Chapter VII: Part II: Miscellaneous Sources (3)

Ch. V. The King of France, not liking the delay in commencing the attack, sent word to King Richard, that a favourable opportunity now offered itself: and he also warned, by voice of herald, the army to prepare for an assault. But King Richard had signified his inability hitherto to attend to his duty, both on account of indisposition, and because his men were not yet come; though he hoped that they would arrive in the next fleet of ships, and would bring with them materials for the construction of machines. The King of France, not thinking fit to desist, on that account, from his purpose, commanded an assault to be proclaimed, by voice of herald throughout the army. Therefore, on the Monday after the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the King of France, having erected his machines, gave orders to his men to arm. Then might have been seen a countless multitude of armed men, worthily equipped; and so many coats of scale armour, gleaming helmets, and noble chargers with pennons and banners of various workmanship, and soldiers of tried valour and courage, as never had been seen before. Having placed men to defend the trenches against the threatened attack of Saladin from without, the armies approached the walls of the city and commenced a most vigorous assault, by casting darts and stones from arbalests and machines, without ceasing. When the Turks who were shut up in the city saw this, they raised a tumultuous clamour and shouted to the skies; so that it resembled the crash in the air caused by thunder and lightning; for some had this sole duty--to beat basins and platters; to strike timbrels; and by other means to make signal to Saladin and the army without; in order that they might come to their succour, according to agreement. And when the Turks from without saw and heard this, they gathered in a body; and collecting every material within their reach to fill up the ditch, they essayed to cross over, and attack our men, but failed in effecting their object. For Godfrey of Lusignan, a man of the most approved valour, opposed them, and drove them back from the barricades, which they had already seized upon, above our men; and he slew ten of them with an axe he carried in his hand, in a most glorious manner; and none he smote escaped; nay, he took some alive; for such was his courage and activity, that no one since the time of those famous soldiers, Roland and Oliver, could lay claim to such distinction, from the mouth of all, as himself. Our men regained the barricades, but with much labour and difficulty; for the Turks kept pouring in, and by their obstinate persistence, made the issue a long time doubtful. So severe and insupportable was the struggle, and so horrible the clamour of the conflict, that the men who were making the assault on the city and were intent on filling up the trenches, were forced to retire and give up the attempt, for they were not able to carry on the assault, and at the same time defend their camp from the Turks without. And many of the French perished from the darts cast by the arbalests, the throwing of stones, and the pouring on them of Greek fire; and there was great mourning and lamentation among the people. O! with what earnestness had we expected the arrival of the Kings! How fallen were our hopes! They had come, and we profited not; nay, we suffered a severer loss than usual; and those we expected came to no purpose. Our men of France having laid aside their arms, the Turks began to revile them shamefully; and reproached them with not being able to accomplish what they had begun; moreover, they threw Greek fire on the machines and other warlike instruments of the King of France, which had been made with such care, and destroyed them. Whence the King of France, overcome by fury and anger, sunk into a state of languid sickness, from sorrow, it was said; and from confusion and discouragement, mounted not on horseback.

Ch. VIII. The City of Acre, from its strong position, and its being defended by the choicest men of the Turks, appeared difficult to be taken by assault. The French had hitherto spent their labour in vain in constructing machines and engines for breaking down the walls, with the greatest care; for whatever they erected, at a great expense, the Turks destroyed with Greek fire or some devouring conflagration. Amongst other machines and engines which the King of France had erected for breaking down the walls, he had prepared one with great labour, to be used for scaling it, which they called a "cat," because like a cat it crept up and adhered to the wall. He had also another, made of strong hurdle twigs, put together most compactly, which they used to call a "cercleia," and under its covering of hides the King of France used to sit, and employ himself in throwing darts from a sling; he would thus watch the approach of the Turks, above on the walls, by the battlements, and then hit them unawares. But it happened one day that the French were eagerly pressing forward to apply their cat to the walls, when behold! the Turks let down upon it a heap of the driest wood, and threw upon it a quantity of Greek fire, as well as upon the hurdle they had constructed with such toil, and then aimed a petraria in that direction, and all having forthwith caught fire, they broke them in pieces by the blows from their petraria. Upon this the King of France was enraged beyond measure, and began to curse all those who were under his command; and rated them shamefully for not exacting condign vengeance of the Saracens, who had done them such injuries. In the heat of his passion, and when the day was drawing in, he published an edict, by voice of herald, that an assault should be made upon the city on the morrow.

