Talking to the enemy: the role and purpose of negotiations between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade

This article considers the role and purpose of the diplomatic interactions between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. It argues that in 1191–2, both leaders variously employed diplomatic contact to garner military and political intelligence, to gain insight into the temperament and mindset of their adversary, and to purposefully wrong-foot the enemy. It suggests that in the course of this crusade Richard I demonstrated a far greater capacity for subtlety and manipulation than has previously been recognised, exhibiting diplomatic skills that equalled, and perhaps even eclipsed, those of his rival Saladin. The use of negotiation to achieve actual conflict resolution is considered and it is argued that neither protagonist pursued peace for its own sake. These findings are contextualised within the wider framework of Latin–Muslim negotiations during the crusading era, and the broader relationship between Islam and the West during the Middle Ages.