English lion
860 years ago, 8 September 1157, was born the famous English king Richard I the Lionheart. His main deed was active participation in the Third Crusade, which led to the ruin of the English kingdom. However, in the knightly epic, Richard the Lionheart took one of the central places along with Roland and King Arthur. In Russia, he became famous thanks to the novels of Walter Scott (“Ivanhoe”) and the images in a number of films about the knight Ivanhoe and the noble robber Robin Hood.
The image of a noble monarch, a knight without fear and reproach, was created in fiction. In reality, this was a typical feudal warrior who was more concerned with war and fame than with the well-being of his subjects. Before the coronation, he fought with his brothers and father for power and land. And after he became king, his main focus was on raising money to fight in the Holy Land, and at the end of the board again in France. His contemporary, the French king Philip II was not a knight, but pursued a more rational policy, strengthening royal power and laying the foundations for creating a strong and united France.
Richard was born on September 8 1157, Oxford, in Beaumont Castle. He was the third son of Henry II of England and Alienora (Eleanor) of Aquitaine. His father Henry II was the first king of England from the Plantagenet dynasty, one of the most powerful monarchs of the XII century, whose possessions stretched from the Pyrenees to Scotland. It is worth noting that at that time a significant part of modern France was part of the Kingdom of England. The family life of Heinrich and Alienor did not work out. The queen not only herself constantly clashed with her husband, but also pulled into her intrigues four sons - Heinrich, nicknamed, unlike her father, Young (Young King), Richard, Geoffroy and John.
Richard was born in England, but grew up and was raised at the court of his mother, Alienor of Aquitaine, whose personal possessions were intended to be his inheritance. From an early age, Richard dreamed of knightly deeds and prepared himself for them. He owned very well weapons, and loved hunting. At the age of 15, he became Duke of Aquitaine, a region in the south of France. Richard was well educated (he loved music, even wrote poetry), outwardly he was handsome - tall, blue-eyed and fair-haired, a young Viking hero. Interestingly, Richard could not communicate with his subjects in English due to his ignorance, his actual homeland was one of historical regions of France. He considered French and Provencal as his native languages, and also spoke Italian and Latin.
Feudal wars
The relationship between father and sons was not ideal - the sons then fought against their father, then reconciled, the king of France participated in these conflicts, trying to regain some of the territories occupied by the British. Attempts by Henry to divide his domain among his many children constantly caused conflicts. In 1170, Heinrich the Young was crowned, titled the king of England, the ruler of Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, but did not own anything. He wanted to rule in his lands and revolted against his father. In addition, the feudal lords of the French territories were dependent on the English crown. They were encouraged both by vassals and Alienora Aquitaine’s mother against Henry II. In 1173, Richard and his brother Jeffrey (Duke of Brittany) joined Henry the Young against his father. Alienora led a revolt of Aquitaine barons. Baron insurgencies broke out in England and Brittany. However, Henry collected a mercenary army and began to beat the opponents separately. Alienora was captured by her husband, was transferred to England. She held a captive 12 for years. Richard decided that the case was lost and the first of the brothers came to his father in Poitiers and begged forgiveness. Henry II treated his son graciously. Richard retained Poitou, but obeyed his father. Then he crushed the revolt of the barons in the interests of his father.
As a result, Richard soon earned a reputation as a brave warlord and a good organizer. In 1175 – 1185 he crushed the revolts of the subjects of the English crown. He was famous for the fact that in 1179 he managed to take Tayburg Castle in Senton, which was considered impregnable. At the beginning of 1183, a new crisis began: Geoffroy and Heinrich Young supported vassals who rebelled against Richard. He in response ravaged Brittany. Henry II supported Richard. In turn, Heinrich the Young turned for help to the French king. But the war quickly ended, as Heinrich the Young died. After the death of Henry the Young King, Richard became the heir to the English crown, while Aquitaine Henry II decided to give it to his younger brother John. After asking for time to think, Richard retired to Aquitaine and from there he sent a decisive refusal. This caused a new conflict — this time between Richard, on the one hand, and Jeffrey and John, on the other. Some vassals of Henry the Young joined the younger brothers.
In the autumn of 1184, Heinrich summoned his sons to England and tried to reconcile them. For this, he even freed his wife Alienor, but in 1185, the sons' conflict continued. Jeffrey of Breton died in a joust. The end of the reign of Henry was in the feudal war with the participation of the French king Philippe. Sometimes in these conflicts, Heinrich and his successor Richard acted as allies, another time as opponents. So, Richard at this very moment became especially close to Philip II. When he was his guest in Paris, "they," as the chronicle reports, "ate at the same table and slept in the same bed." At the beginning of 1188, Philip II was about to invade Normandy to knock Henry II out. But all of Europe was already full of vague rumors about the failures in the Middle East, that the Christian barons were losing their possessions under the blows of the “infidels” united under the rule of Saladin. News of the fall of Jerusalem made Richard accept the title of Crusader. The Pope intervened in the dispute to reconcile the English and French monarchs and urge them to go on a new crusade instead of war with each other. 21 January 1188, the kings came together for a meeting in the forest near the town of Gisors. Here they exchanged the "kiss of peace" and vowed that they would march with the troops to the East. And Richard made such an oath even earlier. In all the churches of France and England, it was announced that special “Saladin tithing” had been collected to equip a new crusade.
