cond to the Benedictines, and of the third to my prelates."

Richard, jealous of attempts which might be made on England during his
absence, laid Prince John, as well as his natural brother Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, under engagements, confirmed by their oaths, that
neither of them should enter the kingdom till his return; though he
thought proper, before his departure, to withdraw this prohibition. The
administration was left in the hands of Hugh, bishop of Durham, and of
Longchamp, bishop of Ely, whom he appointed justiciaries and guardians
of the realm. The latter was a Frenchman of mean birth, and of a violent
character; who by art and address had insinuated himself into favor,
whom Richard had created chancellor, and whom he had engaged the pope
also to invest with the legantine authority, that, by centring every
kind of power in his person, he might the better insure the public
tranquillity. All the military and turbulent spirits flocked about the
person of the king, and were impatient to distinguish themselves against
the infidels in Asia; whither his inclinations, his engagements, led
him, and whither he was impelled by messages from the king of France,
ready to embark in this enterprise.

The emperor Frederic, a prince of great spirit and conduct, had already
taken the road to Palestine, at the head of one hundred and fifty
thousand men, collected from Germany and all the northern states. Having
surmounted every obstacle thrown in his way by the artifices of the
Greeks and the power of the infidels, he had penetrated to the borders
of Syria; when, bathing in the cold river Cydnus, during the greatest
heat of the summer season, he was seized with a mortal distemper, which
put an end to his life and his rash enterprise.[*]

[* Benedict. Abbas, p. 556.]

His army, under the command of his son Conrade, reached Palestine; but
was so diminished by fatigue famine, maladies, and the sword, that it
scarcely amounted to eight thousand men, and was unable to make any
progress against the great power, valor, and conduct of Saladin. These
reiterated calamities attending the crusades, had taught the kings of
France and England the necessity of trying another road to the Holy Land
and they determined to conduct their armies thither by sea, to carry
provisions along with them, and by means of their naval power to
maintain an open communication with then own states, and with the
western parts of Europe. The place of