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strong, and determined where timidity would have been, by far, more becoming and womanly. The king did not oppose her crusade; but even if he had, she would have forced him to yield to her will.
She received the holy cross from the hand of St. Bernard, and immediately put on the dress of an Amazon and mounted a horse. All the court ladies did the same, calling themselves the queen's body-guard. Then they formed in parade every day, and practised military exercise in public, making themselves as ridiculous as possible. In short, they were a band of madwomen, and nobody could control them. When once they had become Amazons they abandoned all womanly occupations, consequently had no use for their distaffs; these they sent to all the knights and nobles who kept out of this insane expedition. Thus, many of them being too weak to stand such a taunt, were actually shamed into joining though their good sense opposed it.
King Louis managed his difficult enterprise with a good deal of courage and prudence, but it would have required a greater general than the world has ever known to discipline a regiment of fantastic women. The freaks of these female warriors were the cause of all the misfortunes that befell the army, for the king, after landing in Thrace, sent them forward with his choicest troops, and told them exactly how to choose their camp so that they would overlook the valley of Laodicea. He remained about five miles behind with the baggage, of which there was a large supply, and had to stop frequently to fight the bands of Arabs who attacked him.
Instead of obeying her husband's directions, Queen Eleanora insisted that her part of the army should halt in a lovely valley, full of grass and flowers. This inviting spot caught her fancy, and military discipline became of secondary importance to her.It was almost night when the king approached the valley; he could not distinguish his troops on the elevated ground where they ought to have been, and knew not what to make of it. The queen was not encamped there, that was certain, so there was nothing for him to do but to enter the valley in search of her. Soon after he was attacked from the hills by swarms of Arabs, and had to move in and out among the rocks to dodge them. At one time he barely escaped with his life by climbing a tree, whence he fought desperately. It was daylight before he discovered the troops that he had sent in advance. During the night seven thousand French soldiers had been killed, the provisions had been cut off, the baggage, containing all the fine clothing of the lady warriors, had been plundered by the Arabs, and the whole army was in great distress. Fortunately, Eleanora had an uncle living near by; his name was Prince Raymond, and he was the handsomest man of his time. He threw open his friendly gates to the defeated French army, and they were glad to rest and refresh themselves after all the hardships they had endured. The uncle and niece met for the first time, and were so charmed with each other that Louis soon became jealous; so one night he hurried his wife off without taking leave of his polite host. This made Eleanora so angry that when they arrived at Jerusalem she did nothing but grumble and complain. Most pilgrims had their piety aroused on this holy ground, but it was not so with Eleanora; she wanted to get home, and quarrelled with her husband for keeping her there. In fact, she never forgave him for forcing her away from her uncle's agreeable company, and from that time all affection w'as at an end between this royal couple Eleanora was not willing to submit to restraint of any sort, and her husband's temper was so tried that he resolved to have a divorce. So, on his return to Paris, he consultedhis confidant, the Abbot Suger, about this matter. That worthy man advised him to wait; because, he argued, that it would be troublesome for France to have to give up the money Eleanora's provinces in the south yielded; besides Louis' daughter, the Princess Marie, would probably be deprived of her inheritance if her mother should take it into her head to marry again.
Louis accepted this advice, but he had his wife closely watched, and would not allow her to go to Provence at all. She complained of the stupid life she led in Paris, and made great fun of her husband for wearing plain clothing and keeping his head and beard closely cropped, which she declared made him look more like a priest than a king.
Well, in time another princess was born, and named Alice. Soon after this event Henry Plantagenet visited Paris. He was a noble-looking young prince, full of energy and very intellectual.
A.D. 1151.Eleanora fell so desperately in love with him that without hesitation or advice she applied for a divorce from Louis, and got it. No doubt the king was glad to be rid of such an undutiful, unwomanly wife, though he did have to give up all control over his southern provinces, even Guienne.
Eleanora went straight to her favorite home, where Henry Plantagenet followed her. He was probably not so very much in love with her, for she was twelve years his senior, but he needed her money and her ships to fight King Stephen, and lay claim to the throne of England, which he did during the first year of their marriage.
