rejoicing at the return of their own King, and even before his arrival had adjudged John guilty of treason, and sentenced him to lose his manors. March 20th, Richard landed at Sandwich, and two days after entered London among the acclamations of his subjects, who displayed all their wealth to do him honour, and caused the Germans who accompanied him to say, that if their emperor had guessed at half the riches of England, his ransom would have been doubled. John was soon brought to sue for the pardon, so generously given, and all ranks vied with each other in raising the ransom. William the Lion of Scotland presented the king with 2,000 marks, and the first instalment was sent to Germany; but before it arrived, Henry VI. was dead, and the Germans were so much ashamed of the transaction that they returned the money. Thus ended the expedition in which Richard had gained all the glory that valour and generosity could attain, conquered a kingdom and given it away, fought battles with desperate courage and excellent skill, and shown much fortitude and perseverance, but had marred all by his unbridled temper. CAMEO XXIV. Richard's I 194. САМЕО XXV. Birth of Arthur. 187. 1198. Innocent III. THE son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Constance, Duchess of Brittany, was born at Nantes, on Easter-day, 1187, six months after the death of his father. He was the first grandson of Henry II., for the graceless young King Henry had died childless. Richard was still unmarried, and the elder child of Geoffrey was a daughter named Eleanor, his birth was therefore the subject of universal joy. There was a prophecy of Merlin, that King Arthur should reappear from the realm of the fairy Morgana, who had borne him away in his death-like trance after the battle of Camelford, and returning in the form of a child, should conquer England from the Saxon race, and restore the splendours of the British Pendragons. The Bretons, resolved to see in their infant duke this champion of their glories, overlooked the hated Angevin and Norman blood that flowed in his veins, and insisted on his receiving their beloved name of Arthur. Thanksgivings were poured forth in all the churches in Brittany, and the altars and shrines at the sacred fountains were adorned with wreaths of flowers. At the same time a Welsh bard directed King Henry to cause search to be made at Glastonbury, the true Avallon, for the ancient hero's corpse, which, as old traditions declared, had been buried between two pyramids within the abbey. There, in fact, at some distance beneath the surface, was found a leaden cross inscribed with the words, "Hic jacet sepultus inclytus Rex Arthurus in insula Avallonia." (Here lies buried the unconquered King Arthur in the isle of Avallon.) A little deeper was a coffin, hollowed out of an oak tree, and within lay the bones of the renowned Arthur and his fair Queen Guenever. His form was of gigantic size; there were the marks of ten wounds upon his skull, and by his side was a sword, the mighty Caliburn, or Excalibar, so often celebrated in romances. Guenever's hair was still perfect, to all ap- They were, however, in no condition to oppose the grasping monarch; Henry entered Brittany, assembled the States at Nantes, and claimed the guardianship of his grandson's person and domains. They were at first intimidated by his threats, but Constance showed so much spirit that she obtained the keeping of her son, and the immediate government, though she was not to act without the advice and consent of the King of England, who received the oaths of the barons present. The widowed heiress suffered much persecution from the different suitors for her hand, among whom figured her brother-in-law, John Lackland; and Henry, fearing her marriage with some powerful prince, so tormented her by threats of removing her son from her charge, that he forced her into a marriage with Ranulf de Blondeville, Count of Chester, grandson to an illegitimate son of Henry I. a man of violent and ambitious temper, and of mean and ungraceful appearance. 66 In a dispute which took place between him and the Count de Perche, in Lincoln Cathedral, the latter contemptuously called him a dwarf. Sayest thou so?" cried Ranulf, ere long I shall seem to thee as high as that steeple !" and his words were fulfilled when, as Duke of Brittany, he claimed the allegiance of the count. He made himself extremely hated in Brittany by his cruelty and injustice; and no sooner had the news arrived of the death of Henry II. than the people rose with one consent, drove him away, and restored the power to Constance. Richard I. did not interfere in his behalf, and appeared favourable to his nephew Arthur, acknowledging him as heir presumptive of England, and, when at Messina, betrothing him to the daughter of Tancred, King of Sicily. It was probably in honour of this intended alliance that Richard presented Tancred with the sword Excalibar, which certainly should never have passed out of the possession of the British. Constance remained at peace for the present, though Richard's absence left the other territories over which he asserted his power exposed to much disturbance. He had left the government of England in the hands of Hugh, Bishop of Durham (the young earl), and William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely,—a native of Beauvais, who had risen to high favour in the employ first of Geoffrey, the son of Rosamond, Archbishop of York, and was now chancellor, and afterwards of Richard. He was an arrogant man, and broke through all restraint, imprisoned his colleague, deprived him of his offices, and forced him to resign his earldom; then, when Richard despatched orders that he should be reinstated, declared that he knew what were the king's private intentions, and should obey no public instructions. He sealed public acts with his own seal instead of the king's, kept a guard of fifteen hundred rapacious and CAMEO disorderly mercenaries, plundered men of every rank, so that it was said, "the knight could not keep his silver belt, the noble his ring, the Chancellor lady her