Leaving the Holy Land
Richard left the Holy Land in October 1192, soon after the truce with Saladin. He had good reasons to hurry: Philip II of France was threatening his lands, and his brother John was intriguing in England and on the continent. The direct sea route home through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic was dangerous late in the year, and he is believed to have traveled in disguise, possibly because of the enemies he had made. The sources are not fully consistent about his exact route.
A storm wrecked his ship in the northern Adriatic, and he went ashore near Aquileia with a small party. He tried to cross central Europe in secret, heading toward friendly territory in the north, but he was recognized, reportedly because of his spending or a ring. Around December 1192 he was arrested near Vienna by agents of Duke Leopold V of Austria. Leopold had been insulted by Richard at Acre, where his banner was cast down from the walls, and also blamed Richard for the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat.
A King in Chains
Leopold held Richard at Durnstein castle. The capture of a returning crusader was widely condemned, because crusaders were under the church’s protection, and the pope later threatened Leopold with excommunication. In early 1193 Leopold handed Richard over to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, in exchange for a share of the money. Henry had his own reasons for wanting Richard: the two were on opposing sides in a dispute over Sicily, and Richard’s ally Tancred ruled there.
Richard was moved among imperial castles, including Trifels, and appeared before an assembly of the empire, where he was accused of various offenses connected with Conrad’s death and with his conduct in Sicily and the East. By the accounts, he defended himself with skill and impressed his audience. In effect, however, this was a ransom negotiation. Henry VI wanted a settlement, and Richard’s family and officials worked on it from outside.
The Ransom
The sum demanded was 150,000 marks of silver, which was a very large amount, often described as a multiple of what the English crown would raise in a normal year. The exact comparison is uncertain. There were further conditions: Richard had to perform homage to Henry VI for England, which he did, and then received it back as a fief, an act the English later preferred to forget. He was also expected to provide hostages as security.
Raising the money was a huge effort. Heavy levies were placed on property and income, and churches and monasteries were asked to give up valuables. Chroniclers describe sacrifice by many. The official in charge was Hubert Walter, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1193. Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was by then in her seventies, took an active part, traveling to Germany with part of the ransom and helping with negotiations.
Meanwhile John and Philip offered Henry VI money to keep Richard longer, reportedly, but the emperor chose the ransom. Richard was freed in February 1194.
England Without Its King
The kingdom was not ungoverned in these years. Before leaving on crusade in 1190, Richard had appointed William Longchamp, his chancellor and Bishop of Ely, to govern England. Longchamp was unpopular, partly because he relied heavily on his own authority. In 1191, a group of nobles, including John, forced him out, and Walter of Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen, took over for the king.
The system outlasted this turmoil because it did not depend solely on a single person. Permanent officers of the crown, including the justiciar and the Exchequer, could continue to collect revenue and handle justice. That machinery was one of the lasting achievements of earlier Norman and Angevin kings, and it made royal administration more resilient than a personal monarchy might otherwise have been.
John’s attempt to take power was only partly successful. When news came of Richard’s capture, he went to the continent, did homage to Philip, and may have promised to give up lands in return for support. His efforts in England were opposed by officials who stayed loyal to Richard, and his castles were besieged. When Richard was freed, the king reportedly said that John was not to be punished, famously describing him as a child who had been badly led.
Return and Aftermath
Richard arrived in England in March 1194, his first visit since 1189. He spent only about two months there. He held a council, laid siege to castles held by John’s supporters, and arranged a second crown-wearing at Winchester, perhaps to restore the dignity he felt had been damaged by his imprisonment and homage. He then left for Normandy in May and never returned.
The remaining five years of his life were spent largely in war with Philip, defending his French lands, until his death in 1199. The episode shows both how much money the crown could raise when it tried and how dependent English government had become on its institutions rather than its king’s presence.