Hero Tales from History — Lion-hearted Richard and Wolf-hearted John

LION-HEARTED RICHARD AND WOLF-HEARTED JOHN

The great-grandson of William the Conqueror was Henry the Second of England, a great and powerful king.

At his death, in 1189, he left two sons, Richard and John.

As Richard was the older he was at once proclaimed king and duly crowned in Westminster Abbey.

He was also Duke of Normandy, and thought this a greater honor than to be king of England.

About a hundred years before the time of Richard, great armies had begun to sail from several of the countries of western Europe to the Holy Land in Syria.

The rock-hewn tomb of Jesus, near Jerusalem, was in possession of the followers of Mohammed--Turks, Arabs, and Saracens--who controlled the country.

The Christian people of Europe thought it very wrong that the Saracens owned the Holy City of Jerusalem and could keep Christians from coming to worship at the tomb of their Lord.

So throngs of soldiers went to the Holy Land to rescue the Holy Sepulchre, or tomb.

The wars which they fought for this cause were known as the Crusades.

[Illustration: KING RICHARD GENEROUSLY FORGIVES BERTRAND DE GURDUN, WHO HAD ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE HIM.

_From the painting by John Cross_] In the First Crusade, the Christian knights captured not only the Holy Sepulchre but also the city of Jerusalem.

In the Second Crusade, about fifty years later, the crusaders were beaten back by the Saracens.

Two years before Richard became king, the Mohammedans again captured Jerusalem and the sacred tomb.

Young King Richard was fired with a holy zeal to win back the Holy City and the Sepulchre, and, if possible, to find the cross upon which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.

This relic was believed to have been hidden by the Saracens.

King Richard made many sacrifices to raise money for a Third Crusade.

His brother John was glad to have Richard go away on such a distant and dangerous mission, leaving the younger brother to rule over England during the king’s long absence.

John was as cowardly as Richard was brave, and, down in his heart, he hoped the Turk would kill his brother so that he could have the throne.

Because of the king’s knightly courage he was given the title of Richard Lion-heart.

If John had been named for the animal he was most like, he would have been called John Wolf-heart.

Richard was joined by King Philip of France, and the two kings, with their armies and those of the Archduke of Austria, reached the Holy Land in due time.

They attacked the walled city of Acre--called Akka by the Arabs--and captured it after a long, hard fight and the loss of many thousands of soldiers.

But Richard was as overbearing as he was brave.

He ordered other kings and dukes about, and his manner was so masterful that he made Philip and the Archduke of Austria very angry.

After several bitter quarrels, the king of France left Richard to fight on without him.

The French king sailed away home with most of his army, and plotted with Prince John to injure the absent brother and make John King of England while Richard was still alive.

Many tales are told of the struggle between Richard, king of England, and Saladin, the sultan of the Saracens.

For hundreds of years after Richard Lion-heart’s campaign in the Holy Land, Arab mothers would frighten their children by warning them that Richard would get them if they were not good.

Sir Walter Scott’s great novels, “Ivanhoe” and “The Talisman,” are stories of life in England at this time, and of knightly tournaments which took place between Richard and Saladin during this Crusade.

While the Crusaders were trying to capture Ascalon, it became necessary for them to work like stone masons in rebuilding certain walls.

Richard went to work with a royal will, and most of the nobles and knights followed his example.

But the Archduke of Austria said he was the son neither of a carpenter nor of a mason, and flatly refused to help.

This made King Richard so angry that he struck the Archduke a blow with his mailed fist and gave him a resounding kick with his heavy iron boot.

With all his holy zeal to take the Holy City, Richard Lion-heart had not learned that “he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city.

” Then the Archduke and his Austrian army also left Richard to fight on alone with his few remaining soldiers.

What Richard had found hard enough with the help of the king of France and the Archduke of Austria was impossible without them.

But Lion-heart was not only a very brave man but a fine general.

He defeated the army of Saladin in a great battle at Arsuf and twice led the Christian forces within a few miles of Jerusalem.

Quarrels among the crusaders however made it impossible to continue the war.

King Richard also received bad news from home, that his brother John was plotting against him aided by King Philip of France.

So he and Saladin made a truce to stop fighting for three years, three months, three weeks, and three days.

Then the brave king of England started for home.

Richard sent his army the long way round by water, while he and a few knights, disguised as pilgrims, tried to go the short way by land, across Austria and Germany.

In spite of his disguise, Richard was recognized by an Austrian soldier.

When the Archduke heard that Richard was crossing his dukedom, he sent soldiers at once to capture the king who had insulted him.

Richard was a prisoner in a great castle for two years.

A story is told of a young troubadour, or wandering minstrel, who started out to find his royal master by playing a lute and singing songs of love and hymns of the Crusaders.

After months of wandering, he sang under a castle wall a favorite song of Richard’s, and heard, to his great joy, a deep bass voice within the German fortress joining in the hymn.

He well knew that the voice was none other than Richard Lion-heart’s. Saying nothing, he hurried away and told some English friends where their lost king was.

They rushed to Richard’s rescue and paid the Emperor of Germany, who was over the Archduke in rank and power, a royal ransom to have their brave king set free.

When Philip of France heard that Richard was out of prison, he sent word to John, who had been making believe that his brother the king was dead, “Take care of yourself.

The devil has broke loose!

” When Richard reached London, John pretended to be very glad to receive his dear brother back as from the dead.

Richard reigned only a few years after that, for he was killed in one of his wars with Philip of France.

While he was as brave as a lion, Richard was also as fierce and cruel as the king of beasts.

He was not a good man as people to-day regard manhood, but he was much better than his cowardly brother John, who became king after Richard’s death.