The Capture, Imprisonment And The Ransom Of Richard The Lionheart
On his way back from the crusades, one of England's most famous and romantic medieval kings was shipwrecked and stranded near Venice. Trying to make his way home in disguise, he was arrested and imprisoned and effectively disappeared. He didn't return home for another fifteen months, and at enormous cost - a quarter of the entire wealth of England was paid to win his release.
The bizarre events surrounding Richard the Lionheart's disappearance have been relegated to the nursery by generations of historians. But it also provides the background to some of the most colourful and enduring legends - Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham, the discovery of King Arthur's grave and, above all, the story of Blondel, Richard's faithful minstrel, and his journey across central Europe - singing under castle towers - until he finds the missing king.
