III. A. D. 1189. BOOK own for near ninety years. But diffenfions arifing about the fucceffion to the Crown between Guy of Lufignan, and Raymond Earl of Tripoli; Guy, either because he thought the affiftance of the European princes too diftant, or that he feared their decifion, called in the aid of Salladine fultan of Egypt. This able prince immediately entered Palestine. As the whole ftrength of the Chriftians in Palestine depended upon foreign fuccour, he first made himself mafter of the maritime towns, and then Jerufalem fell an easy prey to his arms; whilft the competitors contended with the utmost violence for a kingdom, which no longer exifted for either of them. All Europe was alarmed at this revolution. The banished patriarch of Jerufalem filled every place with the diftreffes of the eastern Chriftians. The Pope ordered a folemn faft to be for ever kept for this lofs; and then exerting all his influence, excited a new Crufade, in which vaft numbers engaged with an ardour unabated by their former misfortunes; but wanting a proper fubordination rather than a fufficient force, they made but a flow progrefs, when Richard and Philip at the head of more than 100,000 chofen men, the one from Marfeilles, the other from Genoa, fet fail to their affiftance. 1190. 1191. In his voyage to the Holy Land, accident presented Richard with an unexpected conqueft. A veffel of his fleet was driven by a ftorm to take fhelter in the Ifle of Cyprus. That ifland was governed by a prince named Ifaac, of the Imperial family of the Comneni; who not only refufed all relief to the fufferers, but plundered them of the little remains of their substance. Richard resenting this inhospitable treatment, aggravated by the infolence of the tyrant, turned his force upon Cyprus, vanquished Ifaac in the field, took the capital city, and was folemnly crowned king of that island. But deeming it as glorious to give as to acquire a crown, he foon after refigned it to Lufignan to fatisfy him for his claim on Jerufalem; in whose descendants VII. it continued for feveral generations, until paffing by marriage into CHAP. the family of Cornaro a Venetian nobleman, it was acquired to that state, the only state in Europe, which had any real benefit by all the blood and treasure lavifhed in the holy war. Richard arrived in Palestine sometime after the king of France; his arrival gave new vigour to the operations of the Croifes. He reduced Acra to surrender at difcretion, which had been in vain befieged for two years, and in the fiege of which an infinite number of Chriftians had perished; and so much did he diftinguish himself on this and on all occafions, that the whole expedition feemed to reft on his fingle valour. The King of France seeing him fully engaged had all that he desired. The climate was disagreeable to his conftitution, and the war, in which he acted but a fecond part, to his pride. He therefore haftened home to execute his projects against Richard, amufing him with oaths made to be violated; leaving indeed a part of his forces under the Duke of Burgundy, but with private orders to give him underhand all poffible obstruction. Notwithstanding the desertion of his ally, Richard continued the war with uncommon alacrity. With very unequal numbers he engaged and defeated the whole army of Salladine, and flew 40,000 of his best troops. He obliged him to evacuate all the towns on the fea-coaft; and spread the renown and terrour of his arms over all Afia. A thousand great exploits did not however enable him to extend his conquefts to the inland country.. Jealoufy, envy, cabals and a total want of difcipline reigned in the army of the Croifes. The climate, and their intemperance more than the climate, wafted them with a fwift decay. The vow, which brought them to the Holy Land, was generally for a limited time, at the conclufion of which they were always impatient to depart. Their armies broke up at the most critical conjunctures; as it was not the neceffity of the fervice, but the extent of their vows, which held them together. As foon therefore 4 R 2 as A. D. 1191. BOOK A. D. 1192. as they had habituated themselves to the country and attained Richard was labouring to get over these disadvantages, when he was informed by repeated expreffes of the disorder of his affairs in Europe; diforders, which arose from the ill difpofitions he had made at his departure. The heads of his regency had abufed their power; they quarrelled with each other, and the nobility with them. A fort of a civil war had arisen, in which they were depofed. Prince John was the main fpring of these diffenfions; he engaged in a close communication of councils with the King of France, who had feized upon feveral places in Normandy. It was with regret that Richard found himself obliged to leave a theatre, on which he had planned fuch an illuftrious fcene of action. A conftant emulation in courtesy and politeness, as well as in military exploits, had been kept up between him and Salladine. He now concluded a truce with A that A VII. A. D. 1192. that generous enemy; and on his departure fent a meffenger to CHAP. affure him, that on its expiration he would not fail to be again in Palestine. Salladine replied, that if he must lose his kingdom, he would chufe to lofe it to the King of England. Thus Richard returned, leaving Jerufalem in the hands of the Sarazens; and this end had an enterprife, in which two of the moft powerful monarchs in Europe were perfonally engaged, an army of upwards of 100,000 men employed, and to furnish which the whole Chriftian world had been vexed and exhausted. It is a melancholy reflection, that the spirit of great designs can feldom be inspired, but where the reafon of mankind is so uncultivated that they can be turned to little advantage. With this war ended the fortune of Richard, who found the Sarazens lefs dangerous than his Christian allies. It is not well known what motive induced him to land at Aquileia, at the bottom of the Gulf of Venice, in order to take his route by Germany; but he pursued his journey through the territories of the Duke of Auftria, whom he had perfonally affronted at the fiege of Acra. And now, neither keeping himself out of the power of that prince, nor rousing his generofity by feeming to confide in it, he attempted to get through his dominions in disguise. Sovereigns do not eafily affume the private character; their pride feldom fuffers their difguife to be complete; befides, Richard had made himself but too well known. The Duke, transported with the opportunity of bafe revenge, discovered him, feized him, and threw him into prifon; from whence he was only released to be thrown into another. The Emperour claimed him; and, without regarding in this unfortunate captive the common dignity of fovereigns, or his great actions in the common caufe of Europe, treated him with yet greater cruelty. To give a colour of juftice to his violence, he proposed to accufe Richard at the Diet of the Empire upon certain articles relative 1193. A.D. BOOK relative to his conduct in the Holy Land. The news of the III. king's captivity caused the greatest confternation in all his good fubjects; but it revived the hopes and machinations of 1193. prince John, who bound himself by closer ties than ever to the King of France, feized upon fome ftrong holds in England, and, industriously spreading a report of his brother's death, publickly laid claim to the crown, as lawful fucceffour. All his endeavours, however, ferved only to excite the indignation of the people, and to attach them the more firmly to their unfortunate prince. Eleanor, the Queen Dowager, as good a mother as the had been a bad wife, acted with the utmost vigour and prudence to retain them in their duty, and omitted no means to procure the liberty of her fon. The nation feconded her with a zeal, in their circumftances, uncommon. No tyrant ever impofed fo fevere a tax upon his people, as the affection of the people of England, already exhaufted, levied upon themselves. The most favoured religious orders were charged on this occafion. The church plate was fold. The ornaments of the moft holy relicks were not spared. And indeed nothing ferves more to demonstrate the poverty of the kingdom, reduced by internal diffenfions and remote wars, at that time, than the extreme difficulty of collecting the king's ransom, which amounted to no more than 100,000 marks of filver, Cologne weight. For raifing this fum, the first taxation, the most heavy and general, that was ever known in England, proved altogether infufficient. Another taxation was fet on foot. It was levied with the fame rigour as the former, and ftill fell fhort. Ambaffadors were fent into Germany with all, that could be raised, and with hoftages for the payment of whatever remained. The king met these ambaffadors as he was carried in chains to plead his caufe before the Diet of the Empire. The ambaffadors burft into tears at this affecting fight and wept aloud; but Richard, though touched no less with the affectionate loyalty of his subjects than |