remains, over which his son Richard is said to have wept bitter tears of remorse. 2. RICHARD 1.1-Crossing without delay to England, Richard received his father's crown at Westminster. But to rule England and half of France was not his ambition. He burned to win glory on the plains of Palestine, and his earliest measures were undertaken to raise money for a Crusade. To this he devoted the hoards of his father; for this purpose he sold the honours and offices in his gift, and gave up for 10,000 merks the homage wrested by his father from the Scottish King. 3. Richard of England and Philip Augustus of France then mustered their soldiers, to the Latakia Aleppo number of July 1, 1190 A.D. 10,000 men, on ly twelve months passed before the English King reached Acre, then the centre of the war. Philip had been for some time in the camp before the walls, but the presence of the Lionheart at once struck terror into the de fenders. Four days after Richard's arrival, the gates were thrown open. 'Richard I.-Son of Henry II. Mrd. Berengaria of Navarre. Reigned 10 years. 4. Jealousy of Richard now caused Philip, on pretence of ill health, to return to France. Before his departure, he swore not to invade the dominions of Richard. From Acre Richard led the Crusaders to Jaffa, inflicting upon Saladin, who strove to impede the march, a severe defeat. At last the walls of Jerusalem rose before the soldiers of the Cross; but 1192 Oct. 9, their ranks were so thinned, and their energies so weakened, that Richard was forced to turn away. He took leave of the sacred shore, commending it to the mercy of Heaven. A.D. 5. Wrecked on the northern shore of the Gulf of Venice, Richard resolved to cross the Continent in the dress of a pilgrim, under the name of Hugh the merchant. He reached Erperg near Vienna in safety; but there the imprudence of his page, who went into the town wearing gloves-then a mark of the highest rank-betrayed him into the hands of Leopold, Duke of Austria, whom he had thrashed in the town of Acre. At first he was confined in the Castle of Tyernsteign, but the Emperor, Henry VI., purchased him for £60,000, and flung him into a castle in the Tyrol. 6. There is a legend that a French minstrel, named Blondel, discovered the place of Richard's captivity. Wandering through the land, he happened near a grated window to strike his harp to an air of Richard's own composing. The strain was answered from within, and he knew it was the King of England who sang. The secret of Richard's prison was really disclosed by a letter from the Emperor to Philip of France. After much debate, a ransom was fixed: 100,000 merks were wrung from the English people, and Richard was set free. had been absent four years, of which fourteen months were spent in prison. 1194 A.D. He 7. As yet the King had spent only four months in England. He now spent little more than two. When he recovered his freedom, he found his crown of England and his French coronets equally in danger. His brother John, who had driven into exile the Regent, William of Longchamp, aimed at the one; Philip of France desired the others,-and this, perhaps, was the true cause of his desertion at Acre. John's party melted away before his brother's presence, and he humbly sought for pardon, which was granted at the intercession of his mother. 8. The rest of Richard's reign was occupied by wars in France, waged in defence of that claim of English supremacy there which his youthful rebellion had first endangered. These wars pressed heavily on the English people. In two years he drew from the country £1,100,000. He received his death wound in a mean quarrel. A treasure had been found on the estate of a vassal. Richard received part, but demanded all. Being refused, he besieged the Castle of Chaluz,1 from the walls of which an arrow struck him on the shoulder. The head was extracted by an unskilful surgeon, and 1199 mortification set in. The castle being taken, the archer, Gourdon, was brought a captive to the dying Monarch's bed; but Richard pardoned him. In spite of this, the unhappy youth was flayed alive. Richard was buried at the feet of his father in Fontevraud:2 his heart was bequeathed to the citizens of Rouen. A.D. 9. The social effects of the Crusades now began to be felt. They excited a somewhat kindlier feeling among the nations leagued in a common cause; they opened the East to commerce, and poured its riches into England; they drained the country of those restless spirits, whose broils convulsed society unceasingly; lastly, and of most importance, they weakened the power of the nobles, whose estates began to pass into the hands of the wealthy commoners, they elevated the standing of the middle classes, and they laid the foundation of those changes by which the House of Commons was afterwards established. 