King Richard I

Today's Knight is King Richard I, who succeeded his father, Henry II, to become King of England in 1189. However, he spent only ten months of his decade-long reign in the country. He spent the majority of his reign overseas, fighting for various causes, most famously in the Third Crusade, where he earned a reputation as a brave and fierce knight and military leader.

Despite numerous famous victories in the Holy Land, Richard was unable to recapture Jerusalem. On his return to England, he was captured by the Duke of Austria, who handed him over to the emperor Henry VI, who held him for a huge ransom.

Richard, despite being remembered as one of history’s legendary kings of England, showed little interest in actually governing his land and used it as a source of funding for his crusading expeditions.

Richard spent the final years of his life doing what he most loved: fighting. He was mortally wounded by a crossbow bolt while besieging the castle of Châlus-Chabrol in the Limousin region of France and died twelve days later.

Harry Atkins for www.historyhit.com