necklace, nor the Jew his merchandize." He travelled in great Longchamp. state, with a train of minstrels and jesters, who drowned the outcries of the injured people by songs in his praise. Again Richard sent orders to restrain him, but in vain; he only declared them a forgery, and pursued his careless course. Return of Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, had sworn not to enter the kingdom for three years, but he now returned; whereupon the chancellor seized him while at mass, and kept him prisoner. John had no love for his half-brother: but this was a good opportunity of overthrowing the chancellor after such an outrage on the person of an archbishop; and at the head of the barons and bishops he forced Longchamp to resign the chancellorship, and promise to give up the keys of the king's castles. To avoid yielding the castles, he attempted to escape from England in disguise, and arrived at the sea-shore of Kent in the dress of an old woman-a gown with large sleeves, a thick veil, and a bundle of linen and ell-wand in his hand. The tide did not serve, and he was forced to seat himself on a stone to wait for his vessel. Here the fisherwomen came up and began to examine his wares, and ask their price; but the English chancellor and bishop understood no English, and only shook his head. Thinking him a crazy woman, they peeped under his veil, and "spying a great beard under his muffler," raised a shout, which brought their husbands to the spot, who, while he vainly tried to explain himself, dragged him in derision through the mud, and shut him up in a cellar. He was, however, released, gave up the keys, and left England. Geoffrey became chancellor in his stead, and took possession of the see of York. The next disturbance was caused by the return of Philippe of France, begging Pope Celestine III. to absolve him of his oath to respect Richard's dominions. Celestine refused, and no one was found to second his plans but Richard's own brother John, whom he brought over by promises of securing to him the succession and bestowing on him the continental fiefs. The English, and with them William the Lion of Scotland and his brother David, maintained the rights of the young Arthur, and matters continued in suspense till Richard's release from his captivity. Easily subduing, and more easily pardoning his traitor brother, Richard carried his arms into France, gained a victory at Vendome, and took the great seal of France; then entered Guienne, where the turbulent nobility had revolted, and reducing them, enjoyed a short space of tranquillity and minstrelsy, and kept on a poetical correspondence with Count Guy of Auvergne. Arthur, who was now nine years old, was in 1196 introduced by his mother to the assembly of the States of Brittany, and associated with her in the duchy. His uncle at the same time claimed the charge of him as his heir, and invited Constance to a conference at Pontorson. On her way, it is much to be feared with his connivance, she was seized by a body of troops under her husband, the Earl of Chester, and carried a prisoner to the castle of St. James de Beuvron. Her nobles met at St. Malo, and deputed the seneschal of Rennes to inquire of her how they should act, and to assure her of their fidelity. She thanked them earnestly, but her whole entreaty was that they would guard her son, watch him like friends, servants, and parents, and save him from the English. "As for me," wrote she, "that will be as God wills; but whatever may befall me, do your best for Arthur my son. I shall always be well, provided he is well and in the care of good subjects." The vassals wept at this letter, full of maternal love; they swore to devote themselves to their young lord, even to the death, and obtained from him a promise never to treat with the English without their consent. They placed him under the charge of the Sieur de Vitré, who conducted him from castle to castle with so much secrecy, that Richard continually failed in his attempts to seize on him. Treaties were attempted, but failed, with mutual accusations of perfidy, and while Constance continued a prisoner a most desolating war raged in the unfortunate duchy. The dislike and distrust that existed between Constance and her mother-in-law, Queen Eleanor, seem to have been the root of many of these troubles; Eleanor was all-powerful with her son, and contrived to inspire him with distrust of Constance, a suspicion naturally augmented by her refusal to allow him the care of her son, his own heir, whom she placed in the hands of the foe of the English. Richard's troops were chiefly Brabançon mercenaries, or free-companions, a lawless soldiery, deservedly execrated; and their captain, Mercadet, was a favourite of the king on account of his dauntless courage and enterprise. In a skirmish Mercadet took prisoner the Bishop of Beauvais, one of the warlike prelates who forgot their proper office. The pope demanded his liberation, and Richard returned the suit of armour in which the bishop had been taken, with the message, "See if this be thy son's coat or no.' "No, indeed," said Celestine ; "this is the coat of a son of Mars; I will leave it to Mars to deliver him." Vitré succeeded in lodging young Arthur, his charge, in the hands of the King of France, who espoused his cause as an excuse for attacking Richard. Several battles took place, and at length another treaty of peace was made, by which Constance was liberated, after eighteen months' captivity. Doubtless this would soon have proved as hollow as every other agreement between the French King and the Plantagenet ; but it was Coeur de Lion's last. The Vicomte de Limoges in Poitou sent him two mule burdens of silver, part of a treasure found in his hands. Richard rapaciously claimed the whole. "No," said the Vicomte, "only treasure in gold belongs to the suzerain, treasure in silver is halved.” CAMEO Enmity of the Bretons to Richard. The Coat of the Bishop of Beauvais. Richard, in anger, marched to Poitou with his Brabançons, and Siege of besieged the castle of Chaluz, where he believed the rest of the riches Chaluz. |