Editing Richard I of England (section)

==Early life and accession in Aquitaine==

===Childhood===
[[File:Seal - Richard I of England.jpg |thumb|King Richard I's [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal]] of 1189]]
Richard was born on 8 September 1157,{{Sfn|Flori|1999|p=1}} probably at [[Beaumont Palace]],<ref name="Gillingham 2002 24">{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=24.}}</ref> in [[Oxford]], [[Kingdom of England|England]], son of King [[Henry II of England]] and [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]. He was the younger brother of [[William IX, Count of Poitiers|William]], [[Henry the Young King]], and [[Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony|Matilda]]; William died before Richard's birth.<ref name="Flori 1999 ix">{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=ix.}}</ref> As a younger son of King Henry II, Richard was not expected to ascend the throne.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=2.}}</ref> Four more children were born to King Henry and Queen Eleanor: [[Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany|Geoffrey]], [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor]], [[Joan of England, Queen of Sicily|Joan]], and [[John, King of England|John]]. Richard also had two half-sisters from his mother's first marriage to [[Louis VII of France]]: [[Marie of France, Countess of Champagne|Marie]] and [[Alix of France|Alix]].<ref name="Flori 1999 ix"/>

Richard is often depicted as having been the favourite son of his mother.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=28.}}</ref> His father was Angevin-Norman and great-grandson of [[William the Conqueror]]. Contemporary historian [[Ralph de Diceto]] traced his family's lineage through [[Matilda of Scotland]] to the [[Anglo-Saxon]] kings of England and [[Alfred the Great]], and from there legend linked them to [[Noah]] and [[Woden]]. According to Angevin family tradition, there was even 'infernal blood' in their ancestry, with a claimed descent from the fairy, or female demon, [[Melusine]].<ref name="Gillingham 2002 24"/><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Huscroft|first1=Richard|year=2016|title=Tales From the Long Twelfth Century: The Rise and Fall of the Angevin Empire|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|isbn=978-0-3001-8725-0|pages=19–20}}</ref>

While his father visited his lands from Scotland to France, Richard probably spent his childhood in England. His first recorded visit to the European continent was in May 1165, when his mother took him to Normandy. His [[wet nurse]] was [[Hodierna of St Albans]], whom he gave a generous pension after he became king.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|pp=28, 32}}</ref> Little is known about Richard's education.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=10.}}</ref> Although he was born in Oxford and brought up in England up to his eighth year, it is not known to what extent he used or understood English; he was an educated man who composed poetry and wrote in [[Limousin dialect|Limousin]] (''[[lenga d'òc]]'') and also in French.<ref>{{Harvnb|Leese|1996|p=57}}</ref>

During his captivity, English prejudice against foreigners was used in a calculated way by his brother John to help destroy the authority of Richard's chancellor, [[William Longchamp]], who was a [[Normans|Norman]]. One of the specific charges laid against Longchamp, by John's supporter [[Hugh Nonant]], was that he could not speak English. This indicates that by the late 12th century a knowledge of English was expected of those in positions of authority in England.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prestwich|Prestwich|2004|p=76}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Stafford|Nelson|Martindale|2001|pp=168–169}}</ref>
[[File:France 1154-en (Angevin Empire).svg|thumb|The [[Angevin Empire|Angevin domains]] (in various shades of red) on the continent, which Richard eventually inherited from his parents]]
Richard was said to be very attractive; his hair was between red and blond, and he was light-eyed with a pale complexion. According to Clifford Brewer, he was {{Convert|6|ft|5|in}},<ref>{{Harvnb|Brewer|2000|p=41}}</ref> although that is unverifiable since his remains have been lost since at least the [[French Revolution]]. John, his youngest brother, was known to be {{Convert|5|ft|5|in}}.

The ''[[Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi]]'', a Latin prose narrative of the [[Third Crusade]], states that: "He was tall, of elegant build; the colour of his hair was between red and gold; his limbs were supple and straight. He had long arms suited to wielding a sword. His long legs matched the rest of his body".<ref>{{Cite book|first1=Frank|last1=McLynn|year=2012|title=Lionheart and Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest|page=24|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-7126-9417-9}}</ref>

Marriage alliances were common among medieval royalty: they led to political alliances and peace treaties and allowed families to stake claims of succession on each other's lands. In March 1159, it was arranged that Richard would marry one of the daughters of [[Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona]]; however, these arrangements failed, and the marriage never took place. Henry the Young King was married to [[Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary|Margaret]], daughter of Louis VII of France, on 2 November 1160.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=23–25.}}</ref> Despite this alliance between the [[Plantagenets]] and the [[Capetians]], the dynasty on the French throne, the two houses were sometimes in conflict. In 1168, the intercession of [[Pope Alexander III]] was necessary to secure a truce between them. Henry II had conquered Brittany and taken control of [[Gisors]] and the [[Vexin]], which had been part of Margaret's dowry.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=26–27}}</ref>

