Curialia Miscellanea, or Anecdotes of Old Times: Regal, Noble, Gentilitial, and Miscellaneous: Including Authentic Anecdotes of the Royal Household, and the Manners and Customs of the Court, at an Early Period of the English HistoryPegge, Samuel
History
Curialia Miscellanea, or Anecdotes of Old Times: Regal, Noble, Gentilitial, and Miscellaneous: Including Authentic Anecdotes of the Royal Household, and the Manners and Customs of the Court, at an Early Period of the English History
Pegge, Samuel
Anecdotes -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- Court and courtiers -- Early works to 1800; Pegge, Samuel, 1704-1796
Henry left in his treasury at Winchester more than nine hundred
thousand pounds[139], besides jewels, and other valuable
things[140]; but this would go but a very little way towards
recovering Jerusalem, which had been taken, and was now in the
hands of the Saracens. Before the death of Henry, Richard had bound
himself in a vow to Philip of France, to join in this undertaking;
and every one, _ad Regis exemplum_, strove either to go in person,
or to supply money towards the expence of the expedition. Nothing,
however sacred, could withstand Richard, in his schemes to raise
money for this purpose. Most of the Crown lands which Henry had,
with so much prudence and address, but a few years before, recovered
out of private hands, and annexed to the State, were again put
up to public sale, to be purchased by such as were able. Every
expedient was devised, to create a fund for this enterprize; and
among the rest, he obtained of the Pope a power to dispense with
the vows of such who had rashly engaged in the Crusade, by which he
raised very large sums. The Bishop of Norwich paid him 1000 marks,
to be excused. Where he could, he borrowed; and where he could not
borrow, he compelled. The people murmured at his oppression, and
the alienation of the estates of the Crown; but Richard told them,
_he would sell London itself, if he could meet with a purchaser_.
So great, however, was the general infatuation, that he had less
difficulty in raising men than money. The Clergy laboured as
zealously to procure him soldiers, as he himself had been active
in raising subsidies; his army soon became very numerous, and at a
cheap rate, for every officer and private soldier provided himself
with necessaries. One would think the great wealth that Richard had
amassed would have answered all his purposes; but in a few years
after, he had occasion for fresh supplies, to carry on a war with
Philip of France; not to mention the ransom which was paid for his
release, on his being taken prisoner by the Emperor Henry, amounting
to 150,000 marks, which were raised for the occasion by his subjects
in England. Philip of France had so maltreated Richard, by leaguing
himself with his Brother John, and bribing the Emperor to detain
him prisoner, that, as soon as Richard returned home, he could no
longer deny himself the satisfaction of revenge. His Kingdom was
already drained, and little able to furnish out supplies for a war
with France; but Richard was resolved, and money must be had at any
rate, let the means be ever so dishonourable. For this purpose he
revoked all the grants of the Crown lands, which he had made before
his expedition to Palestine. The pretext for this was, that the
purchasers had enjoyed them long enough to re-imburse themselves
out of the profits, and therefore he did them no injury by taking
the lands back again. This was one device; the next was, to avail
himself of the loss of the Great Seal, by ordering a new one to be
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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