He returned in triumph, and was besieging the castle of a rebel duke in Normandy when the news of Stephen's death reached him. For six weeks England was without a king, until Eleanora and Henry arrived with their young son. They were crowned at Westminster Abbey in 1154,and such a magnificent coronation had never been seen. The costumes of costly silk and brocade worn on that occasion had been brought by Eleanora from Constantinople. In one of her portraits she wears a close coif, or hood, over which is a band of precious stones; a rich brocade gown is fastened with full gathers just below the throat, and confined there with a costly collar of exquisite gems. Over this is an outer robe, or pelisse, bordered with fur, the large sleeves of which fall open from the shoulder, displaying the tight ones of the gown beneath. In some portraits her hair is braided and wound closely around her head with jewelled bands, and over this is a piece of fine gauze, which could be so arranged as to serve the double purpose of veil or bonnet, just as the wearer chose.
Before marriage, the girls of that time wore their hair in long ringlets, but the church required married ladies to conceal their locks. After Henry I. cut off his curls, and forbade his courtiers to wear their hair long, they adopted wigs, but Henry II. abolished them, and appeared at his coronation with short hair and shaven chin. His dalmatica, or long gown, was of the richest brocade with elaborate gold embroidery; over this he wore the short cloak afterwards called the court-mantle. This coronation introduced into England the sumptuous robes of silk and velvet worn by the ecclesiastics there on that occasion. The queen's first residence in England was at a little village nearly opposite to London, and she must have been struck with the grandeur of that remarkable city, with its tower, its tall spires, and the river Thames running through it, so different from anything she had ever seen before.
Now, although she did not please her new subjects, who were acquainted, of course, with her former behavior, they felt the advantage of being connected with her Aquitainian dominion, and in a few months large fortunes weremade by the London traders in the wines imported from the port of Bordeaux.
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One of the queen's country residences was at Woodstock, where rather a peculiar incident occurred. She was resting in the park, concealed by the shrubbery, one day when the king passed so close to her that she observed a thread of silk tightly twisted into his spur. She wondered where he could have been to have picked up such a thing, so, as he moved off, she cut it, and resolved to ferret out the mystery. Next day he left Woodstock for a long journey, and the queen immediately thought that now was her time to gratify her curiosity. So she sought the piece of silk, which proved to be the end of a ball, and followed its windings among the roads and thickets until she came to a door cunningly concealed by a luxuriant vine. This she opened, and found it to be the entrance to a winding path under ground. A few minutes' walk brought her to a bower at the further end of the forest, in which sat an exceedingly pretty young girl embroidering. "Aha!" thought the lady, "now we know where Henry gets his spurs caught in balls of silk."
This girl was Rosamond Clifford, who was said to have been a playmate of Henry's in his youth, and as she was kept a prisoner, it is probable that she did not know of his marriage until his wife informed her of it. At all events, nobody ever heard what took place at this interview, but it is certain that, in obedience to the queen's commands, Rosamond entered the convent of Godstowe, where she passed the remaining twenty years of her life.
II. fancied himself about to die, he left dominions to all his sons excepting this one.
Little Matilda was three years old when she was married to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony.
A revolt in the south of France caused Eleanora's return, because her subjects there insisted on having her to rule them. King Henry escorted her to Bordeaux, where she stayed with her son Richard.
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A.D. 1156.Shortly after this adventure, the Princess Matilda was born, and a year later the celebrated Richard Cour de Lion came into the world. In course of time, Queen Eleanora had several other children, among whom was John, surnamed Lackland, because once, when HenryGreat disputes had been going on in England for a long time between the church and state, headed by Thomas à Becket, the celebrated Archbishop of Canterbury. Prince Henry was so devoted to this priest, who had been his tutor, that the king became jealous of the influence exerted by Becket over the mind of his son. In order to change the current of the prince's thoughts, the father offered him a share in the government of his kingdom. This was gladly accepted, and young Henry was crowned. But he had a perverse little wife, Marguerite, daughter of Louis VII., who was fond of Becket, too, and she vowed that she would wear no crown that had not been placed on her head by that fascinating prelate; so she remained with her mother-in-law at Aquitaine.
King Henry met with so much opposition at the hands of Becket that he became enraged at the very sight of that priest. Once, when he was the subject of conversation among his knights, Henry asked, angrily, "whether no man loved him enough to revenge the affronts he perpetually received from an insolent priest?"
A.D. 1171.Four armed men instantly proceeded to the cathedral, and slaughtered the archbishop while he was kneeling before the altar in prayer.
