Editing Richard I of England (section)

==Character==
Contemporaries considered Richard as both a king and a [[knight]] famed for personal martial prowess; this was, apparently, the first such instance of this combination.<ref name=FloriF_4845>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999f|pp=484–485}}</ref> He was known as a valiant, competent military leader and individual fighter who was courageous and generous. At the same time, he was considered prone to the sins of lust, pride, greed  and, above all, excessive cruelty. Ralph of Coggeshall, summarising Richard's career, deplores that the King was one of "the immense cohort of sinners".<ref>Among the sins for which the King of England was criticised, alongside lust, those of pride, greed, and cruelty loom large. Ralph of Coggeshall, describing his death in 1199, summarises in a few lines Richard's career and the vain hopes raised by his accession to the throne. Alas, he belonged to 'the immense cohort of sinners'" ({{Harvnb|Flori|1999|p=335}}).</ref> He was criticised by clergy chroniclers for having taxed the clergy both for the Crusade and for his ransom, whereas the church and the clergy were usually exempt from taxes.{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|p=322}}

Richard was a patron and a protector of the [[trouvère]]s and troubadours of his entourage; he was also a poet himself.<ref name="Gillingham 2004"/><ref name=Larousse2005>{{Cite book |title=Dictionary of music |date=2005 |publisher=Larousse |language=fr |chapter=Richard I the Lionheart}}</ref> He was interested in writing and music, and two poems are attributed to him. The first one is a [[sirventes]] in [[Old French]], ''Dalfin je us voill desrenier'', and the second one is a [[lament]] that he wrote during his imprisonment at Dürnstein Castle, ''Ja nus hons pris'', with a version in [[Old Occitan]] and a version in Old French.<ref name=Larousse2005 /><ref>{{Harvnb|Gillingham|2002}}</ref>

=== Speculation regarding sexuality ===
In the historiography of the second half of the 20th century, much interest was shown in Richard's sexuality, in particular whether there was evidence of homosexuality. The topic had not been raised by [[Victorian England|Victorian]] or [[Edwardian]] historians, a fact denounced as a "conspiracy of silence" by John Harvey (1948).<ref>Harvey, pp. 33–34. This question was mentioned, however, in Richard, A., ''{{Lang|fr|Histoire des comtes de Poitout, 778–1204}}'', vol. I–II, Paris, 1903, t. II, p. 130, cited in {{Harvnb|Flori|1999f|p=448}} (French).</ref> The argument primarily drew on accounts of Richard's behaviour, as well as of his [[confession (religion)|confessions]] and [[penitence]]s, and of his childless marriage.<ref>Summarised in McLynn, pp. 92–93. [[Roger of Howden]] tells of a hermit who warned, "Be thou mindful of the destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]], and abstain from what is unlawful", and Richard thus "receiving absolution, took back his wife, whom for a long time he had not known, and putting away all illicit intercourse, he remained constant to his wife and the two become one flesh". Roger of Hoveden, ''The Annals'', trans. Henry T. Riley, 2. Vols. (London: H.G. Bohn, 1853; repr. New York: AMS Press, 1968)</ref> Richard did have at least one illegitimate child, Philip of Cognac, and there are reports on his sexual relations with local women during his campaigns.<ref>McLynn, p. 93; see also {{Harvnb|Gillingham|1994|pp=119–139.}}</ref> Historians remain divided on the question of Richard's sexuality.<ref>{{Cite book|first=William E.|last=Burgwinkle|title=Sodomy, Masculinity and Law in Medieval Literature: France and England, 1050–1230|year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/sodomymasculinit00burg|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sodomymasculinit00burg/page/n86 73]–74|isbn=978-0-5218-3968-6}}</ref> Harvey argued in favour of his homosexuality<ref name="Brundage, 1974, pp. 38, 88">As cited in {{Harvnb|Flori|1999f|p=448}} (French). See for example Brundage, ''Richard Lion Heart'', New York, 1974, pp. 38, 88, 202, 212, 257; Runciman, S., ''A History of the Crusades'', Cambridge, 1951–194, t. III, pp. 41ff.; and Boswell, J., ''Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality'', Chicago, 1980, pp. 231ff.</ref> but has been disputed by other historians, most notably John Gillingham (1994), who argues that Richard was probably heterosexual.{{Sfn|Gillingham|1994|pp=119–139}} Flori (1999) again argued in favour of Richard's homosexuality, based on Richard's two public confessions and penitences (in 1191 and 1195) which, according to Flori, "must have" referred to the sin of [[sodomy]].{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|pp=456–462}} But Flori concedes that contemporary accounts of Richard taking women by force exist,{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|p=463}} concluding that he probably had sexual relations with both men and women.{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|p=464}} Flori and Gillingham nevertheless agree that accounts of bed-sharing do not support the suggestion that Richard had a sexual relationship with King Philip II, as other modern authors had suggested.<ref>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999f|pp=454–456}} (French). Contemporary accounts refer to various signs of friendship between the two when Richard was at Philip's court in 1187 during his rebellion against his father Henry II, including sleeping in the same bed. However, according to Flori and Gillingham, such signs of friendship were part of the customs of the time, indicating trust and confidence, and cannot be interpreted as proof of the homosexuality of either man.</ref>