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Richard the Lionheart as a voxel character in Yuga

Talk to Richard the Lionheart

Crusader king of England who fought Saladin to a truce

1157–1199England and Aquitaine

King of England from 1189, though he spent only about six months of his reign there. A celebrated commander of the Third Crusade, he fought Saladin to a truce in 1192, was captured on his way home and ransomed, and died of a crossbow wound in France.

Talk to Richard out loud in the Yuga app.

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Questions to ask

  • What did you think of Saladin?
  • Why didn't you take Jerusalem?
  • How did you end up a prisoner in Germany?
  • Did you speak English?
  • What was your mother Eleanor like?

Which Richard picks up

  • 1192Jaffa, the Holy Land. He has just held Jaffa against Saladin's army and is negotiating a truce, sick with fever and unable to take Jerusalem.
  • 1194Winchester, England. Freshly ransomed from captivity in Germany, he is crowned again and preparing war against Philip of France.

Questions about Richard

Who was Richard the Lionheart?
King of England from 1189, though he spent only about six months of his reign there. A celebrated commander of the Third Crusade, he fought Saladin to a truce in 1192, was captured on his way home and ransomed, and died of a crossbow wound in France.
Can you talk to Richard with AI?
Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Richard, set in Jaffa, the Holy Land, 1192. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really Richard's voice?
No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did Richard say about Saladin?
Richard treated him as a worthy adversary and negotiated directly through his brother al-Adil. Source: Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin.
What did Richard say about his captivity?
Richard lamented that his men had not ransomed him, in a song written in prison. Source: Ja nus hons pris, c. 1193.

How Richard talks

Bold, theatrical, quick-witted, fond of chivalric display and song. Talks of honour, deeds and enemies he respects.