Ch. XV. What can we say of this race of unbelievers who thus defended their city? They must be admired for their valour in war, and were the honour of their whole nation. Yet they dreaded our men, not without reason, for they saw the choicest soldiers from the ranks of all Christendom come to destroy them; their walls in part broken down, in part shattered, the greater portion of their army mutilated, some killed, and others weakened by their wounds. There were still remaining in the city 6000 Turks, with Mestoc and Caracois their chiefs, but they despaired of succour. They perceived that the Christian army was very much dejected at the death of Alberic Clements, and their sons and kinsmen who had fallen in battle, and that they were determined either to die bravely, or gain the mastery over the Turks, and that they thought a middle course dishonourable. Under these circumstances, by common counsel and assent, the besieged begged a truce, in order to inform Saladin of their condition, and to ascertain how far he would afford them security according to the manner of barbarous nations, by either sending them speedy help, or giving them leave to depart from the city with honour. To obtain this object, two of the most noble of the Saracens and of Paganism, Mestoc and Caracois, came to our Kings with the promise that if Saladin did not send them speedy assistance, they would give up the city, on the condition that all the besieged Turks should be permitted to depart in freedom, with their arms and property, and go whithersoever they liked. And on the King of France and nearly all the French giving their assent to this condition at the conference, King Richard absolutely refused his, and said, it was not to be consented to, that after so long and laborious a siege they should enter a deserted city only. On his pleasure being known, Caracois and Mestoc returned to the city without effecting their object. And Saladin, when he learnt that ambassadors had been sent by the besieged, commanded them to persevere and defend their city with as much courage as that which they had hitherto shewn, promising that most ample assistance should soon come to them without a doubt; for he declared to the ambassadors who waited upon him that he would certainly persevere, and as he was expecting a large body of soldiers from Babylon, they would soon come in ships and galleys; for he had given orders to Muleina to be with him, without fail, in eight days; and if they did not come according to agreement, he promised with an oath to procure for them as honourable a peace as he could from the Christians, and the liberty to depart. On hearing these things, the ambassadors returned to the city, and, repeating the promises of Saladin, persuaded the townsmen to resist while they looked forward with anxiety for the promised assistance.

Ch. XVI. Meanwhile, the petrariae of the Christians never ceased, day and night, to shake the walls; and when the Turks saw this, they were smitten with wonder, astonishment, terror, and confusion; and many, yielding to their fears, threw themselves down from the walls by night, and without waiting for the promised aid, very many sought, with supplications, the sacrament of baptism and Christianity....

Ch. XVII. Saladin, perceiving the dangers of delay, at length determined to yield to the entreaties of the besieged; he was, moreover, persuaded by his admirals, and his satraps, and his influential courtiers, who had many friends and kinsmen among the besieged. The latter alleged also, that he was bound to them on his promise made on the Mahometan law, that he would procure for them an honourable capitulation at the last moment, lest, perchance, made prisoners at discretion, they should be exterminated or put to an ignominious death, and thus the law of Mahomet, which had been strictly observed by their ancestors, be effaced by its dependence on him; and nevertheless very much would be derogated from his name and excellence if the worshippers of Mahomet should fall into the hands of Christians. They also begged to remind Saladin of the fact that they, a chosen race of Turks, in obedience to his commands, had been cooped up in the city, and withstood a siege for so long a time; they reminded him too, that they had not seen their wives and children for three years, during which period the siege had lasted; and they said that it would be better to surrender the city, than that people of such merit should be destroyed. The princes persuading the Sultan to this effect, that their latter condition might not be worse than their former one; he assented to their making peace on the best terms they could, and they drew up a statement of what appeared to them the most proper terms of treaty....

Ch. XVIII. Thus, after the Friday after the Translation of St. Benedict, the principal and noblest of the admirals were given and received as hostages, and the space of one month fixed for the delivery of the Cross and the collecting together of the captives. And when it was rumoured abroad that the city was to be given up, the common people, in their folly, were inflamed with fury, but the wiser portion rejoiced, at gaining so profitably and without danger, what they had been so long a time unable to obtain. Then was it proclaimed and prohibited by voice of herald, that any one should molest the Turks by word or deed, or provoke them by abuse, or that missiles should any longer be cast for the destruction of the walls or of the Turks who might be seen on the battlements.

RETURN OF PHILIP (1191).

