u/TheRedLionPassant

I didn't include Edward III as I suppose he wins. Edward did have a ferocious temper and was feared by all his enemies (something which sometimes gets overlooked in depictions of him) but he's also famous as a magnanimous ruler who created his own Knights of the Round Table and when he held feasts and tournaments he had knights from across Scotland, France, etc. flocking to them.

But of the other three who would you rather serve under? I don't mean which do you think was the best king or the best warrior, but which you'd personally rather live in close contact with. Who would be the most likeable as a person? Would you love them or fear them more, or both?

The fate of our three Richards in their deaths

Was much alike ; though otherwise their lot

Was most dissimilar. Each of these kings

Died without issue, cut off by a death

Sudden and cruel. But the First acquir'd

The greatest glory. In the Holy Land

He fought ; and thence returning safe, he fell,

Pierc'd by an arrow in a foreign clime.

Reft of his throne, and many a month immur'd

Within a dungeon's walls, the Second chose

Rather to die than forfeit his fair name.

Edward's vast hoards of wealth consum'd, the Third

Was not content therewith, but must destroy

His brother's progeny, and then proscribe

Their partisans. Two years had he usurp'd

The throne, when, meeting these, he lost his life

And ill-gain'd crown, upon the battle-field.

The year one thousand, hundreds four, and five

To eighty added, when of August came

The twice eleventh day, the Boar's tusks quail'd;

And, to avenge the White, the Red Rose bloom'd.

>"The age of gold returns,

>The world's reform draws nigh,

>The rich man now cast down,

>The pauper raised on high"

Following the death of their father at Chinon, the designated king-elect and his brother crossed the Channel from Normandy and arrived in England on the Sunday prior to the Feast of the Virgin, with Richard docking at Portsmouth to widespread cheer and celebration as the people gathered to see their new king (John meanwhile crossed over on a different ship - possibly in order to avoid arousing his envy).

Crossing with them were Baldwin the Archbishop, the bishops of Rochester and Chester, and the saintly Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln. They were greeted on their arrival by those Normans that Richard had already sent ahead - the Archbishop of Rouen and the bishops of Bayeux and Evreux - as well as the loyal knight Sir William Marshal and the royal princes' mother Eleanor, who had been newly-released from her confinement at Salisbury Castle.

>And although some, though but very few, were hurt at the death of the old king, still it was some consolation that, as the poet says, "Wonders I sing, the sun has set, no night ensued"; for truly no night did ensue after the setting of the sun. For a ray of the sun, occupying the throne of the sun, spreads its own lustre more brilliantly, and to a greater distance than its own original sun. For when the sun has set below the earth from his throne, his ray, still remaining, and subject to neither eclipse or setting, being suddenly cut off from the body of the sun, and wholly reflected back upon itself, as though a sun itself, it becomes much greater and much more brilliant than the sun, of which it was a ray, by reason of no clouds intervening and no impediment obstructing its course. But, in order that no difficulties may harass the mind of the reader, the meaning of this may be more fully ascertained on reading the following pentameter:

>"The father was the sun, his son his ray."

>And thus, the son becoming greater and greater, enlarged the good works of his father, while the bad ones he cut short.

>For those whom the father disinherited, the son restored to their former rights; those whom the father had banished, the son recalled; those whom the father kept confined in irons, the son allowed to depart unhurt; those upon whom the father, in the cause of justice, inflicted punishment, the son, in the cause of humanity, forgave.

Richard first sent his mother around his kingdom with an order that all imprisoned by the justiciars for violating forest laws were to be granted royal pardons - something which Eleanor, knowing all too well the pains of captivity, was eager to do. Then word was sent that every freeman throughout the kingdom should pledge allegiance to Richard as their overlord and soon-to-be king.

After this, Robert Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, and other nobles whom his father had deprived of their estates were restored to their former glory. Those who had served the late King Henry faithfully were rewarded for their loyalty - including William Marshal, who was married to the Countess of Pembroke, Isabella. Various other heiresses were married off to his retainers, including his Poitevin cousin, Andrew Chauvigny, the wedding being celebrated at Salisbury.

His brother John, in the meanwhile, was gifted Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Nottingham, Derby, Lancaster, the castles of Marlborough and Luggershall with their forests, the honours of Wallingford, Tickhill and Haye, as well as the Peak and Bolsover. John was also granted the hand of Isabella, Countess of Gloucester. Several castles in these counties, however, were retained by Richard. His elder half-brother Geoffrey was made Archbishop of York.

Richard's arrival at the royal stronghold of Winchester was greeted with crowds of his new subjects, gathering to glimpse the man on horseback who was already renowned for his courage, being nicknamed the Lionheart. Entering the castle, he first looked over the treasury and had its contents weighed - his father had raised around £100,000 for the liberation of Jerusalem: money which Richard was keen to put to good use. For the coming expedition to Outremer he had those who had already pledged to take the cross reaffirm their oaths, with those who now wished to opt out being able to do so in exchange for a sum of money or military aid; and those who had fallen out of his favour were given the chance to redeem themselves by making their own pledges.

>After this, he sent his servants and bailiffs throughout all the sea-ports of England, Normandy, Poitou, and others of his lands, and caused the largest and best of all the ships to be selected for himself, which were able to carry large freights, and then distributed some of them among those of his friends who had assumed the cross for the purpose of setting out for Jerusalem, while the others were reserved for his own use.

For much of the rest of that summer he spent time at Winchester and the surrounding environs, ensuing the loyalty of his barons and seeing those vacant offices of state filled. His father's most hated justiciar, Ranulf Glanville, was removed from power on charges of corruption, to widespread cheer and applause. Another, the Seneschal of Anjou, was brought through the streets under arrest. In return, new justices were raised to posts, fines were paid, and Glanville took the cross. The Saladin Tithe, though viewed as for a worthy cause, had been the source of much unrest in England that past year, for which many of Henry's justiciars (including Glanville) had made themselves quite unpopular. Richard's first acts upon the succession focused on appeasing and hearing the complaints of his subjects, as well as raising money through the buying and selling of offices, as well as taking the customary fee in lieu of military service from those - both clergy and laity - who were to remain behind in England during his absence. With the great offices of state filled, his mother freed, and his brothers rewarded with lands, he could now focus his attentions on the upcoming coronation.

William of Canterbury was a monk and clerk who served under Thomas Becket, the martyred archbishop, and wrote his biography after his death. He records an antiphon sung in Norfolk, said to have been taught to Reginald, a priest of Wretham, in a dream or vision. As Becket was not yet formally canonised, no Latin antiphon existed in the liturgy: this one was revealed to Reginald in English, and taught to the local clergy.

>Holy Thomas of heaven's kingdom,

>Equal to the apostles,

>The martyrs lift up thee

>Daily by their hands;

>Our Lord, he did a wondrous thing

>When he turned water into wine;

>Thou art our help in England,

>Our voices lifted up;

>Thou art comfort among mankind,

>Aid us now against our sins.

>[Hali Thomas of hevenriche,

>Alle postles evenliche,

>Dhe martyrs dhe understande

>Deyhuamliche on here hande;

>Selcuth ded ure Drichtin

>Dhat he dhi wetter wente to wyn;

>Dhu ert help in Engelande,

>Ure stefne understande;

>Thu hert froure imang mankynne,

>Help us nu of ure senne.]

Thomas Becket was rapidly becoming a major saint: his anthems are very much in the tradition of those of other English saints, such as Dunstan, Aidan, Cuthbert, Augustine, Edmund or Edward. As they had been for centuries, he was likewise being praised in poetry written in the vernacular English as early as the 1100s. An Order of St. Thomas was founded at Acre by the end of that century, which was a chapter of the Hospitallers established for English knights and pilgrims.

