Richard I

When he arrived, after the first greetings were over, he was informed by Stephen that three of the vessels of his fleet had been wrecked on the coast; that Isaac, the king, had seized them as his lawful prize; and that, at that very time, men that he had sent for this purpose were plundering the wrecks. Stephen also said that he had at first gone into the harbor with his galley, but that the indications of an unfriendly feeling on the part of the king were so decided that he did not dare to stay, and he had been compelled to come out into the offing.

Richard's contest with King Isaac Comnenus

On hearing these things Richard was greatly enraged. He sent a messenger on shore to the king to demand peremptorily that he should at once leave off plundering the wrecks of the English ships, and that he should deliver up to Richard again all the goods that had already been taken. To this demand Isaac replied that whatever goods the sea cast upon the shores of his island were his property, according to the law of the land, and that he should take them without asking leave of any body.

When Richard heard this answer, he was rather pleased than displeased with it, for it gave him, what he always wanted wherever he went, a pretext for quarreling. He said that the goods which Isaac obtained in that way he would find would cost him pretty dear, and he immediately prepared for war.

The history of the law of wrecks

In this transaction there is no question that the King of Cyprus, though wholly wrong, and guilty of a real and inexcusable violation of the rights of property, had yet the law on his side. It was one of those cases, of which innumerable examples have existed in all ages of the world, where an act which is virtually the robbing of one man by another is authorized by law, and is protected by legal sanctions. This rule – confiscating property wrecked – was the general law of Europe at this time, and Richard, of all men, might have considered himself estopped from objecting to it by the fact that it was the law in England as well as every where else. By the ancient common law of England, all wrecks of every kind became the property of the king. The severity of the rule had been slightly mitigated a few reigns before Richard's day by a statute which declared that if any living thing escaped from the wreck, even were it so much as a dog or a cat, that circumstance saved the property from confiscation, and preserved the claim of the owner to it. With this modification, the law stood in England until a very late period, that all goods thrown from wrecks upon the shores became the property of the crown, and it was not until comparatively quite a recent period that an English judge decided that such a principle, being contrary to justice and common sense, was not law; and now wrecked property is restored to whomsoever can prove himself to be the owner, on his paying for the expense and trouble of saving it.

Richard having landed, Isaac asks a truce

On receiving the demand which Richard sent him, the King of Cyprus, anticipating difficulty, drew up his galleys in order of battle across the harbor, and marched troops down to commanding positions on the shore, wherever he thought there might be any danger that Richard would attempt to land. Richard very soon brought up his forces and advanced to attack him. Isaac's troops retreated as Richard advanced. Finally they were driven back without much actual contest into the town, and Richard then brought his squadron up into harbor and landed. Isaac, seeing how much stronger Richard was than he, did not attempt any serious resistance, but retired to the citadel. From the citadel he sent out a flag of truce demanding a parley.

Negotiating

Richard granted the request, and an interview took place, but it led to no result. Richard found that Isaac was not yet absolutely subdued. He still asserted his rights, and complained of the gross wrong which Richard was perpetrating in invading his dominions, and seeking a quarrel with him without cause; but the effect was like that of the lamb attempting to resist or recriminate the wolf, which, far from bringing the aggressor to reason, only awakens more strongly his ferocity and rage. Richard turned toward his attendants, and, uttering a profane exclamation, said that Isaac talked like a fool of a Briton.

Richard was a Norman, not an Englishman

It is mentioned as a remarkable circumstance by the historians that Richard spoke these words in English, and it is said that this was the only time in the course of his life that he ever used that language. It may seem very strange to the reader that an English king should not ordinarily use the English language. But, strictly speaking, Richard was not an English king. He was a Norman king. The whole dynasty to which he belonged were Norman French in all their relations. Normandy they regarded as the chief seat of their empire. There were their principal cities – there their most splendid palaces. There they lived and reigned, with occasional excursions for comparatively brief periods across the Channel. They considered England much as the present English sovereigns do Ireland, namely, as a conquered country, which had become a possession and a dependency upon the crown, but not in any sense the seat of empire, and they utterly despised the native inhabitants. In view of these facts, the wonder that Richard, the King of England, never spoke the English tongue at once disappears.

