A Bad Name for a King

Richard I (1189-1199)

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Richard the Lionheart has been hailed as something of a national hero, which is a bit strange considering he only visited the country twice.  For most of his reign he was away on Crusade attempting to recapture Jerusalem from Saladin.  He did manage to get within 12 miles of Jerusalem, murdering 3,000 Arab hostages along the way, but there he was forced to give up and return home in disguise.  Not surprisingly, considering he was wearing a hugely expensive gold ring, his humble disguise was soon uncovered and he was captured and held for ransom by the Holy Roman Empire. By the time he was released, England had been nearly bankrupted raising his ransom money, and after thanking everyone for their contribution, Richard promptly left the country again and was later killed in battle in France.

Another unpleasant feature of Richard’s reign was the persecution of the Jews living in England at the time.  Many wealthy people owed money to Jewish moneylenders, and there were anti-semitic riots across the country, with over 150 Jews murdered in York.

So, with all of this, why was Richard given ‘the Lionheart’ as an addition to his name?  Well, firstly, he was an inspired military leader at a time when such things were highly valued.  And secondly, and perhaps most importantly, he was nowhere near as bad as his brother, John, the villain Prince of the Robin Hood tales!

Richard II (1377-99)

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Ascending to the throne at the age of ten, Richard II’s reign is probably most famous for the Peasant’s Revolt.  Prompted by low wages and the punishing new Poll Tax, 30,000 rioters rampaged through London, killing the Lord Treasurer and the Archbishop of Canterbury among others.  The end came on 14th June, 1381, when the young King rode out to meet the rebels and agreed to all their demands.  Then, in a skirmish, their leader, Wat Tyler was killed, and at the sight of his head on a pole, the rebels went home.  Richard, not surprisingly, went back on his word, although he did abolish the Poll Tax (Margaret Thatcher could have learned something from this!).