A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman
To Dr. John Phillips
CAST OF CHARACTERS
As of 1192
ROYAL HOUSE OF ENGLAND
RICHARD (b. September 1157), King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Poitou and Anjou
ELEANOR (b. 1124), his mother, Dowager Queen of England, widow of King Henry II, Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right
BERENGARIA (b. c. 1170), Richard’s queen, wed in Cyprus in 1191, daughter of Sancho VI, King of Navarre
JOHN (b. December 1166), Richard’s youngest brother, Count of Mortain
JOANNA (b. October 1165), Richard’s youngest sister, widowed Queen of Sicily
LEONORA (b. 1161), Richard’s younger sister, Queen of Castile
HENRY (Hal) (1155–1183), Richard’s deceased elder brother
GEOFFREY (1158–1186), Richard’s deceased younger brother, Duke of Brittany by his marriage to Constance of Brittany
MATILDA (Tilda) (1156–1189), Richard’s deceased older sister, Duchess of Saxony and Bavaria by her marriage to Heinrich der L?we, mother of Richenza, Henrik, Otto, and Wilhelm
RICHENZA (b. 1171), Richard’s niece, wife of Jaufre, Count of Perche
OTTO (b. 1177), Richard’s nephew
WILHELM (b. 1184), Richard’s nephew
PHILIP (b. 1181), Richard’s illegitimate son
ENGLAND, NORMANDY, POITOU
GEOFFREY (Geoff), Richard’s older half brother, Henry’s illegitimate son, Archbishop of York
WILLIAM MARSHAL, one of Richard’s justiciars, wed to Isabel de Clare, Countess of Pembroke
HUBERT WALTER, Bishop of Salisbury, accompanied Richard on crusade
GUILLAUME DE LONGCHAMP, Bishop of Ely, Richard’s chancellor
GAUTIER DE COUTANCES, Archbishop of Rouen
ROBERT BEAUMONT, Earl of Leicester, accompanied Richard on crusade
RANDOLPH DE BLUNDEVILLE, Earl of Chester, second husband of Constance, Duchess of Brittany
ANDRé DE CHAUVIGNY, Lord of Chateauroux, Richard’s cousin, accompanied him on crusade; wed to heiress Denise de Deols
MERCADIER, Richard’s notorious mercenary captain
BRITTANY
CONSTANCE, Duchess of Brittany, widow of Geoffrey, now wed to the Earl of Chester
Her children by Geoffrey:
ARTHUR and ELEANOR (Aenor)
ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE
PHILIPPE CAPET (b. 1165), King of France
LOUIS CAPET, Philippe’s father, first husband of Eleanor, deceased
MARGUERITE CAPET, Philippe’s half sister, widow of Richard’s brother Hal, now wed to Bela, King of Hungary
MARIE, Countess of Champagne, half sister to Philippe and Richard, Eleanor’s daughter by Louis Capet, mother of Henri of Champagne
HENRI, Count of Champagne, Marie’s son, Richard’s nephew, now wed to Isabella, Queen of Jerusalem
ALYS CAPET, Philippe’s half sister, betrothed to Richard in childhood
PHILIP DE DREUX, Bishop of Beauvais, Philippe’s cousin
ROYAL HOUSE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
HEINRICH VON HOHENSTAUFEN (b. 1165), Holy Roman Emperor
CONSTANCE DE HAUTEVILLE, his empress, daughter of a Sicilian king
KONRAD VON HOHENSTAUFEN, Count of the Palatine, Heinrich’s uncle
CONRAD, Duke of SWABIA, Heinrich’s younger brother
OTTO, Count of BURGUNDY, Heinrich’s younger brother
PHILIP, briefly the Bishop of Würzburg, later the Duke of Tuscany, Heinrich’s youngest brother
GERMANY
HEINRICH “DER L?WE,” former Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, wed to Richard’s deceased sister, Matilda
HENRIK, his eldest son
OTTO, RICHENZA, and WILHELM, his other children, raised in England
BONIFACE, Marquis of Montferrat, brother to the slain Conrad of Montferrat
MARKWARD VON ANNWEILER, Heinrich’s seneschal
COUNT DIETRICH VON HOCHSTADEN, Heinrich’s vassal
LUDWIG, current Duke of Bavaria
ALBERT, Bishop of Liege, assassinated that November
SOON to be in rebellion against Heinrich:
BRUNO, Archbishop of Cologne
ADOLF VON ALTENA, his nephew, Provost of Cologne Cathedral
KONRAD VON WITTELSBACH, Archbishop of Mainz
HEINRICH, Duke of Brabant
HEINRICH, Duke of Limburg
OTTOKAR, Duke of Bohemia
AUSTRIA
LEOPOLD VON BABENBERG, Duke of Austria
HELENA, his duchess
FRIEDRICH, his eldest son
LEOPOLD, his youngest son
HADMAR VON KUENRING, Leopold’s ministerialis, castellan of Durnstein Castle
CHAPTER ONE
NOVEMBER 1192
Off the Coast of Sicily