Preparing for war

The conference broke up, and both sides prepared for war. Isaac, finding that he was not strong enough to resist such a horde of invaders as Richard brought with him, withdrew from his capital and retired to a fortress among the mountains. Richard then easily took possession of the town. A moderate force had been left to protect it; but Richard, promising his troops plenty of booty when they should get into it, led the way, waving his battle-axe in the air.

King Richard's battle-axe

This battle-axe was a very famous weapon. It was one which Richard had caused to be made for himself before leaving England, and it was the wonder of the army on account of its size and weight. The object of a battle-axe was to break through the steel armor with which the knights and warriors of those days were accustomed to cover themselves, and which was proof against all ordinary blows. Now Richard was a man of prodigious personal strength, and, when fitting out his expedition in England, he caused an unusually large and heavy battle-axe to be made for himself, by way of showing his men what he could do in swinging a heavy weapon. The head of this axe, or hammer, as perhaps it might more properly have been called, weighed twenty pounds, and most marvelous stories were told of the prodigious force of the blow that Richard could strike with it. When it came down on the head of a steel-clad knight on his horse, it broke through every thing, they said, and crushed man and horse both to the ground.

The conquest of Limesol

The assault on Limesol was successful. The people made but a feeble resistance. Indeed, they had no weapons which could possibly enable them to stand a moment against the Crusaders. They were half naked, and their arms were little better than clubs and stones. They were, in consequence, very easily driven off the ground, and Richard took possession of the city.

Signaling for the queen's galley

He then immediately made a signal for Joanna's galley – which, during all this time, had remained at the mouth of the harbor – to advance. The galley accordingly came up, and Joanna and the princess were received by the whole army at the landing with loud acclamations. They were immediately conducted into the town, and there were lodged splendidly in the best of Isaac's palaces.

But the contest was not yet ended. The place to which Isaac had retreated was a city which he possessed in the interior of the island called Nicosia. From this place he sent a messenger to Richard to propose another conference, with a view of attempting once more to agree upon some terms of peace. Richard agreed to this, and a place of meeting was appointed on a plain near Limesol, the port. King Isaac, accompanied by a suitable number of attendants, repaired to this place, and the conference was opened. Richard was mounted on a favorite Spanish charger, and was splendidly dressed in silk and gold. He assumed a very lofty bearing and demeanor toward his humbled enemy, and informed him in a very summary manner on what terms alone he was willing to make peace.

The terms of peace which Richard offered to Isaac

"I will make peace with you," said Richard, "on condition that you hold your kingdom henceforth subject to me. You are to deliver up all the castles and strongholds to me, and do me homage as your acknowledged sovereign. You are also to pay me an ample indemnity in gold for the damage you did to my wrecked galleys. I shall expect you, moreover, to join me in the crusade. You must accompany me to the Holy Land with not less than five hundred foot-soldiers, four hundred horsemen, and one hundred full-armed knights. For security that you will faithfully fulfill these conditions, you must put the princess, your daughter, into my hands as a hostage. Then, in case your conduct while in my service in the Holy Land is in all respects perfectly satisfactory, I will restore your daughter, and also your castles, to you on my return."

Isaac's daughter was a very beautiful young princess. She was extremely beloved by her father, and was highly honored by the people of the land as the heir to the crown.

How Richard faithlessly took King Isaac a prisoner

These conditions were certainly very hard, but the poor king was in no condition to resist any demands that Richard might choose to make. With much distress and anguish of mind, he pretended to agree to these terms, though he secretly resolved that he could not and would not submit to them. Richard suspected his sincerity, and, in utter violation of all honorable laws and usages of war, he made him a prisoner, and set guards over him to watch him until the stipulations should be carried into effect. Isaac contrived to escape from his keepers in the night, and, putting himself at the head of such troops as he could obtain, prepared for war, with the determination to resist to the last extremity.

