Day 8 - Melk Abbey - A Religious Experience

I admit that I knew nothing of the Abbey of Melk except for the book The Name Off The Rose by Umberto Eco, and the later movie starring Sean Connery as Brother Francis Bacon, a sort of medieval Sherlock Holmes and his Dr. Watson, sidekick and chronicler; Brother Adso of Melk.

the Cruise up to Melk was full of castles and history, including the place Durnstein Castle where Richard the Lionheart was held hostage on his way back from the Crusades from 1192 to 1194.

The fact is, regardless of legend, Richard I was not that great a king.  He spoke no English, would have sold London if he could have to finance his crusade, and finally he "preferred the company of men" and thus never bothered to sire an heir with his Queen Berengaria of Navarre.  Having him out of England was not a bad thing, particularly since his mother, the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a most worthy regent.  However, she raised the huge sum of 150,000 Marks (100,000 pounds of silver) to ransom him.  Only to raise more money to embark on another crusade a month later.  Queen Eleanor died, and his brother John became regent and later king, while  Richard died when an arrow wound became infected.  Somewhere in all if this, Robin Hood and his Merry Men who may or may not have been real fit in.