10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A light read, October 18, 2005
This review is from: The Troubadour's Song: The Capture and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart (Hardcover)
I give this book 4 stars because it is an enjoyable, easy read. But it doesn't get very deep into anything. I am not sure why "the troubadour's song" got prime billing on the title. It isn't much of the book. There isn't much historical evidence concerning Blondel and anything he might have done concerning locating King Richard or his release. The author's discussion is interesting but only a very small part of the book. The author pulled together the whole story of Richard, his capture, the other major participants in the story, England's raising of the ransom, and even, the economic effect on England. All well told. But nothing particularly astounding or revealing. However, the author writes very well. The story moves along nicely and you have a pleasant time reading it. If you are only vaguely familiar with King Richard's capture and ransom and that sort of story would be interesting to you, this is a good book to relax with and enjoy. A final aspect of this book I really enjoyed was at the end when he tells you what happened to all the major participants after Richard is released.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtitle is the key to the book, May 7, 2006
This review is from: The Troubadour's Song: The Capture and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart (Hardcover)
This book by David Boyle proves to be a superb work of history regarding the capture and ransom of King Richard I of England. Its a well written, easy to read and superbly research book that dealt with the details around Richard's captured, methods of his ransom and his dealing with his captors. Although it read like Richard's biography, the book gives a good detail study of this incident. It was interesting to know that inorder to ensure his final release, Richard pledged England to his captor, Henry VI of Holy Roman Empire. It was probably a pledge that he never meant to keep but for a brief moment of legel history, England was a province of Germany. Background material on Richard, especially his conducts during the Crusades and his dealing with various lords and rulers during the Third Crusade proves to be well presented and accurately gives the cause and effects behind his imprisonment.
The author also take pains to informed the readers of the type of the world, Richard lived in, the influence of music and men who write them like the troubadours. While the author get into the stories of these troubadours, especially one Blondal who were rumoured to found Richard's prison by singing under his castle cell, the author make it pretty clear to the reader where facts end and where the legend begin.
The book come highly recommended to anyone who happen to be interested in mediveal English history, especially in the personality of King Richard the Lion-Heart. A detail look at his captivity proves to be highly informative and interesting.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rich in detail and a true pleasure to read, March 23, 2006
This review is from: The Troubadour's Song: The Capture and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart (Hardcover)
This book is one of those that is all too rarely found - the history is well-researched and very detailed and yet the style is smooth and engaging, making it both informative and a pleasure to read at the same time. The keenness of Boyle's interest in both the period - the late 12th century with its crusades, chivalry, courtly love and troubadours - and in the core event itself - the capture and ransom of Richard the Lionheart - comes through in the way in which he brings it all to life, immersing the reader to the extent that we feel we are there as witnesses.
One thing I felt Boyle did particularly well was pointing out where he was relating known historical fact and where he was filling in gaps with informed speculation, showing the various possibilities and why he felt a particular one might be the most likely. For example, very little is actually known about Blondel, the legendary troubadour of the title, but Boyle shows what is known and also what can be deduced or speculated based on it. He also does the same for Robin Hood, another legendary figure tied to the story of Richard's absence and return to England.
Another thing Boyle does well is giving the reader a sense of the personalities of the dominant figures of the period and its events, and showing how much the strengths and weakness of their personalities affected how things turned out. Richard's charisma, persuasiveness and calm in the face of adversity come out vividly in the parts where he is a prisoner of Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor, and put on trial for alleged crimes connected to his conduct of the crusade. By sheer presence and oratory, Richard wins over the German princes summoned to be his judges, not only winning his acquittal but also going on to form new alliances and trade deals for England, all while still a prisoner. His playful and winning nature comes out in how he dealt with his guards. Richard's reputation as a fearsome warrior was such that when he was captured, orders were given that he be guarded by four knights with swords drawn at all times. But within a matter of weeks, Richard so charmed his guards that he was constantly getting them drunk and engaging them in wrestling contests. At the same time, Boyle shows how Richard's ego and his inability to resist grand gestures were ultimately responsible for his being noticed and captured. It's rather difficult to travel incognito disguised as a merchant while at the same time insisting on giving expensive jeweled rings to local nobles and granting kingly bequests to build or restore cathedrals.
Other personalities are also brought out in vivid detail. Eleanor of Acquitaine, Richard's mother, in her 70's at the time but still a lioness in her own right, taking charge of the raising of the ransom and of the negotiations to free her son. The vacillating Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, never truly certain of what he should do with his valuable but equally dangerous prisoner. Leopold of Austria, whose personal bitterness against Richard over his treatment at the siege of Acre led to his imprisoning of Richard when was forced by fate to attempt to cross through his lands on his return to England. And Philip Augustus, the King of France, a close friend in Richard's youth only to become his enemy in adulthood.
The book is rich in anecdotes relating to the events. Among my favorite was when Longchamp, Richard's unpopular Chancellor in England, tries to flee the country disguised as a woman only to be caught at the port when a flirtatious fisherman starts feeling him up. Another was when Richard, finally released from captivity, sends a written message to his treacherous brother John, warning him "Look to yourself. The devil is loosed!" The book also goes into interesting side details, such as the difference between troubadours and minstrels (troubadours wrote songs, whereas minstrels only sang them), the limited methods of writing down music at the time (they had a way of recording the where the notes were on a scale but not the tempo of how they should be played or how long they should be held), the way in which the ransom, almost a quarter of England's wealth converted into silver, was raised and the magnitude of its effect on the economies of both England and Europe, and the fates of all of the major figures in the period after Richard's release (almost all of them were dead in less than five years).
All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys either history or a good read. It more than meets the mark in both.
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