However, Richard was immediately impeded by a baronial rebellion in Poitou and the struggle against Raymund of Toulouse. Richard rushed to tame the recalcitrant vassals. In this war, he acted completely independently of both his father and Philip II, which caused discontent of both. He did not take revenge on the obedient barons - he only took a word from them to go to the Holy Land to fight the “infidels.” Again the papal throne called for peace. November 18 The 1188 of the year in Bowlen met Heinrich, Richard and Philip. The French king insistently offered Henry II to transfer to full possession of Richard Poitou, Touraine, Anjou and to confirm his rights to the English crown. Henry II refused: “If common sense has not left me, it’s not today that he will receive this gift.” Richard, having lost patience, knelt before Philip II, declaring himself a vassal "for Normandy, Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, Berry and Toulouse" and praying for help and protection of his rights. Enraged, Heinrich left the room immediately: Richard and the French king left together.
The war continued. Together with Philip II, Richard again led the war against the old Henry and now for months pursued his father through the cities and castles of his French possessions. One by one, the cities submitted to Richard and Philip: and finally Heinrich asked for peace, promising all sorts of concessions subject to the inviolability of his “life, honor and crown”. So, only 4 July 1189, the final peace was concluded, after which the kings of England and France were to go on a crusade. Heinrich was so depressed and ill that he accepted all the conditions dictated to him, including the recognition of Richard as his heir in England, Normandy and Anjou. The contracting parties vowed not to avenge those of their vassals, "who changed and supported the enemy." When Henry II made such an oath and demanded from the winners a list of his entourage, who changed him, in the first place he found the name of his favorite, the younger son John. This finally broke King Heinrich. 6 July 1189, Henry II died. Richard became king of England and Normandy.
Henry II and Philip Augustus take the cross for the Third Crusade
Crusade
It is worth noting that the new English monarch was little interested in his royal duties, having spent no more than half a year in the next years in 10 in England. In London itself, the English king visited only two times, and then not for long. The knight-king immediately began to prepare for a campaign in the Holy Land.
For nearly nine decades, the kingdom of Jerusalem, created after the First Crusade, already existed. In the middle of the XII century, when Muslims fought off some of the cities they had conquered from the Christians, a second crusade followed. But in October, 1187, the Sultan of Saladin (Salah ad-Din) defeated the Christian army and captured the King of Jerusalem, Guido Lusignan himself. All Christian shrines were again in the hands of the “infidels”, and Europe began to move. Three of the most powerful European rulers responded to the call of Pope Clement III - Richard I the Lionheart, the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (Redbeard) and the French king Philip II. All of them were talented and experienced commanders, rulers of the most important lands in Western Europe. In 1189, many noble and ignorant warriors were on their way to Palestine or had already reached the walls of the Acre fortress on the shores of the Mediterranean, where a large army of crusaders gathered. From the north went the fleet with the militia of the Swedes, the Norwegians and the Danes. The German Emperor Frederick I led his army by land - through the lands of Byzantium, over the mountains and the hot plains of Asia Minor.
Richard I began his rule in England by collecting money. On the equipment of the troops, he completely let the royal treasury, which remained in London, and also began to sell castles, cities and positions. Richard fully used the instructions of the pope's bull, which commanded those who were not personally involved in the crusade, to provide material assistance to the king. However, Richard interpreted it in his own way - even those who would like to go with him to the holy land, he did not take, and collected money from them. This applied, of course, only to the richest barons; those with nothing to take, joined his army.
In order to increase revenues, Richard began an audit, forcing all the authorities on the royal lands to report. Apparently, he was the first monarch in feudal Europe, which increased revenues to the treasury at the expense of trade in public office. Church feudal lords were also levied on exaction, paying for their posts and acquiring land tenure. According to Richard de Motto, Richard “with a lot of zeal eased the burden of all those who were somewhat burdened by their silver, complaining to everyone according to his taste of office and possession.” He even freed the heirs of King William I of Scotland from the vassal oath for 10 thousands of marks. At the same time, Richard secured peace in the north of England, which he needed during the crusade. As Richard admitted, he would have sold London if he had a buyer. Thus, the new king reduced the administration of the country to the collection of huge taxes to finance the war. At the same time such a war, which could not bring prosperity to the people of England.