King Richard subjugates Cyprus

Richard now resolved to proceed at once to take the necessary measures for the complete subjugation of the island. He organized a large body of land forces, and directed them to advance into the interior of the country, and put down all resistance. At the same time, he placed himself at the head of his fleet, and, sailing round the island, he took possession of all the towns and fortresses on the shore. He also seized every ship and every boat, large and small, that he could find, and thus entirely cut off from King Isaac all chance of escaping by sea. In the mean time, the unhappy monarch, with the few troops that still adhered to him, was driven from place to place, until at last he was completely hemmed in, and was compelled to fight or surrender. They fought. The result was what might have been expected. Richard was victorious. The capital, Limesol, fell into his hands, and the king and his daughter were taken prisoners.

The princess was greatly terrified when she was brought into Richard's presence. She fell on her knees before him, and cried,

"My lord the king, have mercy upon me!"

Richard put forth his hand to lift her up, and then sent her to Berengaria.

"I give her to you," said he, "for an attendant and companion."

The miserable death of King Isaac

The king was almost broken-hearted at having his daughter taken away from him. He threw himself at Richard's feet, and begged him, with the most earnest entreaty, to restore him his child. Richard paid no heed to this request, but ordered Isaac to be taken away. Soon after this he sent him across the sea to Tripoli in Syria, and there shut him up in the dungeon of a castle, a hopeless prisoner. The unhappy captive was secured in his dungeon by chains; but, in honor of his rank, the chains, by Richard's directions, were made of silver, overlaid with gold. The poor king pined in this place of confinement for four years, and then died.

As soon as Isaac had gone, and things had become somewhat settled. Richard found himself undisputed master of Cyprus, and he resolved to annex the island to his own dominions.

"And now," said he to himself, "it will be a good time for me to be married."

Richard's wedding at last

So, after making the necessary arrangements for assembling his whole fleet again, and repairing the damages which had been sustained by the storm, he began to make preparations for the wedding. Berengaria made no objection to this. Indeed, the fright which she had suffered at sea in being separated from Richard, and the anxiety she had endured when, after the storm, she gazed in every direction all around the horizon, and could see no signs in any quarter of his ship, and when, consequently, she feared that he might be lost, made her extremely unwilling to be separated from him again.

A coronation

The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendor, and many feasts and entertainments, and public parades, and celebrations followed, to commemorate the event. Among the other grand ceremonies was a coronation – a double coronation. Richard caused himself to be crowned King of Cyprus, and Berengaria Queen of England and of Cyprus too.

The king's accoutrement

The dress in which Richard appeared on these occasions is minutely described. He wore a rose-colored satin tunic, which was fastened by a jeweled belt about his waist. Over this was a mantle of striped silver tissue, brocaded with silver half-moons. He wore an elegant and very costly sword too. The blade was of Damascus steel, the hilt was of gold, and the scabbard was of silver, richly engraved in scales. On his head he wore a scarlet bonnet, brocaded in gold with figures of animals. He bore in his hand what was called a truncheon, which was a sort of sceptre, very splendidly covered and adorned.

Favelle

He had an elegant horse – a Spanish charger – and wherever he went this horse was led before him, with the bits, and stirrups, and all the metallic mountings of the saddle and bridle in gold. The crupper was adorned with two golden lions, figured with their paws raised in the act of striking each other. Richard obtained another horse in Cyprus among the spoils that he acquired there, and which afterward became his favorite. His name was Favelle, though in some of the old annals he is called Faunelle. This horse acquired great fame by the strength and courage, and also the great sagacity, that he displayed in the various battles that he was engaged in with his master. Indeed, at last, he became quite a historical character.

Richard himself was a tall and well-formed man, and altogether a very fine-looking man, and in this costume, with his yellow curls and bright complexion, he appeared, they said, a perfect model of military and manly grace.

The appearance of Berengaria

There is a representation of Berengaria extant which is supposed to show her as she appeared at this time. Her hair is parted in the middle in front, and hangs down in long tresses behind. It is covered with a veil, open on each side, like a Spanish mantilla. The veil is fastened to her head by a royal diadem resplendent with gold and gems, and is surmounted with a fleur de lis, with so much foliage added to it as to give it the appearance of a double crown, in allusion to her being the queen both of Cyprus and of England.

The whole time occupied by these transactions in Cyprus was only about a month, and now, since every thing had been finished to his satisfaction, Richard began to think once more of prosecuting his voyage.

