Richard I

Eleanora thought that Berengaria could not go any farther with propriety, for her engagement with Richard was not yet made public. Indeed, the betrothal of Richard with Alice still remained nominally in force, and a serious difficulty was to be apprehended with Philip so soon as the new plans which Richard had formed should be announced to him.

Berengaria at Brindisi with JoannaThe friendship between Joanna and Berengaria

Eleanora said that she could not remain long in Italy, but must return to Normandy very soon, without waiting for Richard to prepare the way for receiving his bride. So she left Berengaria under the charge of Joanna, who, being her own – that is, Eleanora's – daughter, was a very proper person to be the young lady's protector. Joanna and Berengaria immediately conceived a strong attachment for each other, and they lived together in a very happy manner. Joanna was glad to have for a companion so charming a young lady, and one of so high a rank, and Berengaria, on the other hand, was much pleased to be placed under the charge of so kind a protector. Joanna, too, having long lived in Sicily, could give Berengaria a great deal of interesting intelligence about the country and the people, and could answer all the thousand questions which she asked about what she heard and saw in the new world, as it were, into which she had been ushered.

The two ladies lived, of course, in very close seclusion, but they lived so lovingly together that one of the writers of the day, in a ballad that he wrote, compared them to two birds in a cage. Speaking of Eleanora, he says, in the quaint old English of the day,

"She beleft Berengere

At Richard's costage.

Queen Joanne held her dear;

They lived as doves in a cage."

The arrival of Berengaria at Brindisi took place in the spring of the year, when the time was drawing nigh for the fleets and armaments to sail for the East. As yet, Philip knew nothing of Richard's plans in respect to this new marriage, but the time had now arrived when Richard perceived that they could no longer be concealed. Philip entertained suspicions that something wrong was going on, though he did not know exactly what. His suspicions made him watchful and jealous, and at last they led to a curious train of circumstances, which brought matters to a crisis very suddenly.

Tancred receives a letter from PhilipTreachery

It seems that at one time, when Richard was paying a visit to Tancred, the King of Sicily, Tancred showed him a letter which he said he had received from the French king. In this letter, Philip – if, indeed, Philip really wrote it – endeavored to excite Tancred's enmity against Richard. It was just after the treaty between Tancred and Richard had been formed, as related in the last chapter. The letter said that Richard was a treacherous man, in whom no reliance could be placed; that he had no intention of keeping the treaty that he had made, but was laying a scheme for attacking Tancred in his Sicilian dominions; and, finally, it closed with an offer on the part of the writer to assist Tancred in driving Richard and all his followers out of the island.

Philip's letter to TancredRichard's opinion of it

When Richard read this letter, he was at first in a dreadful rage, and he broke out into an explosion of the most violent, profane, and passionate language that can be conceived. Presently he looked at the letter again, and on reperusing it, and carefully considering its contents, he declared that he did not believe that Philip ever wrote it. It was a stratagem of Tancred's, he thought, designed to promote a quarrel between Richard and his ally. Tancred assured him that Philip did write the letter, or, at least, that it was brought to him as from Philip by the Duke of Burgundy, one of his principal officers.

"You may ask the Duke of Burgundy," said he, "and if he denies it, I will challenge him to a duel through one of my barons."

The etiquette of dueling

It was necessary that the parties to a duel, in those days, should be of equal rank, so that, if a king had a quarrel with a nobleman of another nation, he could only send one of his own noblemen of the same rank to be his representative in the combat. But this proposal of sending another man to risk his life in maintaining the cause of his king on a question of veracity, in which the person so sent had no interest whatever, illustrates very curiously the ideas of those chivalrous times.

Richard charges the letter upon Philip

Richard did not go to the Duke of Burgundy, but, taking the letter which Tancred had shown him, he waited until he found a good opportunity, and then showed it to Philip. The two kings often fell into altercations and disputes in their interviews with each other, and it was in one of these that Richard produced the letter, offering it by way of recrimination to some charges or accusations which Philip was making against him. Philip denied having written the letter. It was a forgery, he said, and he believed that Richard himself was the author of it.

Philip's reply

"You are trying every way you can," said he, "to find pretexts for quarreling with me, and this is one of your devices. I know what you are aiming at: you wish to quarrel with me so as to find some excuse for breaking off your marriage with my sister, whom you are bound by a most solemn oath to marry. But of this you may be sure, that if you abandon her and take any other wife, you will find me, as long as you live, your most determined and mortal enemy."

