Reconsidering Richard the Lionhearted

The picture of England's King Richard that modern audiences are familiar with is an absent king, content to meander around the Middle East, while leaving his brother to control his home country through underhanded means.

And, in fact, Richard DID put his brother in charge of the country in his absence to fight the Moors. That absence, however, wasn't a vain search for glory, but a defense of the very center of the Christian religion. At the time he battled Saladin, the Muslims had captured most of the area called Jerusalem, and were quite cruel to the native Christians.

Much of the history of that time is heavily colored by the competing historical sides. Anti-French sentiment colors some of English history of the time; the close ties of the English monarchs to the throne of France is something that many British people would prefer to forget.

This account of the Battle of Jaffa puts some of the fashionably popular history in doubt. The book linked to in the article is one that is on my TBR list. It may be a year or more before I tackle it.