10. JOHN.3-Richard, who left no heir, bequeathed his throne to his brother John. A council held at Northampton confirmed the choice, and John was crowned at Westminster. He was not the lineal heir, for his elder brother, Geoffrey, had left a son,-Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, now aged twelve years. This boy's claim was supported by the French King; but at the Castle of Mirebeau in Poitou he fell into the hands of 1 Chaluz.-Near Limoges. (See Map, p. 169.) 2 Fontevraud.--In Anjou. 3 John.-Son of Henry II. Married (1) Hadwisa of Gloucester; (2) Isabella of Angoulême. Reigned 17 years. John, who cast him into the dungeons of Rouen. Here all trace of him was lost. Some said that John slew him with his own hand. Arthur's sister, Eleanor, called the Maid of Bretagne, another rival, was imprisoned within Bristol Castle till her death. A.D. 11. John, having divorced his first wife, married Isabella of Angoulême, the affianced wife of the Earl of Marche; 1204 and this, coupled with the death of Arthur, gave his French subjects a fair excuse for transferring their allegiance to the French King. In a few years he was stripped of Normandy, Anjou, and all the French possessions of the English Crown. the secret really disclosed? What ransom was paid for his release? How long had he been absent? QUESTIONS.-1. Whose allegiance | covery of Richard's prison? How was were the Angevin Kings of England likely to lose? Who had an interest in its being withdrawn? When did disaffection and intrigue begin? Who lent themselves to the work? What effect had this on Henry? How did Richard offend him? What caused his death? 2. Who succeeded? What was Richard's ambition? How did he obtain money for this object? 3. Who joined Richard in this Crusade? Where did they muster their soldiers? What time elapsed before Richard reached Acre? What effect had his arrival? 4. What led Philip to return to France? Where did Richard lead the Crusaders? Whom did he defeat? Why had he to abandon the work? 5. What befell him on his way home? What led to his being discovered? Who ultimately got possession of him? 6. What is the legend about the dis 7. What time did he spend in England on his return? Who had been aiming at the crown of England? Who at his French possessions? What dissipated John's party? 8. In what was the rest of Richard's reign spent? Where did he receive his death-wound? What was the origin of the quarrel? How did he treat the archer who had wounded him? How was he afterwards treated? Where was Richard buried? 9. Mention the chief social effects of the Crusades. 10. Who succeeded Richard? Who was the lineal heir? What became of him? What became of his sister? 11. Who was John's second wife? What did his conduct give his French subjects an excuse for doing? Of what was he in a few years deprived? CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN EVENTS. 1. 1183.-A struggle which had lasted twenty-four years, between the Emperor of Germany and the republics of the north of Italy, was terminated by the Peace of Constance. 2. 1187.-Jerusalem was taken from the Crusaders by the Sultan Saladin. 3. 1191.-The Teutonic Order of knights was founded, to tend the sick and wounded in the camp before Acre. 4. 1195,-The Fourth Crusade was undertaken by the Emperor Henry VI., whose real object was to secure Sicily, as a means of reaching the Eastern Empire. Having secured Sicily, the Crusaders proceeded to the East, and took Beyrout; but Henry's death, in 1197, put an end to the Crusade. 5. 1198.-The Fifth Crusade was preached by Pope Innocent III. Count Baldwin of Flanders, its leader, took Constantinople in 1203, and again in 1204, when he was made Emperor over one-fourth of the East. He was made prisoner by the King of Bulgaria in 1206, and was never heard of afterwards. The Crusaders never reached Jerusalem. 6. 1200.-About this time the University of Paris (the first in Europe) was founded. 7. 1213.-The Albigenses (so called from their stronghold Albiga, in Languedoc) under Count Raymond of Toulouse and the King of Aragon, were defeated by Simon de Montfort. The crusade against the Albigenses, as well as that against the Waldenses, was sanctioned by Pope Innocent III. Though Count Raymond the elder submitted, the persecution was continued. In 1210, de Montfort ravaged Languedoc. The crusade was joined by Prince Louis of rance in 1215. In 1229, Count Raymond VII. submitted; but the complete subjugation of Languedoc was not effected till 1242. 1. THE great struggle between the Crown and the Barons, which resulted in the foundation of English liberty, sprang directly out of that quarrel between the Crown and the Church |