Crusades · 1187-1192

Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade

After Saladin takes Jerusalem in 1187, the kings of England and France and the German emperor set out to win it back. Students follow the Third Crusade by land and sea, meet Richard and Saladin through the sources, and ask why it ended in a truce.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1190 to AD 1191
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

After Saladin takes Jerusalem in 1187, the kings of England and France and the German emperor set out to win it back. Students follow the Third Crusade by land and sea, meet Richard and Saladin through the sources, and ask why it ended in a truce.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the Third Crusade began and who led it.
  • Trace the routes of the crusading armies on the map, by land and by sea.
  • Evaluate the Treaty of Jaffa of 1192 from the point of view of both sides.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1190

Three rulers set out

Open the map in 1190 and zoom out over Europe. Find the Angevin Empire, the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Which army had the longest road to the east?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1191

By sea

Follow Richard's fleet from Marseille past Sicily and Cyprus to the coast of the Holy Land. Turn on Historical Events and find the Siege of Acre. Why did sea power matter so much?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1191

The coast road

Zoom in on the coast between Acre and Jaffa. The crusaders marched south with the sea on their right and the fleet beside them. Why stay so close to the coast?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Saladin let most of Jerusalem's people buy their freedom in 1187. How did that compare with what the crusaders had done in 1099?
  2. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned in a river in 1190. How might losing their leader have affected his army?
  3. Richard and Philip of France quarreled, and Philip went home in 1191. Why do alliances between rivals often break?
  4. At Acre in 1191 Richard had about 2,700 Muslim prisoners killed. How should historians judge a leader many admired for his courage?
  5. Richard never took Jerusalem, but he won a truce that let pilgrims visit. Was the crusade a success or a failure?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Saladin. Let the class decide how to answer three invading rulers. Afterwards, compare with what Saladin did: he wore the crusaders down, kept Jerusalem and finally agreed to a truce with Richard.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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