and so gallant a sight the people of Messina never before saw, or will ever again see."

Of the appointments of the chivalrous Richard and his company little need be said: his inferior vassals probably bore those arms, and wore that armour, which had been determined at the assize of arms of the late king. The superior rank, at this period, still wore the scale or linked mail, with the hood, or a plain iron skull cap, sometimes with the aventaile, and sometimes without; and, as neither the helmet with its graceful plumes, nor the surcoat with its rich blazonry, nor the bases of velvet or costly silk, were yet adopted; the knights and esquires of Richard's company must have appeared most plain and unadorned, in comparison of those of the eras of Cressy or Agincourt. Still the chivalric equipment was not altogether deficient in splendour;—the silken pennon streamed from the lance; the crest, gilded or painted, sometimes surmounted the plain chapelle de fer; and the shield, larger and broader than heretofore, displayed the proud bearings of each illustrious family. In both the seals of Richard, which exhibit him in battle array, he is represented in linked or twisted mail; in the one with a conical cap, and that square piece of iron termed a nasal; in the other with a square cap, surmounted by his family badge, the broom. In both instances he holds a huge sword :-this, in Dr. Meyrick's spirited drawing, (which is a copy from the latter seal) has been appropriately exchanged for that weapon so celebrated in his romance, the tremend ous battle-axe; while in his left hand he holds the

shield bearing the two lions of Normandy and the superadded one of Aquitaine, his face being protected by a visor formed of three rather thick bars. It may be as well to remark here, that the royal motto, "Dieu et mon droit," was first assumed by Richard.

The valiant deeds of this chivalrous monarch, at Sicily and at Cyprus; his differences with his less gallant, but more crafty coadjutor; his reckless valour on the plains of Ascalon, and beneath the walls of Acre, which made his very name for centuries a word of fear to the Paynim child and the Arab war-horse, belong not to our subject; nor need they, since they have been so well detailed by Turner and by Mills. We shall therefore turn to trace the proceedings of Elinor.

The attachment which Richard, in his early years, certainly felt for his betrothed Alice, had long since given place to aversion. Still, even up to the time of his father's death, the contract remains disannulled; for while Henry was unwilling to send back the princess, whom he wished rather for a wife than for a daughter-in-law, Richard was even more unwilling to irritate so powerful a rival, and one who might prove so dangerous a neighbour as her brother. At the period of Plantagenet's death, nothing more was done relating to this long deferred marriage; and it then seems to have been understood that it would not take place. Upon Elinor the affectionate son devolved the office of seeking another bride; and upon this embassy did the aged queen mother now set out, having first, according to the French

writers, done homage to Philip for her possessions in Guienne, which were yielded up to her by Cour de Lion on his accession to the crown.

The eye of the politic Elinor was directed to the court of Sancho, fourth king of Navarre, whither she proceeded; and her choice soon fixed upon his fair daughter Berengaria. Of this princess, although bride of the most celebrated monarch of the day, fewer details are known than perhaps of any other royal women. The time of her birth, the day of her death, the place of her residence, from the period of Richard's return from the Holy Land, are unknown. As she never was crowned queen of England, nor ever set her foot in the land, until long after her husband's death,* and then most probably only to obtain the payment of her dower, she can scarcely take her place among the queens of England, and therefore she is passed over.

With this princess, whom contemporary writers record as having been both beautiful and accom

* In the Patent Rolls, third year of John, is a precept addressed to the barons of the exchequer, directing 1001 marks to be paid annually to her as dower. In these Rolls, as well as in the Fœdera, there is a letter of safe-conduct for her, dated March, 1206; when she probably first visited England, most probably to demand payment of that dower. There are several subsequent entries in the Patent Rolls respecting it, as though the regular payments were often delayed; and at length, in 1215, we find a second letter of safe-conduct granted to her. Of this, she seems not to have availed herself ; and, in the following year, we find John notifying to the Pope that he had granted her the city of Mans. Another letter of safe-conduct occurs soon after; and on the last page of the rolls a dolorous letter will be found, entreating her "to wait for the payment of the money, since, by the craft of the enemy of mankind, and agency of our barous, much disturbance has been wrought." As Mans was secured to her, she probably resided there,—there however she seems to have been buried, and her effigy may be seen in Stothard's Monumental Effigies. These slight notices are all, that with the most diligent inquiry the writer can obtain.

plished, Elinor arrived at Messina, the very day after the king of France had set out, having first released Cœur de Lion from his contract with the princess Alice. There Elinor had the gratification of seeing her youngest daughter, the queen dowager of Sicily, from whom she had been separated nearly twenty years; and there, according to some writers, although others mention Cyprus as the place, Richard celebrated his marriage with Berengaria. Four days after, Elinor took leave of her son, and daughter, and daughter-in-law, and proceeded towards Rome; having been requested by Richard to seek an interview with the Pope, to solicit that he would "confirm Geoffrey's election to the see of York, and either to consecrate him himself, or permit him to be so by another.' This Geoffrey was the son of Plantagenet's earlier mistress, and consequently illegitimate half brother to the king. While very young, he was made archdeacon of Lincoln; and afterwards resigning this office, he received the chancellorship, which he retained until his father's death. Henry having on his death-bed expressed a wish that this son should be promoted either to the see of York or Winchester, it forms a pleasing trait in the character of Richard, that he should thus interest himself so warmly in behalf of a brother, to whom his father had ever behaved with an attention and affection which he disdained to shew to his legitimate offspring: nor can the sternest impugner of the conduct and character of the queen dowager deny, that her undertaking, at so advanced an age, an additional journey for the purpose of benefiting

the son of a former rival, proves a degree of kindly feeling, and of Christian forgiveness, not very frequently to be found. The mission of Elinor was successful, and Geoffrey was consecrated at Tours the following year. But with what a crowd of overwhelming feelings must the aged queen have gazed on the towers of that city, where, fifty years before, as the young and beautiful queen of France-the nursling of prosperity, she had sojourned.

From Rome she soon after departed to England, where she seems to have remained during the time. that Richard was absent in the Holy Land; although she does not appear to have exercised any political authority, the chief justiciaryship having been conferred on Longchamp, bishop of Ely, by the king, before his departure. In the subsequent proceedings against this hated minister, we find no account of the side which Elinor supported, although, from her attachment to her son, she most probably took part with his favourite minister.

A proud year to the exulting mother was that which succeeded; for the fame of Cœur de Lion resounded throughout Europe, and his native land fondly deemed the fabled exploits of Arthur himself, cast into the shade by the deeds of their lion-hearted monarch. But little did Elinor foresee the anxieties and sorrows which she should undergo, ere she would again welcome her illustrious son; for even after the hapless Richard had been consigned to his stern dungeon in the Tyrol, England was still unconscious of his captivity, eagerly anticipating the arrival of her king.