Richard I of England, known as Coeur de Lion (Lionheart), led the Third Crusade in 1190–1192 alongside Philip II of France and Frederick Barbarossa. After Barbarossa's death by drowning in Cilicia, Richard became the dominant military figure of the campaign. He recaptured Acre and won several notable battles but was unable to retake Jerusalem, eventually negotiating a treaty allowing Christian pilgrims access to the holy city. Richard was himself a troubadour poet who composed verse in Occitan and Old French, and his captivity on the return journey — and subsequent ransom — became the subject of famous poetic legend.

Richard I's status as both a crusading king and a composing troubadour made him a uniquely literary historical figure. The song attributed to him — Ja nuls hom pres — composed in captivity in German imprisonment, became one of the most anthologised troubadour lyrics. The legend of Richard and his minstrel Blondel finding him by song was celebrated in later ballads and by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry's opera Richard Coeur-de-Lion (1784), keeping the romantic version of his captivity alive for centuries.