tria,
whom Richard had before made his enemies, were filled with rage and
resentment against him, the effects of which he subsequently felt very
severely.
In the mean time, the excitement in the camp immediately on the death
of Conrad became very strong, and it led to serious disturbances. The
French troops rose in arms and attempted to seize Tyre. Isabella,
Conrad's wife, in whose name Conrad had held the title to the crown of
Jerusalem, fled to the citadel, and fortified herself there with such
troops as adhered to her. The camp was in confusion, and there was
imminent danger that the two parties into which the army was divided
would come to open war. At this juncture, a certain nephew of
Richard's, Count Henry of Champagne, made his appearance. He persuaded
the people of Tyre to put him in command of the town; and supported as
he was by Richard's influence, and by the acquiescence of Isabella, he
succeeded in restoring something like order. Immediately afterward he
proposed to Isabella that she should marry him. She accepted his
proposal, and so he became King of Jerusalem in her name.
The French party, and those who had taken the side of Conrad in the
former quarrel, were greatly exasperated, but as the case now stood
they were helpless. They had always maintained that Isabella was the
true sovereign, and it was through her right to the succession, after
Sibylla's death, that they had claimed the crown for Conrad; and now,
since Conrad was dead, and Isabella had married Count Henry, they
could not, with any consistency, deny that the new husband was fully
entitled to succeed the old. They might resent the murder of Conrad as
much as they pleased, but it was evident that nothing would bring him
back to life, and nothing could prevent Count Henry being now
universally regarded as the King of Jerusalem.
So, after venting for a time a great many loud but fruitless
complaints, the aggrieved parties allowed their resentment to subside,
and all acquiesced in acknowledging Henry as King of Jerusalem.
Besides these difficulties, a great deal of uneasiness and discontent
arose from rumors that Richard was intending to abandon Palestine, and
return to Normandy and England, thus leaving the army without any
responsible head. The troops knew very well that whatever semblance of
authority and subordination then existed was due to the presence of
Richard, whose high rank and personal qualities as a warrior gave him
great
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