volume one

440 HISTOEY OF THE CRUSA.DES.
been s-^om to by the kings of France and England was not
long held sacred. Eicbard, ^vno was duke of Guienne, ha^'ing
had a quarrel ^mh the count of Thoulouse, Henry took
up arms to assist his son. Philip flew to the defence of his
vassal ; and Xormandy, Berr}', and Auvergne were soon in a
blaze. The two monarchs, urged by the solicitations of the
nobles and bishops, met for a moment in the sacred field in
which they had laid down their arms, but they could not
agree upon the conditions of the peace ; and the elm-tree
imder which they held their confereil'ce, was cut do^ii by the
orders of Philip. Negotiations were renewed several tmies
without putting a stop to the war. The king of Prance required
that Eichard should be cro^Tied king of England, in
the lifetime of his father, and that he shoidd espouse Alice,
a Prench princess, whom Henry detained in prison. The
king of England, jealous of his authority, could not consent
to accept these conditions ; and woidd neither yield up his
crown nor the sister of Philip, of whom he was enamoured.
Eichard, irritated by his father's refusal, threw himself into
the party of Philip Augustus, and declared openly against
Henry ; on all sides they flew to arms, and the produce of
the Saladin tithe was employed to carry on a sacrilegious
war, which outrao;ed both moralitv and nature.
This war was not a good augury for that which was about
to be undertaken in Asia : the pope's legate excommunicated
Eichard, and threatened Philip with placing his kingdom
under an interdict. Philip despised the menaces of the
legate, and told him that the Holy See had no right to med-
dle with the quarrels of princes ; Eichard, still more violent,
drew his sword, and was on the point of cutting down the
legate. Peace seemed every day to be at a greater distance ;
in vain cries of indignation arose from the people ; in vain
the great vassals refused to take part in a quarrel which interested
neither religion nor country. Henry, who consented
to an interview, stiU haughtily rejected the conditions that
were proposed to him. He resisted for a long time both
the prayers of his subjects and the counsels of the bishops
and the terror only \vith which the thunder of Heaven, which
feh by his side during the conference, inspii'cd him, could
overcome his obstinacy. He at length accepted Philip's
conditions, but soon repented of his acquiescence ; and
;