the king of England should be liberated, and that their chattels should be restored to them; on which the bailiffs of the king of England did the same as to the subjects of the king of France and their chattels.

In the same year, Constance, the countess of Brittany, daughter of earl Conan, whom Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, her husband, had left pregnant at the time of his decease, was delivered of her eldest son on the holy night of Easter, and his name was called Arthur. In the same year, Baldwin, the boy-king of Jerusalem, son of William le Marchis, departed this life, and was succeeded in the kingdom by his mother Sibylla, by hereditary right; but before she was crowned, a divorce was effected between her and Guido de Lusignan, her husband, by the Patriarch Heraclius and the Templars and Hospitallers, who wished her to marry Walran, earl of Tripolis, or some nobleman of the principal people of the land of Jerusalem; she, however, by a wonderful piece of cunning, deceived them, saying: "If a divorce takes place between me and my husband, I wish you to make me sure, by your promises and oaths, that whomsoever I shall make choice of you will choose for your head and lord."

Accordingly, after they had so done, they led her into the Temple, and the before-named Patriarch crowned her; shortly after which, when all were offering up their prayers that God the Lord Almighty would provide a fitting king for that land, the before-named queen took the royal crown in her hands, and placed it on the head of Guido de Lusignan her husband, saying, "I make choice of thee as king, and as my lord, and as lord of the land of Jerusalem, for those whom God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

At these words all stood in amazement, but on account of the oath which they had made, no one dared oppose her, and the Patriarch, approaching, anointed him king; and then, Divine service having been celebrated, the Templars escorted the king and queen to their abode, and provided for them a sumptuous entertainment. The earl of Tripolis, however, vexed and sorrowful that the queen had rejected him, went to Saladin, king of Babylon, and, entering into an alliance with him, devised many evils for the destruction of the king and queen. Saladin, however, requested that the truce before-mentioned, which he had made until the ensuing Easter, should be pro

longed for the three years next ensuing; to which proposition king Guido, by the advice of the Templars, assented, although it was evident to him that there would shortly come a vast number of pilgrims, both from England and other kingdoms, in consequence of the preaching of the Patriarch. Accordingly, after Easter, there came to Jerusalem an immense multitude of men-at-arms and other pilgrims; but as the truce had been prolonged, very few of them chose to remain. However, Roger de Mowbray and Hugh de Beauchamp remained there in the service of God.

In the year of grace 1187, being the thirty-third year of the reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, that king was at Guilford, in England, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord. In the same year, after the Nativity of our Lord, pope Urban sent to England Octavianus, a cardinal-subdeacon of the Holy Church of Rome, and with him Hugh de Nunant, to whom he gave the legateship to Ireland, for the purpose of there crowning John, the king's son; but our lord the king put off that coronation, and took the before-named legates with him to Normandy, to a conference to be held between himself and Philip, king of France. Accordingly, the king of England crossed over and landed at Witsand, in Flanders, and with him the legates before-named, and shortly after, a conference was held between him and the king of France at Vè Saint Remy, but they could come to no agreement, in consequence of the exorbitant demands made by the king of France, and parted without any hopes of peace and reconciliation.

In the same year, after Pentecost, Philip, king of France, levying a large army, besieged Richard and John, the sons of the king of England, in Chateau Raoul; hearing of which, the king of England came thither with a great army to succour his sons so besieged. On this, the king of France met him with his army, and drew up his troops in battle array; but, by the mercy of God and the injunction of Urban the Supreme Pontiff, and by the advice of the archbishops, bishops, and other influential men of both kingdoms, they agreed to a truce for two years, and that the king of France should hold Yssoudon and Urse de Fretteval till the end of the truce; and upon these terms they desisted from hostilities and returned home.

After peace was thus made, Richard, earl of Poitou, remained with the king of France, though much against the will of

his father, and the king of France held him in such high esteem, that every day they ate at the same table and from the same dish, and at night had not separate chambers. In consequence of this strong attachment which seemed to have arisen between them, the king of England was struck with great astonishment, and wondered what it could mean, and, taking precautions for the future, frequently sent messengers into France for the purpose of recalling his son Richard; who, pretending that he was peaceably inclined and ready to come to his father, made his way to Chinon, and, in spite of the person who had the custody thereof, carried off the greater part of his father's treasures, and fortified his castles in Poitou with the same, refusing to go to his father.

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This is supposed to have taken place through the Providence of God, in order that his father might not be deceived by the pretended affection of his son, nor be in too great haste tc ́ promote him to the helm of state, in the same way that he had promoted the other one, who, as already mentioned, had caused him endless troubles by his unrighteous and vexatious conduct. At length, however, through the mercy of God, it came to pass that Richard, earl of Poitou, neglecting the counsels of the wicked, returned to his father, and once more did homage to him in presence of a great number of people, both clergy and laity, and swore fealty to him upon the Holy Evangelists against all men, and promised that he would not forsake his counsels. These matters being concluded, the king of England set out for Brittany, and took the castle of Montrelais by siege, of which Hervey de Lyons and his brother Guimar had taken possession after the death of Geoffrey, earl of Brittany.

