Wednesday, December 20, 2006
This Day in Late 12th Century History
On this day in 1192, King of England Richard the Lionheart, returning from the 'tie' Third Crusade, is captured in Vienna and held by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI for an enormous ransom, which is paid 15 months later. This is an important plot twist for the Robin Hood story
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:47 AM 
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Rog,
Not to quibble but Richard was captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria who then handed him over to Henry VI.
Let us not forget the minstrel Blondin.
Regards,
T
Not to quibble but Richard was captured by Duke Leopold V of Austria who then handed him over to Henry VI.
Let us not forget the minstrel Blondin.
Regards,
T
# posted by 
: 8:39 AM
: 8:39 AM
The significance of the capture of Richard is rather greater than just a plot point, of course. I assert that the capture led directly to the Magna Carta:
The ransom was directly responsible for a huge increase in taxation in England. As a result, John, who had to collect the tax, became one of the most disliked men in England. This dislike carried over into John's reign as king and caused a baronial revolt. The end result was the Magna Carta.
ps. Richard was held in Trifels castle, which is reasonably well preserved, and worth a visit.
The ransom was directly responsible for a huge increase in taxation in England. As a result, John, who had to collect the tax, became one of the most disliked men in England. This dislike carried over into John's reign as king and caused a baronial revolt. The end result was the Magna Carta.
ps. Richard was held in Trifels castle, which is reasonably well preserved, and worth a visit.
Thanks all for the comments. If I put in the detail about Leopold V and the upshot Magna Carta (both of which I knew--thanks to google), it would have been too long. I was going for a briefer, humorous type posting and considered quoting Cleese as Robin Hood in Time Bandits-- "And are you a robbah too?" but that was too long as well. Lots of hidden editorial decisions go into these short pieces.
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