Chapter XI.
Voyage to Acre

1190

The different names of Acre

The great landing-point for expeditions of Crusaders to the Holy Land was Acre, or Akka, as it is often written. The town was originally known as Ptolemais, and the situation of it may be found designated on ancient maps under that name. The Turks called it Akka, which name the French call Acre. It was also, after a certain time, called St. Jean d'Acre. It received this name from a famous military order that was founded in the Holy Land in the Middle Ages, called the Knights of St. John.

Order of St. John

The origin of the order was as follows: About a hundred years before the time of Richard's crusade, a company of pious merchants from Naples, who went to Jerusalem, took pity, while they were there, on the pilgrims who came there to visit the Holy Sepulchre, and who, being poor, and very insufficiently provided for the journey, suffered a great many privations and hardships. These merchants accordingly built and endowed a monastery, and made it the duty of the monks to receive and take care of a certain number of these pilgrims.

The Hospitalers

They named the establishment the Monastery of St. John, and the monks themselves were called Hospitalers, their business being to receive and show hospitality to the pilgrims. So the monks were sometimes designated as the Hospitalers and sometimes the Brothers of St. John.

Knights of St. John

Origin of the name of St. Jean d'Acre

Other travelers, who came to Jerusalem from time to time, seeing this monastery, and observing the good which it was the means of effecting for the poor pilgrims, became interested in its welfare, and made grants and donations to it, by which, in the course of fifty years, it became much enlarged. At length, in process of time, a military order was connected with it. The pilgrims needed protection in going to and fro, as well as food, shelter, and rest at the end of their journey, and the military order was formed to furnish this protection. The knights of this order were called Knights Hospitalers, and sometimes Knights of St. John. The institution continued to grow, and finally the seat of it was transferred to Acre, which was a much more convenient place for giving succor to the pilgrims, and also for fighting the Saracens, who were the great enemies that the pilgrims had to fear. From this time the institution was called St. John of Acre, as it was before St. John of Jerusalem, and finally its power and influence became so predominant in the town that the town itself was generally designated by the name of the institution, and it has been called St. Jean d'Acre to this day.

The order

The order became at last very numerous. Great numbers of persons joined it from all the nations of Europe. They organized a regular government. They held fortresses and towns, and other territorial possessions of considerable value. They had a fleet, and an army, and a rich treasury. In a word, they became, as it were, a government and a nation.

The persons belonging to the order were divided into three classes:

1. Knights.– These were the armed men. They fought the battles, defended the pilgrims, managed the government, and performed all other similar functions.

2. Chaplains.– These were the priests and monks. They conducted worship, and attended, in general, to all the duties of devotion. They were the scholars, too, and acted as secretaries and readers, whenever such duties were required.

3. Servitors.– The duty of the servitors was, as their name imports, to take charge of the buildings and grounds belonging to the order, to wait upon the sick, and accompany pilgrims, and to perform, in general, all other duties pertaining to their station.

A description of the town of Acre

The town of Acre stood on the shore of the sea, and was very strongly fortified. The walls and ramparts were very massive – altogether too thick and high to be demolished or scaled by any means of attack known in those days. The place had been in possession of the Knights of St. John, but in the course of the wars between the Saracens and the Crusaders that had prevailed before Richard came, it had fallen into the hands of the Saracens, and now the Crusaders were besieging it, in hopes to recover possession. They were encamped in thousands on a plain outside the town, in a beautiful situation overlooking the sea. Still farther back among the mountains were immense hordes of Saracens, watching an opportunity to come down upon the plain and overwhelm the Christian armies, while they, on the other hand, were making continued assaults upon the town, in hopes of carrying it by storm, before their enemies on the mountains could attack them. Of course, the Crusaders were extremely anxious to have Richard arrive, for they knew that he was bringing with him an immense re-enforcement.

Philip before Acre

The siege

Philip, the French king, had already arrived, and he exerted himself to the utmost to take the town before Richard should come. But he could not succeed. The town resisted all the attempts he could make to storm it, and, in the mean time, his position and that of the other Crusaders in the camp was becoming very critical, on account of the immense numbers of Saracens in the mountains behind them, who were gradually advancing their posts and threatening to surround the Christians entirely. Philip, therefore, and the forces joined with him, were beginning to feel very anxious to see Richard's ships drawing near, and from their encampment on the plain they looked out over the sea, and watched day after day, earnestly in hopes that they might see the advanced ships of Richard's fleet coming into view in the offing.

