Henry of Hohenstaufen was a political visionary, obsessed, more strongly perhaps than any other German ruler before our own day, by the German dream of world-dominion; yet even he can scarcely have had any real hope of extorting Richard’s consent to the terms laid down in this curious document. Leopold of Austria was a practical-minded person, and moreover knew Richard too well to have any illusions on the subject; hence the strong safeguards by which he secured his claims as the original captor of the prize—safeguards which Henry dared not refuse to grant him. The Emperor could not afford to forfeit either the friendship of the duke of Austria or the advantages which the possession of Richard’s person would involve. In the autumn of 1191 Henry had made an attempt to take possession of Naples, and it had failed. The Guelfs had profited by his absence from Germany to stir up discontent and prepare a rising there. In November 1192 the bishop of Liége was murdered; the malcontents ascribed the sacrilegious crime to the instigation of the Emperor. The dukes of Brabant and Limburg (one of whom was brother and the other uncle to the murdered prelate) and the archbishop of Cologne were soon up in arms; the archbishop of Mentz, the duke of Bohemia, and other feudataries quickly followed their example; and at the back of the whole disturbance was King Richard’s brother-in-law, the old Saxon “Lion.” Nearly half Germany was in revolt.[1071] It was thus a matter of the utmost importance for the Emperor to secure the support of the duke of Austria, whose power and influence already extended considerably beyond the limits of the little territory from which he took his chief title. Outside his own realm Henry of Germany had now one ally, though the alliance was a secret one. Philip of France had travelled home from Palestine very leisurely[1072] by way of Italy; early in December 1191 he had met the Emperor at Milan,[1073] and their meeting had resulted in an agreement, private and informal, but well understood between them, to make common cause for the ruin of Richard. The capture of the English king gave them an opening for joint action sooner than they could have expected; and it also gave Henry an opportunity of posing before his malcontent vassals as supreme ruler, judge, and arbiter of all Europe. The actual transfer of Richard from Leopold’s custody to Henry’s did not take place till more than a month after the Würzburg compact was made; it was evidently thus arranged that it might coincide with the gathering of the imperial court for the Easter festival. On the Tuesday in Holy Week, probably at Spire, Richard was brought before the Emperor. Henry seems to have begun by demanding the full terms drawn up at Würzburg; we are told that he “required many things to which the king felt he could not consent, were it to save his very life.” Next, the Emperor brought against his captive a string of