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Was Richard the Lionheart a Good Man?
By Joy J. Fine
King Richard the First, known affectionately as Richard the Lionheart, ruled England during the ten year period from 1189 to 1199. He was given the nickname, actually it was given to him in French and was Coeur de Lion, because he was thought to be a brave hero who did much for his people. Yet, if you look deeper into his history the question might be asked whether he was a good king of England or a good Frenchman? He was born in 1157 to King Henry ll and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was commonly referred to as the third legitimate son; this shows that his father had children who were not of his wife. Richard was said to be her favorite and when she and the king separated he accompanied his mother to France. Richard was an unusual man for his time. As an adult he had grown to six feet four inches, he was well educated, intuitive when it came to military actions and was known as a brave chivalrous man.
Of the three older sons, Henry, Geoffrey and Richard, it was the oldest child, Henry, who soon was crowned as his father’s successor. Henry came to the title only because the oldest son of his father died when he was only three. Known affectionately as Henry the Young King, he was just as disrespectful of his father as were the brothers he joined with to battle him. As teenagers the three boys learned how to protect their own properties from the onslaught of armies; often those sent by their father. Over time Richard held the titles of Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, Overlord of Brittany, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Gascony and Lord of Cyprus. Despite these many titles and his success as a military leader, he was known to be cruel and was accused of many heinous crimes against his subjects including rape and murder. When his older brother Henry died of dysentery when trying to raise money to mount another military campaign against his brothers, Geoffrey became the next in line to the throne. He died in 1186 and there are two very different stories explaining his death. One story claimed it was during a joust that he was fatally injured but, another says he died suddenly from unknown abdominal pain. This left Richard the Lionheart as next in line to the throne which he acceded to after his father’s death in the summer of 1189.
This King was an anti-Semite who would not allow any Jewish people to attend his coronation. Despite this there were gifts offered to him by Jewish leaders. These people were greeted with floggings and then tossed from court. This incited the peasants, always anxious to find someone more unpopular then themselves, to spread the rumor that all Jews were to be killed. This turned London into a very dangerous place for anyone who was Jewish. Many were beaten, their homes destroyed by fire while others were dragged to the churches to be baptized against their will. Oddly Richard punished those who took such action. He ordered many to be executed, and then made a new law stating the all Jews were to be left alone; it was not very effective.
Shortly after that he left to join the Third Crusades. Richard the Lionheart spoke almost no English despite being born in the country his father ruled. This may have been one of the reasons that during the ten years he ruled England he spent no more than a total of six months actually in the country and the last five years he never set foot there. It is believed that the Crusades kept him away but as well he was known to hate the country, despise the weather and at one point was said if he could sell it he would have. Richard died with his mother at his bedside from a wound received in battle.
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