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England. gence appeared fo very difmal, that the kings of France and England laid afide their animofity. Both of them A. D. 1189.immediately took the crofs; but Richard, who had long wished to have all the glory of fuch an expedition to himself, could not bear to have even his father for a partner in his victories. He therefore entered into a confederacy with the king of France; fo that Henry found himself at laft obliged to give up all thoughts of the crufade, in order to defend himself against this unnatural combination. The event of the war proved very unfortunate for Henry, who loft feveral towns, and narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the enemy himself. At laft a treaty was concluded at the interceffion of the duke of Burgundy, the count of Flanders, and the archbishop of Rheims; but upon terms very humiliating to the king of England. It was agreed that Richard fhould marry the princefs Adelais, and be crowned king of England during the lifetime of his father; that Henry fhould pay 20,000 marks to the king of France, as a compenfation for the charges. of the war; that his own barons fhould engage to make him obferve this treaty, and in cafe of violating it, to join Philip and Richard against him; and that all his vaffals who had efpoufed the eaufe of Richard should receive an indemnity for their offence. These treme grief terms, mortifying as they were, Henry bore with pa tience; but when, upon receiving a lift of the barons that were to be pardoned, he found his own fon John, who was his favourite, among them, he could no longer fupport his grief. He broke out into the moft la mentable expreffions of defpair; curfed the day in which he received his miferable being; and bestowed on his ungrateful children a malediction which he could never afterwards be prevailed upon to retract. Soon after, he fell into a lingering fever occafioned by his grief; and of this he died on the 6th of July 1189, in the 58th year of his age and 35th of his reign. His natural fon Geoffrey, who alone had behaved dutifully towards him, attended his corpfe to the nunnery of Fontevrault, where it lay in ftate in the abbey-church. Next day Richard, who came to vifit the dead body of his father, was ftruck with horror at the fight. At his approach, the blood was seen to gush out at the mouth and noftrils of the corpfe; and this accident was, by the fuperftition of the times, interpreted as the most dreadful rebuke. Richard could not endure the fight. He exclaimed that he was his father's murderer; and expreffed a strong, though too late, fenfe of his unduti ful conduct.

His ex

and death.

127

Richard I.

Richard fucceeded to the throne without oppofition immediately after his father's death; and, on his acceffion, fet his mother Eleanor (who had been again confined) at liberty. A romantic defire for ftrange adventures, and an immoderate zeal for the external rites of religion, were the ruling paffions of the times. By the first of thefe Richard was inflamed to the highest degree, and therefore behaved as if the whole defign of his government had been to attempt the recovery of the Holy Land from the Infidels. The fuperftition of the people flowed itself in a moft violent and tragical manner on the very day of the king's Maffacre of coronation. The Jews were the objects of univerfal hatred, fo that Richard had iffued out orders forbid ding any of them from appearing at his coronation. But fome of them bringing him large prefents from

128

the Jews.

their nation, pre fumed, not withstanding thefe orders, England. to approach the hall in which the king dined. Being difcovered, they were expofed to the infults and inju. A. D. 1189. ries of the bystanders; in confequence of which they fled, and were purfued by the people. A report was fpread, that the king had given orders to maffacre all the Jews. This fuppofed command was executed in the most cruel manner. Multitudes were flaughtered in the city of London; and this example was followed in moft of the cities of England. Five hundred Jews had retired into York caftle for fafety but finding themselves unable to defend the place, they murdered their wives and children; threw the dead bodies over the wall against their enemies who attempted to scale it; and then, fetting fire to the houses, perished in the flames. The gentry in the neighbourhood, who were all indebted to the Jews, ran to the cathedral where their bonds were kept, and made a folemn bonfire of them before the altar.

:

129

tions for his

journey in

Richard immediately began to take meafures for his Richard's expedition into Palestine. His father had left him prepara100,000 marks; and this fum he augmented by all expedients he could think of, however pernicious to the to Palestine. public, or dangerous to the royal authority. He fet up to fale the revenues and manors of the crown, and feveral offices of the greatest trust and power. Liberties, charters, caftles, were given to the best bidders. His friends warned him of the danger attending this venality; but he told them he would fell the city of London itself, if he could find a purchafer. Numerous exactions were alfo practifed upon all ranks and ftations; menaces, promifes, and expoftulations, were used to fright the timid, and allure the avaricious. A zealous preacher of thofe times was emboldened to remonftrate against the king's conduct; and advised him to part with his three daughters, which were pride, avarice, and fenfuality. To this Richard readily replied, "You counfel right, my friend; and I have al ready provided husbands for them all. I will difpose of my pride to the templars; my avarice to the monks; and as for my fenfuality, the clergy fhall fhare that among them." At length the king having got together a fufficient fupply for his undertaking, and even fold his fuperiority over Scotland for a moderate fum, fet out for the Holy Land; whither he was impelled by repeated meffages from the king of France, who was ready to embark on the fame enter prife.