>FROM THE mid twelfth century to the end of the thirteenth century the five reigning queens of England were Eleanor of Aquitaine, Berengaria of Navarre, Isabella of Angouleme, Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor of Castile. Simply to list these names is to suggest that their husbands had important political and diplomatic interests in south-western Europe. On the other hand to read what historians have written about the kings of England in this period is to gain the impression that this was not the case. Historians have tended to concentrate almost exclusively on the lands on either side of the English Channel, on the area of the old Anglo-Norman realm. It is easy enough to understand why they have chosen to confine their history within these narrow geographical limits. The northern Plantagenet lands and, above all, England are relatively rich in the kind of documentation to which historians of politics have grown accustomed: narrative sources and the records of central government. By contrast, there is relatively little of this type of evidence to be found in the lands which comprised the southern part of the Plantagenet empire. Although this difference may, in practice cause historians to neglect the south, we should not assume that the Plantagenets themselves shared this attitude. The paucity of familiar kinds of evidence may imply that politically and culturally, the south was a very different sort of society from the north; but it does not mean that the Plantagenets were northerners who believed that the south did not matter.

>The well-known facts about the marriage are few and can be quickly summarised. Berengaria of Navarre was brought to Richard's court, then at Messina in Sicily, in March 1191. She accompanied the crusader-king on his journey east and they were married in Cyprus, at Limassol, on 12th May 1191. After the crusade they saw little of each other and there were no children. These facts can be fitted quite easily into the conventional portrait of Richard as an irresponsible crusader, indifferent to serious matters of politics like the succession to the throne, sacrificing his kingdom's future for the sake of present pleasures. As a result no historian has bothered to give them much thought.

>In fact, they are extraordinary and remarkable. Plantagenet kings did not ordinarily get married in Cyprus. It is true, of course, that Richard was going on crusade, but if he was anxious to get married, why had he not married in the twelve months which elapsed between the death of his father in July 1189 and the start of the crusade in July 1190? On the other hand, if he was reluctant to get married, why not use the crusade as an excuse to postpone the wedding? The hypothesis which will be advanced here is that marrying Berengaria of Navarre while on his way to Jerusalem was an ingenious diplomatic device deliberately adopted by Richard in order to cut his way through a thicket of political problems, and that this in itself given some indication of the importance which he attached to the alliance with Navarre.

>Few historians have given any thought to the preliminaries to Richard's marriage, but those who have are unanimous in stating that Sancho was persuaded by Eleanor of Aquitaine. She, it was said, "went in person to Spain to conduct the negotiations and to escort Berengaria to Sicily". For Edmond-Rene Labande it was Eleanor who saw that Richard's marriage was a political necessity and took action in order to bring it about. Elizabeth Brown, the most recent and by far the most level-headed historian of Eleanor, takes the same view. She writes that "in an even grander display of her power in matters domestic and political, she [Eleanor] then arranged, and perhaps personally negotiated, the marriage of Richard and Berengaria, daughter of the king of Navarre. Thus she set aside his long-standing engagement to Alice ... If Henry II had, as the gossips said, actually dallied with Alice, Eleanor may have been motivated by disgust and spite."

>But there is, in fact, not a shred of evidence to show that it was Eleanor who had conducted the negotiations. Historians have taken it for granted that she did, partly because she escorted Berengaria to Sicily and partly because of their belief that Richard was uninterested in such matters. They have assumed - without evidence - that the negotiations filled a gap in Eleanor's itinerary, between 6th April 1190 when she was with Richard at Argentan in Normandy and 20th January 1191 when she and Berengaria arrived at Lodi [Sicily]. The effect of this assumption was to make it seem likely that the major part of the negotiations had taken place during the second half of the year 1190 i.e. after Richard had already set out on the first stage of his journey to Outremer. But this interpretation makes Sancho as rash as it makes Richard negligent, and it is fundamentally implausible. Before allowing his daughter to leave home in such ambiguous and difficult circumstances, Sancho must have demanded far-reaching assurances and, with the best will in the world, the negotiations which preceded Berengaria's departure from Navarre must have been complex and prolonged.

>There is a further point to be borne in mind: Berengaria's dowry. Clearly this was a profoundly important question which cannot have been decided on the spur of the moment either in Cyprus or in Sicily. It involved not only Richard, Berengaria and the Gascons. It was also bound up with diplomatic relations between Gascony, Navarre and Castile. An assembly attended by the magnates of Gascony would he the proper occasion for some formal announcement, if not discussion, of a matter of this kind. Twenty years earlier a very similar court had assembled at Bordeaux to witness the formal marriage settlement between Eleanor [Richard's sister] and Alfonso VIII of Castile in the summer of 1170. And that questions of foreign policy were indeed being discussed [in Richard's council] at La Reole in February 1190 is suggested by the presence of one man who, in the witness lists, stands out in striking contrast to all those Gascons: Henry, son of the duke of Saxony, i.e. Henry of Brunswick, son of Henry the Lion [Richard's brother-in-law]. I suggest, therefore, that the question of Richard's marriage was among the important public and dynastic business discussed at La Reole and that it was to take this further that, on 2nd February 1190, Richard sent writs summoning a council to meet in Normandy. The facts that the council was to meet on the eve of a conference with Philip of France and that Alice was summoned to attend point in this direction.

>From Nonancourt Richard rode the eight miles to Dreux to meet Philip on 16th March. We do not know what the two kings said to each other, only that the crusade, which had been due to start at Easter, was postponed until 24th June. They needed more time to complete their preparation. Were these preparations simply the massive material organisation of the crusade - or did they include diplomatic preparations? In wishing to discard Alice and marry Berengaria, Richard was caught in a very awkward diplomatic situation. It is clear that Philip would be disgraced if his sister were dropped in this fashion and he did nothing to avenge her honour. Could Richard afford to state his intentions publicly? If he did. would that destroy the fragile peace between the kingdoms and cause further interminable delays to the crusade on which his heart was set? Perhaps only when he and Philip were already on crusade could he marry someone else without inviting an immediate attack upon his lands. But it could not have been easy to persuade Sancho of Navarre to send his daughter to be married somewhere abroad in these ambiguous and hazardous circumstances. In February 1190 Richard may well have found that he needed more time to complete such intricate negotiations. In April Richard travelled south again, through Anjou and Poitou. By 8th May he was at Cognac on the river Charente. We next find him at Bayonne close to the border with Navarre on 6 June. According to Roger of Howden it was on this trip to Gascony that he hanged the lord of the castle of Chis for the crime of highway robbery. Though many of this lord's victims had been pilgrims on the way to Compostella, it is hard to believe that it was devotion to the cult of St. James - however much the Moor-slayer may have appealed to Richard - which alone had brought him into the Pyrenees. It may well have been on this occasion that Richard found the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with Sancho to bring the negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion. Now at last Richard was ready to go. But far from him going on crusade without a thought for the problem of the succession, it rather looks as though the opposite was the case: that he had postponed his departure until most of the problems surrounding his marriage had been resolved. Richard was by no means just a fanatical crusader who neglected everything else.

>Not until February 1191 did the question of Richard's marriage come to the surface once more. The news reached Messina that Eleanor and Berengaria, accompanied by Count Philip of Flanders, had arrived at Naples. Richard sent some galleys to meet them there and convey them to Messina. But although Count Philip was allowed to embark, Eleanor and Berengaria were not: [King] Tancred's officials apparently claimed that their escort was too large. There was obviously more to it than this transparent excuse and so Richard went to Tancred to demand an explanation. Tancred eventually confessed to Richard that he had been listening to Philip's insinuations. The French king apparently had warned Tancred that Richard's word was not to be relied upon: that he had no intention of keeping the treaty they had made last October, and instead was planning to deprive Tancred of his kingdom.

