Richard the Lionheart

 

Richard the Lionheart

The Plantagenet, King Richard I, was born in Oxford (Beaumont Palace) in 1157. His father Henry II, had been born in Le Mans, France. His mother, was Eleanor of Aquitaine.

There is a hidden plaque commemorating this event to be found on the corner of Walton and Beaumont Street in Oxford. It is opposite Worcester College and close to the Ashmolean Museum and the Randolph Hotel. I believe it was erected by Alan Brown, a former Vice-Provost of Worcester College. The plaque was hit by a vehicle in 2003.

Richard ruled England as King for ten years but was hardly ever in England. The Lionheart is criticized for showing a lack of interest in England during his reign. He spent much of his time fighting crusades in the Holy Lands or in France. When he was absent from England, his mother generally ran the administration with her counsel.

They say Richard spoke no English but French and Occitan, a language very similar that spoken in Catalonia. He's reputed to have said that he didn't like living in England because it was cold and always raining, but England was just one of many territories under his thumb. His wife and Queen, Berengaria of Navarre, never set foot on English soil during her marriage even though she was the Queen of England. He spent a year in captivity in Austria being held for ransom. He died after being shot with a crossbow bolt in his left shoulder in March 1199 while he was attacking a castle in France. The wound wasn't considered fatal but gangrene set in and he died aged 41.

The lad that shot King Richard, was a Limousin boy referred to as Pierre Basile. They say that before he died, Richard ordered that Basile suffer no punishment, but his orders were ignored and Basil was flayed alive and then hanged. The lad had claimed that he shot King Richard in revenge for him killing his father and two brothers.