RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED.   Term Paper ID:25053 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Life, career, legend, military & political exploits & death of 12th Cent. British king.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Life, career, legend, military & political exploits & death of 12th Cent. British king. Paper Introduction: Many powerful personalities have occupied the British throne throughout the 1200 year history of the Monarchy. From Alfred’s unification of the various English Kingdoms in 871 AD, to Henry VIII’s creation of the Anglican Church as means to circumvent the catholic ban on divorce, to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 in order to marry a twice-divorced commoner, many of the British Monarchs have embodied the character that has insured them an easily recognizable place in history. No king, however, has earned more conflicting opinions than Richard the Lionheart. Historians have afforded Richard both great praise and great criticism. He has been portrayed as a great crusader, a poet, and the one of the last romantic heroes of a dying age of chivalry (Smith 71). His place in legend is undisputed and is based on substantially true events. Many historians, however, have Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. He excelled, and even sought recreation, insports and such military arts as fencing, wrestling, running, javelinthrowing and fighting on horseback. The 19th century historian Bishop Stubbs went so far asto call him, "A bad son, a bad husband, a selfish ruler, and a vicious man"(Henderson 14). New York: Scribners, 1966. Because ofthis reality, Henry II was constantly traveling throughout his empire inorder to crush rebellions, battle ambitious, neighboring kings, and attendto the tasks of governing. England Without Richard: 1189-1199. Richard's actionswere, therefore, the perfectly appropriate response of a monarch deeplyattentive to the concerns of his realm. Few specifics are known about his formal education. The Viscount of Limousinhad been holding castles against Richard. Clearly this decision was one of politicalnecessity. On July 6, 1189, Henry died without having obtainedhis revenge. New York: Norton, 1961.Henderson, Philip. Hismother, Eleanor, was in her own right, the Duchess of Aquitaine, which herfamily had ruled since the 1 th century. He sued for peaceunder the conditions that he be allowed to keep the land he had won. Few doubted that his military measures would be anything butsuccessful, with grave consequences for the rebels. Realizing that they had little hope of holdingout against such a foe, the garrison offered to surrender the castle andthe treasure under the condition that their lives, weapons and armor werespared. In his examination of available and reliable manuscripts from the era,Gillingham explores the notion that Richard's motivation for the siege ofChalus-Chabrol was not the trivial errand of retrieving treasure but ratherthe aversion of a potentially dangerous revolt. It is evident,however, that he was an apt pupil. Richard was born on September 8, 1157, in Oxford. Upon hearing of the find, Richard promptlydropped everything and set out from Anjou in order claim the treasure troveas his kingly right. He arrived at the small town of Chalus, near the site where thetreasure was found. It is one of the great curiosities of history that Richardis regarded simultaneously as a legendary hero of the English tradition anda negligent brute. As he pretended to give Richard the ceremonial kiss of peaceHenry wispered, "God grant that I may not die until I have my revenge onyou" (Gillingham 124). On March26, 1199, a marksman took advantage of Richard's incautious vulnerabilityand shot him with a crossbow. The crusade took its toll on Richard, however.After a lengthy campaign, Richard was ill and exhausted. With the knowledge that his end was near, Richard summoned his mother,and nominated his brother John as heir to the throne of England and all ofhis other lands. New York: Simon and Schuster, 195 .Brooke, Christopher. Richard gained his political and moral education through thechivalrous tales sung by the minstrels. With no alternative, however, the ransom was given in exchange forthe King. Richard went to England to attend his coronation. Henry's plan toposthumously divide his empire among his sons meant that Richard stood tolose a substantial portion of his inheritance. In spite of thisgeographical fact of his birth, Richard was and remained throughout hislife, a Frenchman. Richard was raised under his mother's care. A different perspective, presented by John Gillingham, is thatRichard, like his father, responsibly faced the political realities of hisday in his rule over a political entity that was uniquely different fromanything that now exists. Their Chansons de geste told thetales of such legendary figures as Roland, Guillaume d'Orange, Arthur andCharlemagne (Gillingham 35). Despite his ruthless verve formilitary action, Richard often applied the chivalrous ideals learnedthrough the chansons when engaged in battle. Saladin repliedthat if he must lose his land he would rather lose it to Richard than toany other man alive (Durant 6 1). As the result of a conflict concerning his inheritance, in 1183,Richard initiated a military campaign against his father. As the story is commonly told, apeasant from limousin discovered a buried cache of treasure and dutifullyturned it over to his lord. Richard the Lionheart. New York: Norton, 1959.Smith, Goldwin. He has been portrayed as a great crusader, a poet, and the oneof the last romantic heroes of a dying age of chivalry (Smith 71). Richard: Coeur De Lion. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1965.Durant, Will. He was comfortable enough in Latin tobe able to crack jokes at the expense of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Richard had begun a tour of therenegade castles, attacking each one individually and then moving on to thenext. The action was notentirely successful, Henry was clearly Richard's superior at intrigue andbattle, but he was able to maintain the conflict until his father's deathof illness in 1189. He wouldpursue these ends for the next five years. Many powerful personalities have occupied the British thronethroughout the 12 year history of the Monarchy. Hisplace in legend is undisputed and is based on substantially true events.Many historians, however, have taken a hostile view toward the King. Careless and overconfident in his rage, Richard stormed around inplain view, presenting an easy target to the castle's occupants. Outof respect for his worthy adversary, Saladin granted sovereignty of theconquered lands to Richard and declared a three year truce. His father, Henry II, was the descendant of a noblefamily who had ruled the French province of Anjou for 25 Years. He also learned of the conspiracy between hisbrother John and his fellow crusader, Philip Augustus, to capture hisKingdom. This has been the popular legend presented by virtually all historiansfor the past 8 years. The political volatility of the middle ages required that all monarchshad to be prepared at all times to defend their territories. Historians have afforded Richard both great praise and greatcriticism. Richard'sreputation as the most famous and relentless destroyer of castles in Europedisheartened the garrison. As always, Richard's extended military campaignagainst Philip had proven costly and the treasure would help by providingbadly needed funds. He fought the superior army of Saladin and while hefailed to capture Jerusalem, he did manage to win the coastal citiesBetween Acre and Jaffa. The Age of Faith. From Alfred'sunification of the various English Kingdoms in 871 AD, to Henry VIII'screation of the Anglican Church as means to circumvent the catholic ban ondivorce, to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 in order to marry a twice-divorced commoner, many of the British Monarchs have embodied the characterthat has insured them an easily recognizable place in history. During the nextthree months he would pillage the country for funds and then depart as theleader of the third crusade. Hailed in his own lifetime as the greatest crusader ofhis age, the man who devoted his life to deeds of knightly prowess met hisend in a relatively trivial conflict over a mere bauble. While we remember Richard as a rather negligentKing of England, Richard viewed himself as the head of the Angevin Empire,of which England was only a small part. Infection and gangrene soon set in. A History of England. No king,however, has earned more conflicting opinions than Richard the Lionheart. Richard began to plan for the repair of his damaged empire,reconquer lost territory and plot the punishment of Philip. Upon his release, Richard made his second and final visit to England.During the two months of his stay, Richard was re-coronated by the newArchbishop of Canterbury. Displeased with this, hetook action to secure the disputed territories. This political and economically motivated act against anhonored crusader outraged the Pope and disturbed much of Europe (Brooke213). While passing through Vienna on his return to his empire, Richard wascaptured, imprisoned and held for ransom by one of his old enemies, theDuke of Austria. From Alfred to Henry III: 871-1272. One of the more misunderstood and mythologized chapters ofRichard's legend is that of his death. As a result, throughout his adolescence,Richard rarely saw his father. As Richard removed the bolt, the shaft broke, leaving the iron headirretrievably imbedded in the wound. As he waspreparing to leave, Richard sent a final message to Saladin, announcing hisintent to return after three years and take Jerusalem. With his future enemy, King Philip Augustusof France, he traveled to the Holy Land in order to secure the territoryfor Christianity. Through the royal tradition ofpolitically expedient marriage, the subsequent inheritance of sovereignty,and the premature death of his older brother, Richard became the sole heirto the Angevin Empire which reached from the Scottish border to thePyrenees Mountains. His detractors have portrayed the story of hisdeath as a poetically fitting end to the life and reign of a man whoneglected his responsibilities as king in pursuit of personal glory andbloodlust. On Thursday, April 9, 1199, awaiting the arrival ofEleanor, he died. He quicklymastered the art of horsemanship, an essential part of his education as amember of a high social class. Works CitedGillingham, John. The political and militarypressure exerted on the French provinces by King Philip Augustus andothers, combined with the necessity of personally attending to the minutiaeof government in every area of his realm, required considerable amounts ofattention and effort that were not as urgently needed in the relativelystable regions of England. England could wait while he took care of themore pressing problems. Like all good myths, these stories, whetherhistorically factual or not, served to inspire the listener and toexemplify the noble character and ideals by which the listener maysuccessfully pattern his own behavior. In spite of the conflict Henry willed the entirety ofhis empire to Richard. Hewrote poetry in both French and Provencal, composed songs and even gaveinstructions to the choir at the royal chapel (Gillingham 33). New York: NY Times, 1978.Appleby, John. Theyhave presented a picture of Richard as a brutal absentee who negligentlyallowed his kingdom to degenerate toward anarchy while he indulged hispassion for war. Richard rejected the offer and swore to capture and hang the entiregarrison. The bolt struck him on his left shoulder atthe base of the neck and penetrated deeply into his left side (Appleby231). Learning that the treasure had been deposited at thecastle of Chalus-Chabrol, he laid siege to the fortress. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.