What we do know about Berengaria is that she and Richard never had children, and that with his Crusade, year-long captivity and then constant warfare against Philip Augustus, he didn’t spend much time with her. This is enough to suggest that Richard had no interest in his wife, which is used as further proof that he must have been gay.
I have alluded to this when we discussed the report that Richard and Philip Augustus were so close that ‘the bed did not separate them’, but now is the time to look at all the evidence. The earliest reference to Richard’s homosexuality comes from a book written in 1948. Certainly none of Richard’s contemporaries thought he might be homosexual; in fact, all the 13th-century sources condemned him for his insatiable desire for women. What is taken as the proof of Richard’s sexual orientation is that a hermit rebuked him for his sins in 1195 and told him to ‘remember the destruction of Sodom’, and to return to his wife whom he had been avoiding. The sin of Sodom, sodomy, has a very specific meaning in modern usage, but in the Middle Ages the destruction of Sodom was believed to be because of general sexual licence, not any specific sexual acts. Thus the hermit’s warning was probably a condemnation of promiscuity, not sleeping with men.18
In the 20th or 21st century, a warning to abandon ‘the sin of Sodom’ and return to his wife, plus the fact that he had no children but had shared a bed with Philip Augustus, seems to some people sufficient evidence to confirm Richard’s sexual orientation. The truth is that we have absolutely no way of knowing what Richard’s sexual orientation was. The fact that contemporary sources say nothing about Richard having inappropriate relationships with men but quite a lot about his inappropriate relationships with women – including the fact that he had a bastard son called Philip, who was given a lordship in Cognac – strongly suggests that he was heterosexual. Yet he did have close friendships with men, such as the mercenary Mercadier and the troubadour Blondel, so who knows?
When the Crusade finally left Sicily, Berengaria’s ship was driven in a storm to Limassol in Cyprus, which had been captured by Isaac Comnenus, a renegade Byzantine who called himself Emperor and had entered into an agreement with Saladin. When Richard appeared in pursuit of his fiancée, Isaac attempted to oppose his landing, but Richard routed his forces. Richard then met Isaac to negotiate, and in Ambroise’s account of the Crusade we have perhaps the best description of how Richard looked when he appeared in his full majesty:
The king went in regal state, attired in a tunic of rose-coloured samite and a mantle ‘bedight with small half-moons of solid silver set in rows, interspersed with shining orbs like suns’; his head was covered with a scarlet cap; he was girt with a well-proved sword ‘with a golden hilt, a silken belt, and a finely chased scabbard edged with silver’; his spurs were golden (or gilt), and he was mounted on a Spanish horse of great beauty as well as of a size befitting a rider of such lofty stature; ‘his saddle was red, studded with little golden and bright-coloured stars, and having on its hinder part two golden lion-cubs rampant, and as if snarling at each other.’19
Richard and Berengaria were married at Limassol on 12 May 1191 and Berengaria was crowned Queen of England, and perhaps Richard hoped that he might address the troublesome problem of producing a legitimate heir before facing Saladin. It was at this moment that Richard reconnected with the political and military travails of the Holy Land, surprisingly in the person of Guy of Lusignan. But how had the king of Jerusalem come to be in Cyprus?
In the years since the fall of Jerusalem that it had taken to prepare the Crusade, events had taken an astonishing turn. Guy of Lusignan had been captured at Hattin and remained Saladin’s captive as the Crusader cities fell in quick succession. Modern historians believe that Saladin could have taken all the fortified coastal cities if he had attacked them first, ending any hope of survival for the Crusader States, but instead he chose the more politically and emotionally satisfying target of Jerusalem. Its capture gave him enormous prestige, but meant that he didn’t turn to the heavily fortified city of Tyre until November 1187, when his exhausted soldiers faced the prospect of a winter campaign that must have seemed anticlimactic in the wake of Jerusalem’s fall.