This declaration aroused Richard's temper, and brought the affair at once to a crisis. Richard declared to Philip that he never would marry his sister.

Richard's declaration

"My father," said he, "kept her from me for many years because he loved her himself, and she returned his love, and now I will never have any thing to do with her. I am ready to prove to you the truth of what I say."

So Richard brought forward what he called the proofs of the very intimate relations which had subsisted between Alice and his father. Whether there was any thing genuine or conclusive in these proofs is not known. At all events, they made a very deep and painful impression on Philip. The disclosure was, as one of the writers of those times says, "like a nail driven directly through his heart."

Richard and Philip compromise their quarrel

After a while, the two kings concluded to settle the difficulty by a sort of compromise. Philip agreed to give up all claims on the part of Alice to Richard in consideration of a sum of money which Richard was to pay. Richard was to pay two thousand marks4 a year for five years, and was on that condition to be allowed to marry any one he chose. He was also to restore to Philip the fortresses and estates which had been conveyed to his father as Alice's dowry at the time of her betrothment to Richard in her infancy.

This agreement, being thus made, was confirmed by a great profusion of oaths, sworn with all solemnity, and the affair was considered as settled.

Re-embarkation

Still, Richard seems to have been a little disinclined to bring out Berengaria at once from her retreat, and let Philip know suddenly how far his arrangements for marrying another lady had gone; so he concluded to wait, before publicly announcing his intended marriage, until Philip should have sailed for the East. Philip was now, indeed, nearly ready to go; his fleet and his armament, being smaller than Richard's, could be dispatched earlier; so Richard devoted himself very earnestly to the work of facilitating and hastening his ally's departure, determining that immediately afterward he would bring forward his bride and celebrate his marriage.

Preparations for the marriage

It is not, however, certain that he kept his intended marriage with Berengaria an absolute secret from Philip. There would be no longer any special necessity for this after the treaty that had been made. But, notwithstanding this agreement, it is not to be supposed that the new marriage would be a very agreeable subject for Philip to contemplate, or that it would be otherwise than very awkward for him to be present on the occasion of the celebration of it; so Richard decided that, on all accounts, it was best to postpone the ceremony until after Philip had gone.

Richard escorting Philip

Philip sailed the very last of March. Richard selected from his fleet a few of his most splendid galleys, and with these, filled with a chosen company of knights and barons, he accompanied Philip as he left the harbor, and sailed with him down the Straits of Messina, with trumpets sounding, and flags and banners waving in the air. As soon as Philip's fleet reached the open sea, Richard took leave, and set out with his galleys on his return; but, instead of going back to Messina, he made the best of his way to the port in Italy where Berengaria and Joanna were lodging, and there took the ladies, who were all ready, expecting him, and embarking them on board a very elegantly adorned galley which he had prepared for them, he conducted them to Messina.

Why the wedding was postponed

Richard would now probably have been immediately married, but it was in the season of Lent, and, according to the ideas of those times, it would be in some sense a desecration of that holy season of fasting to celebrate any such joyous ceremony as a wedding in it; and it would not do very well to postpone the sailing of the fleet until after the season of Lent should have expired, for the time had already fully arrived when it ought to sail, and Philip, with his division of the allied force, had already gone; so he concluded to put off his marriage till they should reach the next place at which the expedition should land.

Berengaria consented to this, and it was arranged that she was to accompany the expedition when it should sail, and that at the next place of landing, which it was expected would be the island of Rhodes, the marriage ceremony should be performed.

Richard puts Joanna and Berengaria in charge of Stephen

As it was not considered quite proper, however, under these circumstances, that the princess should sail in the same ship with Richard, a very strong and excellent ship was provided for her special use, and that of Joanna who was to accompany her, and it was arranged that she should sail from the port just before the main body of the fleet were ready to commence the voyage. The ship in which the ladies and their suite were conveyed was placed under the command of a brave and faithful knight named Stephen of Turnham, and the two princesses were committed to his special charge.

The vow to conquer Acre

But, although Richard's regard for the sacred season of Lent would not allow of his celebrating the marriage, he made a grand celebration in honor of his betrothment to Berengaria before he sailed. At this celebration he instituted an order of twenty-four knights. These knights bound themselves in a fraternity with the king, and took a solemn oath that they would scale the walls of Acre when they reached the Holy Land. Acre was one of the strongest and most important fortresses in that country, and one which they were intending first to attack.

