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Why did Leopold V of Austria capture Richard I?
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Richard I
Richard I, detail of tomb effigy in the abbey church of Fontevrault-l'Abbaye, France.
Leopold V, Duke of Austria, captured Richard I primarily due to a personal grievance stemming from the Third Crusade.12
During the siege of Acre, Richard insulted Leopold by tearing down his banner. This act of disrespect created deep enmity between the two leaders. When Richard was shipwrecked near Venice while attempting to return home in 1192, he tried to travel in disguise to avoid his enemies. However, he was discovered in Vienna in December of that year and subsequently imprisoned in Leopold's castle at Dürnstein. Leopold later handed Richard over to the Holy Roman emperor Henry VI, who held the king for a massive ransom.132