Lionheart Dies: Richard I's Arrow Ends a Reign
An arrow wound to his shoulder turned deadly not from the metal, but from a surgeon's clumsy knife slicing through infected tissue in Châlus-Chabrol. Richard I, the Lionheart who'd fought across deserts and castles, bled out after that final, fatal incision on April 6, 1199. His death didn't just end a reign; it stripped England of its strongest shield, handing the crown to a brother he barely knew while his kingdom fractured under French pressure. A king who feared no army died because a man couldn't stop cutting.
April 6, 1199
827 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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