While medieval country marriages were often the result of
love, marriage among the noble class was more a business transaction than
the culmination of ardent feelings
Courtly love became the subject
of some of the most famous medieval poems, and where we get today's word,
"Courtesy."
Passion was considered sinful to 11th and 12th century moralists, but
these ideals were slowly being worn away with the rituals of courtly love.
He raised money for the enterprise bythe persecution and robbery of the Jewsthe imposition of an unusual tax upon all classesthe sale of offices, dignities, and the royal lands
The knightly adventures and chivalrous exploits which mark the career of Richard in the Holy Land read like a romance.
At one time, when Richard was sick with a fever, Saladin, knowing that he was poorly supplied with delicacies, sent him a gift of the choicest fruits of the land.
And on another occasion, Richard's horse having been killed in battle, the sultan caused a fine Arabian steed to be led to the Christian camp as a present for his rival.
King Richard on his return from the Holy Land was shipwrecked off the coast of the Adriatic. Attempting to travel through Austria in disguise, he was captured by the duke of Austria, whom he had offended at the siege of Acre. The king regained his liberty only by paying a ransom equivalent to more than twice the annual revenues of England.