Early in the 1160s there had been suggestions Richard should marry [[Alys, Countess of the Vexin]], fourth daughter of Louis VII; because of the rivalry between the kings of England and France, Louis obstructed the marriage. A peace treaty was secured in January 1169 and Richard's betrothal to Alys was confirmed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=25, 28}}</ref> Henry II planned to divide his and Eleanor's territories among their three eldest surviving sons: Henry would become King of England and have control of Anjou, Maine, and Normandy; Richard would inherit Aquitaine and Poitiers from his mother; and Geoffrey would become Duke of Brittany through marriage with [[Constance, Duchess of Brittany|Constance]], heir presumptive of [[Conan IV]]. At the ceremony where Richard's betrothal was confirmed, he paid homage to the king of France for Aquitaine, thus securing ties of vassalage between the two.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=27–28}}</ref>

After Henry II fell seriously ill in 1170, he enacted his plan to divide his territories, although he would retain overall authority over his sons and their territories. His son Henry was [[Coronation#Coronation of heirs apparent|crowned as heir apparent]] in June 1170, and in 1171 Richard left for Aquitaine with his mother, and Henry II gave him the duchy of Aquitaine at the request of Eleanor. Richard and his mother embarked on a tour of Aquitaine in 1171 in an attempt to pacify the locals.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=29–30.}}</ref> Together, they laid the foundation stone of St Augustine's Monastery in [[Limoges]]. In June 1172, at age 14, Richard was formally recognised as duke of Aquitaine and [[count of Poitou]] when he was granted the lance and banner emblems of his office; the ceremony took place in Poitiers and was repeated in Limoges, where he wore the ring of [[St Valerie]], who was the personification of Aquitaine.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=40}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Turner|Heiser|2000|page=57}}</ref>

===Revolt against Henry II===
{{Main|Revolt of 1173–74}}
According to [[Ralph of Coggeshall]], Henry the Young King instigated a rebellion against Henry II; he wanted to reign independently over at least part of the territory his father had promised him, and to break away from his dependence on Henry II, who controlled the purse strings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=31–32.}}</ref> There were rumors that Eleanor might have encouraged her sons to revolt against their father.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=32.}}</ref>

Henry the Young King abandoned his father and left for the French court, seeking the protection of Louis VII; his brothers Richard and Geoffrey soon followed him, while the five-year-old John remained in England. Louis gave his support to the three brothers and even knighted Richard, tying them together through vassalage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=32–33.}}</ref>
[[Jordan Fantosme]], a contemporary poet, described the rebellion as a "war without love".<ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=41.}}</ref>

[[File:Taillebourg Chte-Mme 005.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Geoffrey de Rancon]]'s [[Château de Taillebourg]], the castle Richard retreated to after Henry II's forces captured 60&nbsp;[[knight]]s and 400&nbsp;archers who fought for Richard when [[Saintes, Charente-Maritime|Saintes]] was captured.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|pp=49–50.}}</ref>]]
The brothers made an oath at the French court that they would not make terms with Henry II without the consent of Louis VII and the French barons.<ref name="Gillingham 2002 48">{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=48.}}</ref> With the support of Louis, Henry the Young King attracted many barons to his cause through promises of land and money; one such baron was [[Philip I, Count of Flanders]], who was promised £1,000 and several castles. The brothers also had supporters ready to rise up in England. [[Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester]], joined forces with [[Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk]], [[Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester]], and [[William I of Scotland]] for a rebellion in Suffolk. The alliance with Louis was initially successful, and by July 1173 the rebels were [[besieging]] [[Aumale]], [[Neuf-Marché]], and [[Verneuil-sur-Avre|Verneuil]], and Hugh de Kevelioc had captured [[Dol-de-Bretagne|Dol]] in Brittany.<ref name="Flori 33">{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=33.}}</ref> Richard went to [[Poitou]] and raised the barons who were loyal to himself and his mother in rebellion against his father. Eleanor was captured, so Richard was left to lead his campaign against Henry II's supporters in Aquitaine on his own. He marched to take [[La Rochelle]] but was rejected by the inhabitants; he withdrew to the city of [[Saintes, Charente-Maritime|Saintes]], which he established as a base of operations.<ref name="Flori 34-35">{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=34–35.}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=49.}}</ref>

