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Authors: Malcolm Day
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though not the brightest, barons were within earshot? Did he intend this outburst to be effectively an order of execution? Surely the original words could not be construed to carry that meaning, but the re-rendering of them in a more snesational style surely could.
What we do know is that once the king heard of the murderous deed, committed, as it was, before the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral he was horrified and abject with remorse. In an act of penitence he donned sackcloth and ashes and ate nothing for three days. Four years later, after the pope had canonised Becket, Henry made a public confession of humility and sorrow by walking in sackcloth barefoot to the cathedral and staying overnight in a dank cell of the crypt. Never had such a loose utterance caused such distress to an English monarch.
REBELLIOUS SONS
Early in the 1170s Henry II was at his most powerful. The threat to his empire came not from abroad but from his very own sons, aided by their influential mother Eleanor of Aquitaine. To their chagrin Henry took the unprecedented step of anointing his eldest son Henry as future king of England. In all of English history, this has happened only once during the king’s lifetime.But the Young King died in 1183, and a few years later another son, Geoffrey, also died. Richard (the Lionheart) and John were now direct rivals to the throne. Richard courted favour from Philip II of France, who was determined to undo the Angevin Empire. Between them they forced the ageing Henry to accept a humiliating truce and Richard took the throne in 1189 on the king’s death.
Ransom for a King
Chivalrous ‘Lionheart’ who cost his country dear
P robably his upbringing in Poitiers at his mother’s court sowed the seeds of Richard’s love affair with chivalric combat. Every day he would take part in jousting tournaments and receive expert training in the art of war. No wonder his heart was inflamed with the romance of medieval battle.
So was born England’s brave knightly king, dubbed Coeur de Lion, or ‘Lionheart’. His love of fighting was such that in the ten years of his reign (1189-99) only a few months were ever spent in England.
Richard I and Saladin in combat
MASSACRE AT BANQUET
A magnificent coronation banquet in Westminster was intended to celebrate the new kingship of Richard I. However, trouble started when Jewish leaders tried to pay their respects. A royal decree had forbidden their presence and the group was bundled out. Some of them were beaten, others killed, and anti-Semitic rioting spread through the capital. Richard was anxious to quell the unrest, particularly as he was hoping to raise funds for his crusade from Jewish money-lenders. Sporadic outbreaks of violence towards Jews continued, with a particularly gruesome incident in York the following year.
On crusade
Richard’s greatest endeavour was leading the Third Crusade. On hearing the news that Saladin had invaded the Holy Land, Richard was champing at the bit to take the cross.
Within months of being crowned king, Lionheart was laying plans to rescue the Holy Land from the Muslim infidel. The ‘Saladin Tithe’ was raised to fund the expedition. Those who joined the crusade would be exempt from the tax which demanded ten per cent of all revenues.
Allied with Philip II of France, his friend and possible lover, the two kings led a huge army across Europe in the summer of 1190. Two interludes delayed the expedition: while overwintering in Sicily Richard’s mother arrived and presneted him with a bride, Berengaria of Navarre. This match angered Philip who thought Richard should marry his sister Alice, and the two friends fell out. After capturing Cyprus Richard satisfied his mother’s demand and married Berengaria.
Cyprus would serve as a base for supplying future crusaders. Richard took his new queen with him to the Holy Land where she witnessed his conquest of Acre and Jaffa. The army then turned inland and headed for the dream goal of
What we do know is that once the king heard of the murderous deed, committed, as it was, before the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral he was horrified and abject with remorse. In an act of penitence he donned sackcloth and ashes and ate nothing for three days. Four years later, after the pope had canonised Becket, Henry made a public confession of humility and sorrow by walking in sackcloth barefoot to the cathedral and staying overnight in a dank cell of the crypt. Never had such a loose utterance caused such distress to an English monarch.
REBELLIOUS SONS
Early in the 1170s Henry II was at his most powerful. The threat to his empire came not from abroad but from his very own sons, aided by their influential mother Eleanor of Aquitaine. To their chagrin Henry took the unprecedented step of anointing his eldest son Henry as future king of England. In all of English history, this has happened only once during the king’s lifetime.But the Young King died in 1183, and a few years later another son, Geoffrey, also died. Richard (the Lionheart) and John were now direct rivals to the throne. Richard courted favour from Philip II of France, who was determined to undo the Angevin Empire. Between them they forced the ageing Henry to accept a humiliating truce and Richard took the throne in 1189 on the king’s death.
Ransom for a King
Chivalrous ‘Lionheart’ who cost his country dear
P robably his upbringing in Poitiers at his mother’s court sowed the seeds of Richard’s love affair with chivalric combat. Every day he would take part in jousting tournaments and receive expert training in the art of war. No wonder his heart was inflamed with the romance of medieval battle.
So was born England’s brave knightly king, dubbed Coeur de Lion, or ‘Lionheart’. His love of fighting was such that in the ten years of his reign (1189-99) only a few months were ever spent in England.
Richard I and Saladin in combat
MASSACRE AT BANQUET
A magnificent coronation banquet in Westminster was intended to celebrate the new kingship of Richard I. However, trouble started when Jewish leaders tried to pay their respects. A royal decree had forbidden their presence and the group was bundled out. Some of them were beaten, others killed, and anti-Semitic rioting spread through the capital. Richard was anxious to quell the unrest, particularly as he was hoping to raise funds for his crusade from Jewish money-lenders. Sporadic outbreaks of violence towards Jews continued, with a particularly gruesome incident in York the following year.
On crusade
Richard’s greatest endeavour was leading the Third Crusade. On hearing the news that Saladin had invaded the Holy Land, Richard was champing at the bit to take the cross.
Within months of being crowned king, Lionheart was laying plans to rescue the Holy Land from the Muslim infidel. The ‘Saladin Tithe’ was raised to fund the expedition. Those who joined the crusade would be exempt from the tax which demanded ten per cent of all revenues.
Allied with Philip II of France, his friend and possible lover, the two kings led a huge army across Europe in the summer of 1190. Two interludes delayed the expedition: while overwintering in Sicily Richard’s mother arrived and presneted him with a bride, Berengaria of Navarre. This match angered Philip who thought Richard should marry his sister Alice, and the two friends fell out. After capturing Cyprus Richard satisfied his mother’s demand and married Berengaria.
Cyprus would serve as a base for supplying future crusaders. Richard took his new queen with him to the Holy Land where she witnessed his conquest of Acre and Jaffa. The army then turned inland and headed for the dream goal of
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