people; all that he wanted was their money. He loved adventure and thirsted for the glory of victory. The fame of his brave deeds filled Christendom with wonder, and made the English proud of their king, though he cared nothing for them.

His minis

ters.

2. Fortunately for England he handed her over to the care of a number of wise ministers, who kept good peace and order, though they made the people pay dearly for it. Richard only stayed a few months in England and then started for the Crusade. He left William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, whom he made Chancellor and Justiciar, to rule England in his absence. Longchamp was faithful to Richard, but he taxed the people heavily, and the barons envied his power and wealth.

Whilst Richard was away, his brother John began to plot against him with the help of Philip of France. He got the barons on his side, and then took away Longchamp's offices from him and made him leave England. But new ministers were named, and the Queen-mother Eleanor managed to keep some order in the land.

3. Then news reached England that Richard on his way back from the Holy Land had been seized and thrown into prison by the Duke of Austria. A large Richard's imprisonransom was asked for him, a sum far more ment, 1192. than twice the whole revenue of the crown. The money was got together in England with great difficulty, whilst Philip and John did all they could to destroy Richard's power now that he was in prison. The Devil is loose: take care of yourself,' Philip wrote to John when he heard that at last Richard was free. The Justiciar, Hubert Walter, crushed John's revolt. Hubert Walter Iwas an old servant of the court who had been trained under Henry II.'s ministers. He was faithful to the cause of order and good government, and Richard put great trust in him.

return, 1194.

4. When Richard came back to England John was banished, and those who had rebelled were punished. The king did not stay long in England, but went Richard's to make war against Philip in France, and for the rest of his reign the government was left to Hubert Walter, who carefully worked out all Henry II.'s reforms. Richard was always sending for money, and Hubert Walter was forced to use every way that he lawfully could for getting money out of the people. England was kept very peaceful. A good many of the great barons were away with the king; those who stayed at home had now learnt that they must obey the laws and the government, for it was of no use to rebel.

5. Richard was busy in France making war on King Philip and punishing those of his subjects who had risen against him. The better to defend Normandy Chateau against the King of France, he began to build

Gaillard.

a great fortress on the Seine. It came to be called Chateau Gaillard, or Saucy Castle, and was one of the strongest and finest fortresses of the Middle Ages. As Richard saw its walls rise he cried with joy, 'How pretty a child is mine!' But Philip's anger was great, and he said, 'I will take it, were its walls of iron.' 'I will hold it,' answered Richard, 'were the walls of butter.'

6. Richard was always in want of money; and hearing that there was rich treasure in the Castle of Chalaix, he led his troops against it. But the castle was strong Richard's and would not fall. Richard rode round the death, 1199, walls in anger, and as he rode an arrow struck him in the shoulder. It was a fatal wound. The king lay dying while the castle was taken. He was always generous, and when the man who had shot the arrow was brought to his bedside, he forgave him.

So ended his quarrelsome and stormy life, which had little effect upon English history, since he was little in

England and left the government to his ministers. England was proud of his brave deeds, but he was in all ways a stranger to her, and she only félt his hand in the heavy taxes which burdened her.

CHAPTER III.

LOSS OF NORMANDY.

I. JOHN succeeded his brother without any difficulty. Ac cording to our ideas young Arthur of Brittany, the son of Succession John's elder brother, Geoffrey, Duke of Britof John. tany, was the rightful heir. But in England men knew nothing of him but his name, and no voice was raised for him.

2. We have seen how John deceived his father and betrayed his brother, and he had no idea of treating the John's English any better. The men of his time character. tell us nothing but evil of him. He had all the faults of his family and none of their virtues. Even his vices were mean. He is the worst of all the kings who have ruled over England—a man for whom we can feel no sympathy, even when he suffers most. Like Richard he loved money, but unlike him he was miserly and mean. He did not care for truth or honour, but tried to get on by cunning. He cared neither for law nor religion, though he was very superstitious. He was savage and violent, and punished his foes with horrible cruelty. Even to the ministers who served him well he showed no gratitude, but rather dislike.

John's ministers.

3. He was kept at first from going far wrong in England by Hubert Walter, who was now Archbishop of Canterbury, and who became Chancellor that he might the more easily keep John in order. Geof

frey FitzPeter was Justiciar; he too was a wise minister, who had been trained under Henry II., and knew how to care for law and order.

John's mother, Eleanor, was of great use to him. She was a very able woman; and even now, though eighty years old, was full of activity and energy. She had not loved her husband, Henry II., and had quarrelled with him and brought much evil upon him. But she loved her sons and did much for them. She helped John to keep together all his possessions in France, which were attacked both by King Philip and by young Arthur of Brittany, who claimed some part of them.

Death of

4. John, with the help of his mother, got from Arthur the provinces which he claimed. When Arthur again took up arms, he was defeated by John and taken prisoner. He was carried to Rouen, Arthur,1203. and there mysteriously disappeared. Everyone believed that he had been murdered by the command of his uncle. This cruel act made the barons of Normandy and the neighbouring provinces all the more ready to turn away from John to Philip II. of France.

Philip II. had made it the aim of his life to strengthen the power of the Kings of France by humbling the great vassals of the crown. Now he seized his chance of striking a blow at the King of England, who, as Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, was the greatest and most dangerous of his vassals.

5. Philip's troops entered Normandy whilst Queen Eleanor lay dying. Even from her deathbed she wrote letters to the chief barons of Normandy,

urging them to be

it was of no use.

But

faithful to her son.
The barons were quite

Loss of
Normandy,

1203.

willing to welcome Philip. They had no feelings of loyalty to one who was of the house of Anjou, which had

always been their enemy. John himself was not a man

to bind them closely round him. He did not even try to gather a force to lead against Philip. One by one the barons went over to Philip's side, and Normandy was lost without a struggle. It settled down quite peaceably to be a French province, for Philip had the wisdom to let it keep the customs and liberties which it most valued.

When John saw that Normandy was lost he fled to England, and there tried to get together an army to attack Philip, but nothing came of it. In the year 1203 England and Normandy were separated for ever.

The loss of Normandy did much to unite the English. people. The Norman barons had to choose whether they would keep their lands in England or in Normandy. Those who stayed in England were quite cut off from Normandy, and this made them thorough Englishmen. The king, too, had to find his home only in England. He stood face to face with his people, and had no other power to fall back upon. He was not far above them, the ruler of a mighty empire, as Henry II. had been. They knew his strength, and then learnt to know their own too, and to feel in time that they could resist him if he went too far.

BOOK V.

THE GREAT CHARTER.

CHAPTER I.

JOHN'S QUARREL WITH THE POPE.

1. KING JOHN had lost his mother before he lost NorJohn and the mandy. Not long afterwards, in 1205, he lost Church. his wisest adviser, Hubert Walter. Hubert's death there was a quarrel about the election After