleanor remained Henry II's prisoner until his death, partly as insurance for Richard's good behaviour. After
16472-544: The throne. Four more children were born to King Henry and Queen Eleanor: Geoffrey , Eleanor , Joan , and John . Richard also had two half-sisters from his mother's first marriage to Louis VII of France : Marie and Alix . Richard is often depicted as having been the favourite son of his mother. His father was Angevin-Norman and great-grandson of William the Conqueror . Contemporary historian Ralph de Diceto traced his family's lineage through Matilda of Scotland to
16614-718: The tradition of the medieval itinerant kingship. He concentrated on the Franconian core locations of his kingdom, while the Bavarian and Saxon lands were less subject to the central authority. His travel routes through Germany as well as his campaigns in Italy are documented by numerous deeds he issued year by year. The emperor strongly relied on high-ranking clergy like the archbishops Philip of Cologne and Conrad of Mainz . Several contemporary accounts of his life given by ecclesiastical chroniclers like Godfrey of Viterbo or Peter of Eboli in his Liber ad honorem Augusti (on
16756-406: The transition to Hohenstaufen's rule in Italy spurred revolts, especially around Catania and southern Sicily, which his German soldiers led by Markward of Annweiler and Henry of Kalden suppressed mercilessly. The rebels even sought to make Count Jordan of Bovino king in Henry's place. Some contemporary Germans (who were hostile to Empress Constance) even accused her of directly collaborating with
16898-534: The two sides went to war. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos was thought to be behind Pisan attacks. In 1197, Henry imposed a truce on them. Previously, Pisa and Genoa had supported Henry's invasion of Italy while Venice chose to be neutral. But Henry granted Venice various rights in 1195 and 1197 while prevaricating over the more extensive privileges Pisa and Genoa claimed. Henry's planned expansion against Thessaloniki and Constantinople, if it had happened, would have isolated Venice in its own gulf, and Venice
17040-431: The walls of Acre. Leopold kept Richard prisoner at Dürnstein Castle under the care of Leopold's ministerialis Hadmar of Kuenring. This mishap was soon known in England, but the regents were for some weeks uncertain of his whereabouts. While in prison, Richard wrote the musical piece Ja nus hons pris or Ja nuls om pres ("No man who is imprisoned"), which is addressed to his half-sister Marie. He wrote
17182-584: The wrecks had been taken prisoner by the island's ruler, Isaac Komnenos . On 1 May 1191, Richard's fleet arrived in the port of Lemesos on Cyprus. He ordered Isaac to release the prisoners and treasure. Isaac refused, so Richard landed his troops and took Lemesos. Various princes of the Holy Land arrived in Lemesos at the same time, in particular Guy of Lusignan . All declared their support for Richard provided that he support Guy against his rival, Conrad of Montferrat . The local magnates abandoned Isaac, who considered making peace with Richard, joining him on
17324-475: Was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father. By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was an important Christian commander during
17466-610: Was a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor (although he was the highest-ranking surviving leader of the imperial forces). Richard's men tore the flag down and threw it in the moat of Acre. Leopold left the crusade immediately. Philip also left soon afterwards, in poor health and after further disputes with Richard over the status of Cyprus (Philip demanded half the island) and the kingship of Jerusalem. Richard, suddenly, found himself without allies. Richard had kept 2,700 Muslim prisoners as hostages against Saladin fulfilling all
17608-464: Was able to obtain the support of numerous Saxon and Thuringian nobles for his crusade which was scheduled to begin on Christmas 1196. His next aim was to make the imperial crown hereditary . Henry tried to secure the Imperial election of his son Frederick II as King of the Romans, which however met with objections raised by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne . Spending the winter in Hagenau Castle,
17750-495: Was also a patron of poets and a skilled poet himself. In 1186 he married Constance of Sicily. Henry, stuck in the Hohenstaufen conflict with the House of Welf until 1194, had to enforce the inheritance claims by his wife against her nephew Count Tancred of Lecce . Henry's attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily failed at the siege of Naples in 1191 due to an epidemic, with Empress Constance captured. Based on an enormous ransom for
17892-548: 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. Henry the Young King 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,
18034-478: Was challenged by Conrad of Montferrat, second husband of Sibylla's half-sister, Isabella : Conrad, whose defence of Tyre had saved the kingdom in 1187, was supported by Philip of France, son of his first cousin Louis VII of France, and by another cousin, Leopold V, Duke of Austria . Richard also allied with Humphrey IV of Toron , Isabella's first husband, from whom she had been forcibly divorced in 1190. Humphrey
18176-468: Was gradually perceived by historians as a ruler who preferred to use his kingdom merely as a source of revenue to support his armies, rather than regarding England as a responsibility requiring his presence as ruler. This "Little England" view of Richard has come under increasing scrutiny by modern historians, who view it as anachronistic. Richard I remains one of the few kings of England remembered more commonly by his epithet than his regnal number , and
18318-511: Was harder to gain, as the Sicilian nobility had chosen Count Tancred of Lecce as their king. Henry began his work campaigning in Apulia and besieging Naples, but he encountered resistance when Tancred's vassal Margaritus of Brindisi came to the city's defence, harassed Henry's Pisan navy, and nearly destroyed the later arriving Genoese contingent. Moreover, the Imperial army had been heavily hit by an epidemic, and Henry ultimately had to abandon