John received almost royal authority during the absence of Richard. In December 1189, the king sailed from Dover to Normandy. He met with French King Philip Augustus to discuss the details of the upcoming campaign. Richard and Philip signed a contract in which they pledged to be faithful and help each other. At the time of the crusade, the knights of the two troops vowed not to fight among themselves. According to the contract, if one of the two kings dies during the expedition, the survivor pledged to send all the means and people of the deceased to the aid of the Holy Land. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Richard I became the English king, his army consisted mainly of knights and warriors from the French lands subject to England. So by the origin, language, culture of his army was akin to what Philip II was to lead. But the fleet was English.
King Richard I the Lionheart and Philip began the campaign in 1190. Two armies of the crusaders reached Lyon, where they were divided: the French king went to Genoa, the English to Marseille, where the fleet from England was supposed to come. However, the ships did not arrive at the appointed time, and Richard decided to sail on ships hired in Marseille. By sea, he proceeded to Genoa, where he met with Philippe, then, moving along the Italian coast, Richard reached Salerno. In Salerno, ships from England finally arrived at the king. In September flotilla of 100 ships and 14 baroque solemnly entered the port of Messina, where King Philip was already. Here the allies were delayed by bad weather. The British decided to winter in Sicily, but the locals met the Crusaders inhospitable. Then Richard captured the city of Messina and forcibly took everything he wanted. In the spring of 1191, the English crusaders arrived in Cyprus (which had fallen earlier from the Byzantine Empire). And the Cypriots received uninvited guests without due joy. Therefore, King Richard spent a month to conquer the island. The island became a transit base for the crusaders. In addition, Richard again received gold - he sold Cyprus for 100 thousand bezanty to the Knights Templar.
At the same time, Richard married Berengaria of Navarre. The marriage of Richard and Berengaria was childless - they spent very little time together, as Richard was more concerned about the war (according to some researchers, the English king was more interested in men than women). English chronicler Richard Devizsky wrote that Berengaria was smarter than beautiful. It was a marriage of convenience: he brought the king strategic fortresses, ensured the security of the southern borders of his French possessions. Alienora Aquitaine believed that possession of Navarre, south of Aquitaine, would secure her land. This marriage also relieved Richard of the need to marry Adele. Adele French - the daughter of French King Louis VII, in the 8 years of age became the bride of Richard and sent to England. However, the father of Richard Heinrich, as soon as Adele reached puberty, made her his mistress. Therefore, Richard, despite the best efforts of Henry II, never took her for a wife.
8 June 1191, Richard entered the gulf of St. John of Acre. By that time, the Crusaders had besieged the fortress for two years, but they themselves came under the attack of the Sultan of Egypt and Syria of Saladin. It was one of the most prominent rulers and commanders of the Middle Ages. By that time, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was no longer alive (he drowned during the campaign). Of all his considerable troops, which went to the Holy Land from Constantinople by land, only one thousand German knights reached Acre under the command of King Frederick Schwabsky. European knighthood, gathered at Aqra, recognized Richard I as their leader. Admiring the behavior of the English king during the storming of Acre, his indomitability, the poets, who were many in the camp of the Crusaders, began to call him Richard the Lionheart.
At the same time, relations with the French king became sharply aggravated. “Kings, like their army,” witnessed the witness, split into two. When the French king conceived an attack on the city, the English king didn’t like it, and the last one was displeased by the first. The split was so great that it almost reached open fights. ” Finally, realizing that the situation was hopeless, Richard and Philip chose a panel of arbitrators from among the most distinguished and wisest associates - three from each side, pledging to obey its decisions. But the arbitrators did not manage to settle differences. They only agreed that when one king "stormed, the other pledged to defend the camp."
11 July 1191, Acre was taken. Christians solemnly entered the city. However, immediately among the crusaders began to grow discontent. The two kings divided the city and the spoils among themselves, not taking into account those who besieged Acre long before their arrival. Richard caused particular discontent. So, he immediately encountered Léopold, duke of Austria, whom he disliked as a supporter of Philip and as a relative of the Byzantine emperor. Under the mockery of those around him, Richard threw the duke’s banner from the house where he was located, and in general drove him along with his suite from the place he had chosen. Richard had no mercy for the Muslim soldiers - he ordered to ruthlessly exterminate 2700 prisoners. The fall of Acre allowed the crusaders to conquer the Mediterranean coast of Palestine without a fight. The garrisons of Haifa and Caesarea surrendered cities without resistance.
Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart receive the keys to Acre (1191). Miniature of the XIV century. Big French Chronicles
However, military victories did not lead to the unity of the British and French. Richard wanted to repel Jerusalem, and Philip to return home to solve French national problems. As a result, King Philip II Augustus, having earned himself the glory of the winner of the Saracens, and on the pretext of ill health, returned home. Together with him sailed and most of the French knights of the Crusaders. Anticipating the evil, Richard, remaining in the holy places, demanded from Philip II an oath that he would not attack his lands while he was on the march.
