Explanation: A rare bit of OC from me. The medieval English King Richard I, 'The Lionheart', returned from the Third Crusade reasonably successful, but bad weather forced his ship aground before reaching England. In a hurry to get home, Richard attempted to travel overland to get to the next viable port - typical of his impatience and impulsiveness, he did so through the lands of Duke Leopold of Austria. Both men were stubborn hotheads, and had developed something of a feud during the Third Crusade, ending with Leopold leaving the Crusade in fury after being disrespected by King Richard.
Reasonably suspecting that he may not be entirely welcome after that, King Richard opted to travel incognito, disguised as a simple country knight returning from crusade.
The issue? Richard was a king, and his expensive tastes worked against him - perhaps especially after sharing in the misery of the supply-starved Crusaders in the Holy Land. After a stop in a local inn, he requested a chicken be roasted for his consumption - chicken was not a particularly 'rich' meat, but any traveler who should be watching their funds asking for an innkeep to pluck and roast a chicken just for him whilst on the road is certainly no poor man - not even a poor knight!
This raised enough suspicions that word reached Leopold - who was on alert after hearing of Richard's ship - and Leopold sent a force to arrest the undercover king, holding him for ransom and eventually extracting the equivalent of two years' income of the entire kingdom of England for Richard's release.
Quite the price for a roast chicken!
WHAT IS THE CHARGE? EATING A MEAL!? A SUCCULENT AUSTRIAN MEAL!? THIS IS MONARCHY MANIFEST!
