er 9, 1192, Richard set sail from Acre in a
single vessel, his fleet, having on board his wife, his sister, and the
daughter of the captive King of Cyprus, having put to sea a few days
before. The three ladies got safe to Sicily; but the first land the king
made was the island of Corfu, which he took about a month to reach. He
left Corfu about the middle of November with three coasting-vessels
which he hired there; but after being a few days at sea he was compelled
by a storm to land on the coast of Istria, at a spot between the towns
of Aquileia and Venice. After narrowly escaping first from falling at
Goritz into the hands of Maynard, a nephew of Conrad of Montferrat (to
whose murder in Palestine Richard, upon very insufficient evidence, was
suspected to be an accessory), and then at Friesach from Maynard's
brother, Frederick of Batesow, he was taken on December 21st, at Erperg,
near Vienna, by Leopold, Duke of Austria (a brother-in-law of Isaac of
Cyprus), and was by him consigned to close confinement in the castle of
Tyernsteign, under the care of his vassal, Baron Haldmar. In the course
of a few days, however, by an arrangement between Leopold and the
Emperor Henry VI., the captive king was transferred to the custody of
the latter, who shut him up in a castle in the Tyrol, where he was bound
with chains, and guarded by a band of men who surrounded him day and
night with drawn swords. In this state he remained about three months.
Meanwhile, intelligence of his having fallen into the hands of the
emperor had reached England, and excited the strongest sensation among
all ranks of the people. It is sufficient to mention that during his
absence a struggle for supremacy had for some time been carried on with
varying success between the king's brother, John, and Longchamp, the
chancellor, who had acquired the entire regency, and had also been
appointed papal legate for England and Scotland; and that this had
resulted, in October, 1191, in the deposition of Longchamp, by a council
of the nobility held in St Paul's Churchyard, London; after which he
left the country, and although he soon ventured to return, ultimately
deemed it most prudent to retire to Normandy. The supreme authority was
thus left for a time in the hands of John, who, as soon as he learned
the news of his brother's captivity, openly repaired to Paris, and did
homage to the French king for the English dominions on the Continent.

[Illustration: Richard Coeur