Exclusive Medieval Articles - Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade - The Diigo Meta page

• 21 Oct 11
  

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  Saladin

  • As a general, Saladin made "himself known to the rank and file of the soldiers in his army, creating bonds of loyalty and solidarity and enhancing corporate morale", important factors in waging battle.13 Saladin was also a general whose "presence could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat" such as during his conquest of Acre when Ibn Shaddad writes that he "'stood firm with a handful of men until he was able to withdraw all his men to the hill and then lead them down into battle again, shaming them into turning and fighting."14 Thus, Saladin was able to spur on his troops to victory even in the face of defeat.
• 18 Sep 11
  

  Victoria Green
  • Richard was born in 1157 and was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He spent much of his youth in Aquitaine, where his mother "imbued Richard with her special code of courtly love".4 As Richard grew older, he was defiant of his father. Richard was the Duke of Aquitaine, but this title carried no real power, and since he wanted more, he made a pact with the King of France. Despite the rebelliousness of his son, Henry II eventually forgave Richard, and it was after this point that Henry vested Richard with "the power and authority to subdue the rebellious barons of Aquitaine and Gascony and to confiscate the lands of any barons who resisted him", allowing Richard to hone his military skill.5 Shortly after his father's death in 1189, Richard succeeded Henry as King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou, and he would soon prepare to set out on the Third Crusade.
  • Before setting out for Jaffa, Richard killed the Muslim captives that he had because he felt that Saladin was not honoring the terms of Acre's surrender.
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  • Both Richard and Saladin were successful generals; Richard's successes not only at the siege of Acre but also during the Battle of Arsuf testify to this
  • als; Richard's successes not only at the siege of Acre but also during the Battle of Arsuf testify to this
  • Richard, for example, showed an appreciation of wider strategy in acknowledging the role of Egypt, and he also realized that although he and the other crusaders might be able to recapture the city of Jerusalem, that it would be very difficult to defend the city.12 This understanding of strategy allowed Richard to realize that the combination of Saladin's dual control of Egypt and Syria allowed him to in effect surround the crusader states, while in the case of Jerusalem, many of the crusaders would want to return home after completing their objective of retaking the city.
  • Both Richard and Saladin were also capable of the slaughter of a great number of prisoners. Richard was "capable on occasion of extreme severity towards prisoners", such as when he had "many Muslim prisoners killed at Acre", perhaps numbering as many as 3,000.
  • Richard and Saladin are likely to have executed their prisoners for pragmatic and militaristic reasons – neither of the two men wanted to face the prisoners of the opposite side again in battle.
  • Richard found it to his military advantage to kill the prisoners and move southward with his army.
  • Ambroise also describes Richard in very positive terms in his Crusade. According to Ambroise, "the whole world o'er / There was no mightier warrior" than Richard.34 At one point, Richard does "a noble thing; / His heart to good was swift to spring.
  • In the Crusade, Ambroise also mentions this (although not in such strong terms) when he writes that "worthy men great effort spent / Counseling him to mend his way" in which "he flung himself into the fight."37 Although Richard's recklessness is definitely described to be a negative characteristic, the author of the Itinerarium tries to somewhat explain or rationalize this behavior when he states that if anyone should think that Richard "could be accused of rash actions, [that person] should know that he had an unconquerable spirit, could not bear insult or injury, and his innate noble spirit compelled him to seek his due rights" so that he "may not unreasonably be excused."38 Although both sources describe Richard's rashness as a negative characteristic, neither source wants to make too much of it.
  • Ambroise writes that Richard, "[w]ith his sword of steel in hand...charged full tilt upon the foe / And harried them most fiercely",
  • Ambroise also mentions Richard's "largesse" in his work.
  • Richard
  • n exemplar of romantic
  • ideals of chivalric knighthood,

  14 more annotations...

• 14 May 08
  

  12 ancient history Richard the Lionheart Saladin Crusades

• 28 Apr 08
  

  Jamie Wood

  This is too long! it is interesting though, it gives a good description of the characters of both rulers, their role in the 3rd Crusade and most importantly highlights the problems of sources in recording the truth. It also tells the story of the 3rd Crus

  imported history medieval HST114 teaching Bookmarks secondary Crusades Richard Saladin 2star 2010 delicious

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