King Richard I of England: Assessment Part I

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Heraldry, Homosexuality, House of Anjou, House of Plantagenet, King Richard I of England, Philippe II of France, Richard the Lion Heart, Richard the Lionheart

From the Emperor’s Desk: Today and Tomorrow I will assesses the reign of Richard the Lionheart.

Character and sexuality

Contemporaries considered Richard as both a king and a knight famed for personal martial prowess; this was, apparently, the first such instance of this combination. He was known as a valiant, competent military leader and individual fighter who was courageous and generous. At the same time, he was considered prone to the sins of lust, pride, greed, and above all excessive cruelty. Ralph of Coggeshall, summarising Richard’s career, deplores that the King was one of “the immense cohort of sinners”. He was criticised by clergy chroniclers for having taxed the clergy both for the Crusade and for his ransom, whereas the church and the clergy were usually exempt from taxes.

Richard was a patron and a protector of the trouvères and troubadours of his entourage; he was also a poet himself. He was interested in writing and music, and two poems are attributed to him. The first one is a sirventes in Old French, Dalfin je us voill desrenier, and the second one is a lament that he wrote during his imprisonment at Dürnstein Castle, Ja nus hons pris, with a version in Old Occitan and a version in Old French.

In the historiography of the second half of the 20th century, much interest was shown in Richard’s sexuality, in particular whether there was evidence of homosexuality. The topic had not been raised by Victorian or Edwardian historians, a fact which was itself denounced as a “conspiracy of silence” by John Harvey (1948). The argument primarily drew on accounts of Richard’s behaviour, as well as of his confessions and penitences, and of his childless marriage.

Richard did have at least one illegitimate child, Philip of Cognac, and there are reports on his sexual relations with local women during his campaigns. Historians remain divided on the question of Richard’s sexuality. Harvey argued in favour of his homosexuality but has been disputed by other historians, most notably John Gillingham (1994), who argues that Richard was probably heterosexual.

Flori (1999) again argued in favour of Richard’s homosexuality, based on Richard’s two public confessions and penitences (in 1191 and 1195) which, according to Flori, “must have” referred to the sin of sodomy.

Flori, however, concedes that contemporary accounts of Richard taking women by force exist, concluding that he probably had sexual relations with both men and women. Flori and Gillingham nevertheless agree that accounts of bed-sharing do not support the suggestion that Richard had a sexual relationship with King Philippe II, as had been suggested by other modern authors.

Heraldry

The second Great Seal of Richard I (1198) shows him bearing a shield depicting three lions passant-guardant. This is the first instance of the appearance of this blazon, which later became established as the Royal Arms of England. It is likely, therefore, that Richard introduced this heraldic design. In his earlier Great Seal of 1189, he had used either one lion rampant or two lions rampants combatants, which arms he may have adopted from his father.

Richard is also credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant (now statant-guardant). The coat of three lions continues to represent England on several coins of the pound sterling, forms the basis of several emblems of English national sports teams (such as the England national football team, and the team’s “Three Lions” anthem), and endures as one of the most recognisable national symbols of England.

Royal Standard ~ Coat of Arms.

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Coat of Arms, escutcheon, fleurs-de-lis, Heraldry, King Henry II of England, King of Scots, King Richard I of England, Royal Standard, United Kingdom, William I

Another thing that has interested me in royalty is the royal coat of arms and the royal standard. I am a strange American I even fly the royal standard at my home! It is funny on the 4th of July when we celebrate out independence my neighbors are flying the old Star and Stripes but I still fly the royal standard. Yes, I am a little weird.

The royal standard is the flag that is flown wherever the sovereign is in residence. Generally the Royal Standard consists of the images depicted on the Heraldic Shield (Escutcheon) of a Coat of Arms.

The Royal standard has gone through many changes over the centuries. In this post I am going to hit the highlights of the changes to the standards and I am not going to discuss some of the minor tweaks and changes that occurred over the years.

This coat of arms was attributed to King Richard I of England, which replaced an older an older standard with two gold lions rampant on a field of red. Historians debate when this escutcheon came into prominence. Some historians claim that it was Richard’s father, King Henry II of England, who used this as his royal standard. From either the time of Richard I or Henry II this standard was used until 140 when it was changed.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/WmHohenzollern/410px-Royal_Arms_of_England_1340-1367svg.png

When Edward III claimed the throne of France he added the fleurs-de-lis of France on a blue field quartered with the arms of England. This style, with multiple fleurs-de-lis, lasted until 1406 when it was replaced with a shield that had only three fleurs-de-lis, the same number that the Kings of France had begun to use. This standard lasted ..for the most part…until 1603. There were other changes a few monarchs added only to be changed back to the 1406 standard.

[IMG]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/WmHohenzollern/410px-Royal_Arms_of_England_1340-1367svg.png[/IMG]

This was the Royal Standard of Scotland. A red lion, rampant, on a yellow field within a double royal tressure, flory counter-flory, first used by William I, King of Scots. In 1603 James VI, King of Scots inherited the English throne and quartered the Scottish arms with that of England/France and with the Harp of Ireland. This was used until 1707 when the union of England and Scotland occurred. In 1707 The Royal Arms of England and Scotland were impaled and moved to the first and fourth quarters with France placed in second quarter and Ireland the third quarter.

In 1707 Georg-Ludwig Elector of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg inherited the British throne as King George I and placed his Hanoverian arms in the fourth quarter of the shield. This changed when Hanover became a Kingdom and the arms of Hanover were impaled in the center of the Standard. In 1801 the fleurs-de-lis of France were removed when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formally established and the Kings of Great Britain gave up their silly claims to the throne of France..

This final change to the royal Standard and Escutcheon happened in 1837 when Hanover was removed. Because Hanover followed the Salic Law which barred women from ruling in their own right. Her uncle, Ernest-August, Duke of Cumberland became the king of Hanover. England was placed in the first and fourth quarter, while Scotland was placed in the second quarter and the Harp of Ireland placed in the third quarter. This has remained unchanged since 1837.

Here is the Royal Standard as it is today. The first example is one which is flown in England, Wales and Ireland. The second example favors Scotland in the First and Fourth quarter and is flown in Scotland.