When this happened Eleanora was still in the south with her son Richard, who had been crowned Count of Poitou. Suddenly she chanced to hear that Henry was thinking about getting a divorce from her, so she resolved to seek the protection of her former husband, the King of France. Disguised in male attire, she stole out of the palace at night, and started on her journey. But Henry had his Norman agents on the spot, and they watched her so closely that her absence was discovered in time for them to overtake her. They captured her very roughly, and brought her back to Bordeaux, where she was kept in closeimprisonment until her lord was summoned. He remained only a few days in the south, then went back to England with two royal captives, his wife and the young Princess Marguerite, whom he had not forgiven for scorning the crown he offered unless it could be consecrated by his enemy, Becket. Now, that he had her in his power, he resolved to punish her. But after a few months' confinement she was restored to her husband.
Eleanora was not so fortunate, for she was kept a prisoner at the royal palace of Winchester for nearly sixteen years. During that time there was no end of strife among her sons. The real mischief-makers were the troubadours, of whom we have spoken, for with their inspiring war songs they were constantly urging the princes to battle for one trivial reason or another, even when they would gladly have been at peace.
It must not be supposed that the queen was unkindly treated at Winchester, for, on the contrary, she received the attention and respect due to her station. While she was there Louis VII., her divorced husband, died; and shortly after, the death of her eldest son, Henry Plantagenet, followed. This was a great sorrow to the royal couple, and Henry mourned with the deep grief of David over Absalom. Still later, their son Geoffrey was killed in a grand tournament in Paris.
In one of her letters to the pope, the queen thus writes about these bereavements: "The younger king and Geoffrey, Count of Bretagne, both sleep in the dust, while their most wretched mother is compelled to live on, though tortured by recollections of the dead.".
In 1189, Henry II. died, and was succeeded by his son Richard I., Cour de Lion. About the first act of the new king was to order his mother's release, and from a captive Queen Eleanora at once became a sovereign, for the reins
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of government were placed in her hands as regent. Her long confinement must have had a good effect on her, for she went about, from city to city, releasing all the poor people that her husband had cruelly locked up for violating the Norman game laws, and spent her whole time in acts of mercy and charity. Richard was crowned in 1189, but, as his mother's mourning prevented her being present on that occasion, no women were admitted at all.
The king then settled a most liberal revenue on his mother, and she went to Aquitaine, the government of which was also restored to her. But she did not stay there; her old age was passed in England, where she assisted her son in governing, and made him, as well as herself, exceedingly popular.
Eleanora of Aquitaine is among the very few women who, after an ill-spent youth, have become wise and benevolent in old age. But she had a great deal more trouble to bear before her death. Her life exhibits many traces of a great ruler. If she had only been blessed in her early days with a good, moral education, she would have been one of the greatest women of her time. Slowly and surely she learned the stern lesson of life, which teaches that without virtue, power, beauty and royalty are of slight avail.
A.D. 1204.She was a very old woman when she retired to a convent, where she spent many months previous to her death, which occurred in 1204. She was buried by the side of Henry II., and on her tomb is a reclining statue said to be a good portrait of herself. The features are noble and intellectual. On the head is a hood, above which is a regal diadem; and a blue mantle, figured with silver crescents, is folded gracefully about her form.
Richard Cour de Lion first met the beautiful, accomplished Berengaria at a tournament, and fell desperately in love with her; but, unfortunately, he was at that time engaged to Alice of France, so could not offer his hand to the Provençal princess.
Both Sancho the Wise, King of Navarre, Berengaria's father, and Sancho the Strong, her brother, were poets of considerable merit, and early came under the notice of Richard, who was not only a troubadour poet, but as sovereign of Aquitaine, he was, besides, the prince and judge of all the troubadours. Between him and Berengaria's brother a warm friendship was formed in early youth, strengthened by their similarity of tastes.
It was not until after his father's death that Richard was at liberty to marry the Princess Berengaria, to whom he had been secretly engaged for several years. So she was about twenty-six years old when Richard ascended the throne of England. He at once sent his mother, Queen Eleanora, to the court of Sancho the Wise to demand the princess in marriage.
