The Boys' Book of Rulers

Thus the Christian army advanced to Jaffa. The two armies, Christian and Saracen, then met on a plain near the seashore, called Azotus. Saladin commenced the attack upon the wing of Richard’s army, composed of the French troops under the command of the duke of Burgundy. They resisted and drove the Saracens back. Then Richard gave the signal for a charge, and rode forward at the head of his troops, mounted on his famous charger, and flourishing his heavy battle-axe. This axe was a ponderous weapon. Richard had ordered it made before leaving England, and it was so immense that few men could lift it. But as Richard Cœur de Lion was a man of marvellous strength, he wielded this huge weapon with prodigious force. When it came down upon the head of a steel-clad knight, on his horse, it often crushed both man and steed to the ground. The darts and javelins of the Mohammedans glanced off from King Richard’s steel armor, without inflicting any wound, while Saracen after Saracen was felled to the earth by the blows from his ponderous battle-axe.

It was not long before Saladin’s army was flying in all directions, pursued by the crusaders. After this battle Richard established his army in Jaffa. In the meantime Saladin was collecting forces for a more vigorous resistance. Historians have condemned this inactivity of Richard’s army for so many weeks at Jaffa, thus enabling Saladin to rally his men and become more determined in his defence. During the time while Richard’s army was resting and feasting at Jaffa, King Richard and Saladin entered upon several negotiations, which were carried on through Saphadin, the brother of Saladin, who was provided with a safe conduct through the enemies’ lines. One of these propositions was that Richard and Saladin should cease hostilities and become allies, and that their difficulties should be settled by a marriage between Joanna, Richard’s sister, the ex-queen of Sicily, and Saphadin, the brother of Saladin. But this, and all other propositions, at length came to naught, and in November, Richard advanced with his army as far as Bethany, with a forlorn hope that they might find themselves strong enough to attack Jerusalem. But this hope was vain. Richard’s men were dying from sickness and famine, caused by a large amount of their provisions being spoiled by the fall rains which had now set in, and many of the discouraged soldiers deserted. These losses so thinned King Richard’s ranks, that he was obliged to retreat to Acre. While they were at Bethany, a band of crusaders had ascended a mountain overlooking Jerusalem. King Richard was asked to come and see the holy city in the distance. “No,” said he, covering his face with his cloak, “those who are not worthy of conquering Jerusalem should not look upon it.”

While at Acre, Richard learned that Saladin was besieging Jaffa. The historian Guizot thus describes the rescue of Jaffa from the Saracens: —

“When King Richard arrived at Jaffa, the crescent already shone upon the walls; but a priest who had cast himself into the water in front of the royal vessel told Richard that he could yet save the garrison, although the town was already in the hands of the enemy. The ship had not yet reached the landing-stage, and already the king was in the water, which reached to his shoulders, and was uttering the war-cry ‘St. George!’ The infidels, who were then plundering the city, took fright, and three thousand men fled, pursued by four or five knights of the cross. The little corps of Christians intrenched themselves behind planks of wood, and tuns; ten tents held the whole of the army. Day had scarcely dawned, when a soldier flew to Richard’s bedside. ‘O king, we are dead men!’ he cried; ‘the enemy is upon us.’ The king sprang up from his bed, scarcely allowing himself time to buckle on his armor, and omitting his helmet and shield. ‘Silence!’ he said to the bearer of the bad news, ‘or I will kill you.’ Seventeen knights had gathered round Cœur de Lion, kneeling on the ground, and holding their lances; in their midst were some archers, accompanied by attendants who were recharging their arquebuses. The king was standing in the midst. The Saracens endeavored in vain to overawe this heroic little band; not one of them stirred. At length, under a shower of arrows, the knights sprang on their horses, and swept the plain before them. They entered Jaffa towards evening, and drove the Mussulmans from it. From the time of daybreak Richard had not ceased for a moment to deal out his blows, and the skin of his hand adhered to the handle of his battle-axe.”