An account of Richard's exploits in this expedition is given under the articles EGYPT, SICILY, CYPRUS, &c.-Having at last concluded a truce with Saladin, he fet out on his return for England. He was, however, at a lofs how to proceed. He durft not return by the way he came, as this would put him in the power of the king of France, between whom and the king of England an irreconcilable enmity had taken place. No way therefore was left but by going more to the north; for which reafon he took fhipping for Italy, but was wrecked near Aquileia. From thence he travelled towards Ragufa, and refolved to make his way through Germany in the habit of a pilgrim. But Taken prihis expences and liberalities having betrayed him, not- foner on his withstanding this difguife, he was arrested by Leopold return. duke of Auftria, who commanded him to be loaded with hackles. This prince had served under Richard

at

130

England. at the fiege of Acre (the ancient Ptolemais), where having received fome difguft, he took this base meA.D. 1189-thod of revenging himself. Henry VI. emperor of Germany, was then equally an enemy to Richard, on account of his having married Berengaria the daughter of Tancred king of Sicily. He therefore required the royal captive to be delivered up to him, and ftipulated a large fum of money to the duke as a reward for his fervice.

ther.

The kingdom of England in the mean time was in great confufion. Richard had left it under the direction of Hugh bishop of Durham, and Longchamp bifhop of Ely. The tempers of thefe prelates being very different, an animofity between them foon took place. Longchamp at lait arrested his colleague, and obliged him to refign his power in order to obtain his liberty. The king, by many letters, commanded Longchamp to replace his coadjutor, but to no purpofe. When the fituation of the king became uncertain, Longchamp tyrannized to fuch a degree, that John the king's brother thought proper to oppofe bim. He then left the kingdom; and upon this the archbishop of Rouen was made jufticiary in his room. The king of France being informed of thefe diffenfions, ftrove to increase them as much as poffible; and had even almost prevailed upon John to throw off his allegiance, by promifing to put him in poffeffion of all Richard's continental dominions.

131 Treachery When the English first received the news of Riof John the chard's captivity, a general indignation was excited king's bro- through the whole nation. The greatest, and almost the only traitor in the kingdom, was the king's own brother John. On the very first invitation from the court of France, he went abroad and held a. confultation with Philip, the object of which was the perpetual ruin and captivity of his unhappy brother. He promised to deliver into Philip's hands a great part of Normandy; and, in return, he received the inveftiture of all Richard's tranfmarine dominions: it is even faid, that he did homage to the French king for the crown of England.

In confequence of this treaty, Philip invaded Normandy, and made confiderable progrefs in the conquest of it. He was, however, at last repulfed by the earl of Leicester, who was now returned from the Holy Land; and a truce was concluded, on condition of paying the French king 20,000 merks, and putting four caftles into his hands by way of fecurity for the payment.-John, who had come over to England, met with ftill lefs fuccefs in his enterprifes. He was only able to make himfelf master of the caftles of Windfor and Wallingford; but when he came to London, and demanded the kingdom as heir to his brother, of whofe death he pretended to have received certain intelligence, he was rejected by all the barons, and measures were taken to oppofe and fubdue him. The defence of the kingdom was fo well provided for, that John, after fome fruitless efforts, was obliged to conclude a truce with his opponents; and, before the expiration of it, he thought proper to retire to France, where he openly acknowledged his alliance with Philip.

All the efforts of Richard's enemies proved ineffectual to detain him in captivity. He was brought before the diet of the empire at Worms, where the emperor Henry brought against him a charge of many VOL. VIII. Part I.

crimes and misdemeanours: but to this the king replied England. with so much spirit and eloquence, that the Germanprinces exclaimed loudly against the conduct of the A. D. 1199. emperor; the pope threatened him with excommunication; and Henry, who had hearkened to the propofals of the king of France and Prince John, found that it would be impoffible for him to execute his and their bafe purposes, and detain the king of England any longer in captivity. He therefore concluded a treaty with him for his ranfom; and agreed to restore him to his liberty for 150,000 merks, about 100,000l. of our money, of which 100,000 merks were to be paid immediately, and 67 hoftages delivered for the re

mainder.

