On 12 May 1191, Richard I, King of England, Richard the Lionheart, Coeur de Lion. married Berengaria, first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre at Limassol in Cypruss. This event took place during the Third Crusade and, before marrying Berengaria, Richard invaded, sacked and looted the island, murdering any that stood against him - no doubt some sort of 12th century stag night ritual. Richard, it appears, was a bit prone to this sort of thing. At his coronation, for example, Jewish leaders attended to present gifts for the new king. Richard’s courtiers stripped and flogged them and flung them out of court, where a massacre began. Many Jews were beaten to death, robbed, and burnt alive. At least one was forcibly baptised. Later, when Richard wrote of this incident, he called the massacre a "holocaustum". Returning to the Royal Wedding, the event was attended by his Mum, Eleanor of Aquitaine and his sister Joan, whom Richard had brought from Sicily. Richard, having got the ceremony over with then neglected his wife totally, and had to be commanded by priests to be faithful to her. There were no children from the marriage; indeed early historians, commented on Richard’s apparent disinterest in his wife and his very close friendship with Philip, the King of France. Richard is viewed by history as a hero, although he did little for England, siphoning the kingdom’s resources to support his Crusade. He spent only six months of his ten year reign in England and couldn’t speak English, claiming (in French) it was "cold and always raining." During the period when he was raising funds for his Crusade, Richard declared, "If I could have found a buyer I would have sold London itself." Over the years the figures of Robin Hood and Richard I have become closely linked. However, in the earliest Robin Hood ballads the only king mentioned is "Edward our comely king", presumably Edward I, II, or III. It was not until much later that a connection came to be made between the two men. Richard the Lionheart - not a very nice man.
Incidentally, for those of you interested in salacious gossip of this sort, here is the text of what those early historians said about Richard and Phillip - no doubt just boyish joshing:
Hoveden: Vol II, pp. 63-64
Ricardus dux Aquitaniae, filus regis Angliae, morum fecit cum Philipo rege Franciae, quem ipse in tantum honoravit per longum tempus quod singulis diebus in una mensa ad unum cantinum manducabant, et in noctibus non seperabat eos lectus. Et diliexit eum rex Franciae quasi animam suam; et in tantum se mutuo diligebant, quod propter vehmentem delictionem quae inter illos erat, dominus rex Angliae nimio stupore arreptus admirabatur quid hoc esset.
Which, I think, translates to
Richard, [then] duke of Aquitaine, the son of the king of England, remained with Philip, the King of France, who so honoured him for so long that they ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England was absolutely astonished at the passionate love between them and marvelled at it.
Note that "lectus" does mean bed, couch and nothing else here, and "deligo" is probably best translated as "love" although it could, I suppose, mean "esteem" - clearly a too weak translation here.
Incidentally, for those of you interested in salacious gossip of this sort, here is the text of what those early historians said about Richard and Phillip - no doubt just boyish joshing:
Hoveden: Vol II, pp. 63-64
Ricardus dux Aquitaniae, filus regis Angliae, morum fecit cum Philipo rege Franciae, quem ipse in tantum honoravit per longum tempus quod singulis diebus in una mensa ad unum cantinum manducabant, et in noctibus non seperabat eos lectus. Et diliexit eum rex Franciae quasi animam suam; et in tantum se mutuo diligebant, quod propter vehmentem delictionem quae inter illos erat, dominus rex Angliae nimio stupore arreptus admirabatur quid hoc esset.
Which, I think, translates to
Richard, [then] duke of Aquitaine, the son of the king of England, remained with Philip, the King of France, who so honoured him for so long that they ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them. And the king of France loved him as his own soul; and they loved each other so much that the king of England was absolutely astonished at the passionate love between them and marvelled at it.
Note that "lectus" does mean bed, couch and nothing else here, and "deligo" is probably best translated as "love" although it could, I suppose, mean "esteem" - clearly a too weak translation here.
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