The royal father was much pleased, and placed his daughter in charge of the queen without hesitation. The two ladies set out together and travelled as far as Naples, where ships awaited them in the bay. But the princess
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would not join her lover until he had broken off his engagement with Alice; so she spent the spring of 1191 at Brindisi with his mother. At last a message came from Richard announcing that he was free to marry, then his lady-love returned to France with his sister, Queen Joanna, in whose charge she had been placed by the queen mother.
While Richard was waiting the arrival of Berengaria, he instituted the order of Knights of the Blue Thong, to scale the walls of Acre. They were twenty-four in number, and were distinguished by a band of blue leather which each wore on his left leg.
A.D. 1192.It was Lent when Berengaria met her royal lover, therefore their marriage had to be postponed; but so anxious was Richard to begin his crusade, that he set out at once with his knights in his favorite ship, which he had named "Trenc-the-mere," meaning cut the sea. His fleet consisted of one hundred and fifty ships and fifty galleys. Among the latter was one in which Berengaria and Queen Joanna, guarded by a brave knight; accompanied the crusaders.
A dreadful storm drove the galley which contained the queen and princess into the harbor of Limoussa, the capital of Cyprus, but when Isaac Comnenus, the lord of the isle, found out who they were, he brutally refused them shelter, and they were obliged to row out of the harbor. As soon as the gale abated, Richard Cour de Lion, who had found shelter in a harbor of Crete, started in search of his bride. When he beheld her ship pitching and tossing in the Bay of Famaguta, he suspected that something had prevented the knight in charge from seeking the protection so near at hand. Armed, as he was, he jumped into the first boat that could be got ready, and when, on reaching the queen's galley, he heard how the Lord of Cyprus had behaved, his fury knew no bounds.
The Queens of England.Determined to punish the offender at once, Richard led his crusaders straight to Limoussa, and made such a sudden and desperate attack that in a few hours he had captured the town, and all the inhabitants had scampered to the neighboring mountains for shelter.
Then, in response to King Richard's signals, the queen's vessel entered the harbor and landed at Limoussa, where grand preparations were soon under way for the marriage and coronation of the royal pair.
The wedding ceremony was performed in the month of May, 1191, and King Richard gave a grand feast, to which he invited the people of Cyprus.
On that occasion Berengaria wore a richly-embroidered robe of velvet and satin. Her dark hair fell in curls, over which hung a full long lace veil, fastened to a crown studded with rich jewels.
King Richard wore a short rose-colored satin skirt, with a brocaded mantle embroidered in silver. A richly jewelled Damascus sword hung at his side, and on his head he wore a scarlet hood, brocaded in gold with figures of animals. He had a bright complexion, and curly, yellow hair, and' his figure was a perfect model of manly grace and strength.
The people of Cyprus had been so tyrannized over by Isaac Comnenus that they gladly consented to receive Richard for their king; therefore, by the advice of all the crusaders who had witnessed his marriage, he was crowned King of Cyprus, and his bride Queen of England and Cyprus.
Then the daughter of the despot, Isaac, threw herself at King Richard's feet and asked for mercy. He kindly raised her from the ground and sent her to his wife and sister, with whom she remained until the end of the crusade. Her father was bound in silver chains and presented to Queen Berengaria as her captive.
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Once more the fleet set sail for Palestine, and when Richard appeared' before Acre, the whole army of Christians, already assembled there, marched to the beach to welcome him.
The town was soon taken, and before proceeding further, Richard established his wife and sister in safe quarters there, under the protection of a couple of brave knights, to await his return.
King Richard distinguished himself by many brave deeds during his Syrian campaign, and captured several important towns, but Jerusalem did not fall into his hands. Once he was in sight of that coveted city, when the Duke of Burgundy, who commanded the French forces, suddenly drew back with his whole division when victory seemed certain, because he would not have it said that the King of England had taken Jerusalem. This act, which was prompted by envy, was a serious blow to Richard, who, throwing down his weapon, said, with tears in his eyes and his hands raised to heaven:—
"Ah! Lord God, I pray thee that I may never see thy holy city, Jerusalem, since I have failed to deliver it from the hands of thine enemies."
He returned to Acre in 1192, and, after spending a few days with his wife and sister, saw them embark for home on the very day he himself set out in the disguise of a Templar to return across Europe by a different route.
His vessel was wrecked off the coast of Istria, and his ignorance of geography led him to the neighborhood of Vienna, the capital of his enemy, Leopold of Austria.