Tyre was ruled by Conrad of Montferrat, brother of Queen Sibylla’s first husband, William of Montferrat. Conrad had prepared the city well for the siege and after a desultory couple of months Saladin finally abandoned his attack and went away. Conrad of Montferrat became a hero to the Christians as the leader who stood up to Saladin and actually managed to drive him away. With Guy still in captivity, Conrad was the most prominent leader remaining, and he naturally enough assumed control of the Christian defences. It seems that some, not least Conrad himself, felt that this should go even further and he should take Guy’s place as king.
Saladin, presumably with full knowledge of the effect his action would have, released Guy of Lusignan in the summer of 1188 but only on the condition that Guy swore not to take up arms against him. Guy immediately found a priest to absolve him of this oath, and rushed to Tyre to assume command of the remaining Christian forces, but Conrad of Montferrat refused to recognize any allegiance to him or even his title of king. Conrad justified his actions by saying that he was waiting for the kings of France and England and the Emperor to arrive, and they could decide who would rule the kingdom. Guy was left with an impossible situation – a king without a kingdom and pitifully few soldiers to rely on.20
Guy needed a base of his own, and in an action whose foolhardiness outweighed his behaviour at Hattin, Guy decided to lay siege to Acre, which Saladin had captured. Acre was the key port of the Holy Land and had been its richest city, and its garrison alone numbered twice Guy’s army. Guy had no hope of taking the city, yet he did have two things: a fleet of ships from Pisa had come to fulfil a Crusading vow and the potential of a naval blockade greatly increased the siege’s threat; and this act of mad, suicidal resistance provided a focus for efforts to recapture the Holy Land. The scattered remnants of the Christian armies and, more importantly, the Crusaders who began to drift across the sea to fulfil their vows had a place to meet and concentrate their efforts. Guy began the siege on 28 August 1189 and Crusaders were already arriving by September.
Proof that Guy had recaptured his position of authority came when even Conrad of Montferrat had to join the siege of Acre as the focus of Christian activity. Saladin had now realized the potential threat and managed to gather an army, and although he led an attack on the besiegers that killed many of them, he was unable to dislodge them. Every day brought more individual Christian reinforcements from all over Europe, and it was reported that the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was en route with a large army. Interestingly, Saladin wrote to the Muslims of Morocco and Spain in an attempt to organize a counter-Crusade, but with no success. Yet he still managed to blockade the Christian camp so that the besiegers were besieged in turn, and he broke the naval blockade.21
What was worse for the Christians, Sibylla and her two daughters from Guy died in an epidemic in autumn 1190. Although Guy of Lusignan was still king, he now had no connection to the royal family, and in the opinion of many, no right to the throne. Conrad of Montferrat made what he thought was a master stroke by arranging for Sibylla’s younger sister, Isabella, to be divorced and then marrying her himself, though her divorce was invalid and Conrad himself had a wife, so the marriage was doubly bigamous as well as incestuous. Despite these problems, Conrad believed that as Isabella’s husband and thus the nearest male to the royal line his claim would be accepted. In the face of this farce, the majority of the Christians believed that they should wait for the Crusading armies to arrive so the three greatest rulers in Europe could settle the matter.
Unfortunately the three armies were completely independent of each other. Frederick Barbarossa of course had died, and although his army continued the journey, Philip Augustus was the first leader to arrive in Acre and he immediately intervened in the fraught political situation. Philip opposed Guy of Lusignan’s attempts to remain king of Jerus
alem, and in the face of such opposition it was natural for Guy to seek an ally in Richard. Guy, and others, also made the point that the dynasty in Jerusalem was in fact Angevin, and a younger branch of the family headed by Richard and so subject to him.