+Source.+--_Geoffrey de Vinsauf_, Ch. XXI., _Chronicles of the Crusades_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

Ch. XXI. Affairs being in this position, at the end of the month of July, within which the Turks had promised to restore the holy cross, and receive back their hostages, a rumour spread among the army, that the King of France, on whom the hope of the people rested, intended to return home, and was making active preparations for his journey. Oh how wicked and how insulting a proceeding, while as yet so much work remained on hand, to wish to go away, when his duty was to rule so large a multitude of people, and when his presence was so necessary to encourage the Christians to so pious a work, and to provide for the progress of so arduous an undertaking! O why did he come so long a way and with so much toil, if he intended to return almost immediately? O wonderful performance of his vow, by merely entering the Holy Land, and contending against the Turks with such small triumph! But why need we say more? The King of France alleged sickness as the cause of his return; and said that he had performed his vow as far as he was able; most of all, because he was well and sound when he took up the cross with King Henry between Trie and Gisors.... But when the inflexible determination of the King of France to return became known to all, and his refusal to yield to the murmurs of his men, or their supplications to remain, the French would have renounced their subjection to him, if it could have been done, and would have loathed his dominion; and they imprecated on him every kind of adversity and misfortune that could fall to the lot of man in this life. But for all that the King of France hastened his voyage as much as possible, and left in his stead the Duke of Burgundy, with a large number of men. Moreover, he begged King Richard to supply him with two galleys, and the King readily gave him two of his best; how ungrateful he was of this service was afterwards seen.

RICHARD'S SICKNESS (1192). A TRUCE.

+Source.+--_Richard of Devizes_, §§ 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, _Chronicles of the Crusades_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

§ 87. The King was extremely sick, and confined to his bed; his fever continued without intermission; the physicians whispered that it was an acute semitertian.... No one speaks of the indisposition of the King, lest the secret of their intense sorrow should be disclosed to the enemy; for it was thoroughly understood that Saladin feared the charge of the whole army less than that of the King alone; and if he should know that he was dead, he would instantly pelt the French with cow-dung, and intoxicate the best of the English with a dose that should make them tremble.

§ 88. In the meantime, a certain Gentile, called Saffatin, came down to see the King as he generally did: he was a brother of Saladin, an ancient man of war of remarkable politeness and intelligence, and one whom the King's magnanimity and munificence had charmed even to the love of his person and favour of his party. The King's servants greeting him less joyfully than they were accustomed, and not admitting him to an interview with the King, "I perceive," said he by his interpreter, "that you are greatly afflicted; nor am I ignorant of the cause. My friend your King is sick.... O! if that Richard, whom although I love yet I fear, if he were despatched out of the way, how little should we then fear, how very little should we make account of that youngest of the sons, who sleeps at home in clover. It was not unknown to us, that Richard, who nobly succeeded his great father in the kingdom, immediately set forward against us even in the very year of his coronation. The number of his ships and troops was not unknown to us before his setting forth. We knew, even at the very time, with what speed he took Messina. The well-fortified city of Sicily, which he besieged; and although none of our people believed it, yet our fears increased, and fame added false terrors to the true.

§ 91. "His valour unable to rest in one place, proceeded through a boundless region, and everywhere left trophies of his courage. We questioned among ourselves whether he made ready to subdue, for his God the Land of Promise only, or at the same time to take the whole world for himself. Who shall worthily relate the capture of Cyprus? Verily had the island of Cyprus been close to Egypt, and had my brother Saladin subdued it in ten years, his name would have been reckoned by the people among the names of the gods. When, however, we at last perceived that he overthrew whatever resisted his purpose, our hearts were melted as the hoar-frost melts at the appearance of the approaching sun, forasmuch as it was said of him that he ate his enemies alive. And if he were not presently, on the very day of his arrival before Acre, received freely into the city with open gates, fear alone was the cause. It was not from their desire to preserve the city, but through dread of the torments promised them and their despair of life that they fought so bravely, or rather, desperately, fearing this more than death, endeavouring this by all means, namely, that they should not die unrevenged. And this was not from sheer obstinacy, but to follow up the doctrine of our faith. For we believe that the spirits of the unavenged wander for ever, and that they are deprived of all rest. But what did the rashness and timidity of the devoted profit them? Being vanquished by force and constrained by fear to surrender, they were punished with a more lenient death than they expected. And yet, oh! shame on the Gentiles, their spirits wandered unavenged! I swear to you by the Great God, that if, after he had gained Acre, he had immediately led his army to Jerusalem, he would not have found even one of our people in the whole circuit of the Christian's land; on the contrary, we should have offered him inestimable treasure, that he might not proceed, that he might not prosecute us further.

§ 92. "But thanks be to God, he was burdened with the King of the French, and hindered by him like a cat with a hammer tied to its tail. To conclude, we, though his rivals, see nothing in Richard that we can find fault with but his valour; nothing to hate but his experience in war. But what glory is there in fighting with a sick man? And although this very morning I could have wished that both you and he had all received your final doom, now I compassionate you on account of your King's illness. I will either obtain for you a settled peace with my brother, or at the least, a good and durable truce...."

