On December
20, 1192, King Richard I of England was captured near Vienna by Leopold V, Duke
of Austria who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad
Montferrat. Moreover Richard had personally offended Leopold by casting down
his standard from the walls of Acre. Richard and his retainers had been
travelling in disguise as low-ranking pilgrims, but he was identified either
because he was wearing an expensive ring, or because of his insistence on
eating roast chicken, an aristocratic delicacy. Duke Leopold kept him prisoner
at Durnstein Castle. The detention of a crusader was contrary to public law,
and on these grounds Pope Celestine III excommunicated Duke Leopold. On March
28, 1193 Richard was brought to Speyer and handed over to Henry VI, Holy Roman
Emperor, who continued to hold Richard for ransom. In response Pope Celestine
III excommunicated Henry VI, as he had Duke Leopold, for the continued wrongful
imprisonment. The emperor demanded that 150,000 marks be delivered to him
before he would release the king. The money to rescue the King was transferred
to Germany by the emperor's ambassadors, and finally, on February 4, 1194
Richard was released.
Michael Thomas Barry is the author of Great Britain’s Royal Tombs: A
Guide to the Lives and Burial Places of British Monarchs. It can be
purchased from Amazon or Barnes and Noble through the following links:
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