>The French king had been playing a dangerous game. Once Tancred was convinced that he had nothing to fear from Richard, then Philip became the victim of his own intrigue. He protested his innocence, claiming that the whole thing was a put-up job, a scheme devised by Richard to give him an excuse for breaking his promise to marry Alice. For two reasons, however, Philip's defence does not ring quite true. Firstly, because Tancred's agents had prevented Berengaria from leaving Naples - an unnecessary complication if it was all just a charade. And secondly, because the count of Flanders, on his arrival in Sicily, took Richard's side against King Philip - which might suggest that he did not believe the French king's story. At all events it is clear that Philip was now isolated and in a weak bargaining position. Richard drove home his advantage. He had no wish, he said, to discard Alice but he could never marry her since she had been his father's mistress and had borne him a son. This was a grim accusation to make since Alice had been entrusted to the Old King's custody, but Richard claimed that he could summon many witnesses able to testify to its truth. In the face of this terrible threat to his sister's honour Philip gave up his struggle to save her marriage. In return for 10,000 marks he released Richard from his promise.

>Why was Richard so anxious to marry Berengaria? A romantic attachment is not impossible, but it would inevitably have been secondary to the requirements of diplomacy. In France alone the Angevin empire was faced by tour other 'feudal empires' - to use Professor Le Patourel's terminology. These were the empire of the counts of Flanders, the Capetian empire, the empire of Blois-Champagne and the empire of Saint-Gilles-Toulouse. In the crisis of 1173-4 three of these 'empires' had joined in the attack on Henry II. In the crisis of Richard's rule as duke of Aquitaine in 1183, the fourth - Toulouse - had supported the Young King in his war against Richard. In 1190 the position was that the princes who ruled three of these neighbouring empires had taken the cross: Count Philip of Flanders, King Philip of France, Count Theobald of Blois and Count Henry of Champagne. Only Count Raymond of Toulouse intended to stay at home. Richard can have been in no doubt what this meant. For the last six years he and Raymond had been in an almost continuous state of war. It was inevitable that Raymond would grasp at the opportunity presented by Richard's crusade. All the length of the Angevin frontiers there was no threat so serious as that posed by the count of Toulouse. It is in this context that we must see the marriage to Berengaria of Navarre. When in the first six months of 1190 Richard twice travelled south it was to arrange a crucial alliance which would help safeguard his dominions at their most vulnerable point.

>In diplomatic terms Richard's marriage proved its worth. In 1192 while he was still in Outremer a revolt broke out in Aquitaine. The leading rebels were the count of Perigord and Bernard, viscount of Brosse, but in all probability they were encouraged by Philip - who had returned in time to celebrate the Christmas of 1191 at Fontaineblea - and by Raymond of Toulouse. Berengaria's brother, Sancho, brought a large force of knights to help the seneschal of Gascony and together they took the war into Raymond's lands, advancing right up to the walls of Toulouse. Nowhere else in the Angevin empire had Richard's absence caused any serious unrest. If he had returned home by January or February 1193, as seemed likely when he left Acre in October 1192, it would have been clear to historians that the arrangements he had made for the government of his dominions during his crusade had worked extremely well. As it turned out, however, the unforeseeable eventuality of his capture and imprisonment called everything into question.

>In one respect the marriage clearly failed. There were no children, no heirs. The terms of the treaty of Messina in March 1191 make it clear that heirs were very much in Richard's mind, as one would expect, as he awaited Berengaria's arrival in Sicily. After all, he already had one son, Philip, to whom he had granted the lordship of Cognac. But no legitimate children came. Historians sometimes write as though Richard was responsible for this - but suppose Berengaria were barren or that, for some other reason, like Henry I and Adela of Louvain, Richard and Berengaria could not have children. What then could Richard have done? He might, presumably, have had the marriage annulled - but while the Navarre alliance remained important this would have been politically foolish. Nonetheless by 1197-8 the marriage was clearly no longer working - either as a diplomatic instrument or as a means of producing an heir.

>Berengaria did not re-marry and, for the rest of her life, she remained a shadowy figure in the background. Never again did she stand as close to the centre of the stage as she did during the complex negotiations of 1190-1. But for the historian of the politics of western Europe this brief episode in her life is important for the light which it sheds on Richard's style as a ruler. Although by 1197-8 Richard may have been disappointed by the results of his marriage, we are not entitled to believe that his attitude towards it was negative from the start. On the contrary, in the light of the remarkable circumstances in which he was married, it is clear that, as a politician, Richard was able to outmanoeuvre a tactician as astute as Philip Augustus. It is equally clear, moreover, that he was neither a reluctant husband nor an irresponsible ruler who went off on crusade while neglecting to provide for the security of his dominions, in the south as well as in the north.

Roxburgh Castle was occupied by an English garrison. But trouble in England between the forces of Edward, Earl of March, and King Henry VI gave the Scots hope that they could reclaim it. In the summer of 1460 a Scottish army lay siege to the castle, led by the 29-year old King James II.

James, who had a noted interest in artillery and guns, brought a host of bombards, including Mons Meg, one of the largest in the world. These cannons were fired and made swift work in demolishing the walls.

On the third day of August, Queen Mary and the 8-year old Duke of Rothesay arrived at the siege camp. The King greeted his wife and then prepared to order a gun salute to honour her presence. In the company of Lord George Douglas, 'the Great Earl' of Angus, his sworn companion in arms, King James went and personally stood by his favourite cannon, the Lion, and the bombards were ignited.

In the presence of all witnesses, the Lion exploded, sending shards of heavy shrapnel flying in all directions, wounding the Earl of Angus and cutting through the thigh of the King, severing his leg completely and fatally wounding him. James died at the siege camp that day, and was laid to rest within the royal pavilion, to the great mourning of the Scots.

The Scottish nobility immediately proclaimed the young prince as James III, and he and his mother prepared for the coronation - a necessity to quell political turmoil when news of the old king's death spread across Scotland. His corpse meanwhile was lodged in the Monastery of St. Peter, at Roxburgh. The Earl of Angus, despite his injury, continued the siege, and the castle fell only five days later. It was subsequently demolished and never rebuilt.

Few saints of medieval England have such a legacy as St. Hugh. The 12th century Bishop of Lincoln, a Burgundian by birth, came to England in the reign of King Henry II. He oversaw the erection of churches and monasteries, including building work on his own cathedral. He was not afraid to rebuke even kings for their harsh taxation and oppressive Forest Laws, and he was renowned for his great charity. When anti-Jewish pogroms broke out, Hugh offered the Jews of Lincoln shelter in his own palaces. He was kind to animals, especially swans, and was said to have befriended several of the birds. He greatly enlarged the cathedral school, which educated clerks of the diocese.

So renowned was the good bishop that many miracles were attributed to him: William of Newburgh reports that on one occasion, he even successfully rebuked a dead man who was wandering from his grave in search of living victims, not by driving a stake through the heart, burning it and decapitating the corpse (as was custom for dealing with such revenants), but by absolving the deceased of his sins and laying him to rest in peace.

But it was not solely supernatural entities that Hugh faced: there were human opponents as well. Several times he served as a messenger between England and France, and several times he went to the royal court to act as spiritual confessor to the very kings themselves.

