Richard the Lionheart died today in 1199 as a result of an infected arrow wound to the neck while besieging a castle at Chaluz in France. He is one of those historical characters who has been hi-jacked by the mythmakers, usually turning up at the end of Robin Hood films in time to realize that his nasty brother John has already been well and truly trounced by Robin himself.
The real Richard was only in the country for six months of his ten year reign, was probably homosexual and definitely psychopathic - like most of the Plantagenets.
In other news ...
Today in 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate after a whirlwind military career which saw him as master of most of Europe. He was to be sent to Elba which was a big mistake as it was only a stone's throw from his old stomping ground (France) and he was allowed to retain a largish bodyguard (10,000 men). Surprise, surprise, he escaped and started the whole mayhem all over again.
You can't keep a good dictator down.