§ 93. The bishop of Salisbury and such of the most trusty of the King's household as were present, who had secretly deliberated with him upon this subject, reluctantly consented to the truce which before they had determined to purchase at any price, as if it had been detested and not desired by them. So their right hands being given and received, Saffatin, when he had washed his face, and disguised his sorrow, returned to Jerusalem, to Saladin. The council was assembled before his brother, and after seventeen days of weighty argument, he with difficulty succeeded in prevailing on the stubbornness of the Gentiles to grant a truce to the Christians. The time was appointed and the form approved. If it please King Richard, for the space of three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours, such a truce shall be observed between the Christians and the Gentiles, that whatever either one party or the other in any wise possesses, he shall possess without molestation to the end; it will be permitted during the interval, that the Christians at their pleasure may fortify Acre only, and the Gentiles Jerusalem. All contracts, commerce, every act and every thing shall be mutually carried on by all in peace. Saffatin himself is despatched to the English as the bearer of this decree.

CHIVALRY OF SALADIN (1192-3).

+Source.+--_Geoffrey de Vinsauf_, Ch. 32, _Chronicles of the Crusades_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

The next day certain of the Turks appeared before Saladin, and earnestly entreated of him that they might be allowed to take vengeance on the Christians who were now in their power, for the death of their friends, fathers, brothers, sons, and relations who had been slain, first at Acre, and afterwards at other places, and now, as they said, that they had so good an opportunity. Saladin sent for the Turkish chiefs to consult about this request, and Mestoc, Saphadin, Bedridin, and Dorderin, were speedily in attendance. When the subject was placed before them, it was their unanimous opinion that the Christians should have leave to come and go, without injury or hinderance. "For," said they to Saladin, "it would be a deep stain upon our honour, if the treaty which has been made between you and the King of England should, by our interference, be broken, and the faith of the Turks for ever afterwards be called in question." In consequence of these observations, Saladin gave orders immediately that the Christians should be taken care of, and escorted to the city and back again without molestation. To discharge this commission, Saphadin was at his own request deputed; and under his protection the pilgrims had free access to the Holy Sepulchre, and were treated with the greatest liberality, after which they returned joyfully to Acre.

RETURN OF RICHARD (1193).

+Source.+--_Geoffrey de Vinsauf_, Ch. 37, _Chronicles of the Crusades_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

Everything was now settled, and the King was already on the point of embarking, when determining before he went, to leave nothing behind him which might detract from his honour, he ordered proclamation to be made that all who had claims on him should come forward, and that all his debts should be paid fully, and more than fully, to avoid all occasion afterwards of detraction or complaint. What sighs and tears were there when the royal fleet weighed anchor! A blessing was invoked on the King's many acts of benevolence, his virtues and his largesses were set forth, and the numerous excellences combined in one man. How then did the lamentations of all resound as they exclaimed, O Jerusalem, bereft now of every succour! How hast thou lost thy defender? Who will protect thee, should the truce be broken, now that King Richard is departed? Such were the words of each when the King, whose health was not yet fully re-established, and who was the subject of all their anxious wishes, went on board and set sail. All night the ship ran on her way by the light of the stars, and when morning dawned, the King looked back with yearning eyes upon the land which he had left, and after long meditation, he prayed aloud, in the hearing of several, in these words: "O holy land, I commend thee to God, and if his heavenly grace shall grant me so long to live, that I may in his good pleasure, afford thee assistance, I hope, as I propose to be able to be some day a succour to thee." With these words he urged the sailors to spread their canvass to the winds, that they might the sooner cross over the expanse of sea that lay before them; ignorant indeed of the tribulations and sorrows which awaited him, and the calamities that he was to suffer from the treachery that had long before been transmitted to France, by which it was contrived that he should be wickedly thrown into prison, though he justly suspected no such evil in the service of God, and in so laborious a pilgrimage. O how unequally was he recompensed for his exertions in the common cause! His inheritance was seized by another, his castles in Normandy were unjustly taken, his rivals made cruel assaults on his rights without provocation, and he only escaped from captivity by paying a ransom to the Emperor of Germany. To gather the money for his ransom, the taxes were raised to the uttermost; a large collection was levied upon all his land and everything was distracted; for the chalices and hallowed vessels of gold and silver were gathered from the churches, and the monasteries were obliged to do without their utensils; neither was this unlawful according to the decrees of the holy fathers, nay, it was even a matter of necessity inasmuch as no saint, many though there be, ever during life, suffered so much for the Lord as King Richard in his captivity in Austria and in Germany. He who had gained so many triumphs over the Turks was nefariously circumvented by the brethren of his own faith, and seized by those who agreed with him in name only as members of the Creed of Christ. Alas, how much more are secret snares to be feared than open discord, according to the proverb, "It is easier to avoid a hostile than a deceitful man." Oh, shame be it said, that one whom no adversary could resist, nor the whole force of Saladin could conquer, was now seized by an ignoble people, and kept a prisoner in Germany. Oh, how painful is it for those who have been nurtured in liberty, to be placed at the beck of another! But out of that captivity, by God's usual mercy, his own activity, and the care of his faithful servants, he was at length set at liberty for a large sum of money, because he was known to be a man of great power. At last restored to his native soil and the kingdom of his ancestors, in a short time he restored all to tranquillity. He then crossed over into Normandy, to avenge himself on the wanton aggressions of the King of France, his rival; and when he had more than once defeated him, he powerfully recovered with sword and spear his alienated rights, even with augmentation.