18460-427: Was loyal to Guy and spoke Arabic fluently, so Richard used him as a translator and negotiator. Richard and his forces aided in the capture of Acre, despite Richard's serious illness. At one point, while sick from arnaldia , a disease similar to scurvy , he picked off guards on the walls with a crossbow , while being carried on a stretcher covered "in a great silken quilt". Eventually, Conrad of Montferrat concluded
18602-576: Was not reunited with his wife. The marriage remained childless. Richard landed at Acre on 8 June 1191. He gave his support to his Poitevin vassal Guy of Lusignan, who had brought troops to help him in Cyprus. Guy was the widower of his father's cousin Sibylla of Jerusalem and was trying to retain the kingship of Jerusalem, despite his wife's death during the Siege of Acre the previous year. Guy's claim
18744-499: Was officially invested as Duke of Normandy on 20 July 1189 and crowned king in Westminster Abbey on 3 September 1189. Tradition barred all Jews and women from the investiture, but some Jewish leaders arrived to present gifts for the new king. According to Ralph of Diceto, Richard's courtiers stripped and flogged the Jews, then flung them out of court. When a rumour spread that Richard had ordered all Jews to be killed,
18886-427: Was rejected by the inhabitants; he withdrew to the city of Saintes , which he established as a base of operations. In the meantime, Henry II had raised a very expensive army of more than 20,000 mercenaries with which to face the rebellion. He marched on Verneuil, and Louis retreated from his forces. The army proceeded to recapture Dol and subdued Brittany. At this point Henry II made an offer of peace to his sons; on
19028-423: Was released on the intervention of Pope Celestine III, who in return recognized Tancred as King of Sicily. Constance was to be sent to Rome for Celestine III to put pressure on Henry, but German soldiers managed to set up an ambush on the border of Papal States and freed Constance. On the other hand, the emperor was able to strengthen his power base in the Duchy of Swabia , when he inherited the possessions of Henry
19170-548: Was repeated in Limoges, where he wore the ring of St Valerie , who was the personification of Aquitaine. According to Ralph of Coggeshall , Henry the Young King instigated rebellion against Henry II; he wanted to reign independently over at least part of the territory his father had promised him, and to break away from his dependence on Henry II, who controlled the purse strings. There were rumors that Eleanor might have encouraged her sons to revolt against their father. Henry
19312-542: Was replaced by William Longchamp. Richard's brother John was not satisfied by this decision and started scheming against William Longchamp. When Richard was raising funds for his crusade, he was said to have declared, "I would have sold London if I could find a buyer". In September 1190 Richard and Philip arrived in Sicily . After the death of King William II of Sicily in 1189 his cousin Tancred had seized power, although
19454-506: Was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond, and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. According to Clifford Brewer, he was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m), although that is unverifiable since his remains have been lost since at least the French Revolution . John, his youngest brother, was known to be 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). The Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi ,
19596-652: Was said to have been confined in Santissimo Salvatore, Palermo as a nun since childhood to keep celibacy due to a prediction that "her marriage would destroy Sicily" despite having become the sole legitimate heir to William as the marriage of the latter had remained childless; and, after the latter's death in November 1189, Henry had the opportunity of adding the Sicilian crown to the imperial one. He and Constance were married on 27 January 1186 in Milan . In
19738-472: Was said to have survived only because he sat in an alcove with a stone floor and was later saved using ladders. He departed as soon as possible. Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia survived as well. Of those who died, many drowned in human excrement or suffocated from the fumes emitted by the decomposing waste, while others were crushed by falling debris. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI ( German : Heinrich VI. ; November 1165 – 28 September 1197),
19880-408: Was used in a calculated way by his brother John to help destroy the authority of Richard's chancellor, William Longchamp , who was a Norman . One of the specific charges laid against Longchamp, by John's supporter Hugh Nonant , was that he could not speak English. This indicates that by the late 12th century a knowledge of English was expected of those in positions of authority in England. Richard
20022-561: Was vested with the large estates of late margravine Matilda in Tuscany . The emperor also felt strong enough to send home the Pisan and Genoese ships without giving their governments the promised concessions. The Sicilian kingdom added to Henry's personal and Imperial revenues an income without parallel in Europe. However, his aims to integrate Sicily into the Empire as a second power base of
20164-788: Was worrying that Alexios would rather submit to Henry than settle disgreements with Venice. Henry's death relieved both Venice and Constantinople of their worries. On the news of Henry's death, the Byzantine "German tax" was abolished. When Henry died, he was the most powerful monarch in Christendom, being Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, Burgundy, Italy, Sicily, feudal overlord of the Kings of England, Lesser Armenia and Cyprus, and tributary lord of Northern African princes. In summer 1195 Henry returned to Germany, in order to call for support to launch his crusade and to arrange his succession in
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