Description Richard I\'s reign is both controversial and seemingly contradictory.
Contemporaries dubbed him the \'Lionheart\', reflecting a carefully cultivated reputation for bravery, prowess and knightly virtue, but this supposed paragon of chivalry butchered close to 3,000 prisoners i.
One of England\'s most famous medieval monarchs and a potent symbol of national identity, he barely spent six months on English soil during a ten-year reign and spoke French as his first language.
Description Richard I\'s reign is both controversial and seemingly contradictory