RICHARD'S CAPTURE (1192).

+Source.+--_Roger de Hoveden_, Vol. II., pp. 269-70. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

After this, the King of England placing everything in the hands of Henry, Count of Champagne, hastened to return to his kingdom, by reason of the sinister reports which he had heard, both as to the King of France and the expulsion of his Chancellor, as also the Earl of Mortaigne, his brother, who had seized the castles of the kingdom and would have taken possession of the whole thereof if he could have found the opportunity. Accordingly, the King of England came to Caiaphas, where he fell sick, and proceeded thence to Acre. Here, after the feast of St. Michael, being the eighth day before the Ides of October, and the fifth day of the week, he embarked on board of a large buss, and, within a month from that day, arrived at the island of Cunerfu, where he went on board a boat, and sailed towards three galleys which he saw on the opposite side off the coast of Romania, and hired them to take him as far as Ragusa, for two hundred marks of silver; after which he returned to his buss, and the said galleys with him; and, having made terms with them, he took with him Baldwin, the advocate of Bethune, and twenty other companions, and embarked on board one of the said galleys, and on landing at Gazera, near Ragusa, declined to tell them that he was King of England, but said that they were pilgrims. However, although he had a long beard and long hair and garments, and everything else to resemble the people of that country, he was unable to remain unknown, in consequence of his great expenditure, which was quite foreign to the usage of the people of that country.

Immediately, the people of the province guessing that he was the King of England, prepared to capture him and deliver him to the Emperor of the Romans, who hated him, on account of the aid he had given to King Tancred, and for the death of his kinsman, the Marquis Conrad. Upon the King of England being informed of this by one of his followers, he placed his retinue in charge of Baldwin, the Advocate of Bethune, and ordered him to remain the next four days at that place, making a more lavish expenditure than he himself had done; after which, he himself, with a single attendant, having mounted a swift horse, his attendant doing the same, set out late at night, and, hastening day and night, arrived in the neighbourhood of Vienna; at a little village, not far from which place he and his attendant took up their abode. While the King's attendant was gone to buy food, the King, being fatigued by the labour of his journey, immediately threw himself upon a bed and fell asleep. In the meantime, his attendant, while endeavouring to exchange some money, was recognized by the servant of the duke of Austria, and taken prisoner, and brought before the duke; and, when he could conceal it no longer, disclosed to him the lodging of the King; on which they came, and, finding him asleep, took him prisoner. As for the Advocate of Bethune, and those who were with him, on attempting to leave the town, they were taken prisoners, and not allowed to depart.

THE RELEASE OF RICHARD (1192).

+Source.+--_Roger de Hoveden_, Vol. II., pp. 281-2. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

Accordingly, upon hearing of the confinement of the King, Walter, Archbishop of Rouen, and the other justiciaries of our lord the King, sent the Abbot of Boxley and the Abbot of Pont Robert to Germany, to seek the King of England. After having passed through the whole of Germany, and not finding the King, they entered Bavaria, and met the King at a town, the name of which is Oxefer, where he was brought before the Emperor, to hold a conference with him, on Palm Sunday. On hearing that the before-named abbots had come from England, the King showed himself courteous and affable to them; making enquiries about the state of his kingdom and the fidelity of his subjects, and the health and prosperity of the King of Scotland, in whose fidelity he placed a very strong reliance: on which they testified to what they had heard and seen. A conference accordingly taking place between them, the King made complaint of the treachery of his brother, John, earl of Mortaigne, on whom he had conferred so many favours and boundless honors, and who had thrown himself into the hands of the King of France against him, and, having broken the ties of brotherhood, had made a league with death and a compact with hell. The King, though greatly afflicted upon this subject, suddenly broke forth into these words of consolation, saying, "My brother John is not the man to subjugate a country, if there is a person able to make the slightest resistance to his attempts."

During his journey of three days, while on the road to meet the emperor, it was the admiration of all how boldly, how courteously, and how becomingly he behaved himself, and they judged him worthy of the imperial elevation who so thoroughly understood the arts of command, and how, with uniform self-possession, to rise superior to the two-faced events of fortune. On a day named, after he had held a conference by messengers with the emperor, they were unable on that day to have an interview with him, because the Emperor had made of him many demands, to which the King had determined not to yield, even though his life should be perilled thereby. On the morrow, however, while all were despairing, with joyous success ensued joyous consolation.