In August, 1191, King Richard the Lion-Heart, began a march on the Holy City. The path went through the city of Ascalon. Richard led the troops originally along the seashore, accompanied by a fleet. Arab cavalry constantly disturbed the Crusaders with their attacks. To protect the marching column from enemy horse archers, detachments of crossbowmen marched to the sides. The arrows of the crossbows flew further than the arrows of the horse archers, and the riders of the Egyptian Sultan's army suffered serious losses in men and horses even before a direct collision.
The decisive battle took place on September 7 1191 at Arsuf, on the coast. According to highly inflated sources, Saladin's army consisted of 300 thousand warriors. The army of the crusaders also, according to inflated data, numbered about 50 thousand people. But in any case, the forces of the Muslims were significantly superior to those of the Christians. Thousands of Muslim cavalry attacked the Christians, falling asleep with their arrows. However, the core of the army of the Crusaders - the British led by the king - held the position. Muslim cavalry suffered heavy losses in barren horse attacks and gradually lost the attacking attitude. Gradually, the initiative in the battle went to Richard. At the signal of his troops went into a common counterattack. The Saracens in disorder retreated from Arsuf. The huge sultan army lost in the battle, according to some information, 40 thousand people, and according to other, more reliable information - only a few thousand soldiers. The losses of the crusaders amounted to just 700 people. Richard in one of the episodes of the battle went ahead of the knight’s ranks with a spear in his hand and challenged the entire Muslim army. But no one went to a duel with him.
After this battle, Saladin abandoned the idea of a decisive battle and switched to the scorched-earth tactics. In addition, the army of Saladin was nearby and at any time to launch a counterattack. King Richard realized that further movement to Jerusalem could be the death of his army. And he ordered to turn back halfway. All trips to Jerusalem did not lead to success. The third crusade ended with the king and the sultan concluding a truce in September 1192. Richard achieved freedom of access to shrines for Christians without paying customs duties and fees for living in Jerusalem. Saladin recognized the coastal lands of Syria and Palestine from Tire to Jaffa as Crusader possessions. Jaffa for many years became a place where the pilgrims came and waited there for permission to continue the journey to Jerusalem. Prisoners were released. The king of England himself did not dare to visit Jerusalem, feeling his guilt, since "he could not wrest it from the hands of his enemies." Thus, despite the fact that Jerusalem was not taken, the actions of Richard’s army ensured the existence of a Christian kingdom in the Holy Land for another hundred years.
Captivity. End of the board
Not having achieved a decisive victory, Richard decided to return. Rumors reached him that his younger brother, John, took the throne in England, and King Philip ruled in his lands in France. 9 October 1192, Richard the Lionheart sailed home. However, the royal ship was wrecked off the coast of Venice, and the knightly monarch was captured by Duke Leopold of Bavaria. The English king was bought by the German emperor and imprisoned in his fortress. Emperor Henry VI in Hagenau, at a specially convened meeting of spiritual and secular feudal lords, announced the list of charges against Richard. In particular, due to the actions of the English king, he lost Sicily and Apulia, claimed by his spouse, and Richard also sold and resold acutely Cyprus, without any right to do so. There were also accusations of the king in the death of Conrad of Montferrat and an attempt to kill Philip Augustus, etc. Richard denied all the accusations. As a result, the emperor demanded a ransom in 150 of thousands of marks - a two-year income of the English crown.
When Philip and John learned about the capture of Richard, they offered the German emperor a large sum of money, if only he did not release Richard. The bargaining continued until Richard was redeemed by his mother, who had enlisted the support of the papal throne. Richard was released from captivity in February 1194 after England paid a huge ransom in 150 for thousands of marks for him. They could not pay the entire amount right away, so they transferred noble hostages. Brother John confessed and was pardoned (he was even left the heir to the throne). His supporters capitulated and bought a pardon. Richard, for an amount almost equal to the size of his ransom, confirmed the independence of Scotland, receiving money for the war and depriving France of a possible ally. After that, he immediately assembled troops for war with the French king and went to Normandy, where he fought for five years.
The war with Philip on French soil was long. Richard defeated, inflicted on the French king one defeat after another. Finally, in January 1199, peace was concluded. Philip made huge concessions. The ring of possessions of the English king, converging with the lands of his allies, was narrowed around Paris. And then the French king was lucky. As soon as he made peace with Philip, the king moved on to his vassal, the viscount of Limoges Ademar (Amar).
In one of the clashes during the siege of the castle of Shal-Chabrol of the rebellious Viscount of Limoges, he was wounded by a crossbow in the shoulder. The wound was not fatal, but poorly performed surgery led to blood poisoning. It is possible that the arrow was poisoned, because by this time the European warriors had already adopted a lot of Eastern customs of warfare. Richard the Lionheart died 6 on April 1199 at the age of 41. Richard had no children, so on his deathbed he bequeathed the English crown to his brother John, the future John of the Landless.