In the meantime, Henry II had raised a very expensive army of more than 20,000 mercenaries with which to face the rebellion.<ref name="Flori 33"/> He marched on Verneuil, and Louis retreated from his forces. The army proceeded to recapture Dol and subdued Brittany. At this point Henry II made an offer of peace to his sons; on the advice of Louis the offer was refused.<ref name="Flori 33-34">{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|pp=33–34.}}</ref> Henry II's forces took Saintes by surprise and captured much of its garrison, although Richard was able to escape with a small group of soldiers. He took refuge in [[Château de Taillebourg]] for the rest of the war.<ref name="Flori 34-35"/> Henry the Young King and the Count of Flanders planned to land in England to assist the rebellion led by the Earl of Leicester. Anticipating this, Henry II returned to England with 500 soldiers and his prisoners (including Eleanor and his sons' wives and fiancées),<ref name="Flori 35">{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=35.}}</ref> but on his arrival found out that the rebellion had already collapsed. William I of Scotland and Hugh Bigod were captured on 13 and 25 July respectively. Henry II returned to France and raised the siege of [[Rouen]], where Louis VII had been joined by Henry the Young King after abandoning his plan to invade England. Louis was defeated and a peace treaty was signed in September 1174,<ref name="Flori 33-34"/> the Treaty of Montlouis.{{Sfn|Gillingham|2002|pp=50–51}}

When Henry II and Louis VII made a truce on 8 September 1174, its terms specifically excluded Richard.<ref name="Flori 35"/>{{Sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=50}} Abandoned by Louis and wary of facing his father's army in battle, Richard went to Henry II's court at [[Poitiers]] on 23 September and begged for forgiveness, weeping and falling at the feet of Henry, who gave Richard the [[kiss of peace]].<ref name="Flori 35"/>{{Sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=50}} Several days later, Richard's brothers joined him in seeking reconciliation with their father.<ref name="Flori 35"/> The terms the three brothers accepted were less generous than those they had been offered earlier in the conflict (when Richard was offered four castles in Aquitaine and half of the income from the duchy):<ref name="Gillingham 2002 48"/> Richard was given control of two castles in Poitou and half the income of Aquitaine; Henry the Young King was given two castles in Normandy; and Geoffrey was permitted half of [[Brittany]]. Eleanor remained Henry II's prisoner until his death, partly as insurance for Richard's good behaviour.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=36.}}</ref>

===Final years of Henry II's reign===
[[File:Richard I pictavinus 722697.jpg|thumb|A silver [[French denier|denier]] of Richard, struck in his capacity as count of Poitiers]]
After the conclusion of the war, the process of pacifying the provinces that had rebelled against Henry II began. The King travelled to Anjou for this purpose, and Geoffrey dealt with Brittany. In January 1175 Richard was dispatched to Aquitaine to punish the barons who had fought for him. The historian [[John Gillingham]] notes that the chronicle of [[Roger of Howden]] is the main source for Richard's activities in this period. According to the chronicle, most of the castles belonging to rebels were to be returned to the state they were in 15&nbsp;days before the outbreak of war, while others were to be razed.<ref name="Gillingham 2002 52">{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002|p=52.}}</ref> Given that by this time it was common for castles to be built in stone, and that many barons had expanded or refortified their castles, this was not an easy task.<ref name=Flori1999_41>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=41}}</ref> Roger of Howden records the two-month siege of [[Castillon-sur-Agen]]; while the castle was "notoriously strong", Richard's siege engines battered the defenders into submission.{{Sfn|Flori|1999|pp=41–42}}

On this campaign, Richard acquired the name "the Lion" or "the Lionheart" due to his noble, brave and fierce leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-kings/richard-the-lionheart-biography.htm|title=Richard the Lionheart Biography|website=www.medieval-life-and-times.info|access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=Flori1999_41/><!--what exactly is this referencing? we have other sources stating that "the lion" first occurs in 1187, and "the lionheart" only 1191--> He is referred to as "this our lion" (''hic leo noster'') as early as 1187 in the ''[[Topographia Hibernica]]'' of ''[[Giraldus Cambrensis]]'',<ref>Giraldi Cambrensis topographia Hibernica, dist. III, cap. L; ed. James F. Dimock in: Rolles Series (RS), Band 21, 5, London 1867, S. 196.</ref> while the byname "lionheart" (''le quor de lion'') is first recorded in [[Ambroise]]'s ''L'Estoire de la Guerre Sainte'' in the context of the Accon campaign of 1191.<ref>''L'Estoire de la Guerre Sainte'', v. 2310, ed. G. Paris in: ''Collection de documents inédits sur l'histoire de France'', vol. 11, Paris 1897, col. 62.</ref>

