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The Limousin Rebellion of 1182
Tiring of the tournament and again chafing over his political irrelevance, the Young King saw an opportunity to take make his place by breaking with Richard; his opening was the simmering feud between his brother and the nobles of Limousin, trouble which had been sparked by the disputed succession to the County of Limoges in June 1181. Richard had bayed them relentlessly- and that with the assistance of Henry and the Old King- until bringing them to heel in July 1182. But sensing fresh opportunity, the Taillefers and and Angoulêmes sent overtures of fealty to the Young King. The bait was taken and war-footing against the Duke resumed. During Henry II's great Christmas court of 1182, Henry and Richard quarreled and, feigning reconciliation, Henry joined the rebels at Limoges while ostensibly bearing the Angevin olive branch. Richard responded with a series of lightening raids to prevent a concentration of forces and then invested Limoges. As for Henry II, he initially sat out the hostilities until an attempted parlay resulted in the felling of the king's horse. Thinking the arrow bolt was meant for him, the Old King was driven directly into the arms of Richard. The belligerents now declared for the Young King included King Philip of France, Geoffrey of Brittany, Duke Hugh of Burgundy, Count Raymond of Toulouse, Viscount Aimar V, and Geoffrey de Lusignan. (King Alfonso sided with the Old King and Henry as a check on Toulouse.) This impressive show of support, on the other hand, did not include funds and so Henry slipped out of Limoges to rob nearby abbeys in hopes that the proceeds would keep his mercenaries in the field. Richard's siege might have collapsed had Henry not fallen ill, succumbing finally to dysentery at Martel. With his death the rebellion collapsed. "Like the king in chess, the Young King had possessed very little power of his own, yet without him it was impossible to carry on the game." Gillingham, 75. |