Monument to Richard I in the courtyard of the Palace of Westminster
The image of a noble monarch, a knight without fear and reproach, was created in fiction. In reality, this was a typical feudal warrior who was more concerned with war and fame than with the well-being of his subjects. Before the coronation, he fought with his brothers and father for power and land. And after he became king, his main focus was on raising money to fight in the Holy Land, and at the end of the board again in France. His contemporary, the French king Philip II was not a knight, but pursued a more rational policy, strengthening royal power and laying the foundations for creating a strong and united France.
Richard was born on September 8 1157, Oxford, in Beaumont Castle. He was the third son of Henry II of England and Alienora (Eleanor) of Aquitaine. His father Henry II was the first king of England from the Plantagenet dynasty, one of the most powerful monarchs of the XII century, whose possessions stretched from the Pyrenees to Scotland. It is worth noting that at that time a significant part of modern France was part of the Kingdom of England. The family life of Heinrich and Alienor did not work out. The queen not only herself constantly clashed with her husband, but also pulled into her intrigues four sons - Heinrich, nicknamed, unlike her father, Young (Young King), Richard, Geoffroy and John.
Richard was born in England, but grew up and was raised at the court of his mother, Alienor of Aquitaine, whose personal possessions were intended to be his inheritance. From an early age, Richard dreamed of knightly deeds and prepared himself for them. He owned very well weapons, and loved hunting. At the age of 15, he became Duke of Aquitaine, a region in the south of France. Richard was well educated (he loved music, even wrote poetry), outwardly he was handsome - tall, blue-eyed and fair-haired, a young Viking hero. Interestingly, Richard could not communicate with his subjects in English due to his ignorance, his actual homeland was one of historical regions of France. He considered French and Provencal as his native languages, and also spoke Italian and Latin.
Feudal wars
The relationship between father and sons was not ideal - the sons then fought against their father, then reconciled, the king of France participated in these conflicts, trying to regain some of the territories occupied by the British. Attempts by Henry to divide his domain among his many children constantly caused conflicts. In 1170, Heinrich the Young was crowned, titled the king of England, the ruler of Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, but did not own anything. He wanted to rule in his lands and revolted against his father. In addition, the feudal lords of the French territories were dependent on the English crown. They were encouraged both by vassals and Alienora Aquitaine’s mother against Henry II. In 1173, Richard and his brother Jeffrey (Duke of Brittany) joined Henry the Young against his father. Alienora led a revolt of Aquitaine barons. Baron insurgencies broke out in England and Brittany. However, Henry collected a mercenary army and began to beat the opponents separately. Alienora was captured by her husband, was transferred to England. She held a captive 12 for years. Richard decided that the case was lost and the first of the brothers came to his father in Poitiers and begged forgiveness. Henry II treated his son graciously. Richard retained Poitou, but obeyed his father. Then he crushed the revolt of the barons in the interests of his father.
As a result, Richard soon earned a reputation as a brave warlord and a good organizer. In 1175 – 1185 he crushed the revolts of the subjects of the English crown. He was famous for the fact that in 1179 he managed to take Tayburg Castle in Senton, which was considered impregnable. At the beginning of 1183, a new crisis began: Geoffroy and Heinrich Young supported vassals who rebelled against Richard. He in response ravaged Brittany. Henry II supported Richard. In turn, Heinrich the Young turned for help to the French king. But the war quickly ended, as Heinrich the Young died. After the death of Henry the Young King, Richard became the heir to the English crown, while Aquitaine Henry II decided to give it to his younger brother John. After asking for time to think, Richard retired to Aquitaine and from there he sent a decisive refusal. This caused a new conflict — this time between Richard, on the one hand, and Jeffrey and John, on the other. Some vassals of Henry the Young joined the younger brothers.
In the autumn of 1184, Heinrich summoned his sons to England and tried to reconcile them. For this, he even freed his wife Alienor, but in 1185, the sons' conflict continued. Jeffrey of Breton died in a joust. The end of the reign of Henry was in the feudal war with the participation of the French king Philippe. Sometimes in these conflicts, Heinrich and his successor Richard acted as allies, another time as opponents. So, Richard at this very moment became especially close to Philip II. When he was his guest in Paris, "they," as the chronicle reports, "ate at the same table and slept in the same bed." At the beginning of 1188, Philip II was about to invade Normandy to knock Henry II out. But all of Europe was already full of vague rumors about the failures in the Middle East, that the Christian barons were losing their possessions under the blows of the “infidels” united under the rule of Saladin. News of the fall of Jerusalem made Richard accept the title of Crusader. The Pope intervened in the dispute to reconcile the English and French monarchs and urge them to go on a new crusade instead of war with each other. 21 January 1188, the kings came together for a meeting in the forest near the town of Gisors. Here they exchanged the "kiss of peace" and vowed that they would march with the troops to the East. And Richard made such an oath even earlier. In all the churches of France and England, it was announced that special “Saladin tithing” had been collected to equip a new crusade.