132

leafed from

་

The money for the king's ranfom was moft cheer- Richard refully raifed by the English. The churches and monafteries melted down their plate to the amount of captivity. 30,000 merks; the bithops, abbots, and monks, paid a fourth part of their yearly rent; the parochial clergy contributed a tenth part of their tithes; and the requifite fum being thus collected, Queen Eleanor and Walter archbishop of Rouen fet out with it for Germany, paid the money to the emperor and duke of Auftria at Mentz, delivered them hoftages for the remainder, and freed Richard from his captivity. His efcape was very critical. Henry had been detected in the affaffination of the bishop of Liege, and in an attempt of the like nature on the duke of Louvaine; and finding himself extremely obnoxious to the German princes on account of thefe odious practices, he had determined to feek fupport from an alliance with the French king, and to detain Richard in perpetual captivity, notwithstanding the fum he had already received for his ranfom. He therefore gave orders that Richard fhould be purfued and arrefted; but the king making all imaginable hafte, had already embarked at the mouth of the Scheldt, and was out of fight of land when, the emperor's meffengers reached Antwerp. The king of France no fooner heard of Richard's deliverance, than he wrote to John his confederate in thefe terms: "Take care of yourself: the devil is broke loofe."

133

The king of England returned from captivity on Returns to the 20th of March 1194, and was received with the England. utmoft joy by his fubjects. He had been but one day landed, when his treacherous brother John came to make his fubmiffion. At the interceffion of Queen Eleanor he was received into favour. "I forgive him (faid the king), and hope I fhall as eafily forget his offences as he will my pardon." Richard was impatient to revenge himself on the king of France, and therefore inftantly made war upon him. But though both kings were inflamed with the most violent refentment against each other, they found it impoffible to engage their powerful barons heartily in their cause. The war, therefore, produced no remarkable event; and, in 1195, was concluded by a truce for five years. On fome flight occafion it was ready to break out anew, when the pope's legate interpofed, and a treaty was about to be concluded. King Richard in the mean time was wounded by an arrow at the fiege of Chalus, a caftle of Limoges. The wound was not in His death. itfelf dangerous; but being unfkilfully treated, a mortification enfued, and the king expired on the 6th of April 1199, in the 10th year of his reign and 42d of

L

his

134

A. D. 1205.

135

John fuc

crown.

John fucceeded to the crown of England without ceeds to the oppofition, but foon found his affairs embarraffed on the continent. The king of France, who, during the life of King Richard, had always fupported the pretenfions of John, now gave a like fupport to the claims of Prince Arthur the fon of Geoffrey, who, though only 12 years of age, promifed to be deferving of the kingdom. But in this matter the king of France fhow ed fo much regard to his own intereft, that Conftantia, the mother of the young prince, thinking that her ally defigned to keep for himself the provinces which he pretended to conquer for Arthur, fubmitted herself and her fon to John, who detained them in Mans; and thus became undifputed master of the whole empire.

136 His bad qualities.

137 Murders his nephew.

The new king was weak, tyrannical, cruel, and treacherous. In short, he feemed to be endowed with almost every bad quality that can fall to the fhare of man. His conduct, therefore, foon rendered him univerfally odious. Imagining himfelf now fecure on the fide of France, he indulged his paffion for Ifabella, the daughter and heirefs of the count of Angouleme, with whom he was much enamoured. His queen, the heiress of the family of Gloucefter, was ftill alive; and Ifabella was married to the count de la Marche, though, by reafon of her youth, the marriage had not been confummated. John perfuaded the count de Angouleme to carry off his daughter from her husband; at the fame time that he procured, under fome pretence or other, a divorce from the queen. Thus he incurred the displeasure of the pope, and alfo of the count de la Marche, and a powerful confederacy was formed againft him.

As John had neither courage nor policy fufficient to keep his barons in awe, he took a method for that purpofe equally bafe and cruel. This was by hiring a fet of ruffians, whom he called his champions, to fight duels with them, in cafes where they required to clear themfelves from any charge by fighting a duel, according to the cuftom of thofe times. Thus he propofed to get rid of his refractory barons; but they, defpifing opponents who were fo far below their rank, refufed to fight with them, and a dangerous combination was formed among the barons against him.