The cause of the Bishop's current struggle, in the year 1198, were his frequent critiques of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter, who, in addition to his ecclesial post, also was Chief Justice, holding a bench of pleas at Westminster Palace. Toward the latter years of King Richard's reign, the wars with France were becoming ever more fierce, and the King's demand for higher taxes grew more and more oppressive. Criticisms were lodged at Archbishop Hubert, in particular, for (as many of the clergy saw it) serving both God and Mammon in attempting to mediate between his religious and secular duties, and being largely responsible for overseeing tax collection. In fact, Hubert had on numerous occasions, made requests that he be relieved of his duties as a justiciar to instead focus on his role as an archbishop - Richard, however, steadfastly refused. Bishop Hugh was one of these such critics.

>Almost a year and four months before his death, Richard, King of the English, became exceedingly angry with him for this reason. The King was across the sea, engaged in a bitter struggle with Philip, King of the French, and a general council of all the magnates of England was summoned at Oxford by Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop, who presided in the King's stead, explained the King's serious position: with smaller resources and forces he was struggling against a very powerful king, who was straining every nerve to disinherit and ruin him. Finally, he asked them to decide as a body by what means they could best help their lord in his desperate situation.

>It was then suggested by those who like him believed that every wish of the King should be unhesitatingly obeyed, that the barons of England, amongst whom the bishops were included, should provide him with three hundred knights to fight for a whole year across the sea at their expense against his enemies.

>When the Bishop of Lincoln was publicly asked to consent to this, he remained silent and thoughtful for a short time until first the Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury and then Richard, Bishop of London, who held the office of dean amongst the bishops, had declared their readiness to devote themselves and their men and property to the King in his need.

>He then immediately answered to this effect: 'This noble and distinguished assembly will remember that I am a stranger in this land, and was raised to the episcopate from the seclusion of the eremetical life. Therefore when the church of our Lady Mary, God's blessed Mother, was committed to my inexperienced hands, I took pains to find out its customs and privileges, and also its obligations and services, and in the performance and preservation of these for thirteen years or thereabouts I have faithfully followed in the footsteps of my predecessors. I am well aware that the church of Lincoln is bound to serve the King in war, but only in this land, and it is a fact that no service is due beyond the frontiers of England. I should therefore prefer to return to my native land and resume my normal eremetical way of life rather than remain here as bishop and cause unprecedented burdens to be laid on the church under my charge by surrendering her ancient rights.'

>The Archbishop took this answer badly, and in a low voice and with lips trembling from anger he asked Herbert, the Bishop of Salisbury what his opinion was about the provision of aid to the King. He replied to this question shortly and as follows: 'It seems to me that without great damage to my church, I cannot say or do anything else than what the Bishop of Lincoln has just suggested ought to be done.'

>The Archbishop now completely lost control of himself, and stormed at the Bishop of Lincoln. Having dismissed the council, he informed the King that the latter was responsible for the rejection of his proposal. When the King had received two or three messengers from the Archbishop, in great wrath and indignation he ordered that all the Bishop's possessions should be confiscated. The same instructions were sent about the Bishop of Salisbury who had supported the Bishop of Lincoln. What next? The Bishop of Salisbury suffered confiscation immediately; only by going to the King, and enduring many insults and much rudeness and being put to great expense, was he able with great difficulty to buy back the King's favour and his own possessions by the payment of a large sum of money.

>No one, however, dared to lay hands on the lands and goods of the Bishop of Lincoln, because they feared to offend him, and dreaded his excommunication as much as a death sentence. Nothing therefore was done almost from the Feast of St. Nicholas [December] to the beginning of September, for the royal escheators dared not sequester the Bishop's property in spite of the King's frequent peremptory orders.

And so, at last, Hugh decided to go to the King's court and speak to Richard directly. Crossing from England at one of the south coast ports (potentially Dover or Southampton), he went to Normandy, to Gaillard Castle, christened by King Richard his daughter, the 'Fair Castle on the Rock'.

>He approached him himself, without making use of the services of an intermediary, and found him in the chapel of his new castle at the Rock of Andely hearing High Mass, on the Feast of the great doctor St. Augustine [28th August], and immediately greeted him. The King was on a royal throne near the entrance, and the two bishops of Durham and Ely stood at his feet.

>When the Bishop greeted the King he did not reply, but having frowned at him after a little while turned his face away. The Bishop said to him, 'Lord King, kiss me.'

>But Richard turned his head even further and looked the other way. Then the Bishop firmly gripped the King's tunic round his chest, and shook it violently, saying again, 'You owe me the kiss [of peace], because I have come a long way to see you.'

>The King answered, 'You deserve nothing from me.'

>He shook him more vigorously than before, this time by his mantle which he held firmly, and said boldly 'I have every right.'

>The other, overcome by his courage and determination, after a little while kissed him with a smile. There were present two archbishops, and five bishops standing between the King's throne and the altar. These were anxious to include the Bishop amongst themselves after his victory over the King and made a place for him near the King. He, however, passed them by and took up his position on the step at the side of the altar, and with eyes firmly fixed on the ground, he concentrated only on the sacrifice of the mass. The King looked at him almost all the time with great curiosity.

>When the holy sacrifice of the mass which I have already described was ended, he approached the King and remonstrated with him in a few forcible words for his recent wholly undeserved anger with him, giving him some very good reasons to show that he had never failed in his duty to him. The King could not contradict him and laid all the blame on the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had so often misrepresented him in his letters. The Bishop by his ready explanations was easily able to convince him that it was all completely untrue. He said: 'Except for the honour of God and the salvation of my soul and yours, I have never up till now opposed anything, however trivial, which was to your advantage.'

>The King's indignation was thus dispelled. He made royal gifts to the Bishop, and sent him to lodge as his guest at Castle Gaillard which he had recently constructed on the island not very far away. He asked him to come back to see him on the next day so that after another interview he might return home assured of his favour and friendship. He heard this thankfully and promised to return on the morrow.

>As his spiritual father, however, he felt his responsibility for the welfare of his soul, and so, taking his hand, he made him get up from his chair and drew him apart to a place near the altar. He asked him to sit down, and sitting down himself, spoke thus to him in private: 'You are of our diocese, lord King, and because of our priestly office we shall have on the terrible Day of Judgement to answer for your soul, which the Lord of the world redeemed with his own blood. I ask you therefore to tell me the state of your conscience, so that I can give you effective help and counsel as the Holy Spirit shall direct me. At least a year has passed since I spoke to you about it on another occasion.'

>The King answered that his conscience was clear in almost everything except his hatred for his enemies, because of their relentless and persistent attacks on him.

>The Bishop replied, 'If you were to try and please the merciful God who rules the world in all things, he would enable you to be reconciled with your enemies or to defeat them. You must, however, take special care to see that you do not yourself sin against your Maker, which God forbid you should do, and that you do not injure your neighbour. The Scriptures say, "When the ways of a man are pleasing to the Lord, he shall make his enemies wish for peace." On the other hand it says of those who displease him, "The whole earth shall war on his behalf against the froward." Again a holy man has said concerning the Lord, "Who ever opposed him and had peace?"

>'Concerning you, indeed - and I speak in sorrow - it is generally reported that you are not faithful to your marriage bed, and do not keep inviolate the privileges of the Church, especially in the matter of the appointment or election of bishops. It is even said that you have been wont to promote people to the rule of souls from motives of friendship or because they have paid for it, and this is a very heinous sin. If it is true, undoubtedly God will not grant you peace.'

>The King listened attentively to his exhortations and counsels, denying in some cases that he was guilty, and imploring the assistance of his prayers in others. After receiving his blessing he sent him away, and Hugh thankfully set out for the lodging which the King had chosen and provided for him.

>The King in the meantime discussed him with his attendants and commented with much appreciation on his holiness. 'Indeed,' he said, 'if other bishops were such as he, no king or ruler would ever dare raise up his head against them!'

