Legend tells how Richard the Lionheart’s favourite singer found where Leopold of Austria had stowed him.
In December 1192, Richard I was arrested in Vienna and imprisoned at Dürnstein in lower Austria near the Danube, on the orders of his former ally in the Third Crusade, Leopold of Austria. According to legend, his place of captivity was a closely guarded secret but one man was determined to uncover it.
A conspiracy of European monarchs sought to delay Richard the Lionheart’s homecoming long enough for John to steal his crown.
During the Third Crusade in 1189-1192, Richard I of England offended Philip II of France by jilting his sister Alys, and quarrelled with Leopold of Austria. He tried to come home incognito, but in December 1192 he was spotted at Vienna, arrested on various charges including murder, and hauled up before Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor.
Richard I thought a veteran Crusader and conqueror of Saladin could handle a few French peasants.
Richard the ‘Lionheart’ is best remembered today as the King of England during the time of Robin Hood, an association made for us by Sir Walter Scott’s novel ‘Ivanhoe’. He was an inspiring general in the Third Crusade, courageous and ruthless, but his death was testimony to the caprices of Fortune.