Henry seemed unwilling to entrust any of his sons with resources that could be used against him. It was suspected that the King had appropriated Alys of France, Richard's betrothed, as his [[mistress (lover)|mistress]]. This made a marriage between Richard and Alys technically impossible in the eyes of the [[Catholic Church|Church]], but Henry prevaricated: he regarded Alys's [[dowry]], Vexin in the [[Île-de-France]], as valuable. Richard was discouraged from renouncing Alys because she was the sister of King [[Philip II of France]], a close ally.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Queens Consort: England's Medieval Queens|last=Hilton|first=Lisa|publisher=Hachette UK|year=2010|isbn=978-0-2978-5749-5}}{{Page needed|date=October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Richest Queen in Medieval Europe|last=Hilliam|first=David|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|year=2004|isbn=978-1-4042-0162-0|pages=83}}</ref>
[[File:Gisant Richard Cœur de Lion3.JPG|thumb|left|Richard I in profile, funerary effigy above the tomb containing his heart in [[Rouen Cathedral]] (early 13th century)]]
After his failure to overthrow his father, Richard concentrated on putting down internal revolts by the nobles of Aquitaine, especially in the territory of [[Gascony]]. The increasing cruelty of his rule led to a major revolt there in 1179. Hoping to dethrone Richard, the rebels sought the help of his brothers Henry and Geoffrey. The turning point came in the [[Charente|Charente Valley]] in the spring of 1179. The well-defended fortress of Taillebourg seemed impregnable. The castle was surrounded by a cliff on three sides and a town on the fourth side with a three-layer wall. Richard first destroyed and looted the farms and lands surrounding the fortress, leaving its defenders no reinforcements or lines of retreat. The garrison sallied out of the castle and attacked Richard; he was able to subdue the army and then followed the defenders inside the open gates, where he easily took over the castle in two days. Richard's victory at Taillebourg deterred many barons from thinking of rebelling and forced them to declare their loyalty to him. In 1181–82, Richard faced a revolt over the succession to the county of [[Angoulême]]. His opponents turned to Philip II of France for support, and the fighting spread through the [[History of Limousin|Limousin]] and [[Périgord]]. The excessive cruelty of Richard's punitive campaigns aroused even more hostility.<ref>"His reliance upon military force proved counterproductive. The more ruthless his punitive expeditions and the more rapacious his mercenaries' plundering, the more hostility he aroused. Even English chroniclers commented on the hatred aroused among Richard's Aquitanian subjects by his excessive cruelty"{{Harvnb|Turner|Heiser|2000|p=264}}<!--Roger of Hoveden, ''Gesta Henrici II Benedicti Abbatis'', vol. 1, p. 292.{{Huh}} what is this in reference of?--></ref>

After Richard had subdued his rebellious barons he again challenged his father. From 1180 to 1183 the tension between Henry and Richard grew, as King Henry commanded Richard to pay homage to Henry the Young King, but Richard refused. Finally, in 1183 Henry the Young King and Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, invaded Aquitaine in an attempt to subdue Richard. Richard's barons joined in the fray and turned against their duke. However, Richard and his army succeeded in holding back the invading armies, and they executed any prisoners. The conflict paused briefly in June 1183 when the Young King died. With the death of Henry the Young King, Richard became the eldest surviving son and therefore heir to the English crown. King Henry demanded that Richard give up Aquitaine (which he planned to give to his youngest son John as his inheritance). Richard refused, and conflict continued between them. This refusal is what finally made Henry II bring Queen Eleanor out of prison. He sent her to Aquitaine and demanded that Richard give up his lands to his mother, who would once again rule over those lands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jones|2014|p=94}}</ref>

In 1187, to strengthen his position, Richard allied himself with 22-year-old Philip II, the son of Eleanor's ex-husband Louis VII by [[Adela of Champagne]]. Roger of Howden wrote:

<blockquote>The King of England was struck with great astonishment, and wondered what [this alliance] could mean, and, taking precautions for the future, frequently sent messengers into France for the purpose of recalling his son Richard; who, pretending that he was peaceably inclined and ready to come to his father, made his way to [[Chinon]], and, in spite of the person who had the custody thereof, carried off the greater part of his father's treasures, and fortified his castles in Poitou with the same, refusing to go to his father.<ref>
{{Harvnb|Roger of Hoveden|1853|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sTEIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA64 64]}}
</ref></blockquote>

Overall, Howden is chiefly concerned with the politics of the relationship between Richard and Philip. Gillingham has addressed theories suggesting that this political relationship was also sexually intimate, which he posits probably stemmed from an official record announcing that, as a symbol of unity between the two countries, the kings of England and France had slept overnight in the same bed. Gillingham has characterized this as "an accepted political act, nothing sexual about it;... a bit like a modern-day photo opportunity".{{Sfn|Martin|2008}}

With news arriving of the [[Battle of Hattin]], he took the cross at [[Tours]] in the company of other French nobles. In exchange for Philip's help against his father, Richard paid homage to Philip in November 1188. On 4 July 1189, the forces of Richard and Philip defeated Henry's army at [[Ballans]]. Henry agreed to name Richard his heir apparent. Two days later Henry died in Chinon, and Richard succeeded him as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou. Roger of Howden claimed that Henry's corpse bled from the nose in Richard's presence, which was assumed to be a sign that Richard had caused his death.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}