Richard I (Penguin Monarchs)

Richard I''s reign is both controversial and seemingly contradictory. 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. Contemporaries dubbed him the ''Lionheart'', reflecting a carefully cultivated reputation for bravery, prowess and knightly virtue, b...