The murder of Prince Arthur rendered John ftill more generally detefted. The young prince with his mother had fled to the court of France, where they were received with the greatest kindness, and found their intereft more vigorously fupported than before. Their enterprises were attended with confiderable fuccefs, when Arthur himself had the misfortune to be taken prifoner. All the other captives were fent to England; but the prince was fhut up in the caftle of Falaife, and from that time was never heard of. It was univerfally believed that John had murdered him with his own hand; and this inflamed the general refentment against him to fuch a degree, that he foon after loft all his French provinces. In 1205, the duchy of Normandy itself was alfo conquered by Philip, and John was forced to fly with difgrace to England.

The king was refolved to wreak his vengeance upon the barons, who, he pretended, had deferted his ftand

This irrefolute and cowardly behaviour of John made him contemptible in the eyes of his fubjects; but the Norman princes had fo far extended the prerogatives of the English crown, that the barons, however difcontented, durft not yet attempt to change the form of go138 vernment. John, by entering into a controverfy with His conteft the church, completed his ruin. The clergy, who for with the fome time had acted as a community totally indepen- pope. dent of the civil power, had their elections of each other generally confirmed by the pope, to whom alone they owned fubjection. The election of archbishops, however, had been a fubject of continual difpute between the fuffragan bifhops and the Auguftine monks. In the mean time the archbishop of Canterbury died; and the Auguftine monks, in a very private manner, elected Reginald, their fuperior, in his place. The bishops exclaimed against this election, as a manifest innovation of their privileges; and a furious theological contest was likely to enfue. John very imprudently took a fide in this controverfy, and efpoufed the caufe of the fuffragan bishops; in confequence of which, John de Grey bishop of Norwich was chofen. The caufe was appealed to Rome; and Pope Innocent III. feizing with avidity an opportunity of extending his power, commanded the monks to choofe Cardinal Stephen Langton, an Englishman, then at the court of Rome. The power of nominating an archbishop of Canterbury (a perfon of almoft equal authority with the king), was an acquifition that would effectually give the court of Rome an unlimited authority over England. John therefore was refolved not to fubmit to this impofition; but he had not judgment fufficient to conduct him. He violently expelled the monks from their convent, and feized upon their revenues. pope perceiving, from this abfurd conduct, that John was unequal to the task he had undertaken, after fome intreaties, threatened to put the whole kingdom under an interdict. The prelates threw themfelves on their knees before the king, and in the most earnest manner intreated him to avoid the refentment of the holy tribunal, by receiving the primate, and reftoring the monks to their convent. John, however, broke out into the most violent invectives. He fwore by God's. teeth (his ufual oath), that if the kingdom was put under an interdict, he would banish the whole body of the clergy, and confifcate all their poffeffions. pope at laft, finding he might do it with fafety, issued forth this terrible fentence, fo much dreaded by the whole nation. A ftop was immediately put to divine fervice, and the adminiftration of all the facraments except baptifm. The church-doors were fhut, and the images of the faints laid on the ground. dead were refused Chriftian burial; and were thrown under an into ditches and on the highways, without any fune- interdict. ral folemnity. Marriage was celebrated in the churchyards, and the people prohibited the ufe of meat as

The

The

139

The kingThe dom laid

England. in times of public penance. They were debarred from all pleafure; even from fhaving their beards, faluting A.D. 1213 each other, or paying any regard to their apparel. The clergy deplored the unhappy ftate of the nation in the moft lamentable manner; while John, in revenge, imprifoned all their concubines, and treated the adherents of Langton with the utmoft rigour.

140

The king The furious and imprudent efforts of John proved excommu- totally ineffectual. He had fcarce a friend left in the nicated, and whole nation; and therefore, in 1209, the pope dethe king nounced a fentence of excommunication against him. dom given This was foon followed by another still more terrible; to Philip of France. namely, the abfolving all the subjects of the king of England from their allegiance, and declaring every one to be excommunicated who had any commerce with him at his table, council, or even in private converfation. The king, rendered quite furious by these repeated indignities, wreaked his vengeance on his unhappy fubjects, whofe affections he ought rather to have attempted to conciliate. The pope, therefore, proceeded to execute the full measure of his wrath on this devoted prince, by giving away his kingdom to Philip of France. He published a crufade all over Europe against King John; exhorting the nobility, the knights and men of every condition, to take up arms against him, and enlift under the French banner. Philip was not lefs active on his part. He fummoned all the vasfals of the crown to attend him at Rouen; and having collected a fleet of 1700 veffels, was ready, in 1213, to invade England.

