[MR] Wikipedia: Death of Richard the Lion Heart

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1199, King Richard I of England, died from a crossbow wound.

His death came while on campaign against a rebellious noble, Aimar V of
Limoges. Richard was at the time besieging a rather insignificant
castle, Château
de Châlus-Chabrol. He was wounded in the shoulder on 26 March by a mere
boy, apparently named Bertrand de Gourdon.

When the castle was taken, Gourdon was among the captives. Richard pardoned
the boy and sent him away. After Richard's death the youngster was
recaptured by Richard's cronies and was flayed and hanged.

More about this interesting English (sort-of) king is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England .

Richard's main tomb is in Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou. His heart has its own
tomb at Rouen Cathedral in Normandy. His entrails were buried in the chapel
now preserved Château de Châlus-Chabrol, possibly as an expedient to slow
decomposition of the body.

A plaster copy of Richard's Fontevraud effigy is in the Victoria & Albert
Museum in London:
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O128227/richard-i-king-of-england-effigy/.
Plaster copies like this were common in 19th century museums, but were
later considered unacceptable and most were destroyed. Today the few
surviving examples are historical in their own right, and the V&A has a
large collection. These include Richard's queen, Berengaria of Navarre, his
mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his father, Henry II.

Richard actually spent little time in England, but based himself mostly in
his French territories, was on crusade, or in captivity. Richard's French
possessions were far larger than lands controlled by the French king:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England#/media/File:France_1154-en_(Angevin_Empire).svg

Information on the preserved Château de Châlus-Chabrol is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Châlus-Chabrol .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