Blondel’s Song

Returning from the Third Crusade in 1192, Richard I attempted to cross central Europe in disguise but was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and eventually transferred to the custody of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. David Boyle reconstructs Richard’s disappearance, imprisonment and the political bargaining surrounding a ransom so large that its collection placed exceptional demands on his English and continental possessions.

The book also investigates the later legend that the troubadour Blondel discovered the missing king by singing beneath castle walls. Boyle uses Richard’s captivity to explore crusading politics, chivalric culture, music and royal finance, separating the documented history of the ransom from the romantic story that grew around it.