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Richard the Lion Hearted Richard Plantagenet, who reigned from 1189

Richard Plantagenet, who reigned from 1189 to 1199 as Richard the First of England, and is better known as Richard Coeur de Lion or Richard the LionHearted, was born at Oxford on September 8, 1157, the second son of Henry II of England and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.1 Very few English monarchs have achieved so enduring a status in popular legend as Richard. He appears regularly on television channels that play old movies, riding across the screen at the head of his crusading knights, arriving just in time to save the day for Robin Hood and his Merry Men, or alternately for Ivanhoe and Jessica. Once he has dealt with the immediate crisis, he invariably banishes his brother, wicked Prince John, commands peace and unity between Norman and Saxon, and restores right and justice to the realm of England.

The most recent Robin Hood movie unaccountably left Richard the LionHearted out of its plot, but it is unlikely after eight hundred years that his legend will fade into lasting eclipse. There is every likelyhood that he will return in future retellings to once again save England from the depradations of Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the rest of their villainous lot.

The great irony of Richard's enduring popularity as a figure of historical legend is that it has very little to do with his actual character and career, both of which are known in considerable detail. This is not the case with other wellremembered monarchs. Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I are perhaps the only other historical King and Queen of England to survive as household names on a level with Richard. In both of their cases, however, the legend has a recognizable basis in history. Henry was not simply the tyrant who chopped off his wives' heads, and Elizabeth was not simply Gloriana the Virgin Queen  but their images are firmly rooted in their real careers and characters.

By contrast, the historical Rich...

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Richard the Lion Hearted Richard Plantagenet, who reigned from 1189. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:08, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700233.html