[Artemisia] Richard the Lionheart

[Andrea Waddell]

Quoting from Wikipedia:
"Richard's legacy comprised several parts. First, he captured Cyprus, which 
proved immensely valuable in keeping the Frankish kingdoms in the Holy Land 
viable for another century. Second, his absence from the English political 
landscape meant that the highly efficient government created by his father 
was allowed to entrench itself, though King John would later abuse it to the 
breaking point. The last part of Richard's legacy was romantic and literary. 
No matter the facts of his reign, he left an indelible imprint on the 
imagination extending to the present, in large part because of his military 
exploits. This is reflected in Steven Runciman's final verdict of Richard I: 
"he was a bad son, a bad husband and a bad king, but a gallant and splendid 
soldier.""

I tend to agree with this assessment.  I think it was the glory and romance 
of his willingness to fight for his country and God.  He wasn't IN the 
country enough for the people to despise him, they only knew that he was 
fighting the evil of the Muslim World.  He left no heir and was succeeded by 
a King who was hated by all.  And a bad king always makes the kings around 
him look better.  I would also say that the Robin Hood story has to do with 
it.  I don't know the full history of the story, but every version of it 
that I have heard in my life went along the lines of "Good King Richard was 
away in the Crusades, fighting the good fight, and Evil King John was 
over-taxing the people and making their lives miserable."  And on with the 
story of Robin Hood after that.  The story of Robin Hood always ends with 
Good King Richard coming back, stomping on Evil King John, and putting all 
to rights.  Myth is often more powerful than truth.  And one action can 
create an entire history of memories.  Rulers throughout history have proven 
this.  Many of them are remembered for one action, some good, some bad.  
Lincoln is remembered for "freeing the slaves", which isn't exactly what he 
did, but that's how people remember him.  Caligula is remembered for excess 
and cruelness, but before he got sick and went crazy he was a beloved and 
fair ruler.  And there are many others that I can't think of off the top of 
my head, but they are remembered for one moment, one action.  They did many, 
many other things, both good and bad, but their legacies are made up by one 
defining moment.

-Maysun...rambling again :D


>From: Tamar Black Sea <tamar at coteduciel.org>
>Reply-To: Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list 
><artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
>To: Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list <artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
>Subject: [Artemisia] Richard the Lionheart
>Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 10:36:23 -0600
>
>Greetings Everyone,
>
>My two daughters are homeschooled and are doing a unit on the Crusades and 
>Richard the Lionheart. There is an essay portion with-in each unit and one 
>of the questions was a deceptively simple little question about Richard the 
>Lionheart's legacy in English history. I thought we could whip out an 
>answer in 10 minutes. I was wrong. Days later, we find ourselves still 
>discussing the question.
>
>I would love to hear in-put from anyone out there who has an interest in 
>this subject. The question was:
>
>"Why do you think Richard the Lionheart has always been so popular when he 
>accomplished so little?"
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>YIS,
>Tamar
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