Editing Richard I of England (section)

===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>