One day, after several narrow escapes, he sent a page to make some purchases at a village near Vienna. The boy was recognized by an officer who had been in the late crusade with Leopold's troops. He was seized, and after suffering much cruelty, confessed where he had left hismaster. A party of soldiers set out for the inn designated, but could not find King Richard. The landlord said, on being questioned: "No, there is no stranger here, unless it be the Templar in the kitchen, who is turning the fowls which are roasting for dinner."
The Austrian officer, accompanied by his soldiers, proceeded at once to the kitchen, recognized the king, who sure enough was busily turning the spit, and cried: "There he is. Seize him!"
Cour de Lion started up and fought desperately for liberty, but he was only one man against a dozen, who captured him and carried him in chains before Leopold.
He was forthwith locked up in a gloomy prison, where he remained for many months, no one knowing whether he was alive or dead.
Meanwhile Berengaria and Joanna had landed at Naples and proceeded to Rome, where they remained six months. While there, Berengaria saw a belt of jewels offered for sale that she knew Richard had worn when he parted from her. This convinced her that something dreadful had happened to him, but she had no means of finding out the truth, and as soon as she could get a safe escort she journeyed on until she arrived at Poitou.
As time went on, poor Richard fancied himself forgotten, and bitterly lamented because he had no friend nor relation who loved him enough to rescue him. But he was wrong, for as soon as his mother heard of his captivity she spared no pains nor money to obtain his release. It was a long time, though, before the exact spot of his imprisonment could be ascertained, and this is how it happened, after many months: A certain troubadour knight who had been with Richard when he was shipwrecked at Istria, having heard of his captivity, wandered around through the southern cities of Germany in search of him. One day he
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stood beneath the tower that formed Richard's prison, and sang a song that he and the king had composed together. When he finished the first stanza, the prisoner replied with the second; then the troubadour hastened with all speed to Queen Eleanora with the discovery he had made.
She took immediate measures for her son's release, and with the assistance of the pope, to whom she made a most pathetic appeal, a large ransom was collected, with which the devoted mother set out for Germany.
A.D. 1195.After an absence of more than four years, Richard arrived in England in company with Queen Eleanora.
During his imprisonment, John, his younger brother, had tried to possess himself of the crown of England. It was the mother who prevented anything so disgraceful, and who kept all Richard's dominions intact, and it was she who proudly sat beside her brave son at his second coronation, which took place in his own country.
Berengaria remained in France, and Richard was not at all anxious to join her there, or to have her with him. The reason for this remarkable conduct on the part of a husband is that on his return to England Richard had been met by his former bachelor friends, into whose way of living he fell, much to the disgust of the more sober of his subjects. He drank with them to excess, and led such a gay, bad life, that Berengaria could not join him.
At last he became alarmingly ill, and began to repent of his neglect of his wife; but he knew that she was justly displeased with him, and did not dare to approach her. So he assembled at his bedside all the monks within ten miles and publicly confessed his sins, vowing that if Queen Berengaria would forgive him he would never forsake her again.
A few months later he went to France and becamereconciled to his wife. It was a year of famine and of suffering among the poor, and the queen used her newly-restored influence over the heart of Richard to persuade him to many acts of charity that preserved the lives of a number of families. The Christmas of the year 1196, which occurred shortly after the king's arrival in France, was celebrated in grand style.
Berengaria accompanied her husband in all his campaigns after that, and never left him during the remaining three years of his life.
It was when Richard was storming the Castle of Chaluz, in April, 1199, that an arrow pierced his breast and caused his death. He was buried at the Abbey of Fontevraud.
Queen Berengaria went to live at Mans, where she founded the Abbey of L'Espan, and devoted her life to deeds of charity.
She lived to an advanced age, and was buried at the abbey she had founded.
She deserves to be remembered as a Queen of England who was never in that country, and as a woman possessed of many noble virtues.
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John ascended the throne of England on the death of his brother, Richard Cour de Lion, and it was at a festival given to him at Angouleme that he first made the acquaintance of Isabella, who afterwards became queen.
A.D. 1200.She was just fifteen years old and so beautiful that King John fell madly in love with her. She was engaged to Hugh de Lusignan at the time, but her parents were so ambitious for her to be raised to the lofty position of Queen of England, that they kept her with them after the festival instead of allowing her to return to the Castle of Valence, the possession of her betrothed, where she had been living under the protection of the Count of Eu, his brother.
