Customer Reviews

The Reign of Richard Lionheart: Ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199 (The Medieval World)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most people don't find the dull records of administration to make for scintillating reading, but for those who already know a lot about Richard I and want a new perspective, this is an excellent study. It places Richard in a European-wide context in a way few studies have done before. However, it does not address (because it is not intended to address) some of the more fascinating aspects of Richard's career: The crusade, his personal life, etc.

'The Reign of Richard Lionheart: ruler of the Angevin Empire, 1189-1199' shows how fashions in scholarship have swung across a range of judgments and opinions, from adulation, to disgust for a king who had time only for war. 'The Reign of Richard Lionheart' tracks nearly eight hundred years worth of wildly different, parallel interpretations of Richard's history. Historical fashion is as much the topic here as this controversial king's achievements."

Do not mistake this book for a straightforward biography of Richard III. Rather, it is a study of many interpretations of the man. Depending on the age in which they wrote, historians have suffered severe mood-swings: they either loved him or reviled him, his warlike career interpreted either as a badge of honor or of shame (while he spent a fortune on war and neglected other aspects of his subjects' care).

By Robert Fripp, author of
Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine

This ten year time capsule of Richard I's reign is insightful. It is definitely a good source for research on the topic.