"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 2 - Crusader's Torch" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

In May of 1189, Barbarossa, with his Holy Roman army, set out from Regensburg
for the Holy Land. The French were almost ready to leave for the war when
circumstances changed again; on July 6, Henry II of England died at Chinon shortly
after surrendering the territories of Gracy and Issoudon to France. He was succeeded
promptly by Richard Coer de Leon, who all but broke off diplomatic relations with
France, repudiated his lifelong engagement to Alais, the sister of Philippe, and
announced his intention of retaining all French territory held by the English. Only the
two kings' intention to Crusade kept either from direct hostile action, and by the end
of the year, they had pledged mutual good faith for the Crusade.
While both Richard and Philippe spent the winter of 1189-90 preparing for the
Crusade, Frederick had already reached Greece, where he drowned in the Calycadnus
River on June 10, thus leaving his men, and the entire Third Crusade, temporarily
without a leader. Richard, determined to take advantage of this, effectively
mortgaged part of his kingdom in order to raise and equip an army of 4,000 men-at-
arms and 4,000 footsoldiers for the Crusade. Philippe, not to be outdone or
outmaneuvered, established the means to allow him to continue to rule France while
he was away from Paris: he relied on a complex system of personal heralds to relay
his messages from the Holy Land.
By the following winter, both Richard and Philippe were under way, but because
of weather and diplomatic circumstances, spent a good portion of time in Sicily
quarreling. When Richard was able to leave, in March of 1191, he conquered Cyprus
(which had only recently won its independence from Byzantium) where on May 11
and 12,1191, he married Barengaria of Navarre, then sold the island to the Knights
Templar. Richard and his English army went in June to join Leopold of Austria at the
siege of Acre; Leopold was as favorably impressed by Richard's military capabilities
as he was offended by Richard's arrogant conduct.
Philippe of France became ill and withdrew from the Crusade, making excellent
time in his homeward journey, even though he detoured on the way to Paris to form
an anti-Richard alliance with Frederick I Barbarossa's heir, Henry VI, the new Holy
Roman Emperor.
 In the Holy Land, Richard's campaign continued successful, and before the end of
the year, the Crusaders were within a few miles of the gates of Jerusalem. This
became the limit of the Third Crusade's achievements; the following year, between
treachery, plague, famine, desertion, and unreliable intelligence, the number of
fighting men, once approximately 100,000, was reduced to little more than 5,000.
Finally a truce was arranged between Saladin and Richard which would permit the
Crusaders, unarmed and on foot, free access to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The
coastal towns then in European hands were to remain in European hands. Richard,
thwarted and chagrined, started for England in October, only to be captured
December 20, 1192, in Vienna by Leopold of Austria, who surrendered Richard to
Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. A ransom of 150,000 marks was demanded for
his return. Although only a portion of the ransom was ever paid, Richard returned to
England in March of 1194. Of his approximately ten-year reign, Richard spent less
than a year of it in England, and this occasion was typical of that pattern. As soon as
he had redelegated authority, he returned to the English possessions in France.
In 1195, Isaac II Angelus, Emperor of Byzantium, was replaced by his brother
Alexius III Angelus, who had organized a palace coup. The new Emperor of
Byzantium did not get on well with the Holy Roman Emperor, and Henry VI was
prepared to go on crusade against Alexius III Angelus when he fell ill and died,
September 28,1197.