Lionheart Dies: Richard I's Arrow Ends a Reign

Richard I of England, the warrior-king who had fought across three continents, died on April 6, 1199, from a gangrenous crossbow wound sustained while besieging a minor castle in central France. The Lionheart had survived the Third Crusade, captivity in Austria, ransom by the Holy Roman Emperor, and five years of war against Philip II of France, only to be killed at Chalus-Chabrol by a lone defender armed with a frying pan as a shield. The irony was complete: the most celebrated soldier in Christendom was killed in a dispute over a cache of Roman gold coins. The wound itself was not immediately fatal. A crossbow bolt struck Richard in the left shoulder near the neck during an inspection of the siege lines on March 26. The surgeon who attempted to extract the bolt butchered the operation, enlarging the wound and leaving fragments of the shaft embedded in the flesh. Gangrene set in within days. Richard, recognizing he was dying, ordered the crossbowman who shot him, identified as Pierre Basile, to be brought before him. According to the chronicler Roger of Howden, Richard forgave the man and ordered his release, though after the king's death, the mercenary captain Mercadier had Basile flayed alive. Richard had spent only six months of his ten-year reign in England, viewing his island kingdom primarily as a source of revenue for his military campaigns. He spent the bulk of his reign fighting in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade, where he defeated Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf and negotiated a truce that preserved Christian access to Jerusalem, and then warring with Philip II of France over territories in Normandy and Aquitaine. His military reputation was extraordinary; Muslim chroniclers respected him as much as Christian ones. The financial burden of Richard's adventures was immense. His ransom alone, 150,000 marks of silver demanded by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, required a tax of 25 percent on all income and property in England. His castle-building program in France, centered on the massive Chateau Gaillard, consumed further fortunes. His death handed the English crown to his brother John, whose catastrophic reign produced the Magna Carta.