For, on the emperor accusing the King of many things, and charging him with many misdeeds, both with his betrayal of the land of Sulia, and with the death of the Marquis of Montferrat, as also with reference to certain covenants made between them and not observed by him, the King made answer with such frankness, such self-possession and such intrepidity, that the emperor thought him worthy, not only of his favour and pardon, but even of his praise. For he raised the King when bending before him, and received him with the kiss of peace, and made a treaty of friendship with him, and, loading him with honors and succour (the people standing round and bursting into tears for very joy), made a promise that he would reconcile the King of England with the King of France. After this, with the mediation of the duke of Austria, the King of England promised that he would pay to the Emperor for his liberation, by way of ransom, one hundred thousand marks. The emperor also promised that, if by his means the King of England and the King of France could not be reconciled, he would send the King of England home without exacting the money.

ENGLAND UNDER THE CHANCELLORS (1191-3).

+Source.+--_Roger de Hoveden_, Vol. II., p. 231 _seqq_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

William, bishop of Ely, the King's Chancellor, was a great man among all the people of the west, and, as though gifted with a two-fold right hand, wielded the power of the kingdom, and the authority of the Apostolic See, and was in possession of the King's seal over all lands, so as to be enabled to govern according to his own will, and of his own power to bring all things to completion; even in the same degree of estimation as both king and priest together was he held; nor was there any person to be found to dare to offer resistance to his will. For he said, and the thing was done, he commanded, and all means were discovered. In his hands were the royal treasures, the whole of the King's riches, and the entire exchequer, so much so that all property whatsoever that swam beneath our skies was no longer said to belong to the King, but to him. And really if it had been the time of the Cæsars, he would with Tiberius have had himself styled the living God. But when the King had given him certain earls as his associates, in order that at least the more weighty concerns of the realm might be managed by their counsels in common, he could not at all endure to have any partner therein, as he thought that the greater part of his glory would be thrown into the shade, if he should stand in need of the advice of any mortal being. Therefore he ruled alone, therefore he reigned alone, and from sea to sea was he dreaded as though a God; and were I to say still more, I should not be telling a falsehood, because God is long-suffering and merciful; while he, ruling every thing according to his own impulses, was neither able to observe justice when acting, nor to endure delay in waiting the proper time. Hence it arose that he set at nought all the letters and mandates of his lord; that he might not seem to have a superior nor be supposed to be subject to any one, having always made every one act as the servant of his own will. Therefore, after England had for a considerable time suffered under so heavy a burden and a yoke so insupportable, at length, while groaning at his deeds, she cried aloud with all her might. As, therefore, a man so powerful could not be overcome by man, the Father of Mercies and the God of all consolation came to the aid of the people who supplicated God, and supplanting the hand of mercy in his case, hurled him down from his power, and brought this accuser, or rather destroyer, to such a pitch of giddiness of mind, that he was unable to recover or rouse himself therefrom; but he so hardened his heart, blinded his mind, and infatuated his counsels, that he first besieged the Archbishop of York in a church, then seized him, and after seizing him, violently tore him away; after tearing him away, strongly bound him; after strongly binding him, dragged him along; and after dragging him along, threw him into prison. And although there was a concourse of people who exclaimed, "What has this righteous man and friend of God been guilty of, that he should be taken to prison? his innocent blood is condemned without a cause." Still pity could not listen where pride reigned, and God was not heard where the tyrant held sway. For the said Archbishop was coming from the country of Normandy with his pastoral staff and mitre, and ring, and superhumeral, which in later times has been styled the pall. And although he was the son of King Henry, of happy memory, and the brother of King Richard, who now reigns, and the brother of John, Earl of Mortaigne, still, his royal blood could be of no service to him; and although he had been recently consecrated, the recent performance of that sacrament could not avail him.

The associates also of the said Chancellor whom the King had associated with him in the government of the kingdom, accused him of many offences, saying that, despising their advice, he had transacted all the affairs of the kingdom according to impulse and his own will. The Archbishop of Rouen also, and William Marshal, Earl of Striguil, then for the first time produced before the people the sealed letters from our lord the King, in which the King had sent orders from Messina, that they should be associated with him in the government of the kingdom, and that, without the advice of them and the other persons so appointed, he was not to act in the affairs of the King and the kingdom, and that if he should do anything to the detriment of the kingdom, or without the consent of the persons before-named, he should be deposed and the Archbishop of Rouen substituted in his place.

