MedievalAuthor
Historical fiction by Jean L Gorman
  • About the Chronicles
    • The Queen's Knight
    • At the King's Pleasure
    • About Richard the Lionheart
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    • Jousting
    • The battle of Mortimers Cross
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The King's Ransom will be published - Deo Volente - in 2017.

Picture
OK, all you mediaeval buffs who know the king's ransom was 6000 buckets of silver...
1) I don't have 6000 buckets
2) It wouldn't make a good cover if I did.


The story starts with Lionheart's capture near Vienna and ends when he is finally freed. King Richard was captured by Duke Leopold and imprisoned by the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, who saw the financial profit.
He was excommunicated for this arrest of a crusader on his way home. This was against International and church law. However, the Pope had almost no influence on Henry, who was an arrogant and cruel despot.

Philippe of France had encountered Henry in Rome on his way home from the Crusade and had poured poison into his ear about Richard. Philippe desperately wanted Henry to either keep Richard indefinitely or hand him over. Henry had ideas of ruling the world and was willing to take anybody's money to continue his designs. The tale follows Richard's deft maneuvering of the politics of the day and the crafty counter ploys of Philippe of France. 

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