Today in history: ransom is paid for Richard the Lionheart (February 4 1194). English king was impri
Today in history: ransom is paid for Richard the Lionheart (February 4 1194). English king was imprisoned at Trifels castle by emperor Henry VI. The Hohenstaufen ruler needed money for his army and was also displeased with England’s support for his enemies. Henry demanded and eventually received 150,000 marks ransom for Richard’s liberty. That was naturally enormous amount of money at that time.Btw regent John the Lacland and French king offered emperor 80,000 marks for keeping Richard imprisoned :D, but Henry declined that offered. Pope got himself involved and banned emperor for capturing a crusader.Source: R.Wallenstein at German Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 2.0 de (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en)], from Wikimedia Commons -- source link
#henry vi#hohenstaufen#medieval#history#power plotics#ransom#castle#12th century