It seemed good, therefore, to John, the King's brother, and all the bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom, and to the citizens of London, that the Chancellor should be deposed, and they accordingly deposed him, and substituted in his place the Archbishop of Rouen, who was willing to do nothing in the government of kingdom except with the will and consent of the persons assigned to him as associates therein, and with the sanction of the barons of the exchequer.

THE CAPTURE OF ARTHUR (1202).

+Source.+--_Roger of Wendover_, Vol. II., _Annal 1202_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

When the French and the people of Poictou learned that the King was on his way, they went out with a pompous array to meet him, and give him battle; but when they met each other in battle order, and had engaged, the King bravely withstood their turbulent attacks, and at length put them to flight, pursuing them so quickly with his cavalry, that he entered the castle at the same time as the fugitives. Then a most severe conflict took place inside the walls of the castle, but was soon determined by the laudable valour of the English: in the conflict there two hundred French knights were taken prisoners, and all the nobles in Poictou and Anjou, together with Arthur himself, so that not one out of the whole number escaped, who could return and tell the misfortune to the rest of their countrymen. Having, therefore, secured his prisoners in fetters and shackles, and placed them in cars, a new and unusual mode of conveyance, the King sent some of them to Normandy, and some to England, to be imprisoned in strong castles, whence there would be no fear of their escape; but Arthur was kept at Falaise under close custody.

THE LOSS OF NORMANDY (1204).

+Source.+--_Roger of Wendover_, Vol. II., _Annal 1204_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

Thus the castle of the Rock of Andelys fell into the hands of the French King on the 6th of March, and Roger de Lacy with all his followers were taken to France, where, on account of the bravery he had shown in defence of his castle, he was detained prisoner on parole. On this all the holders of castles in the transmarine territories, with the citizens and other subjects of the King of England, sent messages to England to tell him in what a precarious situation they were placed, and that the time, according to the terms of the treaty, was near, when they must either give up the cities and castles to the King of the French, or consign to destruction the hostages which they had given him. To which message King John answered, and intimated by the same messengers to all of them, that they were to expect no assistance from him, but that they each were to do what seemed best to him. And thus, all kind of defence failing in those provinces, the whole of Normandy, Tours, Anjou, and Poictou, with the cities, castles, and other possessions, except the Castles of Rochelle, Thouars, and Niorz, fell to the dominion of the King of the French. When this was told to the English King, he was enjoying all the pleasures of life with his Queen, in whose company he believed that he possessed everything he wanted; moreover, he felt confidence in the immensity of the wealth he had collected, as if by that he could regain the territory he had lost.

LONDON (CIRC. 1204).

+Source.+--_Richard of Devizes, Chronicles of the Crusades_, § 80. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

Every race of men, out of every nation which is under heaven, resort thither in great numbers; every nation has introduced into that city its vices and bad manners. No one lives in it without offence; there is not a single street in it that does not abound in miserable, obscene wretches; there, in proportion as any man has exceeded in wickedness, so much is he the better. I am not ignorant of the disposition I am exhorting; you have, in addition to your youth, an ardent disposition, a slowness of memory and a soberness of reason between extremes. I feel in myself no uneasiness about you, unless you should abide with men of corrupt lives; for from our associations our manners are formed. But let that be as it may. You will come to London. Behold! I warn you, whatever of evil or perversity there is in any, whatever in all parts of the world, you will find in that city alone. Go not to the dances of panders, nor mix yourself up with the herds of the houses of ill fame; avoid the talus and the dice, the theatre and the tavern. You will find more braggadocios there than in all France, while the number of flatterers is infinite. Stage-players, buffoons, those that have no hair on their bodies, Garamantes, pickthanks, catamites, effeminate evildoers, lewd musical girls, druggists, lustful persons, fortune-tellers, extortioners, nightly strollers, magicians, mimics, common beggars, tatterdemalions--this whole crew has filled every house. So if you do not wish to live with the shameful, you will not dwell in London.

THE TOWNS OF ENGLAND.

I am not speaking against the learned, whether monks or Jews; although, still, from their very dwelling together with such evil persons, I should esteem them less perfect there than elsewhere.

Nor does my advice go so far, as that you should betake yourself to no city; with my counsel you will take up your residence nowhere but in a town, though it remains to say in what.

Therefore, if you should land near Canterbury, you will have to lose your way, if even you should but pass through it. It is an assemblage of the vilest, entirely devoted to their--I know not whom, but who has been lately canonized, and had been the Archbishop of Canterbury, as everywhere they die in the open day in the streets for want of bread and employment.