Guy joined his brother Geoffrey and they went to Cyprus to see Richard. Richard was willing to put aside the old rivalries between Angevin and Lusignan; as we have seen, the feudal relationship worked both ways, and despite their turbulent past, as Duke of Aquitaine Richard owed the Lusignans his protection. Richard in his customary way had seen the big picture and realized that no attempt to hold the Holy Land could succeed without naval support, and Cyprus could provide an ideal base. Richard divided his fleet to sail around the island and take its fortresses, and he sent Guy to capture Isaac. The Cypriot fortresses were no more match for Angevin siegecraft than the castles of France or England, and the island quickly fell to Richard. Guy failed to capture Isaac, but Richard held Isaac’s daughter hostage, and Isaac quickly came to terms. Isaac agreed to surrender on condition that he was not put in irons – an insult to his supposed imperial majesty – and Richard agreed, then clapped the former Emperor in chains made of silver.22 Richard gave Cyprus to the Lusignans, providing a vital base for future Crusades and to serve as a support to the Crusader States, and was finally free to proceed to Acre.
With the arrival of Philip Augustus and Richard and their Crusading armies, plus the German forces that had continued despite Frederick Barbarossa’s death, the siege of Acre reached its climax. Saladin knew that if he could defeat the Christian armies here the Crusade might fail, but in the end the task was beyond him. His armies were too fractious and exhausted, and the Crusaders were too numerous.
The siege of Acre was a turning point for the Crusader States, which might so easily have been swept away entirely after Saladin’s victory at Hattin. It lasted so long that participants compared it to the siege of Troy,23 and in the end the Christians were victorious. Had the port remained in Saladin’s hands, the Crusader States would have ended, but Acre’s capture secured a Christian foothold in Outremer until 1291.
The circumstances of Acre’s capture also had a profound influence on Richard’s reign. When the city was taken, the victorious Christians placed their banners on the walls. As Barbarossa was dead, the remaining German contingent was led by Leopold Duke of Austria, who planted his banner to stake a claim to the spoils, but Richard’s men tore the banner down, as Leopold had no right to join the other leaders. Leopold was justifiably furious, not only because this denied the Germans what he believed was their rightful share, but also because he had fought so heroically.24 According to legend, the Austrian flag actually derives from this, as Leopold’s shirt was soaked in blood after the fighting, and when he removed his belt there was a white stripe in the middle. This red-white-red banner became his personal device and eventually the Austrian flag.25
Leopold did not forget the insult at Acre. When Richard returned from the Crusade, he faced a difficult choice because most of the lands on the way to England were under the control of rulers hostile to him. He chose the land route and passed through Vienna, where he was captured by Leopold, who then sold him to the Emperor Henry VI, initiating Richard’s long captivity as we will discuss below.
Despite the victory at Acre, Richard chose not to attack Jerusalem. The city was too exposed and would put his army at risk for no strategic advantage, as it would almost certainly be lost again as soon as the Crusaders left. But this meant that despite Richard’s achievements in retaking Acre, later defeating Saladin at the battle of Arsuf and stabilizing the coastal cities, which guaranteed the survival of the Crusader States for another century when all seemed lost, his Crusade was still a failure. Saladin suffers from a similar problem: he was (and is) criticized for failing to recapture all the Crusader States, and his failure allowed the Christian states to remain for another century. Historians point out the reasoning behind Saladin’s decisions and how ultimately his conquests did end the Crusader States, albeit after his death, but this is irrelevant. Saladin conquered every Christian possession except Tyre and was expected to end the Crusader States for good, but for whatever reasons, good or bad, he failed to do so. Richard’s undisputed success gives the lie to any claim that he was a poor ruler, but his undisputed failure to retake Jerusalem means his Crusade failed, whatever revisionist attempts to salvage success may be offered.
Nevertheless, Richard’s adventures still leap off the page. When Saladin captured Jaffa and only the citadel still held out, Richard appeared with a squadron of galleys to relieve the garrison. According to Saladin’s secretary Baha ad-Din, Saladin believed Richard wouldn’t be able to land, but Richard did, in his galley ‘… painted all red, with a red canopy on the deck, and a red flag’.26 Baha ad-Din might not have noticed or been interested, but presumably this red flag carried the device of the three lions that would be familiar to us today.