Isabella really loved Hugh de Lusignan, but she was dazzled by the splendor of the triple crown of England, Normandy and Aquitaine, and, as her lover was absent, she denied that she had ever consented to marry him.
According to the feudal laws of the thirteenth century, King John, as ruler of Aquitaine, had the power to prevent any marriage that the Provençale princess might contract, if he chose, and to deprive her of her inheritance besides.
So, when King John and Isabella were married, in the month of August, 1200, Count Hugh dared not interfere to prevent it. But he challenged the king to mortal combat.The reply he got was that if he wished to fight a champion should be appointed for that purpose, but he was indignant at such a proposition and determined to await an opportunity for revenge.
Isabella sailed with her husband for England, where she was duly crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Six months of feasting and enjoyment succeeded, which were only terminated at last by rumors of war.
Thereupon, King John retired with his wife to Rouen, where he led such a life of indolent ease as to excite the displeasure of all who surrounded him.
His mother, the aged Eleanora, was then residing at the Castle of Mirabel in Poitou, and was the ruler of Aquitaine. Quite suddenly and unexpectedly her residence was besieged by Hugh de Lusignan, whose plan was to capture the old lady and exchange her only for his lost love.
But Eleanora held out heroically until the arrival of her son John, whom she had summoned at the first signal of danger.
King John's enemies had reckoned on his character as a sluggard, but they found their mistake, for when he heard of the attack on his mother he hastened to Mirabel with lightning speed, hemmed in Count Hugh and Duke Arthur of Bretagne, who had joined him, and took both prisoners. The one was his rival in love, the other in empire.
Count Hugh was subjected to the most insulting treatment at the hands of the king, who had him and the other insurgent barons of Poitou chained hand and foot to carts drawn by oxen. In this manner they were forced to follow him wherever he went, until he made them embark with him for England.
King John was not so cruel to his nephew, Arthur, whom he merely had locked up in the citadel of Falaise,
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leaving himself the sole representative of the house of Plantagenet.
A.D. 1204.In 1204 Queen Eleanora died, and from that moment her son John seemed lost to all sense of decency or fear, and became more corrupt and wicked than the most brutal of his subjects. Queen Isabella's influence was no check on his notorious conduct.
In 1206 he entered into a treaty with his prisoner, Hugh de Lusignan, with whose aid he conquered the southern part of France.
On his return to England he made some most unreasonable demands of his barons, one of them being the surrender of their children as hostages. Those young nobles who fell into his hands were required to attend the queen, serve her at meals and follow her at cavalcades and processions. The Lord of Bramber resisted the King's demand, whereupon he, with his wife and five children, were all shut up in a room at the old Castle of Windsor and deliberately starved to death.
A.D. 1211.Queen Isabella had given birth to several children, but that did not prevent her brutal husband from treating her with extreme harshness. Once, when he fancied that she had a fancy for a certain knight, he had the man assassinated, and his dead body suspended over her bed. Then he shut her up in Gloucester Abbey, where she remained until 1213, when it suited his majesty to take her with him to Angoulême.
King John found himself again in need of Hugh de Lusignan's assistance when Philip Augustus of France seized the northern provinces. But that brave count refused his aid unless the king would give him his eldest daughter, Joanna, for a wife. This was a singular request, considering that he had once been engaged to the mother, but he was gratified, and the infant princess wasforthwith handed over to him to be brought up in one of his castles as her mother had been before her. Count Hugh soon cleared the northern provinces of France of the invaders, and then John returned to England to perpetrate new acts of tyranny.
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A.D. 1215.After the signing of the Magna Charta, which granted certain privileges to all his subjects, King John behaved like a madman, giving way to outbursts of fury, cursing the hour of his birth, and biting and gnawing sticks and clubs until he reduced them to small bits. The result of several sleepless nights at the fortress of Windsor, the scene of many secret murders, was an expedition to the Isle of Wight, where, after idly sauntering on the beach for days at a time and conversing with the fishermen, he joined a band of pirates with whom he made attacks on his own subjects. He was gone so long that everybody
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hoped he would never return, but, like a bad penny, he turned up at the end of a few weeks, when he was joined by troops from Brabant and Guienne, whom he had summoned to aid him in revenging himself on the rebellious barons. This he did by travelling around among them, obliging them to entertain him, and then turning upon them and doing some damage to their lives or property. It was not uncommon for him to set fire to a house in which he had been sheltered over night.
