Page 34 - All About History 55 - 2017 UK

Richard I: Rise of the Lion
A portrait of Richard the
Lionheart painted in 1841 by
Merry-Joseph Blondel. The king
is remembered for his chivalry
and military competence
Three lions on a surcoat
Discover the origin of one of England’s most enduring symbols
The Royal Arms of England, better know as the three lions,
were the royal arms of the Plantagenet kings. They are
now synonymous with English sporting pride and repeated
world cup hopes, but where did they originate from?
Lions have long been symbols of royal and divine power
dating as far back as the Achaemenid Empire, possibly
because they could be found roaming in the Mediterranean
basin and in parts of the Middle East until the Middle Ages.
The early Plantagenet king Henry I, known as the ‘Lion
of Justice’, would solidify the animal’s use as a royal crest
with a single lion rampant. This could have stemmed from
his love of exotic creatures like lions, leopards, lynxes and
camels that he kept in a menagerie at Woodstock Palace.
This symbolism was carried over by Henry II and his son
John, who both used two lions on their crest. Richard the
Lionheart, living up to his name, would be the first king to
use the three lions on a red background, first appearing
on his royal seal in 1195. Being formalised as the royal
crest, the three lions adopted by the kings and queens of
England and are still featured on the modern royal coat
of arms today.
34
Although successful on the battlefield, Richard
developed a somewhat tyrannical reputation from
his stern and merciless rule of Aquitaine. So much
so that rebellious lords called upon his brothers
Henry and Geoffrey to aid in ousting him from
his newly won seat of power. With no thought to
past allegiances, the two brothers were happy to
oblige. But even their combined efforts were not
enough, as castle after castle fell to Richard’s army,
including the supposedly impregnable fortress of
Taillebourg. In the face of such a fierce foe, the
rebellion was crushed and Henry II intervened to
reconcile the quarrelling brothers.
Richard was expected to pay homage to Henry
the Young King in the 1180s as their father
prepared his heir for taking the throne. But while
Richard was now a seasoned campaigner and
shrewd politician, Henry, the petulant prince,
was still as powerless as he had been in 1173,
having spent much of the past decade attending
tournaments and revelling in comfort and
pageantry. Already having paid homage to the new
French king, Philip II, Richard was keen not to
upset the status quo and choose a new overlord, so
refused to bend the knee to Henry.
Infuriated by this refusal, Henry the Younger
raised his forces and hurried to Aquitaine, burning
and pillaging as he went. The future of the empire
hung in the balance as the two brothers squared
off in what looked to be a cataclysmic struggle.
Before further bloodshed could occur, however,
the Young King caught dysentery and died in the
summer of 1183. Heartbroken, Henry II let slip a
rare show of affection for his late son and stated,
“He has cost me enough, but I wish he had lived to
cost me more.”
Henry’s support for his youngest son would
see him make another blunder when he urged
Richard, now the next in line to the throne, to
transfer Aquitaine in its entirety to John. Now
that Richard was his heir, Henry saw it fitting that
John, who had gained the nickname Lackland for
having no territories at all, should gain Richard’s
old holdings. This request chafed Richard as he
had “given and spent so much money, handed out
and taken many a blow, and endured so much
hunger and thirst and fatigues” over the duchy
that it would be unthinkable to simply roll over
and hand it to his younger brother.
Asking for a few days to discuss the matter
with his council, Richard immediately raced to
Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, only pausing
to send a message snubbing his father and
categorically denying John’s claim. This brazen
defiance shattered the fragile peace and Henry,
enraged at Richard denying his favourite son such
a powerful holding, gave John permission to take
the lands by force. Enlisting the help of the less
than scrupulous Geoffrey, John sent probing raids
into Poitou, with Richard repaying in kind by
attacking Geoffrey’s holdings in Brittany.
In order to placate Richard, Eleanor, who had
been held under house arrest in England since the
1173-74 Revolt, was allowed to travel to Aquitaine.