Richard I of England

Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. He was often referred to as Richard the Lionheart, C?ur de Lion.

Captivity and return

Bad luck dogged Richard on his return home. Bad weather forced his ship to put in at Corfu, the territory of the Byzantine Emperor Isaac Angelus, who was still angry at Richard for his annexation of Cyprus. Disguised as a Knight Templar, Richard sailed from Corfu with four attendants in a pirate ship, which wrecked near Aquileia, forcing Richard and his party into a dangerous land route through central Europe. On his way to the territory of Henry of Saxony, his brother-in-law, Richard was captured shortly before Christmas 1192 only a few miles from the Moravian border, near Vienna, by Leopold V of Austria, who accused Richard of ordering the death of Conrad. Richard and his retainers had been traveling disguised as pilgrims, complete with flowing beards and tattered clothes. Richard himself was dressed like a kitchen hand, but was identified because he was wearing a magnificent and costly ring no menial worker could afford. (Another tale claimed he was identified by his insistence on eating roast chicken, a great delicacy reserved for nobility.) The Duke handed him over as a prisoner to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor after being held captive at Dürnstein. Although the circumstances of his captivity were not severe, he was frustrated by his inability to travel freely. Richard once proudly declared, "I am born of a rank which recognizes no superior but God" to the emperor. His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, worked tirelessly to raise the exorbitant ransom of 150,000 marks demanded by the German emperor, which was twice the annual income for the English Crown. Both clergy and laymen were taxed for a quarter of the value of their property, the gold and silver treasures of the churches were confiscated, and money was raised from the scutage and the carucage taxes. The emperor demanded that 100,000 marks be delivered to him before he would release the king, the same amount that had been raised by the Saladin tithe only a few years earlier. At the same time, John, Richard's brother, and King Philip offered 80,000 marks for the Emperor to hold Richard prisoner until Michaelmas 1194. The emperor turned down the offer. The money to rescue the King was transferred to Germany by the emperor's ambassadors, but "at the king's peril" (had it been lost along the way, Richard would have been held responsible), and finally, on February 4, 1194 Richard was released. King Philip of France sent a message to John: "Look to yourself; the devil is loose."

Related Topics:
Corfu - Aquileia - 1192 - Leopold V of Austria - Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor - Dürnstein - Eleanor of Aquitaine - Scutage - Carucage - Saladin tithe - Michaelmas - February 4 - 1194 - John

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