Still more graphically do the old chronicles thus describe this battle: —

“Where the fight was fiercest there rode King Richard, and the Turks fell beneath his flashing sword. Then the galley-men, fearing for their lives, left the battle and took refuge in their boats, and the Turks thought to seize the town while the army was fighting in the field. But the king, taking with him but two knights and two crossbowmen, entered the town and dispersed the Turks who had entered, and set sentinels to guard it, and then, hasting to the galleys, gathered together the men, and encouraging them with his words, brought them back to the fight. And as he led them to the field, he fell upon the enemy so fiercely, that he cut his way all alone into the midst of the ranks, and they gave way before him. But they closed around him, and he was left alone, and at that sight our men feared greatly. But alone in the midst of his enemies he remained unmoved, and all as they approached him were cut down like corn before the sickle. And there rode against him a great admiral, distinguished above all the rest by his rich caparisons, and with bold arrogance assayed to attack him, but the king with one blow of his sword cut off his head and shoulder and right arm. Then the Turks fled in terror at the sight, and the king returned to his men, and lo! the king was stuck all over with javelins, like the spines of a hedgehog, and the trappings of his horse with arrows. The battle lasted that day from the rising to the setting sun, but the Turks returned to Saladin, and he mocked his men, and asked them where was Malek-Rik, whom they had promised to bring him. But one of them answered, ‘There is no knight on earth like Malek-Rik; nay, nor ever was from the beginning of the world.’”

King Richard’s forces were now so weakened, that he found it would be hopeless to endeavor to take Jerusalem. The Archduke Leopold, of Austria, had left the army with his men and gone home. This was caused by a quarrel between himself and King Richard. Saladin having left Ascalon, Richard hastened to repair its fortifications. In order to encourage his soldiers, he himself carried stones to the workers, urging the archduke to do the same. “I am not the son of a mason,” replied the Austrian, haughtily. Whereupon, Richard, in anger, struck him a blow in the face, which indignity so enraged the archduke, that he immediately took his forces and returned to Austria.

Another event occurred at this time, the blame of which some historians lay upon King Richard. Conrad of Montferrat, one of the claimants to the title of King of Jerusalem, was murdered by two emissaries, sent by the “Old Man of the Mountain,” who was a famous chieftain, living with his band of bold robbers among the mountains. The men under this chieftain were trained to obey without any dissent the commands given by their leader. A story was spread abroad that these men were hired by King Richard to kill Conrad. The friends of Richard declared, however, that it was caused by a quarrel between Conrad and the Old Man of the Mountain.

Two incidents are related of Saladin’s generosity towards Richard, his foe. At one time King Richard was very sick with fever, and Saladin supplied him with cooling drinks and fresh fruits, thus kindly ministering to the comfort of his sick enemy. At another time, during a battle with the Saracens, Saladin beheld King Richard standing on a little knoll, surrounded by his knights. “Why is he on foot?” asked Saladin, for Richard’s famous charter had been killed that day in the battle. “The king of England should not fight on foot, like a common soldier,” exclaimed Saladin, and forthwith he sent Richard a splendid horse as a present. When the steed was brought to the king, one of his knights mounted him to try his speed. Whereupon, the intelligent animal immediately turned and ran with his rider to the camp of the Saracens. Saladin was so chagrined at this unlooked-for occurrence, and fearing lest Richard should imagine his kindly present had only been sent as a treacherous stratagem, immediately placed the Christian knight upon a more gentle horse, and sent with him a still handsomer charger, as a present to the English king, which Richard gladly received.

Disquieting news now reached King Richard from England. His brother John, aided by Philip of France, had deposed the chancellor, and caused himself to be made governor-general of the kingdom. Under these circumstances, and the hopelessness of capturing Jerusalem, King Richard concluded a truce with Saladin, giving up Ascalon to him, but keeping Jaffa, Tyre, and the fortresses along the coast, and promising to refrain from any hostilities during a period of three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours. “Then I will come back,” said Richard, “with double the men that I now possess, and will reconquer Jerusalem.” Saladin answered: “that if the Holy City was to fall into the hands of the Christians, no one was more worthy of conquering it than Malek-Rik.”

On the 9th of October, 1192, Richard Cœur de Lion left Palestine to return to his own kingdom. The queens embarked first in their vessel, followed soon after by Richard in his war-ship. As the shore of the Holy Land was receding from view, Richard gazed upon it from the deck of his galley; and stretching out his arms towards it, exclaimed, —

“Most holy land, farewell! I commend thee to God’s keeping and care. May He give me life and health to return and rescue thee from the hands of the infidels.”

A storm soon arose, and the vessels of King Richard’s fleet were separated. The queens arrived safely in Sicily, but King Richard was driven to the Island of Corfu. Here he hired three small vessels to take him to the head of the Adriatic Sea, and then he endeavored to cross through Germany by land. He assumed the garb of a merchant, lest his many enemies should discover him. Thus he travelled through the mountains of the Tyrol. But having sent a ring with a messenger to the governor of Goritz, seeking a passport, the governor exclaimed, “This ring belongs to no merchant, but only to the king of England.”

