over the infamy of this
transaction, made at the same time a present to Richard of the kingdom
of Arles, comprehending Provence, Dauphiny, Narbonne, and other states,
over which the empire had some antiquated claims; a present which the
king very wisely neglected.

[* Rymer, vol. i. p. 84.]

The captivity of the superior lord was one of the cases provided for by
the feudal tenures; and all the vassals were in that event obliged to
give an aid for his ransom. Twenty shillings were therefore levied on
each knight's fee in England; but as this money came in slowly, and
was not sufficient for the intended purpose, the voluntary zeal of the
people readily supplied the deficiency. The churches and monasteries
melted down their plate, to the amount of thirty thousand marks; the
bishop, abbots, and nobles, paid a fourth of their yearly rent; the
parochial clergy contributed a tenth of their tithes; and the requisite
sura being thus collected queen Eleanor, and Walter, archbishop of
Rouen, set out with it for Germany; {1194.} paid the money to the
emperor and the duke of Austria at Mentz; delivered them hostages for
the remainder, and freed. Richard from captivity. His escape was very
critical. Henry had been detected in the assassination of the bishop of
Liege, and in an attempt of a like nature on the duke of Louvaine; and
finding himself extremely obnoxious to the German princes on account
of these odious practices, he had determined to seek support from an
alliance with the king of France; to detain Richard, the enemy of that
prince, in perpetual captivity; to keep in his hands the money which
he had already received for his ransom; and to extort fresh sums from
Philip and prince John, who were very liberal in their offers to him. He
therefore gave orders that Richard should be pursued and arrested; but
the king, making all imaginable haste, had already embarked at the mouth
of the Schelde, and was out of sight of land when the messengers of the
emperor reached Antwerp.

The joy of the English was extreme on the appearance of their monarch,
who had suffered so many calamities, who had acquired so much glory,
and who had spread the reputation of their name into the farthest east,
whither their fame had never before been able to extend. He gave them,
soon after his arrival, an opportunity of publicly displaying their
exultation, by ordering himself to be crowned anew at Winchester; as if
he intended, by that ceremony,