“Third Crusade” 820th Anniversary Series: Richard the Lionheart Leaves Sicily for “Outremer”

(This post is the sixteenth of what will be approximately seventy posts following 820th anniversary highlights of what history now calls the “third crusade.” My novel, The Swords of Faith, tells the story of this legendary clash between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.)

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Winter in Sicily was finally over. It was time to complete the last part of the journey to join the western Christian fighting pilgrimage to take back Jerusalem for Christianity. 820 years ago today, Richard the Lionheart, along with his huge fleet of over two hundred ships, left Sicily for the eastern Mediterranean coast to join the siege at Acre. He was eleven days behind Philip II of France; he would land at Acre well beyond that eleven day gap, and the consequences of the delay would have lasting effects on the entire area. After the ships cleared the harbor, Richard’s warship vanguard took the lead ahead of the transport ships. On one of those transports, his future wife, Berengeria (whom he planned to marry in the “Holy Land”) and his sister Joan, traveled with their accompanying entourages. The ships communicated by sailing close enough for the men to shout at each other and pass messages and commands from ship to ship. It would not be long before this primitive method of ship-to-ship communication would prove to be dangerously inadequate. Richard hated traveling by sea. Nothing about this journey would give Richard any reason to change that point-of-view!

Previous 820th Anniversary Posts:

July 4th – The 820th Anniversary of the Launch of the “Third Crusade”

October 4th – Richard the Lionheart Sacks Messina

November 3rd – Queen Sibylla Dies

November 11th – Richard the Lionheart Signs a Treaty with King Tancred of Sicily

November 15th – Queen Isabella’s Marriage to Humphrey of Toron is Annulled

November 19th – Archbishop of Canterbury Dies

November 24th – Conrad of Montferrat Marries Queen Isabella

December 25th – Richard the Lionheart Feasts at Christmas

December 31st – Shipwreck at Acre; Muslim Defenders Lose Resupply

January 5th – A Wall Comes Down, Presenting an Opportunity

January 20th – Frederick of Swabia Dies; Leopold of Austria Becomes Top-Ranked German Royalty at Acre

February 2nd – A Playful “Joust” Gets Out of Hand in Sicily

February 13th – Saladin’s Forces Relieve the Garrison at Acre

March 3rd – Richard the Lionheart Settles the Alice Marriage Controversy—Sort Of

March 30th – Philip II Leaves Sicily; Berengeria Arrives 

To review a comprehensive catalog of historical fiction set during the medieval time period, go to http://www.medieval-novels.com:80/.