[7]“The King left only two legitimate sons,—Richard, who succeeded him,
and John, who inherited no territory, though his father had often
intended to leave him a part of his extensive dominion. He was thence
commonly denominated ‘Lackland.’”—Hume.
[8]Henry the Second, King of England, died July 6, 1189. In the last
year of his reign he was confronted with the rebellion of his sons
Richard and John, in which they were assisted by Philip Augustus of
France.
[9]Geoffrey, the father of Arthur, had been concerned in a previous
rebellion against his father, instigated, like that of Richard and
John, by Queen Eleanor.
[10]This was the Third Crusade (1189-92), which was led by Frederick
Barbarossa of Germany (see the volume “Barbarossa” in this series),
Richard the Lion-hearted of England, and Philip Augustus of France.
They failed to recover Jerusalem, which had been recaptured by the
Mussulmans in 1187.
[11]Richard the First, surnamed the Lion-hearted, was born September 8,
1157, and was the third son of Henry the Second. He was killed in a
war with Philip Augustus of France, John’s ally.
[12]The author’s chronology is at fault in this connection. Godfrey of
Bouillon was a leader in the First Crusade, and died at Jerusalem in
1100, before the period of this story.
[13]Acre, in Palestine, was captured by the Crusaders in 1191, and
Ascalon in 1153. The latter city was the birthplace of Herod the
First.
[14]Henry the Sixth, born in 1165, was the son of Barbarossa, whom he
succeeded as King of Germany in 1190.
[15]Trifels was an imperial fortress in the Rhine Palatinate, near
Annweiler, which was the resort of mediæval emperors. Only its ruins
remain.
[16]The Louvre, now one of the world’s famous art museums, was a castle
of the kings of France from the thirteenth century, and the chief
royal palace until Versailles was built by Louis the Fourteenth. Most
of the interior has been occupied as a museum since 1793.
[17]Marie of France was the daughter of Philip Augustus.
[18]Montjoie is the name of a hill near Paris where Saint Denis was
murdered. In tournaments “Montjoie” was the cry of the French
heralds; and “Montjoie St. Denis” was the French battle-cry.
[19]Compiègne is a town in the Department of Oise, France, and is famous
for the royal palace rebuilt by Louis the Fifteenth. Napoleon the
First greatly enriched its interior.
[20]Blondel was a _trouvère_, or minstrel, who accompanied Richard the
Lion-hearted, and is said to have discovered him when he was
imprisoned by singing a song under the King’s tower, to which Richard
responded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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