In the midst of this diabolical career, Queen Isabella met her husband at Marlborough, and after spending a few weeks with him, retired to Gloucester with her children.
While she was there, Prince Louis of France made an invasion into England, prompted to the act by the barons, who were so incensed against their sovereign that they offered him the crown if he would come to their aid.
Then the tormentor tried to escape towards the north, but when he thought to cross the Wash to Lincolnshire, part of his army, his baggage, and his splendid regalia were lost, and he barely escaped with his life. He arrived at Swinshead Abbey ill and in a horrible temper.
With his usual brutality, he gave vent to his spleen by saying, while eating in the abbot's refectory, "that he hoped to make the half-penny loaf cost a shilling before the year was over."
This malicious speech was heard by several monks, who, thinking that John's outrages had extended far enough, treated him to a dose of poison served in a dish of stewed pears. Ill as he was from the effect of the poison, the king insisted on proceeding on his journey, and was therefore carried on a litter to Newark, where he summoned several monks for the purpose of confession. It was no trifling matter for this sinful man to recount all the wrongs of which he had been guilty, but having accomplished it,he forgave his enemies and made all the officers about him swear fealty to his eldest son, Henry. Then he expired, having left directions for his burial. As soon as the news
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of the king's death reached her, Isabella caused Prince Henry to be proclaimed in the streets of Gloucester, and nine days later she assisted at his coronation in the cathedral of that place.
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A.D. 1217.Although the young king was only nine years old, his mother was so unpopular that she was not asked to act as regent, and before the year of her widowhood had expired, she retired to her native city of Angoulême.
The Princess Joanna, then just seven years of age, was still at Count Lusignan's castle at Valence, but the count himself was absent on a crusade.
In the year 1220 he returned, and frequently met the mother of his little promised bride. The consequence was, that his early love was renewed, and as Isabella was still a very handsome woman, only a few years younger than himself, she was a much more appropriate mate for him than Joanna could have been.
So they were married without asking the advice or consent of any one in England; consequently Isabella's dower was withheld from her, much to the indignation of her husband.
Now, it so happened that Henry III. was at war with the King of Scotland, whom his council were anxious to conciliate. They therefore resolved to offer the king the hand of the little Princess Joanna in marriage, so when Henry wrote his mother a congratulatory letter on her nuptials, he demanded, at the same time, the restoration of his sister. Isabella refused to give up the princess, because she was highly displeased at being deprived of her jointure.
Thereupon the young king applied to the pope, who took great pains to inquire into the merits of the case. A voluminous correspondence was carried on between the contending parties. The King of Scots insisted upon his marriage with Joanna before he would come to terms; the result was the payment of all the money due to Queen Isabella in exchange for her daughter.
The King of France was the liege-lord of the Count deLusignan, and it was so hurtful to the pride of Isabella to see her husband kneel at the feet of any man, that she gave him no rest until he joined her son, Henry III., whom she had instigated to undertake the conquest of Poitou.
Several years of warfare ensued, and at last the King of England fled to Bordeaux. De Lusignan's possessions were overrun by the enemy, and Queen Isabella was forced, after much suffering, to throw herself on the mercy of the King of France, Louis IX.
She went to his camp with her husband and children, and, falling at his feet, begged for mercy. He received them kindly, and granted forgiveness on easy conditions.
Nevertheless, so ungrateful did Isabella show herself, that when an attempt was made on the life of good King Louis, in 1244, it was proved that she had bribed people to poison him. She flew to the Abbey of Fontevraud for protection, and there hid herself from the French, who held her responsible for so much sorrow and bloodshed that they gave her the name of Jezebel.
She died in 1246, and was buried in the common cemetery of Fontevraud. Some years later her son, Henry III., raised a stately monument over her grave.
De Lusignan joined a crusade after the death of his wife, and was killed at one of the battles in 1249. His eldest son was known as Hugh XI., Count de la Marche and Angoulême. His other children were liberally provided for by Henry III., much to the indignation of his English subjects.