And so Hugh escaped the fury of the Lionheart, whose anger was quelled almost in an instant, and instead of threats, he began sending messages to Lincoln requesting prayers instead.

>Thus, by God's favour he escaped from the snares of the courtiers, and he and all his company set out joyously for home, blessing and magnifying the Lord.

And by September, news arrived and went up and down the kingdom, proclaimed by heralds in every shire, and by written letters to the learned.

>The Bishop had only just returned to England and had not yet reached his cathedral, when the King attacked the King of the Franks near Gisors and put him to flight, many of his nobles being taken prisoner. On this occasion the Earl of Nevers fell into the moat of the castle, and was drowned in its waters. Richard sent an account of his victory to the Bishop of Lincoln, and begged him to continue his prayers on his behalf. He also put in the letter the number of distinguished men whom he had captured and their names. Amongst other matters he described how King Philip too would have drunk his fill of the water of the moat into which he had fallen in his precipitate flight, if he had not been immediately rescued by his men and so escaped death.

>Many of his own men declared that this notable victory had been granted to him by God through the prayers of the holy bishop, since, forgetting his first rage, he had decided to treat him with great deference as his lord.

"Once defended by King Richard's shield, now undefended, O England, bear witness to your woe in the gestures of sorrow. Let your eyes flood with tears, and pale grief waste your features. Let writhing anguish twist your fingers, and woe make your heart within bleed. Let your cry strike the heavens. Your whole being dies in his death; the death is not his but yours. Death's rise was not in one place only, but general.

"O tearful day of Venus! O bitter star! That day was your night; and that Venus your venom. That day inflicted the wound; but the worst of all days was that other - the day after the eleventh - which, cruel stepfather to life, destroyed life. Either day, with strange tyranny, was a murderer. The besieged one pierced the besieger; the sheltered one, him without cover; the cautious one pierced the incautious; the well-equipped soldier pierced an unarmed man - his own king!

"O soldier, why, treacherous soldier, soldier of treachery, shame of the world and sole dishonour of warfare; O soldier, his own army's creature, why did you dare this against him? Why did you dare this crime, this hideous crime?

"O sorrow! O greater than sorrow! O Death! O truculent Death! Would you were dead, O Death! Bold agent of a deed so vile, how dare you recall it? You were pleased to remove our sun, and condemn our day to darkness. Do you realise whom you snatched from us? To our eyes he was light; to our ears, melody; to our minds an amazement. Do you realise, impious death, whom you snatched from us? He was the lord of warriors, the glory of kings, the delight of the world. Nature knew not how to add any further perfection; he was the utmost she could achieve. But that was the reason you snatched him away: you seize precious things, and vile things you leave as if in disdain.

"And Nature, of you I complain; for were you not, when the world was still young, when you lay new-born in your cradle, giving zealous attention to him? And that zeal did not flag before your old age. Why did such strenuous effort bring this wonder into the world, if so short an hour stole the pride of that effort away? You were pleased to extend your hand to the world and then to withdraw it; to give thus, and then to recall your gift. Why have you vexed the world? Either give back to us him who is buried, or give us one like him in excellence. But you have not resources for that; whatever you had that was wondrous or precious was expended on him. On him were exhausted your stores of delight. You were made most wealthy by this creature you made; you see yourself, in his fall, most impoverished. If you were happy before, in proportion to happiness then is your misery now.

"If heaven allow it, I chide even God. O God, most excellent of beings, why do you fail in your nature here? Why, as an enemy would, do you strike down a friend? If you recall, your own Joppa gives evidence for the King - alone he defended it, opposed by so many thousands. Acre, too, gives evidence - his power restored it to you. The enemies of the Cross add their witness - all of them Richard, in life, inspired with such terror that he is still feared now he is dead. He was a man under whom your interests were safe. If, O God you are, as befits your nature to be, faithful and free of malice, just and true, why then did you shorten his days? You could have shown mercy to the world; the world was in need of him. But you choose to have him with you, and not with the world; you would rather favour heaven than the world. O Lord, if it is permissible to say it, let me say - with your leave - you could have done this more graciously, and with less haste, if he had bridled the foe at least (and here would have been no delay to that end; he was on the verge of success). He could have departed more worthily then to remain with you. But by this lesson you have made us know how brief is the laughter of earth, and how long are its tears."

Rolf, or Rollo, called the Walker, was a Norseman born in either Denmark or Norway, from which he sailed with a party of raiders and established himself in the politics of England and France. He was given a county in northern France centred on Rouen by King Charles III, and died in 933, having being baptised as 'Robert'.

His son, William Longsword, was born probably in England during his father's forays in the area around East Anglia. He succeeded his father to the County of Rouen and died in 942.

Then there was William's son, Richard the Fearless, who succeeded his father and died in 996.

He was followed by his son Richard the Good, who was the first to be called as Duke of the Normans by the Franks, and died in 1026. His sister Emma went to England as the wife of Ethelred, and became the mother of Edward the Confessor.

The subsequent dukes were Richard the Good's elder son Richard (died a year later), and his younger son, Robert the Magnificent (died 1035).

Robert the Magnificent is of course the father of the Bastard, William, his successor, who in 1066 would become England's conqueror after the death of Edward.

William the Conqueror's successor to Normandy was his eldest son Robert Curthose, and after Robert's defeat by his younger brother Henry Beauclerc, the duchy was claimed by the latter. From here the royal and ducal titles were joined again, and together passed on to his nephew Stephen. But in 1144 Stephen was to lose possession of his duchy to Geoffrey Plantagenet.

We know the rest of history: Henry Curtmantle inherited the English, Angevin and Norman titles from his father, mother, and cousin Stephen whom he succeeded in 1154.

The July of 1189 saw the death of Henry at Chinon Castle, and his burial at Fountevraud Abbey. Prince Richard, his young son, the ruler of Aquitaine, journeyed north to Normandy to receive his belt and sword and to be invested as his successor and that of his Norman ancestors.

>After this, the said Earl Richard came to Rouen, and was girded with the sword of the Dukedom of Normandy by Walter, the Archbishop of Rouen, in presence of the bishops, earls, and barons of Normandy, on Saint Margaret's Day, being the fifth day of the week, and the thirteenth day before the kalends of August. Having then received the oaths of fealty from the clergy and the people of the Dukedom of Normandy, he gave to Geoffrey, son of Rotrod, Earl of Perche, his niece, Matilda, daughter of the Duke of Saxony, in marriage.

Duke Richard rode out toward Gisors, where the Kings of France traditionally met the Dukes of Normandy, but on the way, the wooden bridge collapsed under him and he plunged into the river. Some interpreted this as an ill omen that the Normans would abandon him.

>On the third day after this, that is to say, on the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, Philip, King of France, and Richard, Duke of Normandy, met to hold a conference between Chaumont and Trie. Here the King of France urgently requested that the Duke of Normandy would restore to him Gisors, and many other places, which it would be tedious individually to mention. But Richard, seeing that if he did so, it would redound to his everlasting loss and disgrace, added to the beforementioned twenty thousand marks of silver which the King his father had covenanted that he would pay to the King of France, another four thousand marks of silver, and by these obtained his favour and regard; and the King of France restored to him everything that he had taken in war from the King, his father, both castles as well as cities, and other fortified places, and villages and farms as well.

>Then the besieged, seeing other engines raised higher than the castle walls, after that, for fear of the soldiers who were protected by them and invisible, did not dare to advance into the open air, and knowing that everything which they had in the castle for their support was now consumed, and that the castle and themselves were within three days of being taken, addressed the chiefs of the King's army, promising to surrender the castle, on condition of not being punished as traitors and murderers. The others promised them safety, as far as it depends on them.

