Unit 9. Richard the Lion Heart
When Henry II died in 1189 he was succeeded by his son Richard I the Lion Heart (1157-1199).His coronation in September 1189 was the first documentarily fixed event of this kind.Richard was a well-educated man. He spent his childhood in his mother`s domain of Aquitaine, the country, which advertised chivalry, music and continental ideas. Richard is remembered as "an ideal king" and a symbol of knighthood, who devoted his life to the 3rd Crusade to the Holy Land. In reality it was not true. He was a born adventurer and a very cruel man. During the 10 years of his reign he was always away. He wanted to attack the Turks who had occupied Jerusalem and prevented Christian pilgrims from coming to the Holy Sepulcher. In 1190 Richard and Philip of France gathered a great army and set off for Palestine. To finance the venture Richard is said to have sold some of his crown domains. He also appointed his brother the ruler of the country during his absence. The Crusade proved to be a failure, though Richard managed to yield Acre, a town on the Mediterranian Sea and had a meeting with Saladin, the sultan. The latter promised Richard to let English pilgrims visit the Holy Place. There are legends about their meeting and how kind and polite they were to each other. During the crusade Richard had several disagreements with his fellow warriors. He quarreled with Philip and refused to marry his sister. Constant quarrels and fights took place because both kings claimed leadership and were not ready to submit to each other. The most ferocious quarrel began because Richard raised his banner over the submitted tower and did not let Philip raise his. After it he annulled his engagement to Philip`s sister and declared his engagement with another lady, Berengaria of Navarre, whom he had fallen in love with. Something of the same kind happened between Richard and Leopold, Duke of Austria. They also argued about the symbols of the crusade and Richard fought with Leopold and won a victory over him. Leopold swore to take revenge on him.
In 1192 Richard started for England. He was shipwrecked in the Adriatic and on his way through the territory of Germany Leopold captured and then sold him to Henry VI, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Richard had to spend 14 months in captivity. He returned to England in 1194 only when a large sum of money was paid for him as a ransom. The legend says that at first nobody knew where Richard was. There was only a rumour that he was in captivity at some foreign king`s court. One of his knights set out for the continent and began traveling from one king`s court to another`s trying to find his lord. When he came to Henry VI, the latter concealed the fact of Richard`s staying in his castle. But some servant told him about an English knight, who was kept in some distant tower of the castle. It was impossible to learn who the man was and the young man found a way out. He began to play the harp and sing a song, which he had composed for the king, and the king was the only person who knew the words. Richard heard the melody, realized who could be singing it and joined in singing it. So the knight found out that the king was there and returned to England to collect the ransom. Richard`s mother queen Eleanor gave most of the sum and Richard returned home. During his absence his brother Prince John tried to seize the throne. He made a coalition with the French king and was on the point of proclaiming himself the king. He lost many territories in Ireland and the north. Richard forgave John and did his best to win back the territories lost by his brother. Richard was mortally wounded in 1199 during the siege of Limoges. They say a man whose name was Bertand de Gourdon shot the king with an arrow, taking revenge for his relatives who had been killed by the king. On death bed Richard as a real knight forgave Bertand and ordered his courtiers to release him and give them a large sum of money.
I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.
II. Memorize the words, answer the questions:
| The Holy Land- Святая Земля | Where did Richard spend his childhood? |
| adventurer - авантюрист | Why did Richard decide to go on a crusade? |
| The Holy Sepucher – Гроб Господень | Who captured Richard on his way home? |
| annul - аннулировать | How did his friend manage to find the king? |
| crusade – крестовый поход | Why did Bertand de Gourdon shoot him? |
| pilgrim - паломник | |
| siege - осаждать | |
| ransom - выкуп |