Richard The Lionheart
...the troubadour Bertran de Born called him Oc-e-Non (Yes-and-No), while some later writers referred to him as Richard the Lionheart, Cur de Lion.
Family
The third of King Henry II's legitimate sons, Richard was never expected to ascend to the throne. He is generally considered to have been the favourite son of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. He was a younger brother of William, Count of Poitiers, Henry the Young King and Matilda of England. He was also an older brother of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, Leonora of England, Joan Plantagenet and John Lackland of England.
Early Life
Although born at Beaumont Palace, Oxford, England, like most of the Royal Family at the time he was, to all intents and purposes, French. When his parents effectively separated, he remained in Eleanor's care, and was invested with her duchy of Aquitaine in 1168, and of Poitiers in 1172. This was his consolation prize for the fact that his eldest surviving brother, Henry the Young King, was simultaneously crowned as his father's successor. Richard and his other brother, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, thus learned how to defend their property while still teenagers.
As well as being an educated man, able to compose poetry in French and Occitan, he was also very attractive; his hair between red and blond, blue-eyed, his height estimated at six feet four inches (1.93 m) tall. He gloried in military activity. From an early age he appeared to have significant political and military abilities, became noted for his chivalry and courage, and soon was able to control the unruly nobles of his territory. Like his brothers, Richard had limited respect for his father and lacked foresight and a sense of responsibility.
Revolt against Henry II
In 1172, his elder brother Henry the Young King was crowned king...
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