>Therefore, all the garrison quitting the castle, being all guilty of death, on the day of the holy virgin Saint Margaret, came to the King, ungirt and barefoot, after the manner of thieves, with ashes sprinkled on their heads, carrying, like traitors, ropes in their hands and round their necks, showing thereby that they have well deserved such a fate, and asking the grace of the King. To whom the King said, "I will not receive you to my grace, because you deserve it not, but only to my will."

>They replied: "Our lord the King, we submit ourselves to your will."

>The King rejoined: "My will is to tear you limb from limb, and hang you; and if you refuse, I will allow you to return as you are to the castle."

>Then, William Oliphant, prostrating himself on the ground, with many sobs, said, ''My lord the King, we know that our iniquity is too great to deserve pardon; for this my household has never been otherwise than obnoxious to my lord the King. But, merciful king, we entreat your ineffable clemency, and whether we, unworthy as we are, obtain it or not, look upon us as dead upon the earth."

>And while he was thus weeping with a great outcry, the King said to the other parricides, ''What do you, too, ask?"

>And they, groaning, cried out, "We are guilty of death; take us, O lord, subject to thy will."

>Therefore, the King, being moved at such outcry and weeping, turned his face away for a while, and the whole people that stood around was moved to tears.

Of course, there may well have been another reason. King Edward had yet to see his new trebuchet, christened the War Wolf, in action. Disappointed, he decided to continue on the siege for slightly longer, to see how easily he might penetrate the walls.

>And some of his soldiers said to him, "My lord, for what is this instrument of destruction? Is not the castle surrendered to us?"

>But the King replied, "What I am now doing is not destruction, but a mere theoretical means of destroying the hostile castles for those who make war or reign after me."

His workmen continued their efforts, and four days later the great trebuchet was ready. Having launched some stones at the wall, the weapon punched a hole right through them, pleasing the English king. He then sent word to the garrison, granting them permission to leave the castle under a flag of surrender.

>Then the King ordered the men to be taken and imprisoned separately in different castles of England, slaying none of them, and condemning none.

Sir William Oliphant, the leader of the Scots, was sent to the Tower of London. None of the Scots were executed, however, despite Edward's earlier threats. The only to be killed was an Englishman who had sided with them.

>But that wicked traitor, by whose treachery the Scots had obtained the castle, was taken, and dragged at the tail of a horse, and at last hanged; and so the agitation of this war ceased.

>Then the victorious King Edward, having placed noble knights in that castle, and in other places of Scotland, to preserve the triumphant peace which he had established among all the natives of the country, turned his steps towards England, all the earls and barons of Scotland accompanying him, as a proof that their treason and rebellion was subdued.

"The Cambrians, who are used to slay the Saxons, salute their relations the Britons and Cornishmen: they require them to come with their sharp swords to conquer their Saxon enemies.

"Come now, vigorously, armed with coats of mail; a great part of the Saxons are fallen in mutual slaughter, the remainder shall be slain by us: now is the time for you to show of what blood you are sprung.

"The soothsayer Merlin never said a thing that was vain; he foretold that the mad people should be expelled. And yet you do not keep this wise counsel; observe deceitful people of whom the whole race is accursed.

"If our valiant predecessor, King Arthur, had been now alive, I am sure not one of the Saxon walls would have resisted him; he would have been hard to them, in spite of their prayers, as they have deserved.

"May the Omnipotent procure him a successor only similar to him, I would not desire a better, who may deliver the Britons from their old grievance, and restore to them their country and their country's glory.

"May it please the uncle of Arthur [1] to obtain this for us, a certain very great saint [2] to send the Englishman over the sea; we know that his festival is approaching, the Kalends of March, may he make it his study to recall the Britons to their native land.

"Sons imitate their virtuous fathers, so let the Britons take Arthur for their example in valour; they show from what a good and brave man they are descended; as Arthur was, so let them be, conquerors!

"The Roman power reigned at Paris, the bold giant Frollo [3], with the bearish mind; him Arthur slew: every person of good faith believes it: witness the tent and the Parisian island [4].

"He is a madman who kills the noble Britons: it seems that he holds them thus hated; for he invidiously proclaims them hateful always and incessantly, who he hears are victorious.

"Of this nation there have been four great commanders, Arthur and Ambrose [5], powerful warriors; Constantine and Brennius [6], more powerful, if it were possible; these held the monarchy by reason of their being the best.

"France can only boast of Charlemagne [7]; and England glories in the valour of King Richard [8]; a larger number overcomes a smaller, because a four-fold glory increases the valour of its king.

"To these latter it was granted to reign within their own bounds; to the others, to triumph over commanders, governors, and kings, with whom they can in no respect claim equality: it is a far greater thing to command, than to reign."

[1] Ambrose Aurelian

[2] Saint David

[3] The ruler of Gaul, slain by Arthur

[4] Arthur conquered Paris and killed Frollo at the city

[5] King Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, and Ambrose Aurelian, his uncle

[6] Constantine, the son of Arthur and ruler of the Britons, and Brennius, brother of Belinus, who founded the city of Bristol and conquered Rome

[7] Charles the Great, or Charles I of the Franks, styled Emperor of the Romans and ruler of much of Europe, famed for the story of his twelve noble paladins

[8] Richard the Lionheart, or Richard I of the English, the famed rival of Saladin who fought in the Holy Land

In the July of 1189, Richard, though not yet King of England, rode from Rouen Cathedral as the newly-belted Duke of Normandy. On his way to Gisors, the wooden bridge over the Epte collapsed under him, plunging horse and rider into the water. They escaped, fully drenched, and many among the French believed it was an ill omen: that Normandy would no longer accept Richard, or another of his line from Rolf the Walker, as their overlord.

The bridge was repaired, but, in the September of 1198, almost a decade later, the English and French forces were at war near Gisors. Richard's knights routed those of the French, and Philip and his men were in full retreat. They crossed the bridge, which became so overwhelmed at the weight of scores of charging horses that it gave way again, plunging many of the exhausted French knights, and the French king, into the water. It was upon reaching the opposite bank in the midst of the chaos that panic set in: Philip was missing. Thankfully for them, they found him half-drowned in the water and managed to fish him out again. One hundred French knights were captured, and Richard mockingly wrote in a letter to his friend the Bishop of Durham that he'd forced the King of France to "take a drink" of the Epte. But it was a lucky escape for Philip that day. If he'd perished in the river, then the war could've gone very differently, with an 11-year old Dauphin Louis now under a regency council.

But it's a curious coincidence that this happened twice, to two rival kings, almost ten years apart. I wonder what Richard was thinking that day in 1198, and if he felt it was some comeuppance or Fortune's revenge? We know that he thought it was his cause that was just, and that found favour with God: this was the battle in which he coined his motto Dieu et mon Droit.

Acre, or Ptolemais, on the Levantine coast, was a port close to the Latin city of Tyre, one of the last to hold out against the conquests of Saladin. In August 1189, a united force of Christians, led by the disgraced and defeated King Guy of Jerusalem, laid siege to the city. Having lost to Saladin already, Guy was dependent upon the Pope's call for assistance throughout Europe. Various noblemen arrived with their fleets and armies: various German and Italian states, navies from Sicily, Frisians and Danes, as well as those of the French, began arriving in larger numbers. By a certain point, the city of Acre was surrounded by troops from Outremer, France, Pisa, Genoa, the Empire, Sicily, England and the Armenians. The Knights Templar and Hospitaller, keen to avenge their prior defeat at the hands of the Saracens at Hattin, were also there alongside various orders of knighthood, whose banners flew high above the Christians' camp. Three of Europe's greatest rulers - Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, King Richard the Lionheart of England, and King Philip Augustus of France - had pledged to take the cross but were yet to arrive with the greater part of their forces. To make matters worse, Saladin himself had surrounded the besiegers with a large Arab force, who now faced assault on two sides.