Thus was King Richard discovered; and he was seized by his old enemy, Duke Leopold of Austria, and put into prison. Which event, coming to the knowledge of the emperor of Germany, he himself claimed the illustrious captive, saying, “A duke cannot possibly keep a king.”

So King Richard was shut up in the castle of Trifels by the emperor, where he languished for two years. Meanwhile neither his wife nor mother could obtain any trace of him; and even after his brother John learned that Richard was imprisoned by the emperor of Germany, he joined King Philip of France in making propositions to the German emperor, promising to pay him large sums of money if he would keep the king of England in prison. The place of King Richard’s imprisonment was said to have been discovered by a celebrated troubadour named Blondel, who had known Richard in Palestine, and was now travelling through Germany. As he went along in front of the castle where Richard was confined, he was singing one of the troubadour songs. When he had finished one stanza, King Richard, who knew the song, sang the next verse through the bars of his prison window. Blondel recognized the voice, and perceiving that Richard was a prisoner, he made all speed to go to England and inform King Richard’s friends of his sad situation. It is said that the first news Berengaria received of Richard’s fate was by seeing a jewelled belt offered for sale in Rome. This belt she recognized as one which King Richard wore when he left Acre. But upon inquiry, she could only learn that Richard was somewhere in Germany. The news that King Richard Cœur de Lion was a prisoner in Germany roused great excitement in England and in Rome. The Pope excommunicated Duke Leopold for having seized Richard, and threatened to excommunicate the emperor if he did not release him. Finally the emperor agreed to set the king of England free upon the payment of a certain sum of money, two-thirds of which were to be received before the king should be released. At length, in February, 1194, about two years after Richard was first imprisoned, the first payment was made, and King Richard Cœur de Lion was allowed to go free; and he arrived in England in March, when the people gave him a magnificent reception. As soon as Richard had arranged his affairs, he determined to be crowned a second time as king of England, lest the two years of his captivity might have weakened his claims. He was accordingly recrowned with the greatest pomp and splendor. At the request of his mother he pardoned his brother John, saying, “I hope that I shall as easily forget the injuries he has done me as he will forget my forbearance in pardoning him.” But Richard treated Berengaria with great unkindness and open neglect, until he was suddenly seized with a severe illness, which so alarmed him that he called for a great number of monks and priests, and began to confess his sins, vowing, if God would spare his life, he would abandon his profligate and wicked habits, and treat his wife with kindness. He recovered, and he so far kept his vows as to send for his wife, and become, outwardly at least, reconciled to her. But the fault was all on his side; for poor Berengaria had given him no cause for his cruel treatment of her. The reign of Richard Cœur de Lion was soon to end, however, and the cause was one which shed neither glory nor honor upon his fame. A rich treasure had been found by one of his vassals, the viscount of Limoges. Richard at once claimed it, and the viscount sent him half. But Richard determined to secure the whole of it, and accordingly went to the castle of Chaluz, where the treasure was, and laid siege to the place. It was well defended, but provisions becoming short, the garrison wished to capitulate. “No,” said Richard, “I will take your place by storm, and cause you all to be hanged on the walls.”

While King Richard was examining the point of attack, a young archer, named Bertrand de Gourdon, shot an arrow at the king, and wounded him upon the shoulder. The town was taken and all the garrison were hung. King Richard’s wound, through the unskilful handling of the surgeons, proved to be fatal. As he was dying he sent for Gourdon. “Wretch!” said Richard to the archer, “what had I done to you that you should have attempted my life?”

“You have put my father and two brothers to death,” said Bertrand, “and you wanted to hang me.”

The dying king, at last struck with remorse for his many cruel deeds, said, “I forgive you,” and he ordered the chains of the archer to be removed, and that he should receive one hundred shillings. This humane command, however, was not obeyed, and Bertrand was flayed alive. Richard Cœur de Lion died on the 6th of April, 1199, at the age of forty-two, and was buried, according to his request, at the foot of the grave of Henry II., his father, in Fontevraud Abbey. The figures in stone of the father, mother, and son, who quarrelled so much while living, all lie now on one monument. Richard Cœur de Lion was well called the Lion-Hearted. His glory consisted in his reckless and brutal ferocity. He pretended to be the champion and defender of the cause of Christ, but he used the sacred name of Christianity only as a means of gratifying his own wild ambitions and his inhuman thirst for blood. Though he won the fame of a brave and valorous knight, his savage barbarity and reckless cruelties tarnished all the brightness of his glory, and brought disgrace and dishonor upon the sacred cause of true religion, of which he pretended to be the most zealous upholder.