Richard the First

    Richard was the son of Henry II. Richard was born in Oxford, England but spent nearly all of his life in France. He was born in 1157.   

    Henry II refused to recognize Richard as heir to the throne after his older brother died. Richard rebelled against his father. Finally after many attempts in 1189, Richard killed his father and took over the throne.

    When Richard entered the throne he was nicknamed the Lionhearted . When he was a little older during his time in throne he joined Phillip II on a crusade of the holy land which was under the control of the Muslims. On the way back Leopold V, Duke of Austria captured him and held him prisoner in a castle from 1192 to 1194. Richard was famous  for the Third Crusade.

    After the capture Richard hated Leopold.  Phillip II  later seized some of Richard’s land in France. It took Richard the rest of his reign to get it back. Richard died during a castle siege in 1199.

  1. Boughton , Simon Great Lives. New York: Doubleday, 1985.

2. John Gillingham Richard 1 pg. 382. World Book 2002. 2002

 3. Gillingham, John. "Richard I." World Book Online Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. 9 Feb. 2005. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar468401>.

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