Richard the Lion hearted (1157-1199)
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People of the west were stunned by the fall of Jerusalem, Kings even helped in freeing the Holy City: 
Philip II of France, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Richard the Lion Hearted of England. 

Richard is by far the most famous of them today. His fame mainly comes from the story of Robin Hood, 
a young man who fights Prince John in order to save England while Richard is kept hostage in Austria. 

In the end, Richard comes home and becomes king once again. Robin, lovely Maid Marian, the merry men 
of Sherwood Forest, and England, live happily ever after. 

Part of the story is true at least. Richard was born to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He grew up 
in a family who were constantly at war with one and other. Poor Richard even had to struggle with his 
father to be considered an heir to the throne. Once crowned (1189), Richard immediately prepared for 
the Third Crusade. 

He raised the taxes to help fund the expedition. Richard and King Philip Augustus of France joined 
forces in Sicily. He conquered Cyprus on his way to the holy land and the city's wealth helped to 
increase the Crusade's funds. Richard the joined in the siege of Acre in June 1191. 

The leaders of the Germans and French quarrelled constantly during the seige, the French and English 
armies almost came to blows. In July Acre fell and by August Philip was back in France. Richard was 
a brave soldier. He enjoyed nothing more than a good war. Once the French left him, Richard found a 
new army to fight: Saladin, the sultan of Egypt. 

		"Let us purge the air of the air they breathe," 

said Saladin. He had his heart set on driving the Crusaders out. 

Unfortunately, Richard's army was stopped and forced to retreat when he tried to capture Jerusalem in 
1191. He tried three more times but never succeeded. When he finally realised that he would never 
take Jerusalem, Richard worked out a treaty with Saladin. It left the Crusaders with only a fringe 
along the coastline, and their base at Ascalon was destroyed. 

The fact that there was no good way to go home was yet another problem that Richard faced. Both land 
and sea routes were controlled by his enemies. In 1192, he disguised himself while passing through 
Austria. Unfortunately, King Leopold was watching for him and he was captured in Vienna. Leopold turned 
Richard over to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI who required a ransom of 150,000 marks for Richard's release. 

The English people quickly raised the taxes to help meet the demands, and even though the full amount 
was never met, Richard was released. Richard arrived home in 1194. After being there for only a few 
weeks, he left to fight Philip in France. In 1199, Richard died from a crossbow injury to the shoulder. 

He ruled as the King of England for eleven years even though he was on English soil for less than a 
year. He really accomplished nothing of importance for his country but he is still and always has been 
a popular figure.