Rochester and Chichester are mere villages, and they possess nothing for which they should be called cities, but the Sees of their bishops. Oxford scarcely, I will not say satisfies, but sustains its clerks. Exeter supports men and beasts with the same grain. Bath is placed, or rather buried, in the lowest parts of the valleys, in a very dense atmosphere and sulphury vapour, as it were at the gates of Hell. Nor yet will you select your habitation in the Northern cities nor in Worcester, Chester, Hereford, on account of the desperate Welshmen. York abounds in Scots, vile and faithless men, or rather rascals. The town of Ely is always putrefied by the surrounding marshes. In Durham, Norwich, or Lincoln, there are very few of your disposition among the powerful; you will never hear anyone speak French. At Bristol there is nobody who is not, or has not been, a soap-maker, and every Frenchman esteems soap-makers as he does nightmen.

After the cities, every market, village or town, has but rude and rustic inhabitants. Moreover, at all times, account the Cornish people for such as you know our Flemish are accounted in France. For the rest, the kingdom itself is generally most favoured with the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth; and in every place there are some good, but much fewer in them all than in Winchester alone.

This is in those parts the Jerusalem of the Jews, in it alone they enjoy perpetual peace; it is the school of those who desire to live well and prosper. Here they become men, here there is bread and wine enough for nothing. There are therein monks of such compassion and gentleness, clergy of such understanding and frankness, citizens of such civility and good faith, ladies of such beauty and modesty, that little hinders but I should go there and become a Christian with such Christians. To that city I direct you, the city of cities, the mother of all, the best above all.

There is but one fault, and that alone in which they customarily indulge too much. With the exception I should say of the learned and of the Jews, the Winchester people tell lies like watchmen, but it is in making up reports. For in no place under heaven so many false rumours are fabricated so easily as there; otherwise they are true in everything.

JOHN'S GRANT TO THE ABBEY OF CROYLAND (1202-1206).

+Source.+--_Ingulph's Chronicles._ Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.

The Charter of our lord the King, John, as to the confirmation of the boundaries of the abbey, and of which mention is made above, was to the following effect: "John, by the Grace of God, King of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Earl of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, sheriffs, and all his bailiffs and faithful subjects, greeting. Know ye, that we have granted and confirmed unto God and the Church of St. Guthlac at Croyland, and to the abbot and monks there serving God, all the lands and tenements, and other the possessions to the said church belonging, and in especial the site of the said abbey, together with the boundaries thereof herein named, which extend as follow: a distance of five leagues, from Croyland to the place where the Asendyk falls into the waters of the Welland, together with all piscaries to the said boundaries belonging. Wherefore we do will and strictly command that the before-named church, and abbot, and monks shall hold and for ever possess all their lands, tenements, and other their possessions, and all the gifts which since the death of King Henry, the grandfather of our father, have been reasonably given to them, fully, peacefully, freely, quietly, and honourably, to enjoy the same in wood and in plain, in meadows and in pastures, in waters and in marshes, in preserves and in fisheries, in mills and in mill-dams, and in all other things and places, with right of Sach and Soch, and Thol, and Them, and Infangthefe, and with all other free customs and acquittances, as fully, freely, and quietly as the said church, and abbot, and monks, held the same in the time of King Henry, the grandfather of our father, or other our predecessors Kings of England, and as fully, freely, and quietly as any churches in our kingdom of England hold the same, in such manner as is by the Charter of King Henry our father reasonably testified, etc. Given by the hand of Simon, Archdeacon of Wells."

Not even thus, however, did the venerable abbot Henry gain the wish for repose, but, like a stone out of the living rock to be placed in a heavenly house, was he squared, both on the right side and on the left, by repeated blows and numerous buffetings. For Acharius, also the Abbot of Burgh St. Peter (not content with his own boundaries, but desirous, contrary to the prophetic warning "to join house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no place,") first, by the royal writ, obtained of the King from beyond sea, impleaded the said abbot Henry, and without any good reason claimed against him our southern marsh called Alderland, of which our monastery had held undisturbed possession from its foundation until the times of our said father, just as the Assyrians did against the people of God. Upon this, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was then chief justiciary of England, sent letters mandatory to the abbats of Ramsay and Thorney, directing them to make inquisition in his behalf upon the oaths of eighteen knights, mutually agreed upon, what right each of them had to the lands, meadows, pastures, and marshes, and all other things between the river Rene, and the river Welland, and which ought to be the boundaries between the Abbey of Burgh and the Abbey of Croyland, and fully to state the said inquisition, under their seals, and those of the knights to the before-named archbishop and justices.

A dissension, however, arising between the inquisitors, they returned to their homes, leaving the matter unsettled.

At length, however, after many conferences, discussions, delays, and expenses on both sides the dispute between the two abbats having been enquired into at great length before the justices of our lord the King at Lexington, was finally settled to the no small detriment of the church of Croyland.

THE ELECTION OF LANGTON (1207).

+Source.+--_Roger of Wendover_, Vol. II., _Annal 1207_. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.