To those present, the siege resembled that of Troy. As earls, dukes and barons continued to pour in from across the land and sea, the size of the camp swelled to that of a small makeshift town. The siege was gruelling and long, with none of them able to penetrate the city walls. Heavy rains caused burial pits and latrine ditches to swell, with squalor and disease widespread. Food turned rotten, and many starved. Some members of the clergy, including Hubert Walter from England, raised money for charity to help those in need. Then news arrived that Emperor Frederick had drowned, and the greater part of the German contingent had returned home. No further reinforcements were coming from land due to the Saracens' blockade. Time was running out.

The chronicler Roger of Howden, who himself was present at the siege, records the names of those who died in the year 1190:

>Queen Sibylla [of Jerusalem] and her two daughters; Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem; Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury; the Archbishop of Nazareth; the Archbishop of Besancon; the Archbishop of Arles-le-Blanc; the Archbishop of Montreal; the Bishop of Sidon; the new Bishop of Acre; the Bishop of Baruth; the Bishop of Saint George; the Bishop of Saint Abraham; the Bishop of Tiberias; the Abbot of the Temple of our Lord; the Abbot of Mount Zion; the Abbot of Mount Olivet; the Abbot of Forde; the Prior of Saint Sepulchre; Ralph of Hautereve, Archdeacon of Colchester; Roger of Abbe. Frederick, Emperor of the Romans, died on the journey to the land of Jerusalem, being drowned in the river which is called Salef; and Conrad, his son, Duke of Swabia, died at the siege of Acre; Robert, Earl of Leicester, also died in Romania, in going to the land of Jerusalem; the Landgrave of Germany died in Romania while returning home; John, Constable of Chester, also died at Tyre, in the land of Jerusalem; Rotrod, Earl of Perche, also died at the siege of Acre; the Earl of Puntif; Theobald, Earl of Blois, and Stephen, Count de Sancerre, his brother; William, Earl Ferrers; the Duke Bertold of Germany; Roger, Earl of Apulia, and Jocelyn, Earl of Apulia; as also the Earl of Brenes and his brother Andrew, who was slain. Among the slain were also Ingelram of Fenes, Louis of Arseles, Hugh of Hoiry, Walter of Moy, Guy of Dancy, Odo of Gunesse. The butler of Santstlir was taken by the pagans, as also the marshal of Earl Henry, Reginald of Magny, being slain.

>In the same year, there died besides the above at the siege of Acre, the Viscount of Touraine, the Lord of Wancy, Gilbert of Tileres, Florence of Angest, Jocelyn of Montmorenci, the Viscount of Chastel Heraud, Anselm of Montreal and all his household, the Viscount of Chatillon and his mother, John, Earl of Vendome, Estellan of Ypres, Geoffrey of La Bruyere, Robert of Boives, Adam, Chamberlain of the King of France, Adam of Leun, Boves of Juvenny, William of Pinkim, Roger of Polebare, and Robert, the Constable, Seneschal of Earl William Mandeville. Ranulf Glanville, Justiciary of England, also died at the siege of Acre, as also Bernard the Younger of Saint Valery, Richard Clare, Guy of Chatillon, Walter of Kime, son of Philip of Kime, John of Lamburne, and Walter Ros, brother of Peter Ros.

In April 1191 the half-starved and disease-struck camp were relieved to see a fleet of ships appear on the horizon flying the flag of Genoa: these carried a French force, led by a flagship with a painted blue castle flying the banner of three gold lilies - the flagship of Philip Augustus. The arrival of the French meant fresh forces and supplies, while Philip set to work building trebuchets and siege weapons, as well as sending his sappers to tunnel under Acre's walls. Two months later and the camp had even more reason to rejoice: an even greater force of 100 ships, including King Richard's own flagship, with its red-painted castle and scarlet banner bearing a gold lion. The English had captured a Saracen ship laden with supplies in addition to the isle of Cyprus, and Richard took his first steps in the Holy Land with even greater wealth than any other commander there present.

The rivalry between the English and the French, driven by the enmity of their respective kings, was to increase. Even those of other nations chose sides: the Pisans the English, and the Genoese the French. The two kings took turns battering the walls with their engines of war, while the Saracens occasionally sallied out to launch attacks and set them on fire. Saladin also led his force in attack on the Christian camp, which was repelled. Richard launched his catapults named God's Own Catapult and Bad Neighbour, and holes began to appear in the walls. Philip's sappers had also succeeded in undermining the corner towers, while his constable, Alberic, began an attack with ladders; Alberic was dragged over the walls by the Saracen defenders and slain.

The defenders, commanded by Mestoc and Karrakos (al-Mashtub, or "the Scarred", and Qaraqush, or the "Black Bird"), came out under a flag of truce and offered their terms, which were rejected by Richard and Philip, who demanded the return of the relic of the Holy Cross which Saladin had captured at Hattin, as well as the release of several Christian captives from the same battle. Knowing that Saladin would refuse to accept such terms, they returned to the city for another day of battle.

But the tide of war was turning against them. The defenders were running out of supplies. It is likely that they had by this point expelled all "useless mouths" from the city under a flag of truce. The Christian army meanwhile had reported a vision of the Virgin Mary, promising them that victory was at hand. On the twelfth day of July, the exhausted Muslim commanders prior mentioned exited the city and went to the English and French kings assembled in the tent of the Knights Templar. Throwing themselves at the feet of Richard and Philip, they assented to the terms they gave (without Saladin's express consent) and surrendered the city in exchange for several thousand of the Muslim soldiers from the garrison as hostages.

The triumphant army entered the city and offered thanksgiving in the churches. Richard, his wife Berengaria, and his sister Joan, took up residence in the royal palace. Saladin meanwhile had been presented with the terms made by Mestoc and Karrakos, to which he was ill-pleased: such terms almost undid all of his previous triumphs. The two Christian kings had given command that any among the captured Saracen soldiers who accepted baptism would be freed without ransom; this was soon ceased upon the news that many were accepting baptism and subsequently apostatising to rejoin Saladin. The final terms were that, by the end of the summer, Saladin would exchange 1,200 hostages, the holy relic, as well as a ransom of 200,000 bezants, in exchange for the release of the 3,000 Muslim hostages from the Acre garrison.

Trouble was brewing in the Christian camp. Both Richard and Philip, as commanding kings, had previously fallen into dispute as to who would get the greater share of spoils from any cities in Outremer they captured; Philip argued that as Richard's overlord to half of France, he should get the bigger share, as well as sole right to fly the French royal banner over the walls. Richard's counter-argument was that, as a king in his own right, he should fly the English royal banner and get an equal share of treasure. Eventually, the two kings had agreed to fly both royal banners together, and divide the spoils equally between them. They were less than impressed, then, when they saw the banner of the Duke of Austria flying alongside the lion and lilies on Acre's walls.

Leopold of Austria was a man who had no doubt a chilly relation with Richard and his family, owing to the fact that his cousin was Isaac Comnenus, the "tyrant of Cyprus" deposed by Richard and his army only a few weeks prior to his arrival in the Holy Land. He probably had no particular love for Richard himself and doubtless had little reason to care about whatever terms the English king and his French counterpart had decided. He had been at Acre far longer than either of them, had endured the toil of the siege for longer, and moreover, was acting as leader of the remaining German contingent in the absence of the Emperor. As far as he was concerned, he was entitled to an equal share of the spoils and the same rights as the two kings. Richard and Philip were enraged, seeing this a presumptuous move by an upstart duke, and Richard's men contemptuously removed the Austrian banner and flung it over the walls.