In the same year, Donald, the son of William, son of Dunecan, an enemy of William, king of Scotland, and whom the Scotch called MacWilliam, was slain in Moray. In the same year, Isabella, the queen of France, and daughter of the earl of Hainault, was delivered of her first-born son on the third day before the nones of September, being the fifth day of the week, who was named Louis. In the same year, Saladin, king of Babylon, with an immense multitude of his Turks, on pretext of the disunion which existed between the king and the earl of Tripolis, entered the land of Jerusalem; on which the brethren of the Temple and of the Hospital went 62 His eldest son, Henry.

forth against him with a great multitude of people, and on an engagement taking place between them, the army of the Pagans prevailed against the Christians, on which the latter betook themselves to flight, and many of them were slain and many taken prisoners. On the same day also, being the calends of May, sixty brethren of the Temple, and the Grand Master of the Hospital, together with sixty brethren of his house, were slain.

Saladin, on gaining this great victory, attacked and took a considerable number of the castles, cities, and fortresses of the Christians; after which, returning to his own country, he levied a great army, and, by the advice, it is said, of the earl of Tripolis, who was an enemy to the king, entered the territory of Jerusalem, on the Friday after the feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, with eight hundred thousand men or more; on which he took Tiberias, with the exception of the keep of the castle, to which place the lady of the castle had retreated, together with a few knights. On king Guido being informed of this, by the advice of the earl of Tripolis, who had lately, with fraudulent intent, entered into a treaty of peace, the king proceeded one day's march towards Tiberias, when the earl of Tripolis, who was the leader and guide in the march, halted the whole army on an elevated and craggy spot. Being there threatened with an attack of the enemy on every side, the king, urged by necessity, and compelled by the advice of his barons, thought proper to engage, and, at their entreaty, gave the honor of striking the first blow to the Master and knights of the Temple.

Upon this, the brotherhood of the Temple, rushing upon the foe with the bravery of lions, put some to the sword, and forced others to take to flight. The rest, however, neglecting the king's commands, did not join the battle, or give them any succour whatever; in consequence of which, the knights of the Temple were hemmed in and slaughtered. After this, the troops of Saladin surrounded the army of the Christians, worn out with the fatigues of the march, exhausted by the intense heat of the climate, and utterly destitute of water, and, in a great measure, of food as well. At this conjunction, six of the king's knights, namely, Baldwin de Fortune, Raymond Buck, and Laodicius de Tiberias, with three companions, being seized with a diabolical spirit, fied to Saladin, and spontaneously became Saracens, informing him of every particular as to the

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present state, intentions, and resources of the Christians. this, Saladin, who before was in anxious doubt as to the result of the warfare, took courage, and with trumpets sounding, made an attack with an infinite multitude of warriors on the Christians, who, in consequence of the rocky and inaccessible nature of the spot, were unable to fight; and so, assailing them with every possible method of attack, he utterly routed the Christians. At last, Thekedin, the nephew of Saladin, took Guido, king of Jerusalem, while flying, and the wood of the Cross of our Lord, after slaying Rufinus, bishop of Acre, who was carrying it. And this was done through the righteous judgment of God; for, contrary to the usage of his predecessors, having greater faith in worldly arms than in heavenly ones, he went forth to battle equipped in a coat of mail, and shortly after he perished, being pierced by an arrow. Nearly all the others, being utterly routed, were taken prisoners and either slain or loaded with chains, the Persians, oh, great disgrace! remaining masters of the camp.

The earl of Tripolis alone, who was the designer of this treachery, escaped with his men unhurt. Immediately after the battle, Saladin ordered the knights of the Temple and of the Hospital to be separated from the rest, and to be decapitated in his presence, he himself with his own hand slaying Raymond de Castiglione, their chief. After this he took the city of Acre and the places adjacent, with nearly all the fortified spots in those parts.

In the meantime, Conrad le Marchis, brother of the abovementioned William, earl of Joppa, having been guilty of murder in the city of Constantinople, took to flight, deserting his wife, the niece of Isaac, emperor of Constantinople; and on the very same day on which Saladin gained this victory over the Christians, Conrad came to Tyre and found it deserted, for nearly all the citizens of the place were slain in the beforementioned battle. On Saladin coming thither, expecting to have free ingress, Conrad offered a stout resistance, and refused him permission to enter; on which, Saladin, seeing that he could effect nothing by staying there, took his departure, and captured the city of Beyrout, and both the cities which are called Gibelet, with Sidon, and the city of Cæsarea, as also Joppa, Saint George, Saint Abraham, Bethlehem, the New Castle of Caiaphas, Saphet, Jaunay, Mount Tabor, Faba, and Caffarmundel, the Cave of the Temple, Calenzun, Marle of the