In December, by counsel of his mother (who was of the greatest help at this time by her wise advice), Richard gave up his kingdom to the Emperor Henry, handing him his cap as a sign of surrender. And the emperor gave him it back along with a new fief, the kingdom of Burgundy, by the token of a double cross of gold, on condition of his doing homage for both realms and paying a yearly rent of £5000. Philip, who had tried in vain to get the Danish king to invade England, and John, who met a stout resistance from his mother, did all they could to persuade Henry to detain Richard; but the German princes, the Pope, and the other Christian powers were indignant at the ill-usage which the champion of the Cross had suffered, and he was set free. 5. Landing at Sandwich in his galley Trenche-Mer, 20th March 1194, Richard at once marched to Nottingham, which was in the hands of John's partisans, took it and held a Great Council there, at which the earl and his friends were declared to have forfeited their lands and summoned to trial for treason, and a heavy taxation, 25. from every plough-land of 120 acres, and a third of the rent of every knight's fee [20], levied for that part of the ransom that was still unpaid. The king was then crowned again at Winchester, to wash off the stain of his captivity, The end of and giving the realm to the charge of the Richard's reign, Justiciar, Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, nephew of Ranulf Glanville, left England for the last time. When he got to Normandy his brother came to him to beg his forgiveness, and he forgave him at the prayer of his mother. The French and English kings were now at open war, "playing at castle-taking," as the chronicler says, till a defeat at Frette-Val, July 15, where Philip hardly escaped with the loss of all the records of France, which always travelled with him, brought on a truce.

1194-1199.

While Richard was away the Justiciar William had given a fresh charter to the city of London, empowering the burghers [householders] to choose their own port-reeve, who was now called mayor, and to assess the taxes and city-rent themselves. Now that large sums had to be paid to meet the king's needs, the householders, to spare their own purses, made the poor craftsmen and labourers, who had no vote at the husting [householders' Moot], which governed the city, pay all. Whereon there arose a certain lawyer, well known for his gallant behaviour in the Crusade, William of the Beard, the son of Osbert, who, burning with zeal for righteousness and fair-play, made himself the champion of the

poor, holding that every man, poor or rich, should pay his share of the city's burdens according to his means. Fifteen thousand men soon banded themselves by oath to him, and he laid their grievances before the king, who was not unfavourable to his views. But the Justiciar Hubert and the aldermen were frightened at this league, and at William's bold speeches at public meetings, and tried to arrest him; but he seized an axe from one of his assailants and slew him, and fled with a few friends to S. Mary-le-Bow Church for sanctuary, for no man could be lawfully arrested in such holy places. The Justiciar, however, set fire to the church and he was forced to sally out, when the son of the man he had slain stabbed him at the door, and he was seized, tried at the Tower, condemned, dragged thence half dead on a hide to the gallows at the Elms, and hanged there the same day with nine of his followers. But the people honoured him as a martyr for freedom and right, and the Justiciar was charged with causing bloodshed in a church.

In 1197 Richard's troubles in Aquitaine were ended by the marriage of his sister Joan to Raymond of S. Giles, and he got the help of the Earls of Flanders and Champagne against Philip. The Bretons too, though they would not give him charge of their young Duke Arthur, his nephew, were willing to support him in arms. Several battles were fought before a truce was made. In one of these Philip, Bishop of Beauvais, was taken prisoner. The Pope wrote bidding Richard let him go free, but the king sent back the blood-stained coat of mail in which the bishop had fought, with the words, " Know now whether this be thy son's coat or no," whereby the Pope, seeing that the bishop had broken the Church Law which forbade the clergy to bear arms, took his part no more. While the truce lasted Richard busied himself with building a splendid fortress on the Rock of Andelys by Seine, to stop the French invasions. It was better planned and stronger than any other castle, and when it was finished within twelve months, the king cried, "Is not this a fine saucy year-old baby of mine?" Whence it is still called Château Gaillard [Saucy Castle].

Wars and castle-building are, however, costly, and Hubert was obliged to call a council at Oxford 1198, and ask the English bishops and barons to furnish the king with 300 knights and their keep for a year, for his French war. Most assented, but Hugh of Avalon, Bishop of Lincoln, stood up and said, "Ye know well. my lords, that I am a stranger in

this land, one called from the plain life of a hermit to be bishop. But when Our Lady's Church of Lincoln was given into my unskilled hands, I set about learning what its rights and burdens were, and these thirteen years I have walked in all the ways of my forerunners. I know very well that this church is bound to furnish knights for the king's service in England, but not for service abroad. And I will go back at once to my old hermit's life rather than lay fresh burdens on this bishopric committed to my charge." This speech, from such a holy man, led to the withdrawal of Hubert's plan; but a fresh survey of England was taken by the oaths of juries before two commissioners in each county to find out how much tilled land there was, and a tax of five shillings was laid on every carucate [100 acres of plough-land]. The monks would not pay it, however, till the king ordered that no monk should be able to go to law against any layman who had wronged him till he paid the tax. The Pope's displeasure and the charges made against Hubert on all hands led to his being replaced by Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, 1198.