The aftermath of this event saw Leopold announce that he was leaving, and he returned home shortly thereafter. To make matters worse, by the end of July, Philip too, despite his oath, made known his intention of returning home, on claiming that he was too ill to continue, and needed to go back to France to recover. Richard, sensing trouble, made him promise that he would not try attacks on Normandy, Anjou or Aquitaine in his absence, while he chose to stay behind.

With Philip's departure, Richard was now left as more or less the sole commander of the Christian forces - including those among the French and Germans who had chosen to remain in Outremer.

From the Chronicle of Robert Fabian:

>Edward, the fourth of that name, sone of Richard, Duke of York, as before is touched, began his reign over the realm of England the fourth day of March, in the end of the year of grace, to reckon after the Church in England fourteen hundred and sixty one, and the second year of Louis XI the King of France [actually, Louis was crowned the same year]. The which Edward, after his possession taking at Westminster, and getting of the field at Towton by York, was crowned and anointed for King at Westminster aforesaid, the twenty-ninth [actually, the twenty-eighth] day of June, as before is shewed in the end of the last year of Henry VI. After which solemnity finished, the King in the August after rode to Canterbury, and from thence he rode to Sandwich, and from thence along by the seaside to Southampton, and so into the March of Wales, and returned by Bristol, where he was with all honour received, and after visited sundry parts of his realm. In which season or soon after, the time of Richard Lee, Mayor of London, expired, and Hugh Wyche, mercer, was admitted for the year following.

His brothers George and Richard were knighted during the coronation ceremonies.

Repent ye; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. St. Matthew 3:2

The Collect:

ALMIGHTY God, by whose providence thy servant St. John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of thy Son our Saviour, by preaching of repentance; Make us so to follow his doctrine and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle (Isaiah 40):

COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

The Gospel (St. Luke 1):

ELISABETH'S full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

The Psalm: 143 (Domine, Exaudi)

James had only just emerged victorious from the defeat of his incredibly unpopular father, King James III, at Sauchieburn. Despite his attempts to avoid harm, his father was killed in the battle; for which James felt such intense guilt that he underwent penance for the rest of his life.

On the Feast of St. John the Baptist, a few days after the battle and the securing of the royal castles, the Duke of Rothesay entered Scone Abbey in procession with his new courtiers and was crowned and anointed by the Bishop of Glasgow, Robert Blackadder. Following this, as was custom, the King went outside and sat enthroned upon the hill, receiving the homage of his earls and barons.

His reign was a golden age for Scotland: James prioritised arts such as portrait painting, had an interest in alchemy and science, founded several colleges and commissioned the building of new palaces. He also had a keen enthusiasm for military matters: he made extensive use of cannons and gunpowder in warfare, commissioned several new warships (the Michael, the James, the Margaret, and the Treasurer), and fought wars in England and Sweden. In addition to his native Scots, he was fluent in several languages: Scottish Gaelic, French, German, Italian, Flemish, Spanish and Latin. He brought the printing press to Scotland.

All of this was to come to a tragic end at Flodden Field in 1513, in which an invasion of England, led by James, ended in his defeat and death.

Henry and Catherine, dressed in finest robes and precious jewels, made their way into Westminster Abbey, watched by many important figures in Henry's early life, including his grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Archbishop William Warham anointed Henry with the holy oil, and then presented him with his orb and sceptre before finally placing the crown on his head. The Duke of Buckingham, four earls and twenty-one barons then knelt before the throne and pledged their allegiance. Catherine was then presented with a sceptre and crowned.

After this the King and Queen made their way from the abbey into the streets of London, where huge crowds had gathered to see them. This was followed by the banquet at Westminster Hall, and several days of jousting, feasting and entertainment.

St. Etheldreda was born in Suffolk in 636, in the Kingdom of the East Angles; her father was Onna, the King of the East Angles. Onna's children were all devout Christians: in addition to Etheldreda herself, her brother Jurmin, and sisters Saxburga, Wendreda, Ethelburga and Withburga, are all regarded as saints. Etheldreda made a vow to follow Jesus from an early age, and wished to become a nun.

She married first Tondbert, Prince of the South Gyrwas, and then secondly Egfrith, King of the Northumbrians. Despite her marriages she remained true to her vows and eventually made her escape to the isle of Ely, where she founded an abbey and became Abbess.

She died in 679, her sister Saxburga succeeding her to the abbacy.

Ely Abbey was sacked and destroyed by invading Danes in 870, but was rebuilt by King Edgar the Peaceful in 970. King Richard II was also especially devoted to the saint.

Segments from a hymn by the Venerable Bede in Etheldreda's honour (translated by Robert F. Forgacs):

All-gracious Trinity, God who governs all ages, now favour my undertakings, All-gracious Trinity, God.

Divine gifts I shall sing, not the battles of pitiable Troy, the earth rejoices in these divine gifts I shall sing.

Fair consecrated Virgin, you bear the world's creator, Mary, Gate of God, fair consecrated Virgin.

Her honour brought forth many from this chaste stem, many virginal flowers her honour brought forth.

In fierce flames consumed virgin Agatha does not desist, Eulalia too endures to the end, in fierce flames consumed.

Kindled by her strength of mind chaste Thecla overcomes wild beasts, holy Euphemia too is kindled by her strength of mind.

Laughing at the swords joyful, Agnes stands harder than steel, Cecilia is joyful in dread danger, laughing at the swords.

Now our illustrious age too has blessed a virgin's life, bright Etheldreda now our illustrious age too has blessed.

Of a distinguished father born, and glorious royal line, she is nobler with the Lord, of a distinguished father born.

Possessing the honour of a queen she reigned on earth, and lives beyond the stars, possessing the honour of a queen.

Queen, why do you seek a husband, vowed to the bridegroom on high? To Christ betrothed, Queen, why do you seek a husband?

Spouse dedicated to God, for twice six years had she reigned, and then within a monastery was a spouse dedicated to God.

To Heaven wholly consecrated she flourished in lofty deeds, And she surrendered her soul, to Heaven wholly consecrated.

Zealous with hatred rages the Foe who had once conquered Eve; a virgin rejoicing triumphs, zealous with hatred rages the Foe.

Collect:

>O Eternal God, who didst bestow such grace upon thy servant St. Etheldreda that she gave herself wholly to the life of prayer and to the service of true religion: Grant that we, like her, may so live our lives on earth seeking thy kingdom that by thy guiding we may be joined to the glorious fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.

St. Alban was a soldier who, according to the Venerable Bede, lived in Britain during the days of Emperor Diocletian. During a persecution of Christians he began sheltering priests within his house. When one of the judges demanded that he yield up a priest called Amphibalus, Alban submitted himself in the priest's place, declaring that he was a worshipper of the living God who created all things in heaven and earth. Alban was led to a hill outside of the city and beheaded with a sword, becoming the first recorded Christian martyr of the isle of Britain. The city of St Albans, named for him, stands on the site of Verulamium today, and the cathedral (housing his tomb) and the holy well stand at the site of his martyrdom.

In his struggle thine holy martyr Alban gained the crown of life, O Christ our God. For strengthened by thee and in purity of heart, he spoke boldly before the judges of this world, offering up his head to thee, who art the Judge of all.

Collect:

>Eternal Father, who, when the Gospel of Christ first came to our land [or, the land of Britain] didst gloriously confirm the faith of St. Alban by making him the first to win a martyr's crown: Grant that, following his example, in the fellowship of the saints, we may worship thee, the living God, and give true witness to Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.