Pierre Basile (died 6 April 1199), also named Bertran de Gourdon and John Sabroz, was a

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

boy famous for shooting King

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

with a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

at the siege of Châlus-Chabrol on 25 March 1199. King Richard, who had removed some of his

chainmail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

, was not mortally wounded by Basile's bolt directly; however, the wound resulted in gangrene. Basile was one of only two knights defending the castle and was renowned amongst the English attackers for his appearance: the castle was so ill-prepared for King Richard's siege that Basile was forced to defend the ramparts with cobbled-together armour and a makeshift shield constructed from a frying pan, much to the mirth of the English besiegers. It is perhaps this dismissive attitude that led to Richard taking little precaution on the day he was shot. Although there are numerous variations of the story's details, it is generally agreed that King Richard ordered that Basile suffer no punishment (and, in fact, that he be paid 100 shillings). Not much is known about Basile's fate afterwards, but according to one account mercenary soldier Mercadier disregarded Richard's orders after his death and Basile was

flayed Flaying, also known colloquially as skinning, is a method of slow and painful execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact. Scope A dead animal may be flayed when pr ...

alive and then

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. "Peter Basili" or "Pierre Basile" is not believed to be his real name, since it variates with the names "John Sabroz" and "Bertran de Gourdon" as the name of Richard's killer. In truth, it is considered unlikely that contemporary chroniclers knew his real name.

Notes

References

* *Meade, Marion ''Eleanor of Aquitaine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Basile, Pierre 1199 deaths French knights English regicides Executed French people People executed by flaying People executed by hanging People executed under the Plantagenets