RIchard the Lionheart (Coeur-de-) of the /Angevin was crowned King of at the death of his father II in 1189.

The reign of Henry II was the period of full amalgamation of the English and the . The Plantagenet name was first given to Geoffrey of who wore a “sprig of broom” or in the Latin, genista on his helmet. The Lionheart, enumerated as I of England, although French in nationality and language, was known for terseness, cruelty, and heroic deeds of military achievement. Richard reportedly banned Jews from his resulting in riots by the people of London against the Jewish population. In the Holy Land, the sultan had captured , feudal king of , at Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in 1187. Saladin, of Kurdish origin and founder of the Ayyubid in , treated some Christian pilgrims of Georgia magnanimously, other Christians were killed or paid tribute for their freedom and Guy was eventually released. Richard the Lionheart collected a in England and left on the from Marseilles in 1190, even as the king of France left from Genoa. Both sought to navigate by sea to the Holy Land to retake Jerusalem from Saladin.

The combined forces of Richard and Philip II of France arrived in and took the city of . Discord took possession of the minds of the kings, and the king of France openly showed himself to favor Tancred, the king of Sicily who had imprisoned Richard's sister, the widowed Queen Consort of Sicily. The king of France was also offended that only Richard's banner was raised above Messina. King Richard expended great labor and diligence in erecting a castle, to which he gave the name, Mategriffon or “terror to the Greeks,” at which the Griffons or Greeks were very much exasperated, because this erection they saw was intended for their destruction. The building was completed close to the city, and very convenient for retreat. The kings continued to argue. Neither of them would yield to the other; the king of France, unwilling to commit himself to the power of an inferior which was beneath his own dignity; and King Richard, fearful that the acknowledgment of subjection might lessen the glory of his own deeds. In March of 1191, the kings came to a mutual understanding and made a treaty with Tancred of Sicily.

The king of England demolished the wooden castle at Mategriffon, and on Wednesday in the Holy Week (April 10, 1191) he and all his army set sail from the port of Messina, on board 150 large ships, and 53 galleys. On Friday a terrible storm came up from the south, about the ninth hour of the day, and scattered his fleet and three large vessels wrecked on the island of . Isaac () the Emperor of Cyprus seized the gear of those who were drowned, and all who escaped from the shipwreck were robbed of their money. Moreover, in the fury of his savagery, he refused permission to enter the port to a galliot which had been driven thither by the wind, and which carried the Queen of Sicily and Richard’s fiancee, the daughter of the king of , When news of this was brought to the king he hastened to their rescue, with many galleys and a great following of ships, and found the ladies outside the port of Limeszun, exposed to the winds and sea. Angered, he sent messengers to the Emperor of Cyprus, once, twice, and yet a third time, making his request with mild entreaty, that his fellow pilgrims, whom the Emperor was keeping under confinement, should be restored to him together with their belongings. To whom the Emperor made answer with proud words, refusing to surrender either the prisoners or their belongings, and saying that he had no fear of the king of England or of his threats.

Then spoke the Lionheart to all his army, saying, "To arms, and follow me! Let me take vengeance for the insults which this traitor hath put upon God and ourselves, in that he oppresses innocent men, whom he refuses to surrender to us. But truly, he who rejects the just demands of one armed for the fray, resigns all into his hands. And I trust confidently in the Lord that He, will this day give us the victory over this Emperor and his people."

The king of England, pursued them, and made a very great slaughter of all who resisted; and he openly exulted in such a victory, vowing, had not night fallen, he would have taken the Emperor himself, but unfamiliar with the landscape, Richard returned to Limeszun, left empty by the fleeing Greeks and Armenians. Arriving at Acre in Palestine, Philip (called Auguste) became ill and returned to France while Richard the Lionheart, the crusader, was turned back from before Jerusalem twice and only achieved an armistice with Saladin, in September of 1192, giving the coast from Jappa to Acre to Christians with pilgrimages to the holy places permitted. Richard gave Cyprus as a fief to Guy of Lusignan, who transferred his title, “King of Jerusalem” to Henry, Count of Champagne. Richard the Lionheart on his return suffered a shipwreck. Then, taking a land route, he was recognized in and detained by Leopold of Austria. He was imprisoned thirteen months at the command of the , Henry VI, and only released by payment of a heavy ransom in 1194. Philip II of France sent a message, a matter of intrigue, to Richard's brother, John, “Look to yourself, the devil is loose.” After a truce with Philip II at Vernon in Normandy, the Lionheart was killed as a result of a crossbow wound to the shoulder before the castle Châlus-Chabrol in 1199.

(Inverted shield obituary inscription by Matthew of Paris, the death by crossbow) Obitus Ric. / Corona et clipeus regis