In the mean time, Richard, having sailed from Cyprus, was coming on, though he was delayed on his way by an occurrence which he greatly gloried in, deeming it doubtless a very brilliant exploit. The case was this:

Chasing a Saracen vessel

In sailing along with his squadron between Cyprus and the main land, he suddenly fell in with a ship of very large size. At first Richard and his men wondered what ship it could be. It was soon evident that, whatever she was, she was endeavoring to escape. Richard ordered his galleys to press on, and he soon found that the strange ship was full of Saracens. He immediately ordered his men to advance and board her, and he declared to his seamen that if they allowed her to escape he would crucify them.

Desperation

The Saracens, seeing that there was no possibility of escape, and having no hope of mercy if they fell into Richard's hands, determined to scuttle the ship, and to sink themselves and the vessel together. They accordingly cut holes through the bottom as well as they could with hatchets, and the water began to pour in. In the mean time, Richard's galleys had surrounded the vessel, and a dreadful combat ensued. Both parties fought like tigers. The Crusaders were furious to get on board before the ship should go down, and the Saracens, though they had no expectation of finally defending themselves against their enemies, still hoped to keep them back until it should be too late for them to obtain any advantage from their victory.

The terrible Greek fire which the Saracens used

For a time they were quite successful in their resistance, chiefly by means of what was called Greek fire. This Greek fire was a celebrated means of warfare in those days, and was very terrible in its nature and effects. It is not known precisely what it was, or how it was made. It was an exceedingly combustible substance, and was to be thrown, on fire, at the enemy; and such was its nature, that when once in flames nothing could extinguish it; and, besides the heat and burning that it produced, it threw out great volumes of poisonous and stifling vapors, which suffocated all that came near. The men threw it sometimes in balls, sometimes on the ends of darts and arrows, where it was enveloped in flax or tow to keep it in its place. It burned fiercely and furiously wherever it fell. Even water did not extinguish it, and it was said that in this combat the sea all around the Saracens' ship seemed on fire, and the decks of the galleys that attacked them were blazing with it in every direction. Great numbers of Richard's men were killed by it.

The ship is taken

A massacre

But the superiority of numbers on Richard's side was too great, and after a time the Saracens were subdued, before the ship had admitted water enough through the scuttlings to carry her down. Richard's men poured in on board of her in great numbers. They immediately proceeded to massacre or throw overboard the men as fast as possible, and to seize the stores and transfer them to their own ships. They also did all they could to stop the leaks, so as to delay the sinking of the ship as long as possible. They had time to transfer to their own vessels nearly all the valuable part of the cargo, and to kill and drown all the men. Out of twelve or fifteen hundred, only about thirty-five were spared.

Richard's defense

King Richard's cupidity

When, afterward, public sentiment seemed inclined to condemn this terrible and inexcusable massacre, Richard defended himself by saying that he found on board the vessel a number of jars containing certain poisonous reptiles, which he alleged the Saracens were going to take to Acre, and there let them loose near the Crusaders' camp to bite the soldiers, and that men who could resort to so barbarous a mode of warfare as this deserved no quarter. However this may be, the poor Saracens received no quarter. It might be supposed that Richard deserved some credit for his humanity in saving the thirty-five. But his object in saving these was not to show mercy, but to gain ransom-money. These thirty-five were the emirs, or other officers of the Saracens, or persons who looked as if they might be rich or have rich friends. When they reached the shore, Richard fixed upon a certain sum of money for each of them, and allowed them to send word to their friends that if they would raise that money and send it to Richard, he would set them at liberty. A great proportion of them were thus afterward ransomed, and Richard realized from this source quite a large sum.

The sinking ship

When Richard's soldiers found that the time for the captured ship to sink was drawing nigh, they abandoned her, leaving on board every thing that they had not been able to save, and, withdrawing to a safe distance, they saw her go down. The sea all around her was covered with the bodies of the dead and dying, and also with bales of merchandise, broken weapons, fragments of the wreck, and with the flickering and exhausted remnants of the Greek fire.

The fleet then got under way again, and pursued its course to Acre.