Richard Plantagenet Richard Plantagenet, who reigned from 1189

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 Richard shares only his undoubted fighting prowess and some talent as a troubadour with the Richard of popular legend. Of the ten years he reigned as King of England, he spent only about six months in that country. His native tongue was French, and it is most unlikely that he could understand or speak a word of English.2 He certainly made no effort whatsoever to bring N

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d begin a more specifically warlike course of training, learning the use of knightly arms. Finally, at twenty or twentyone, he would be knighted and enter fully into adult life. This course of preparation bears a close similarity to that of the guilds; the page phase corresponds to apprenticeship, squirehood to journeyman, and knight to master of a craft. Young people often took on full adult responsibilities at a much earlier age, however. Marriage in the midteens was common, particularly for girls. Especially among royalty, marriages with a great age difference between the partners was common, since such marriages were contracted essentially as political and family alliances. The situation of Henry II and Eleanor, married when he was eighteen and she was twentynine, was by no means exceptional. In addition, for royalty, the age of majority was by no means welldefined. Essentially, the age at which a young king could end a regency in his name or the tutelage of a council was determined by the king's own will and forcefulness. King John's son, Henry III, did not come into his own as King until he was nearly thirty. Other medieval kings, in contrast, took full royal authority when in their middle teens.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4562
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)