However, Richard was immediately impeded by a baronial rebellion in Poitou and the struggle against Raymund of Toulouse. Richard rushed to tame the recalcitrant vassals. In this war, he acted completely independently of both his father and Philip II, which caused discontent of both. He did not take revenge on the obedient barons - he only took a word from them to go to the Holy Land to fight the “infidels.” Again the papal throne called for peace. November 18 The 1188 of the year in Bowlen met Heinrich, Richard and Philip. The French king insistently offered Henry II to transfer to full possession of Richard Poitou, Touraine, Anjou and to confirm his rights to the English crown. Henry II refused: “If common sense has not left me, it’s not today that he will receive this gift.” Richard, having lost patience, knelt before Philip II, declaring himself a vassal "for Normandy, Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, Berry and Toulouse" and praying for help and protection of his rights. Enraged, Heinrich left the room immediately: Richard and the French king left together.
The war continued. Together with Philip II, Richard again led the war against the old Henry and now for months pursued his father through the cities and castles of his French possessions. One by one, the cities submitted to Richard and Philip: and finally Heinrich asked for peace, promising all sorts of concessions subject to the inviolability of his “life, honor and crown”. So, only 4 July 1189, the final peace was concluded, after which the kings of England and France were to go on a crusade. Heinrich was so depressed and ill that he accepted all the conditions dictated to him, including the recognition of Richard as his heir in England, Normandy and Anjou. The contracting parties vowed not to avenge those of their vassals, "who changed and supported the enemy." When Henry II made such an oath and demanded from the winners a list of his entourage, who changed him, in the first place he found the name of his favorite, the younger son John. This finally broke King Heinrich. 6 July 1189, Henry II died. Richard became king of England and Normandy.
Henry II and Philip Augustus take the cross for the Third Crusade
Crusade
It is worth noting that the new English monarch was little interested in his royal duties, having spent no more than half a year in the next years in 10 in England. In London itself, the English king visited only two times, and then not for long. The knight-king immediately began to prepare for a campaign in the Holy Land.
For nearly nine decades, the kingdom of Jerusalem, created after the First Crusade, already existed. In the middle of the XII century, when Muslims fought off some of the cities they had conquered from the Christians, a second crusade followed. But in October, 1187, the Sultan of Saladin (Salah ad-Din) defeated the Christian army and captured the King of Jerusalem, Guido Lusignan himself. All Christian shrines were again in the hands of the “infidels”, and Europe began to move. Three of the most powerful European rulers responded to the call of Pope Clement III - Richard I the Lionheart, the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (Redbeard) and the French king Philip II. All of them were talented and experienced commanders, rulers of the most important lands in Western Europe. In 1189, many noble and ignorant warriors were on their way to Palestine or had already reached the walls of the Acre fortress on the shores of the Mediterranean, where a large army of crusaders gathered. From the north went the fleet with the militia of the Swedes, the Norwegians and the Danes. The German Emperor Frederick I led his army by land - through the lands of Byzantium, over the mountains and the hot plains of Asia Minor.
Richard I began his rule in England by collecting money. On the equipment of the troops, he completely let the royal treasury, which remained in London, and also began to sell castles, cities and positions. Richard fully used the instructions of the pope's bull, which commanded those who were not personally involved in the crusade, to provide material assistance to the king. However, Richard interpreted it in his own way - even those who would like to go with him to the holy land, he did not take, and collected money from them. This applied, of course, only to the richest barons; those with nothing to take, joined his army.
In order to increase revenues, Richard began an audit, forcing all the authorities on the royal lands to report. Apparently, he was the first monarch in feudal Europe, which increased revenues to the treasury at the expense of trade in public office. Church feudal lords were also levied on exaction, paying for their posts and acquiring land tenure. According to Richard de Motto, Richard “with a lot of zeal eased the burden of all those who were somewhat burdened by their silver, complaining to everyone according to his taste of office and possession.” He even freed the heirs of King William I of Scotland from the vassal oath for 10 thousands of marks. At the same time, Richard secured peace in the north of England, which he needed during the crusade. As Richard admitted, he would have sold London if he had a buyer. Thus, the new king reduced the administration of the country to the collection of huge taxes to finance the war. At the same time such a war, which could not bring prosperity to the people of England.