Richard’s small force now camped outside Jaffa and Saladin realized that if he brought his army up he might destroy them. Richard formed the Crusaders into a compact line, and after repeated failures to break the Crusader ranks, the entire Muslim army abandoned the attack. Baha ad-Din was present, and he and others relate the incredible story of how Richard taunted them:
The Arab historians relate that in one of the intervals between these futile charges Richard rode alone, lance in hand, along the whole front of the Moslem army, challenging it to fight, and not a man came forth to meet him; according to one account, he ended by stopping his horse midway between the two hosts, asking the Moslems for some food, and calmly dismounting to eat what they gave him … In vain the Sultan rode up and down among them, promising them splendid rewards for one more charge …27
Here is truly a moment from a Hollywood film, yet we have no reason to question Baha ed-Din’s story.
A King’s Ransom
Part of Richard’s legend is his captivity in Austria on his return from the Crusade. Philip Augustus had left the Crusade earlier, pleading illness, though it was widely known that he was preparing to attack Richard’s lands and he was accused of cowardice. Philip ignored this criticism, instead building up alliances with Richard’s enemies like Emperor Henry VI (the opponent of Richard’s brother-in-law Henry the Lion of Bavaria) and Raymond of Toulouse. This closed off most of the Mediterranean coast to Richard, and as he was returning in winter it was considered too dangerous to return to England by ship. Richard ultimately decided to sail up the Dalmatian coast to Venice, and then attempt to reach Henry the Lion’s protection.
This is yet another highly romantic tale. Richard and a few companions disguised themselves as pilgrims and made their way north, choosing a more easterly route to avoid the highest mountains. This brought them to the lands of Leopold of Austria, who had not forgotten his treatment by Richard at Acre. Later reports give more and more fanciful accounts of how Richard came to be captured – the supposed pilgrims were said to have spent money on a lavish scale that aroused suspicion, or Richard was said to have hidden in a kitchen and pretended to be turning the spit for roast meat, but was betrayed by a ring that was obviously too valuable to be owned by a servant. In whatever circumstances, he was captured sometime before Christmas 1192 and imprisoned in the castle of Durnstein.28
The most romantic tale of all is based on this imprisonment. After Richard’s disappearance, the minstrel Blondel is said to have travelled around Germany searching for him. Blondel went to each castle and sang a song known to Richard, and finally outside Durnstein he heard Richard singing the next verse from a tower. The story dates from the 13th century and doesn’t seem to be true, but it is too compelling to ignore. Blondel was known to be a troubadour at Richard’s court, and may even have been a spy for him,29 but there is no evidence that Blondel was the person who discovered Richard’s whereabouts. In fact, Richard’s captivity was a cause célèbre around Europe, with the pope excommunicating Leopold for capturing a Crusader, and Richard’s officials making c
ontact with him to receive his instructions.30
Leopold passed Richard on to Emperor Henry VI, who entered into complicated negotiations with Richard, but also with Philip Augustus, for the terms of his release. Philip immediately told John, who promptly went to Paris to do homage for all the Angevin continental lands in hopes of usurping the throne. John then tried to seize castles within England while Philip attacked Normandy. However, Richard’s loyal officials defended the realm against John, and although various border regions of Normandy were lost, for the most part the duchy held out. It was clear though, that Richard desperately needed to get back, and he was prepared to pay an enormous ransom for his release. The negotiations dragged on through 1193, but it became clear that Richard would be returning. On hearing that Richard had reached an agreement with the Emperor, Philip sent a message to John saying, ‘Look to yourself; the devil is loose.’31 Although Philip and John offered Henry VI more money to keep Richard than he would receive in ransom, in February 1194 Richard was released for the sum of 150,000 marks.
Although Richard used his time in captivity to form alliances with German princes that would serve him later, he also used his enforced idleness – like King René, when he was a prisoner in Dijon, or the great 15th-century captive Charles of Orleans in the Tower of London – to engage in cultural pursuits. We possess a song reputedly written by Richard when he was in captivity called ‘No one who is in prison’:32
English and Normans, man of Aquitaine,
Well know they all who homage owe to me
Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500 Page 20