A. D. 1215.

expiate my fins, from my own free will, and the advice England. of my barons, give to the church of Rome, to Pope Innocent and his fucceffors, the kingdom of England, and all other prerogatives of my crown. I will hereafter hold them as the pope's vaffal. I will be faithful to God, to the church of Rome, to the pope my master, and his fucceffors legitimately elected. I promise to pay him a tribute of 1000 merks; to wit, 700 for the kingdom of England, and 300 for the kingdom of Ireland."

The pope had now overftretched his power; and had the English nation been governed by a prince of any degree of prudence or refolution, the power of the clergy would in all probability have been totally broken. The people, however fuperftitious and ready to obey in matters of religion, could not tamely fubmit to be given away by the pope as flaves from one mafter to another; and therefore this confideration, added to the natural antipathy fubfifting between the French and English, put John, notwithstanding all his offences, at the head of an army of 60,000 men. But the pope. was too great a politician to fuffer matters to be carried to extremities. He promifed himself many more advantages from the fubmiffion of John than from an alliance with Philip; and therefore came over in perfon, or, according to fome, fent over his legate, to England, under pretence of conferring with the barons, but in reality to hold a conference with John. He there reprefented to this forlorn prince, the numbers of the enemy, the hatred of his own fubjects, and the fecret confederacy there was against him in England. He intimated, that there was but one way to fecure him from the impending danger; namely, to put himself under the protection of the pope, who was a merciful father, and ftill willing to receive a repenting finner. The abject and irrefolute spirit of John fubmitted to this laft piece of arrogance, and he took an oath to obey whatever the pope fhould command. In confequence of this oath, he took another, the most extraordinary mentioned in the records of hiftory; and 141 which, as it was taken while he commanded an army John's fub- of 60,000 men, discovers a meannefs of spirit almost million to incredible. The terms impofed by it were expreffed the pope. in the following words. "I John, by the grace of God, king of England and lord of Ireland, in order to

This oath was taken by the king before all the people, kneeling, and with his hands held up between thofe of the legate. Having then agreed to reinstate Langton in the primacy, he received the crown which he had been fuppofed to have forfeited; while the legate, to add to his former infolence, trampled under his feet the tribute which John had confented to pay.The king of France was enraged at this behaviour of the pope; and refolved to execute his project of conquering England, in fpite of him and all his cenfures. His fleet, however, was attacked in their harbours by the English, who took 300 veffels, and deftroyed about 100 more; while Philip, finding it impoffible to prevent the reft from falling into the hands of the enemy, fet fire to them himself, and thus was obliged to give up all hopes of fuccefs.

142

preroga

John being thus freed from all danger, continued to The barons follow the fame cruel and tyrannical measures which attempt to had hitherto rendered him odious to his fubjects. His reduce the fcandalous fubjection to the clergy now gave the ba-tives of the rons an opportunity of exerting themfelves, in order to crown. reduce the enormous prerogatives of the crown. Their defigns were greatly facilitated by the concurrence of Langton the primate, who on all occafions showed a fincere regard for the interests of the kingdom. At a fynod of his prelates and clergy, convened in St Paul's, on pretence of examining into the loffes of fome bishops who had been exiled by John, he privately conferred with a number of barons, to whom he expatiated upon the vices and injuftice of their fovereign. He fhowed them a copy of Henry the firft's charter; (being the only one in the kingdom, and which had been buried in the rubbish of an obfcure monaftery). Langton exhorted the barons to infift on a renewal of it; and this they folemnly fwore to perform. The fame agreement was afterwards renewed at a more numerous meeting of barons fummoned by Langton at St Edmonfbury. Here it was refolved, that at Chriftmas they should prefer their common petition in a body, and in the mean time they feparated with a defign to put themselves in a pofture of defence, enlift men, and fortify their caftles. In the beginning of January 1215, they repaired to London, accoutred in their military garb and equipage, and prefented their petition to the king, alleging that he had promised to grant a confirmation of the laws of Edward the Confeffor, at the time he was abfolved from his excommunication. John refented their prefumption; and required a promise under their hands and feals, that they would never demand, or attempt to extort, fuch privileges for the future. This they refused with fuch unanimity and refolution, that the king defired time to confider of their demands. He promised, that, at the feftival of Eafter, he would give a pofitive answer to their petition; and offered them the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of L 2

Ely,