Chalus Chabrol - Death Of A Medieval Legend

Medieval history has many fans around the world. Perhaps that is because it covers such a diverse range of things - from medieval castles to medieval food, medieval worship to medieval weaponry, the list goes on. One of the most interesting aspects of medieval history, however, is to look at the lives of medieval rulers.

Two of the most significant medieval rulers were King Richard I of England (The Lionheart or Coeur de Lion) and Genghis Khan.

Richard The Lionheart has been portrayed in many movies and invariably the truth and detail of his life is not portrayed as well as it could and should be. He was notable for many things, some good, some bad but one of the most noteworthy things about Richard was the almost ignominious way in which he died. Fearless in battle and cunning in military tactics, many tried to kill him in combat but failed.

No, it seems Richard was never meant to die in battle. He was felled by an arrow, fired not in combat but whilst relaxing and walking amongst his men. A lone archer was taking potshots at the English army camped outside the walls of Chalus Chabrol castle in the heart of the French countryside. The arrow struck Richard in the shoulder and gangrene set in. Twelve days later Richard died - 6 April 1199. We cover the death of Richard The Lionheart in more detail on our main website.

Chalus Chabrol is a quiet, almost sleepy plae and the castle is today but a shadow of its former self from Richard's time but there is a tower (keep) still intact. Here is a short video clip we made on our visit there.

 

Chevauchee - King John's Medieval Winter Campaign

The pressures and problems which led to the signing of Magna Carta were years in the making. England had already been heavily taxed under Richard 1st, with both the Saladin tithe to pay for the 3rd crusade and then the money needed to pay the ransom when Richard was captured on his way home from Palestine.

King John (grandson of Matilda) carried on using the tax system ( as it then was) to pay for expensive failures such as occurred at the Battle of Bouvines. However, with the First Barons War open hostility broke out in England. Leaving half his army under William Longsword to subdue the south he set off with the remaining army to confront the rebellion in the North of England.

His progress was swift and by 8 January he had reached Durham and then on hearing that Alexander II of Scotland has set Newcastle alight he burned and destroyed Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Reading the accounts from these times it is evident that this was an expedition to raise money as well as destroying the opposition. John was known for employing mercenaries and some of the stories of brutality are shocking. However, did this actually bring any long term benefits? It is debatable as some of his enemies simply fled over the border into Scotland. In the south the City of London held firm against him and in quick succession Magna Carta was signed, John died and Louis of France who was seen as a potential replacement saw his support die after the Battle of Lincoln.