Even before he became king (in 1189) Richard's whole soul was turned to that great enterprise with which his name is indissolubly connected, the Crusade. Participating fully in the mingled grief and indignation which the news of the capture of Jerusalem diffused over Christendom, he was one of the very earliest to take the cross, and he thought no sacrifice on his own part, or on that of others, too great for the attainment of his object. Hence the reckless or violent means to which he resorted to equip his forces, and which had the effect of raising the most formidable fleet and army that had ever left the shores of England. But his success was unhappily rendered impossible by the envy of those who saw in his generous devotion a reproach of their own lukewarmness; he endured shipwreck and imprisonment, his kingdom was nearly wrested from him by the treachery of his brother, and he received his death-wound before the insignificant stronghold of a rebellious baron, in the tenth year of his reign, March 29, 1199, and died a fortnight after. He was buried at Fontevraud. When a youth Richard was betrothed to Adelais, daughter of Louis VII. of France; from strong suspicion of impropriety on her part, the union did not take place, and he married Berengaria, sister of Sancho of Navarre, who accompanied him to the Holy Land, but by whom he left no issue. A natural son, Philip, lord of Cuinac, is said to have revenged Richard's death by killing the viscount She survived him till about the year 1230, principally residing in her dower city of Mans, and was buried in the abbey of Lespan, to which she was a benefactor. of Limoges; and a natural daughter, Isabel, married Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, prince of North Wales. As already mentioned, Henry II. added a third lion to the two of the Norman kings as the arms of England, but Richard, for some time after his accession, used the arms he had before borne in Aquitaine, "Gules, two lions combatant, or." After his return from the crusade, however, he bore the present arms of England. He also used as devices, a star issuing from between the horns of a crescent, the star and the crescent separately, a mailed arm holding a broken lance, and a sun on two anchors, with the motto Christo duce." 66 Some modern writers, who affect to despise the generous emotions which led to the crusades, have depicted the Lion-hearted king as a mere brutal swordsman, and his reign as a calamity to his subjects. Such was not the view of his contemporaries: they saw in him a generous high-spirited prince, an eloquent orator, an accomplished poet', and a knight without fear and without reproach. A touching poem, which he wrote during his captivity, has been preserved. The English translation does not preserve the measure "Oh!" exclaims his fellow crusader, Geoffrey de Vinsauf, in a passage which furnishes a summary of his reign, "Oh! how inequitably was he recompensed for his exertions in the common cause! His inheritance was seized by another, his Norman castles taken, his rivals made cruel assaults on his rights without provocation, and he only escaped from captivity by paying a ransom to the emperor. To gather the money, the taxes were raised to the uttermost, a heavy talliage was laid on all his lands, and everything was put under contribution; even the chalices and hallowed vessels of gold and silver were gathered from the churches, and the monasteries parted with their ornaments; nor was this against the decrees of the holy fathers; nay, it was a duty, for no saint, many though there be, ever during life suffered so much for their Lord as did King Richard in his captivity. He who had gained so many triumphs over the infidels was basely circumvented by the brethren of his own faith, and seized by those who only in name were members of Christ . . . At last restored to his native soil, and the kingdom of his ancestors, he soon restored all things to tranquillity; then, crossing into Normandy to avenge himself on the king of France, he more than once defeated him, and by of the original, and hardly does justice to its sentiments; the first stanza is here given: "No wretched captive of his prison speaks, Unless with pain and bitterness of soul, The smallest portion of his treasure vile?" the power of his sword and his spear he recovered his alienated rights, even with augmentation." A.D. 1189. Richard is received as sovereign of Normandy, July 20. He liberates his mother from confinement, and appoints her regent in England; he also bestows the earldom of Mortaigne and great estates on his brother John. Richard comes to England and is crowned, Sept. 3m; a number of Jews venture to appear at his coronation, which leads to a massacre among them in London. The king raises money by violent means for his crusade; his natural brother, Geoffrey, having, without his permission, accepted the archbishopric of York, is imprisoned, and only released by payment of a large fine; the earldom of Northumberland sold to the bishop of Durham; the castles on the Scottish border are given up, and the homage of the Scottish king excused for a money. sum of He fills up several vacant bishoprics, and returns to Normandy in December. A.D. 1190. The massacre of the Jews is renewed in several places, particularly at York, where many, being besieged in the castle, commit suicide after destroying their treasures, March 17". Richard's fleet assembles at Dartmouth, whence it sails in April. It consisted of upwards of 100 large, and The years of his reign are computed from this day. n Richard sent his chancellor (William de Longchamp) to York to punish the rioters, when many fled to Scotland, and others had to compound for their offence by heavy fines. many smaller vessels, and was under the nominal command of Gerard, archbishop of Aix, and Bernard, bishop of Bayonne, assisted by Richard de Camville, Robert de Sabloil, and William de Fortz, who were styled "leaders and governors of all the king's ships," or sea justices." The fleet, on its passage, assists the people of Lisbon against the Mohammedans, arrives at Marseilles Aug. 22, and reaches Messina, with the troops on board, Sept. 14. William de Longchamp°, bishop of Ely, is appointed guardian of the realm during the king's absence; Earl John P, and Geoffrey, archbishop of York, are forbidden to repair to England. Richard assembles his army at Tours, and thence marches to Vezelai, where he joins the French forces, July 1; embarks, with his personal attendants only, at Marseilles early in August, coasts Italy, and arrives at Messina, Sept. 23. The inhabitants of Messina, "commonly called Griffons, a wicked and cruel race, many of them of Saracen extraction," insult and injure the English crusaders, King Richard erects gibbets, and tries and executes the offenders; "for, esteeming the country of the guilty of no consequence, he considered every one his subjects, and left no transgression unpunished." He was a Norman of mean extraction, and had formerly been in the service of Geoffrey, the archbishop. P Though John had been most generously treated, the estates bestowed on him amounting to nearly one-third of the kingdom, he had already begun to intrigue against his brother, and Geoffrey was known to be indignant at the elevation of Longchamp. A corruption of Greeks, by which name the inhabitants of southern Italy were generally known to, and despised by, the crusaders, |