Richard's present to Tancred

Also, before he went away, Richard made King Tancred a farewell present of a very valuable antique sword, which had been found, he said, by his father in the tomb of a famous old English knight who had lived some centuries before.

Chapter X.

The Campaign in Cyprus

1190The expedition is at last ready to sail from Sicily

The time at length fully arrived for the departure of the English fleet from Sicily for the purpose of continuing the voyage to the Holy Land. Besides the delay which had been occasioned to Richard by circumstances connected with his marriage, he had waited also a short time for some store-ships to arrive from England with ammunition and supplies. When the store-ships at length came, the day for the sailing was immediately appointed, the tents were struck, the encampment abandoned, and the troops embarked on board the ships of the fleet.

The grand spectacle of the embarkation at Messina

The Sicilians were all greatly excited, as the sailing of the fleet drew nigh, with anticipations of the splendor of the spectacle. The harbor was filled with ships of every form and size, and the movements connected with the embarkation of the troops on board of them, the striking of the tents, the packing up of furniture and goods, the hurrying of men to and fro, the crowding at the landings, the rapid transit of boats back and forth between the ships and the shore, and all the other scenes and incidents usually attendant on the embarkation of a great army, occupied the attention of the people of the country, and filled them with excitement and pleasure. It is highly probable, too, that their pleasure was increased by the prospect that they were soon to be relieved from the presence of such troublesome and unmanageable visitors.

The order of sailing

Never was a finer spectacle witnessed than that which was displayed by the sailing of the fleet, when the day for the departure of it at length arrived. The squadron consisted of nearly two hundred vessels in all. There were thirteen great ships, corresponding to what are called ships of the line of modern times. Then there were over fifty galleys. These were constructed so as to be propelled either by oars or by sails. Of course, when the wind was favorable, the sails would be used; but in case of calms, or of adverse winds blowing off from the land when the vessels were entering port, or of currents drifting them into danger, then the oars could be brought into requisition. In addition to these ships and galleys, there were about a hundred vessels used as transports for the conveyance of provisions, stores, tents, and tent equipage, ammunition of all kinds, including the frames of the military engines which Richard had caused to be constructed in Sicily, and all the other supplies required for the use of a great army. Besides these there were a great many other smaller vessels, which were used as tenders, lighters, and for other such purposes, making a total number of nearly two hundred. In the order of sailing, the transports followed the ships and galleys, which were more properly the ships of war, and which led the van, in order the better to meet any danger which might appear, and the more effectually to protect the convoy from it.

Trenc-le-mer

Richard sailed at the head of his fleet in a splendid galley, which was appropriated to his special use. The name of it was the Sea Cutter.5 There was a huge lantern hoisted in the stern of Richard's galley, in order that the rest of the fleet could see and follow her in the night.

The stormNavigation in the twelfth century

The day of sailing was very fine, and the spectacle, witnessed by the Sicilians on shore, who watched the progress of it from every projecting point and headland as it moved majestically out of the harbor, was extremely grand. For some time the voyage went on very prosperously, but at length the sky gradually became overcast, and the wind began to blow, and finally a great storm came on before the ships had time to seek any shelter. In those days there was no mariner's compass, and of course, in a storm, when the sun and stars were concealed, there was nothing to be done but for the ship to grope her way through the haze and rain for any land which might be near. The violence of the wind and the raging of the sea was in this case so great that the fleet was soon dispersed, and the vessels were driven northward and eastward toward certain islands which lie in that part of the Mediterranean, off the coasts of Asia Minor. The three principal of these islands, as you will see by the opposite map, are Candia, Rhodes, and Cyprus, Cyprus lying farther toward the east.

Limesol in CyprusThe wrecked shipsKing Richard's seal

The ships came very near being wrecked on the coast of Crete, but they escaped and were driven onward over the sea, until at length a large portion of them found refuge at Rhodes. Others were driven on toward Cyprus. Richard's galley was among those that found refuge at Rhodes; but, unfortunately, the one in which Berengaria and Joanna were borne did not succeed in making a port there, but was swept onward by the gale, and, in company with one or two others, was driven to the mouth of the harbor of Limesol, which is the principal port of Cyprus, and is situated on the south side of the island. The galley in which the queen and the princess were embarked, being probably of superior construction to the others, and better manned, succeeded in weathering the point and getting round into the harbor, but two or three other galleys which were with them struck and were wrecked. One of these ships was a very important one. It contained the chancellor who bore Richard's great seal, besides a number of other knights and crusaders of high rank, and many valuable goods. The seal was an object of great value. Every king had his own seal, which was used to authenticate his public acts. The one which belonged to Richard is represented in the following engraving.

