RICHARD, THE LIONHEART, AND

THE THIRD CRUSADE

Jesús Movellán Haro1st. of History

University of Cantabria

ABOUT THE KING’S BIRTH AND FAMILY

Richard I Plantagenet was born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, on 8th September, 1157.

He was the third son of Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ex wife of King Louis VII of France.

Henry II was the first one of the House of Plantagenet, son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who was married to Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, from the House of Normandy.

Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was the

daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of

Châtellerault, daughter of the Vicomte Châtellerault

Aimeric I.

Eleanor was eleven years older than his second

husband, Henry II. Thus, their marriage turned to be a

difficult one.

When Richard was still a child, his parents became

enemies, because his father made Rosamund Clifford

his mistress, and, consequently, neglected Richard’s

mother, Eleanor.

As a result, Eleanor returned to Aquitaine and

established her own court, taking Richard, who

was her favourite son, along with her, and

designated him her heir.

Thus, Richard grew at his mother’s court. It’s

known that he liked music, probably because of

the troubadour atmosphere of his mother’s

homeland. Besides, he inherited the energetic and

brave character of the Plantagenet family.

RICHARD I, KING OF ENGLAND

In 1172, Richard was invested, at Limoges, with his mother’s

inheritance of Aquitaine and Poitou.

In 1183 the death of his brother, young Henry, made him the heir

of the entire Angevin Empire, while he was in an open rebellion

against his father, Henry II, who had captured his mother for ten

years.

Finally, at the death of the King, Richard was crowned on the 23rd

of September of 1189, in Westminster Abbey.

One of his first actions as king was to order the freedom of his mother, Eleanor, from the captivity she had resisted for years.

Then, he focused on the Crusade, in order to free Jerusalem, which was under the authority of the Moslem leader Saladin, an action that he had sworn in 1187.

Thus, he travelled to the Holy Land with the French King, Phillip II Augustus. After the campaign, Phillip became his enemy, by joining forces with Richard’s brother, John.

Nevertheless, Richard gained several victories over the French. At

these times, he adopted the motto “Dieu et mon Droit”, “God and

my Right”, which, nowadays, is still used by British Monarchs.

About his personal life, he married Berengaria of Navarre,

daughter of the King Sancho VI. They didn’t have any children.

Because of a bad-cured arrow injury, Richard the Lionheart died

on the 6th of April of 1199, in the arms of his mother.

THE WAR THAT RICHARD LED: THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192)

After the death of the Pope Urban III, his successor, Gregory VIII, appealed to the leaders of Christendom for help.

The first to answer was King William II of Sicily. Then, Henry II of England, who died in 1189, and it was his son, Richard, who led the English army, and King Phillip II Augustus of France.

The first to arrive at the Holy Land was Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, but, later, because of his age (he was over seventy) and a horse accident near Cilicia, he died.

The most powerful allies of the enterprise were Richard I of

England, and the king of France, Phillip II August. They embarked

for the Holy Land in July 1190, from Marseille.

They travelled through Sicily and Cyprus, and, finally, the French

army arrived at Acre in May, whereas English contingent arrived

from Sicily at Whitsun, 1191.

THE BATTLE OF ARSUF (7/ 09/ 1191)

After the siege of Acre, in 1191, at Arsuf, the armies of Richard and Saladin clashed in battle, on the 7th

of September.

The Crusaders (from Richard the Lionheart) formed their army, estimated at around 1,200 horses and 10,000 soldiers in three columns. Saladin commanded about 20,000 men, which included 10,000 cavalry.

Richard at first progressed towards Arsuf unhindered, at about 11 a.m., Saladin's cavalry began to launch attacks on the Crusading army's left flank.

Richard endeavored to keep the army moving forward and maintain formation, but the terrible heat and growing casualties led the Knights Hospitallers and several squadrons of French knights to charge the Moslems, who drove back the Moslem right wing.

Richard reacted quickly to this breach of orders and ordered the Knights Templar, the Bretons and Angevins to advance in a further charge that repelled Saladin's left wing.

Richard's military brilliance had prevailed, forcing the Moslems into retreat.Saladin, his prestige having suffered a terrible blow, was never again to risk open battle with Richard.

The Crusader army proceeded to Jaffa, and began to strengthen it as a garrison for Jerusalem. He went on to re-establish Christian control of the coast and refortified Ascalon to the south.

The army arrived at the foothills of the Holy City on 3rd January,

1192. They were, however, exhausted , short of supplies and sick

in their ranks, they were consequently obliged to return to the

safety of the coast.

THE END OF THE CRUSADE

A truce was negotiated with the Moslems:

“A superlative general but a poor

politician, Richard proposed that Saladin

should give the Holy Land to his nephew

Saphadin, whom he suggested should

marry his sister Joanna, forming a

peaceful alliance between Christian and

Moslem. Saladin, unable to believe his

luck, accepted.”

Having signed a three year truce on 2nd

September, 1192, which retained his

conquests and gave Christians access to

Jerusalem, Richard, “the Lionheart”, left

the Holy Land and sailed for England.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

About Richard the Lionheart:

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/plantagenet_2.htm

About the Third Crusade:

Riley-Smith, J; What were the Crusades?, Macmillan, London,

1977

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/third_crusade.htm

Images from Google Images.