Germany sent a large contingent to the Crusades, led by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, the Red Beard. He was a mountain of a man who inspired as much by personal example as by rank. Early in the Crusade, Frederick drowned while crossing a river. While legend has it that he was weighed down by his armor, he may also have had a heart attack in the process. His men promptly pickled his body in a cask of vinegar and shipped him home. His son, Frederick VI of Swabia and Prince Geza of Hungary took shared command of the German contingent. The entire Crusader army became embroiled in the siege of Acre, 1189-1191, which was going nowhere until Phillip II and Richard arrived with more money, men and better siege equipment. Meanwhile, in January, 1191, Frederick of Swabia was also killed, leaving the German contingent in disarray under its various commanders.
Enter Leopold. He was born the son of Henry II of Austria, of the House of Babenburg. His mother was a Byzantine princess. Leopold was an experienced commander who'd also undertaken a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Europe at that time was a collection of various kingdoms, principalities, duchies and the like, all of which were at war with each other at any given time. Leopold succeeded his father as Duke of Austria in 1177 and like most German princes, had his eye on the Crown of Charlemagne someday. When the Crusade began in 1189, Leopold was embroiled in a border dispute with Bela III of Hungary. When word reached Leopold of Frederick Barbarossa's death in the Holy Land, Leopold put his dispute with Hungary on hold and went to Palestine, arriving just as Frederick of Swabia had died. He quickly took charge of the German contingent. During one encounter with Saladin's forces, Leopold's tunic became soaked with blood. When he removed his belt, a white strip was visible. He later on took the colors of red and white as his personal banner, which later became part of the flag of Austria.
Acre finally capitulated in June, 1191 and the banners of the victorious leaders were hung above the city walls. As the de facto leader of the German contingent, Leopold demanded that his banner have equal status with that of Richard of England and Phillip of France. Richard objected and, when Leopold nevertheless persisted, Richard had Leopold's banner taken down. Richard didn't think Leopold's anger at this slight worth his while. Leopold returned home to Austria, followed by Phillip returning to France. Richard pressed on to Jerusalem, but stopped short, making a peace with Saladin instead that gave the Muslims charge of the Holy City with the rights of Christians living within it and Christian pilgrims protected. Richard then departed the Holy land, heading for the lands of his brother-in-law Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. Henry had been dispossessed of his duchy by Barbarossa before he died and Richard was of a mind to help his sister Matilda's husband take back his own.
But, before Richard left, there was more drama in the Crusader ranks. In April, 1192, Conrad of Montferrat, a cousin to Leopold and to the new Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, who had personally raised Leopold's standard over Acre and dared to get in Richard's face about removing it, was killed by Assassins after being elected King of Jerusalem. Likely, the Assassins were acting on orders of their own superiors, but Leopold and Henry blamed Richard. Phillip II Augustus also had his own gripes with Richard over Richard's lands in France and the status of Phillip's sister Alys, who had been betrothed to Richard but that's another story entirely. Phillip, Henry and Leopold assumed Richard would be returning to England and would have to cross hostile territory at some point to get to Normandy and across to England. Capturing him would net someone a great deal of money and time for Phillip to make his move on the Plantagenet territories in France. Never mind that these were all sworn crusaders violating the obligatory Peace of God by warring against another crusader.
Richard found all French ports closed and landed in Italy. He would have to cross Austria to reach Saxony. He planned to travel incognito but, in reality, Phillip, Henry and Leopold had spies tracking his every move. Richard was captured in an inn near Vienna and brought to Henry VI Trifels Castle, accused of Conrad's murder. One ruler didn't have authority to try and convict another ruler, so Henry instead demanded a ransom and turned Richard over to Leopold. Leopold imprisoned Richard in Durnstein Castle, knowing that England would turn itself inside out to raise 150,000 marks, over 100,000 lbs of silver, a literal king's ransom. Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, knew that her youngest son John was colluding with Phillip of France to take over the throne of England. Along with barons loyal to Richard, Eleanor traveled throughout England and in her own domains, raising most of the money. Hostages from among the noble families in England were also sent to Austria as living promissory notes for the remainder. Many of these youngsters never saw home again.
Leopold was unwilling to accept anything less than payment in full, but excommunication promptly changed his mind. He put his share of the loot to good use, beginning the royal mint in Austria and improving the city walls of Vienna. Leopold had also become Duke of Styria in 1192 and founded the towns of Weiner Neustadt and Friedburg. But, he had to work off his excommunication and began planning another crusade. But in 1194, while in Graz, karma caught up to Leopold in a different way. He was participating in a tournament when his horse fell under him, crushing his foot. His surgeons recommended amputation and finally resorted to an ax as the quickest way. It took three strokes. Gangrene set in anyway and Leopold died. Gangrene is a slow, pitiful and painful way to go. Leopold was buried in Hellingenkrauz Abbey in the Vienna Woods.
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