It has been said by a modern historian that the character of Richard was described by the Normans in one word, when they called him _Cœur-de-Lion_, or the Lion-Heart, but that the tiger might with more fitness have been taken as his prototype. Such an opinion does not appear to be warranted by the facts. To say that Richard was guilty of acts which we now stamp as cruel and tyrannous, is but to say that he was possessed of power, and lived in the twelfth century; but to intimate that his whole life was a course of such acts, is to violate historical justice. This terrible warrior-king had his moments of gentleness, and more than once displayed a magnanimity which, under all the circumstances, must excite our high admiration. If he was false to his wife, as appears to have been the case, his vices of that kind were less conspicuous than those of his predecessors. If he struck down his enemies without pity, he at least used no treachery for that purpose. Whatever he did he dared to do openly, and would have disdained to use intrigues like those which disgraced the sovereigns of France and Germany. Without searching the records of his reign for isolated instances of virtue, we may believe that many noble qualities must have been possessed by the man who could attach his friends and attendants so warmly to himself, and excite in the breasts of his people--ground down as they were by his exactions--such strong sentiments of loyalty and admiration. The great fault in his character is his complete indifference to England and the welfare of his subjects. CHAPTER XXIII. JOHN AND THE GREAT CHARTER. Accession of John--His Position--Arthur of Brittany--Peace between John and Philip of France--John's Marriage with Isabella of La Marche--Rupture with France--The Struggle Begins--Capture of Arthur--The Stories of his Death--The Loss of Normandy--Peace with Philip--Quarrel with the Pope--The Kingdom Laid Under an Interdict, and Excommunication of John--John's Desperate Measures--Expedition to Ireland--John is Deposed--Arrival of Pandulph in England--Surrender of the Kingdom to the Pope--Successes of John--Langton Arrives in England--He Becomes Leader of the Baronial Party--The Battle of Bouvines--Insurrection in England--The Barons Confront John--His Intrigues--Meeting at Brackley--Occupation of London---The Meeting at Runnymede--Greatness of the Occasion--Provisions of the Charter--Duplicity of John--Siege of Rochester--John in the North--His Cause Supported by the Church--The Crown offered to Louis of France--He Enters London--Sieges of Dover and Windsor--Reported Conspiracy--John's Disaster at the Wash--His Death and Character.