Richard II, Makers of History

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KING RICHARD II.




CHAPTER I.

RICHARD'S PREDECESSORS.

Three Richards.--Richard the Crusader.--King John.--Character of the
kings and nobles of those days.--Origin and nature of their
power.--Natural rights of man in respect to the fruits of the
earth.--Beneficial results of royal rule.--The power of kings and
nobles was restricted.--Disputes about the right of succession.--Case
of young Arthur.--The King of France becomes his ally.--Map showing
the situation of Normandy.--Arthur is defeated and made prisoner.--John
attempts to induce Arthur to abdicate.--Account of the assassination of
Arthur.--Various accounts of the mode of Arthur's death.--Uncertainty
in respect to these stories.--League formed against him by his
barons.--Portrait of King John.--Magna Charta.--Runny Mead.--The
agreement afterward repudiated.--New wars.--New ratifications of Magna
Charta.--Cruelties and oppressions practiced upon the Jews.--Extract
from the old chronicles.--Absurd accusations.--The story of the
crucified child.--John Lexinton.--Confessions extorted by
torture.--Injustice and cruelty of the practice.--Anecdotes of the
nobles and the king.


There have been three monarchs of the name of Richard upon the English
throne.

Richard I. is known and celebrated in history as Richard the Crusader.
He was the sovereign ruler not only of England, but of all the Norman
part of France, and from both of his dominions he raised a vast army,
and went with it to the Holy Land, where he fought many years against
the Saracens with a view of rescuing Jerusalem and the other holy
places there from the dominion of unbelievers. He met with a great
many remarkable adventures in going to the Holy Land, and with still
more rema