John received almost royal authority during the absence of Richard. In December 1189, the king sailed from Dover to Normandy. He met with French King Philip Augustus to discuss the details of the upcoming campaign. Richard and Philip signed a contract in which they pledged to be faithful and help each other. At the time of the crusade, the knights of the two troops vowed not to fight among themselves. According to the contract, if one of the two kings dies during the expedition, the survivor pledged to send all the means and people of the deceased to the aid of the Holy Land. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that Richard I became the English king, his army consisted mainly of knights and warriors from the French lands subject to England. So by the origin, language, culture of his army was akin to what Philip II was to lead. But the fleet was English.
King Richard I the Lionheart and Philip began the campaign in 1190. Two armies of the crusaders reached Lyon, where they were divided: the French king went to Genoa, the English to Marseille, where the fleet from England was supposed to come. However, the ships did not arrive at the appointed time, and Richard decided to sail on ships hired in Marseille. By sea, he proceeded to Genoa, where he met with Philippe, then, moving along the Italian coast, Richard reached Salerno. In Salerno, ships from England finally arrived at the king. In September flotilla of 100 ships and 14 baroque solemnly entered the port of Messina, where King Philip was already. Here the allies were delayed by bad weather. The British decided to winter in Sicily, but the locals met the Crusaders inhospitable. Then Richard captured the city of Messina and forcibly took everything he wanted. In the spring of 1191, the English crusaders arrived in Cyprus (which had fallen earlier from the Byzantine Empire). And the Cypriots received uninvited guests without due joy. Therefore, King Richard spent a month to conquer the island. The island became a transit base for the crusaders. In addition, Richard again received gold - he sold Cyprus for 100 thousand bezanty to the Knights Templar.
At the same time, Richard married Berengaria of Navarre. The marriage of Richard and Berengaria was childless - they spent very little time together, as Richard was more concerned about the war (according to some researchers, the English king was more interested in men than women). English chronicler Richard Devizsky wrote that Berengaria was smarter than beautiful. It was a marriage of convenience: he brought the king strategic fortresses, ensured the security of the southern borders of his French possessions. Alienora Aquitaine believed that possession of Navarre, south of Aquitaine, would secure her land. This marriage also relieved Richard of the need to marry Adele. Adele French - the daughter of French King Louis VII, in the 8 years of age became the bride of Richard and sent to England. However, the father of Richard Heinrich, as soon as Adele reached puberty, made her his mistress. Therefore, Richard, despite the best efforts of Henry II, never took her for a wife.
8 June 1191, Richard entered the gulf of St. John of Acre. By that time, the Crusaders had besieged the fortress for two years, but they themselves came under the attack of the Sultan of Egypt and Syria of Saladin. It was one of the most prominent rulers and commanders of the Middle Ages. By that time, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was no longer alive (he drowned during the campaign). Of all his considerable troops, which went to the Holy Land from Constantinople by land, only one thousand German knights reached Acre under the command of King Frederick Schwabsky. European knighthood, gathered at Aqra, recognized Richard I as their leader. Admiring the behavior of the English king during the storming of Acre, his indomitability, the poets, who were many in the camp of the Crusaders, began to call him Richard the Lionheart.
At the same time, relations with the French king became sharply aggravated. “Kings, like their army,” witnessed the witness, split into two. When the French king conceived an attack on the city, the English king didn’t like it, and the last one was displeased by the first. The split was so great that it almost reached open fights. ” Finally, realizing that the situation was hopeless, Richard and Philip chose a panel of arbitrators from among the most distinguished and wisest associates - three from each side, pledging to obey its decisions. But the arbitrators did not manage to settle differences. They only agreed that when one king "stormed, the other pledged to defend the camp."
11 July 1191, Acre was taken. Christians solemnly entered the city. However, immediately among the crusaders began to grow discontent. The two kings divided the city and the spoils among themselves, not taking into account those who besieged Acre long before their arrival. Richard caused particular discontent. So, he immediately encountered Léopold, duke of Austria, whom he disliked as a supporter of Philip and as a relative of the Byzantine emperor. Under the mockery of those around him, Richard threw the duke’s banner from the house where he was located, and in general drove him along with his suite from the place he had chosen. Richard had no mercy for the Muslim soldiers - he ordered to ruthlessly exterminate 2700 prisoners. The fall of Acre allowed the crusaders to conquer the Mediterranean coast of Palestine without a fight. The garrisons of Haifa and Caesarea surrendered cities without resistance.
Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart receive the keys to Acre (1191). Miniature of the XIV century. Big French Chronicles
However, military victories did not lead to the unity of the British and French. Richard wanted to repel Jerusalem, and Philip to return home to solve French national problems. As a result, King Philip II Augustus, having earned himself the glory of the winner of the Saracens, and on the pretext of ill health, returned home. Together with him sailed and most of the French knights of the Crusaders. Anticipating the evil, Richard, remaining in the holy places, demanded from Philip II an oath that he would not attack his lands while he was on the march.
