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Authors: Malcolm Day
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their cause, Jerusalem.
Harassed all the way by Saladin’s army, the crusaders got within sight of the Holy City. But then Richard received news that his brother John had joined forces with his former friend King Philip and the two were taking control of Normandy castles.
As the situation worsened by the day Richard was forced to make peace with Saladin, having spent 15 months in Palestine. The outcome was deeply frustrating for the English king, for without recapturing Jerusalem the crusade was technically a failure. Nevertheless much of the expedition had been a success: he had recovered the coastal strip; the political turmoil in Jerusalem was resolved; and Christians and Saracens were allowed safe passage to and from the Holy Sepulchre.
A price to pay
Having sent his wife on before him, Richard travelled back to western Europe. He was shipwrecked near Venice and is said to have made his way on foot disguised as a pilgrim. The king was spotted, however, and taken prisoner by the Duke of Austria. He passed Richard to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who saw a neat opportunity to raise much needed war funds.
The emperor ransomed Richard for 150,000 marks, a sum greater than the entire Saladin Tithe raised to finance the Third Crusade. To release Richard, the English people, who had hardly ever seen their king, were asked to stump up a quarter of the value of their property. In their scheming ways, John and Philip of France even offered the German Emperor a sum to keep Richard locked up, but it was turned down.
Fortunately for Richard, England prospered from its thriving wool industry and he regained his freedom. But happiness proved shortlived. On his return he discovered a whole swathe of Normandy and Touraine had been taken by John and Philip.
Painstakingly he devoted the last five years of his reign struggling to recover lost land. But this he did. By the time he died, from a crossbow bolt to the shoulder which turned gangrenous, Richard had restored much of his dominion.
Church Bells Fall Silent
King John invokes the wrath of all
T he unexpected death of Richard I led to great confusion in courtly circles about his succession. There were two rival candidates: Richard’s brother John and Arthur of Brittany, grandson of Henry II.
When the news broke, John was actually staying with Arthur in Brittany. In a tense situation John politely made his adieus and hastened to London to claim his crown.
A nervous character, John had an unfortunate upbringing. His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was 45 when she bore him, the last of eight children and probably unwanted. Soon after his birth Elanor was placed under house arrest and his brothers despised him. He also inherited no territory, and was nicknamed ‘Lackland’ for the humiliation. Unsurprisingly, John became a vengeful person, known to be cruel and untrustworthy – the sort who would grab at any useful opportunity whether right or wrong.
Rival camps voiced their support. The archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, advised against John’s coronation, telling his advisors, ‘Mark my words, you will never regret anything in your life as much as this [crowning John]’. But in honour of his father’s deathbed wish, John was duly crowned king in 1199. An axis of opposition was thereby created. Whilst England and Normandy accepted John, the provinces of Anjou, Maine and Touraine all sided with Arthur.
John knew he had to dispose of his twelve-year-old nephew at the first opportunity if he was going to rid himself of a powerful rival. This opportunity did not arise for a few years but when it did John seized it with both hands.
Young pretender disappears
While only 16, Arthur mysteriously disappeared. He was captured by John’s forces in the Battle of Mirabeau and held in the castle of Falaise. The grandson of Henry II was a hero to the Breton people and his imprisonment caused great anger.
It was reported that John had ordered the royal chamberlain, at whose
Harassed all the way by Saladin’s army, the crusaders got within sight of the Holy City. But then Richard received news that his brother John had joined forces with his former friend King Philip and the two were taking control of Normandy castles.
As the situation worsened by the day Richard was forced to make peace with Saladin, having spent 15 months in Palestine. The outcome was deeply frustrating for the English king, for without recapturing Jerusalem the crusade was technically a failure. Nevertheless much of the expedition had been a success: he had recovered the coastal strip; the political turmoil in Jerusalem was resolved; and Christians and Saracens were allowed safe passage to and from the Holy Sepulchre.
A price to pay
Having sent his wife on before him, Richard travelled back to western Europe. He was shipwrecked near Venice and is said to have made his way on foot disguised as a pilgrim. The king was spotted, however, and taken prisoner by the Duke of Austria. He passed Richard to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who saw a neat opportunity to raise much needed war funds.
The emperor ransomed Richard for 150,000 marks, a sum greater than the entire Saladin Tithe raised to finance the Third Crusade. To release Richard, the English people, who had hardly ever seen their king, were asked to stump up a quarter of the value of their property. In their scheming ways, John and Philip of France even offered the German Emperor a sum to keep Richard locked up, but it was turned down.
Fortunately for Richard, England prospered from its thriving wool industry and he regained his freedom. But happiness proved shortlived. On his return he discovered a whole swathe of Normandy and Touraine had been taken by John and Philip.
Painstakingly he devoted the last five years of his reign struggling to recover lost land. But this he did. By the time he died, from a crossbow bolt to the shoulder which turned gangrenous, Richard had restored much of his dominion.
Church Bells Fall Silent
King John invokes the wrath of all
T he unexpected death of Richard I led to great confusion in courtly circles about his succession. There were two rival candidates: Richard’s brother John and Arthur of Brittany, grandson of Henry II.
When the news broke, John was actually staying with Arthur in Brittany. In a tense situation John politely made his adieus and hastened to London to claim his crown.
A nervous character, John had an unfortunate upbringing. His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was 45 when she bore him, the last of eight children and probably unwanted. Soon after his birth Elanor was placed under house arrest and his brothers despised him. He also inherited no territory, and was nicknamed ‘Lackland’ for the humiliation. Unsurprisingly, John became a vengeful person, known to be cruel and untrustworthy – the sort who would grab at any useful opportunity whether right or wrong.
Rival camps voiced their support. The archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, advised against John’s coronation, telling his advisors, ‘Mark my words, you will never regret anything in your life as much as this [crowning John]’. But in honour of his father’s deathbed wish, John was duly crowned king in 1199. An axis of opposition was thereby created. Whilst England and Normandy accepted John, the provinces of Anjou, Maine and Touraine all sided with Arthur.
John knew he had to dispose of his twelve-year-old nephew at the first opportunity if he was going to rid himself of a powerful rival. This opportunity did not arise for a few years but when it did John seized it with both hands.
Young pretender disappears
While only 16, Arthur mysteriously disappeared. He was captured by John’s forces in the Battle of Mirabeau and held in the castle of Falaise. The grandson of Henry II was a hero to the Breton people and his imprisonment caused great anger.
It was reported that John had ordered the royal chamberlain, at whose
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