3 September: Richard the Lionheart

On this date in 1189 Richard I (the Lionheart) was crowned. 10 things you might not know about him.

1. He was born on 8 September 1157 at Beaumont Palace in Oxford. His parents were Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was the third of their five sons.
2. Richard was engaged at the age of nine to a French princess, Alais, the daughter of Louis VII. She was also nine years old. However, they never actually married. Henry kept the young princess prisoner for 25 years and made her his own mistress. Richard was more interested in making war than in making love. He wasn't the slightest bit interested in women, even though he could have had his pick of any number of princesses. The only woman he ever showed any consideration towards was his mother. At his coronation, she played the part of the Queen. Richard only married Berengaria of Navarre at the age of 33 in order to get his hands on her kingdom. He never spent enough time with her to produce an heir.
3. Richard tried to depose his father more than once, on one occasion, joined by two of his brothers, Geoffrey and Henry. In the end, Henry died (some say prematurely as the aggravation Richard gave him sent him to an early grave) and in spite of it all, he left England to Richard along with half of France and parts of Ireland and Wales.
4. As I said before, Richard's motto was probably "Make war not love". Once he was king, all he was interested in doing was going off to fight in the Crusades and capture Jerusalem from the Muslim leader, Saladin. He spent three years selling off sherrifdoms to raise the money to fund this enterprise. He never managed to win Jerusalem, although he did win some major victories. He captured the island of Cyprus and sold it to the Knights Templar.
5. Needless to say, Richard had enemies all over the place. When he decided to return to England, he had to do so in disguise in order to sneak through Austria and France. His ruse didn't work, however, and he was captured and handed over to the German emperor, Henry VI, who held him for ransom, demanding 150,000 marks for his release. This amounts to a couple of billion pounds in today's money. His mother Eleanor immediately started trying to raise the money from the people, portraying Richard as a good king. Not everyone wanted him back, however. His brother John had his eye on the throne for himself and went behind Eleanor's back, negotiating with Henry in Germany to keep Richard prisoner.
6. He was crowned twice. Once when he first became king and again in 1194, after the ransom had been paid and he returned to England. He wanted to reinforce his position as king of England. However, he only stayed in England for a month before he was off fighting again, this time in France.
7. Throughout his ten year reign as king of England, he spent just six months in the land he was supposed to be ruling. It's thought that, since his parents were of French descent, he probably didn't even speak the language.
8. Richard once gave a cook a knighthood after a particularly good feast. He declared the man "Lord of the fief of the kitchen of the counts of Poitou".
9. Although Saladin was Richard's mortal enemy, he respected him as a great warrior and for that reason sent him gifts - including grapes and a fast horse.
10. Richard died at the age of 41 after being shot in the arm by a boy with a crossbow from the walls of Chalus-Chabrol castle in France. Richard survived the initial shot, and demanded to see the boy. Rather than have him killed, Richard forgave the kid, gave him 100 shillings and let him go. However, a few days later, the wound became infected and the infection killed him.

NEW!

Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

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