The wreckersIsaac Comnenus

As soon as the news of these wrecks spread into the island, the people came down in great numbers, and took possession of every thing of value which was cast upon the shore as property forfeited to the king of the country. The name of this king was Isaac Comnenus.

Law and justice

He claimed that all wrecks cast upon his shores were his property. That was the law of the land; it was, in fact, the law of a great many countries in those days, especially of such as had maritime coasts bordering on navigable waters that were specially exposed to storms.

Law is not the creator, but the protector of property

Thus, in seizing the wreck of Richard's vessels, King Isaac had the law on his side, and all those who, in their theory of government, hold it as a principle that law is the foundation of property, and that what the law makes right is right, must admit that he had justice on his side too. For my part, it seems clear that the right of property is anterior to all law, and independent of it. I think that the province of law is not to create property, but to protect it, and that it may, instead of protecting it, become the greatest violator of it. This law providing for the confiscation of property cast in wrecks upon a shore, and its forfeiture to the sovereign of the territory, is one of the most striking instances of aggression made by law on the natural and indefeasible rights of man.

In regard to the galley which contained the queens, that having escaped shipwreck, and having safely anchored in the harbor, the king had no pretext for molesting it in any way. He learned by some means that Queen Joanna was on board the galley; so he sent two boats down with a messenger, to inquire whether her majesty would be pleased to land.

Joanna's inquiries for her brother

Stephen of Turnham, the knight who had command of the queen's galley, thought it not safe to go on shore, for by doing so Joanna and Berengaria would put themselves entirely in King Isaac's power; and though it was true that Isaac and the people of Cyprus over whom he ruled were Christians, yet they were of the Greek Church, while Richard and the English were Roman, and these two churches were almost as hostile to each other as the Christians and the Turks. Stephen, however, communicated the message from Isaac to Joanna, and asked her majesty's pleasure thereupon. She sent back word to the messengers that she did not wish to land. She had only come into the harbor, she said, to see if she could learn any tidings of her brother; she had been separated from him by a great storm at sea, which had broken up and dispersed the fleet, and she wished to know whether any thing had been seen of him, or of any of his vessels, from the shores of that island.

An alarmA retreat

The messengers replied that they did not know any thing about it, and so the boats returned back to the town. Soon after this the company on board the galley saw some armed vessels coming down the harbor toward them. They were alarmed at this sight, and immediately got every thing ready for setting off at a moment's notice to withdraw from the harbor. It turned out that the king himself was on board one of the galleys that was coming down, and this vessel was allowed to come near enough for the king to communicate with the people on board Joanna's galley. After some ordinary questions had been asked and answered, the king, observing that a lady of high rank was standing on the deck with Joanna, asked who it was. They answered that it was the Princess of Navarre, who was going to be married to Richard. In the reply which the king made to this intelligence Stephen of Turnham thought he saw such indications of hostility that he deemed it most prudent to retire; so the anchor was raised, and the order was given to the oarsmen, who had already been stationed at their oars, to "give way," and the oarsmen pulled vigorously at the oars. The galley was immediately taken out into the offing. The King of Cyprus did not pursue her; so she anchored there quietly, the storm having now nearly subsided. Stephen resolved to wait there for a time, hoping that in some way or other he might soon receive intelligence from Richard.

Richard's vessel appearsRichard's indignation on meeting Joanna's vessel

Nor was he disappointed. Richard, whose galley, together with the principal portion of the fleet, had been driven farther to the eastward, had found refuge at Rhodes, and he set off, as soon as the storm abated, in pursuit of the missing vessels. He took with him a sufficient force to render to the vessels, if he should find them, such assistance or protection as might be necessary. At length he reached Cyprus, and, on entering the bay, there he beheld the galley of Joanna and Berengaria riding safely at anchor in the offing. The sea had not yet gone down, and the vessel was rolling and tossing on the waves in a fearful manner. Richard was greatly enraged at beholding this spectacle, for he at once inferred, by seeing the vessel in this uncomfortable situation outside the harbor, that some difficulty with the authorities had occurred which prevented her seeking refuge and protection within. Accordingly, as soon as he came near, he leaped into a boat, although burdened as he was with heavy armor of steel, which was a difficult and somewhat dangerous operation, and ordered himself to be rowed immediately on board.

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.