In August, 1191, King Richard the Lion-Heart, began a march on the Holy City. The path went through the city of Ascalon. Richard led the troops originally along the seashore, accompanied by a fleet. Arab cavalry constantly disturbed the Crusaders with their attacks. To protect the marching column from enemy horse archers, detachments of crossbowmen marched to the sides. The arrows of the crossbows flew further than the arrows of the horse archers, and the riders of the Egyptian Sultan's army suffered serious losses in men and horses even before a direct collision.
The decisive battle took place on September 7 1191 at Arsuf, on the coast. According to highly inflated sources, Saladin's army consisted of 300 thousand warriors. The army of the crusaders also, according to inflated data, numbered about 50 thousand people. But in any case, the forces of the Muslims were significantly superior to those of the Christians. Thousands of Muslim cavalry attacked the Christians, falling asleep with their arrows. However, the core of the army of the Crusaders - the British led by the king - held the position. Muslim cavalry suffered heavy losses in barren horse attacks and gradually lost the attacking attitude. Gradually, the initiative in the battle went to Richard. At the signal of his troops went into a common counterattack. The Saracens in disorder retreated from Arsuf. The huge sultan army lost in the battle, according to some information, 40 thousand people, and according to other, more reliable information - only a few thousand soldiers. The losses of the crusaders amounted to just 700 people. Richard in one of the episodes of the battle went ahead of the knight’s ranks with a spear in his hand and challenged the entire Muslim army. But no one went to a duel with him.
After this battle, Saladin abandoned the idea of a decisive battle and switched to the scorched-earth tactics. In addition, the army of Saladin was nearby and at any time to launch a counterattack. King Richard realized that further movement to Jerusalem could be the death of his army. And he ordered to turn back halfway. All trips to Jerusalem did not lead to success. The third crusade ended with the king and the sultan concluding a truce in September 1192. Richard achieved freedom of access to shrines for Christians without paying customs duties and fees for living in Jerusalem. Saladin recognized the coastal lands of Syria and Palestine from Tire to Jaffa as Crusader possessions. Jaffa for many years became a place where the pilgrims came and waited there for permission to continue the journey to Jerusalem. Prisoners were released. The king of England himself did not dare to visit Jerusalem, feeling his guilt, since "he could not wrest it from the hands of his enemies." Thus, despite the fact that Jerusalem was not taken, the actions of Richard’s army ensured the existence of a Christian kingdom in the Holy Land for another hundred years.
Captivity. End of the board
Not having achieved a decisive victory, Richard decided to return. Rumors reached him that his younger brother, John, took the throne in England, and King Philip ruled in his lands in France. 9 October 1192, Richard the Lionheart sailed home. However, the royal ship was wrecked off the coast of Venice, and the knightly monarch was captured by Duke Leopold of Bavaria. The English king was bought by the German emperor and imprisoned in his fortress. Emperor Henry VI in Hagenau, at a specially convened meeting of spiritual and secular feudal lords, announced the list of charges against Richard. In particular, due to the actions of the English king, he lost Sicily and Apulia, claimed by his spouse, and Richard also sold and resold acutely Cyprus, without any right to do so. There were also accusations of the king in the death of Conrad of Montferrat and an attempt to kill Philip Augustus, etc. Richard denied all the accusations. As a result, the emperor demanded a ransom in 150 of thousands of marks - a two-year income of the English crown.
When Philip and John learned about the capture of Richard, they offered the German emperor a large sum of money, if only he did not release Richard. The bargaining continued until Richard was redeemed by his mother, who had enlisted the support of the papal throne. Richard was released from captivity in February 1194 after England paid a huge ransom in 150 for thousands of marks for him. They could not pay the entire amount right away, so they transferred noble hostages. Brother John confessed and was pardoned (he was even left the heir to the throne). His supporters capitulated and bought a pardon. Richard, for an amount almost equal to the size of his ransom, confirmed the independence of Scotland, receiving money for the war and depriving France of a possible ally. After that, he immediately assembled troops for war with the French king and went to Normandy, where he fought for five years.
The war with Philip on French soil was long. Richard defeated, inflicted on the French king one defeat after another. Finally, in January 1199, peace was concluded. Philip made huge concessions. The ring of possessions of the English king, converging with the lands of his allies, was narrowed around Paris. And then the French king was lucky. As soon as he made peace with Philip, the king moved on to his vassal, the viscount of Limoges Ademar (Amar).
In one of the clashes during the siege of the castle of Shal-Chabrol of the rebellious Viscount of Limoges, he was wounded by a crossbow in the shoulder. The wound was not fatal, but poorly performed surgery led to blood poisoning. It is possible that the arrow was poisoned, because by this time the European warriors had already adopted a lot of Eastern customs of warfare. Richard the Lionheart died 6 on April 1199 at the age of 41. Richard had no children, so on his deathbed he bequeathed the English crown to his brother John, the future John of the Landless.
Monument to Richard I in the courtyard of the Palace of Westminster
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