6. A fresh war with Philip led to a fresh truce in 1199. Soon after the "weathercock Poitevins," always rebellious, rose against Richard, who went south to quell the rising, where he heard that Widomar, Viscount of Limoges, had found on one of his farms a large golden chess-table with gold pieces. He claimed this treasure-trove as suzerain, but Widomar would not give it up, so the king beset his castle of Chaluz and stormed the ballium. But a few men held out in the keep, one of whom_shot_the king in the breast with a quarrel [arblast-arrow], and the bad surgery of his doctor made the wound mortify. Knowing that he must die, Richard, when the keep was taken, ordered the crossbowman to be brought before him. "What have I done to thee that thou shouldest slay me?" "Thou hast slain my father and two of my brothers with thine own hand," answered the man boldly. "Torture me as thou wilt, I shall die gladly since I have slain him who hath done so much ill.” "Well, I forgive thee my death," said Richard, and bade his captain Mercade give the man money and let him go. Then the king made his barons swear fealty to John, whom he named heir of his kingdom, gave his jewels to his nephew Otho, Earl of Poitou (whom he had caused to Richard's death be chosen emperor in 1198), and left a quarter of and character. his treasure to his servants and the poor. On the 6th April he died, and Mercade, by the Countess Joan's orders, put his slayer to an evil death. The king's heart was buried at

Rouen, and Hugh of Lincoln, his friend, laid his body at the feet of his father at Font-Evraud.

Richard was tall, stalwart, and handsome, fair-haired and blue-eyed. No mean general, a skilful engineer, and a wise judge of men, he might have made a good king, but contented himself with being a good knight. Of reckless bravery, he would peril his life for the sake of adventure, as when he fought with a mob of peasants about a hawk in Italy, and in the Holy Land his place was ever in the foremost trench at sieges and the first ranks in battle. Many tales were told of his prowess, how, mounted on his favourite Cyprus Chestnut (killed under him at Jaffa), with his mighty axe or great spear in hand, he led the charge into the midst of the Turkish horse-archers, and even fought hand to hand with Saladin himself. The famous French knight, William of Barre, is said to have been the only man he ever found to match him. Fond of show and pleasure, and a poet himself, he was bountiful to poets. William Blondel of Nesle, Bertran of Born, who welcomed the king's release from prison with joyous songs, Piers Vidal, the fantastic poet who followed him on his crusade, Arnald Daniel, the wisest of the Provençal poets, Folquet of Marseille, whom Dante met in Paradise, and the gallant Wacelm Faidit of Avignon,who deeply mourned his patron's death, were his chief favourites. In 1198 a pious priest, Fulk of Neuilly, warned Richard of his faults, bidding him in the Lord's name make haste to marry his wicked daughters. "I have no daughters, thou deceiver !" said Richard. "Nay, thou hast three, whom thou hast cherished too long: Pride, Greed, and Evil-Living are their names." "Then," said the king, "I can match them well. I will give Pride to the proud Templars, Greed to the Cistercian monks, and Evil-Living to certain of my bishops." But in spite of this scoff, he took the warning to heart, and began to lead a better life.

Under Richard the policy and constitution of Henry II. were faithfully carried on in England by the ministers, William, Hubert, and Geoffrey; and the wise counsels of Eleanor saved Normandy and Aquitaine from the designs of Philip and the treachery of John.

CHAPTER III.

John Lackland, 1199-1215.

1. Earl John now sent Archbishop Hubert and William the Marshal to England to help the Justiciar to take charge of the realm. They held a council, and promising on John's behalf to right all wrongs and rule righteously, got the barons and people to swear fealty to him. But the people of Brittany, Maine, Anjou, and Touraine wished Arthur to be king, and his mother Constance, a foolish, headstrong woman, gave the boy into Philip's charge, who took up his cause. However, the earl and Queen Eleanor wrested Angers and Maine from the rebels, and on Easter Day John was crowned with the gilt coronet of Normandy by Hugh of Avalon. He then crossed to England, where on Ascension Day, 27th May, before a great gathering, he took the coronation oaths, Hubert adjuring him in the name of God not to dare take the crown unless he had it in his heart to fulfil the promises he had made.

John loses

John then went back to Normandy, made peace with the French king, and, in 1200, gave his niece, Blanche of Castile (whom Eleanor, now eighty Normandy, years old, had herself fetched from Spain to her 1199-1206. bridegroom), to the French prince Louis to wife. But in an evil hour John fell in love with Isabel, daughter of the Earl of Angoulesme, who was already espoused to Hugh the Brown of Lusignan, Earl of Marche, and (putting away his own wife, Hawis of Gloster) married her. This match led to a breach with Philip, who took up the earl's quarrel, and, in 1202, sent Arthur (whose mother was now dead) with 200 French knights to help the rebellious Poitevins against the English king. But the old queen, Eleanor, held out in the keep of Mirabel, though Hugh and her grandson had taken the bailey, till the 31st of July, when John hurried up to her relief, and driving the besiegers like sheep into the castleyard took Arthur captive, together with his sister Eleanor the Fair Maid of Brittany, Earl Hugh, and nearly all their knights. Arthur was sent to Falaise and the rest thrown into prison. In 1203 John offered his nephew fair terms if he would promise to be faithful to him, but the angry lad swore that he would never give his uncle a year's peace till he had won England and the rest of Richard's inheritance from him; whereon John, seeing that he could never trust