A History of the Crusades-Vol 3 by Steven Runciman Read Free Book Online Page B

have disliked sea voyages, doubtless because he suffered from
sea-sickness. His fleet conveyed his army to Messina and anchored off the harbour
to await him, while he with a small escort took the road along the coast
through Genoa, Pisa and Ostia to Salerno. He waited until he heard that his
fleet had arrived at Messina and then, it seems, sent most of his escort by
ship to Messina to prepare for his arrival. He himself continued on horseback,
with only one attendant. When he passed near the little Calabrian town of
Mileto he tried to steal a hawk from a peasant’s house and was very nearly done
to death by the furious villagers. He was therefore in a bad temper when he
reached the Straits of Messina a day or two later. His men met him on the
Italian shore and conveyed him in pomp to Messina, where he landed on 3
September. The lavish grandeur of his entry was in sharp contrast with Philip’s
modest arrival.
    As he passed through Italy Richard had
learned of many things that displeased him about Tancred. His sister, the
Dowager Queen Joanna, was being kept in confinement and her dower was withheld
from her. She had some influence in the kingdom and Tancred clearly did not
trust her. Moreover, William II had left a large legacy to his father-in-law,
Henry II, consisting of gold plate and gold furniture, a silk tent, two armed
galleys and many sacks of provisions. As Henry was dead, Tancred proposed to retain
them for himself. From Salerno Richard had sent to Tancred to demand the
release of his sister and the cession of her dowry and the legacy. These
demands, followed by news of Richard’s behaviour in Calabria, frightened
Tancred. He saw to it that Richard was lodged in a palace outside the walls of
Messina, but, to conciliate him, he sent Joanna with a royal escort to join her
brother and opened negotiations about money payments in lieu of the dowry and
legacy. King Philip, whom Richard had visited two days after his arrival,
offered his friendly offices; and when Queen Joanna went to pay her respects to
him, he received her so cordially that everyone expected to hear of their
forthcoming marriage. But Richard was not in a conciliatory mood. First, he sent
a detachment across the Straits to occupy the town of Bagnara, on the Calabrian
coast, and installed his sister there. Then he attacked a small island just off
Messina, where there was a Greek convent. The monks were brutally ejected to
give place to his troops. The treatment given to these holy men horrified the
people of Messina, who were mainly Greeks, while the wealthier citizens were
enraged by the conduct of the English soldiers towards their wives and
daughters.
    1190: Richard seizes Messina
    On 3 October a quarrel in a suburb between
some English soldiers and a group of citizens led to a riot. A rumour spread
through the town that Richard intended to conquer the whole of Sicily; and the
gates were closed against his men. An attempt by his ships to force the harbour
was repulsed. King Philip hastily summoned the Archbishop of Messina and
Tancred’s admiral Margaritus and the other Sicilian notables in the town to his
palace, and went with them next morning to pacify Richard at his headquarters
outside the walls. Just as it seemed that some arrangement would be made,
Richard heard some of the citizens, collected on a hill outside the windows,
hurl insults against his name. In a fury he left the assembly and ordered his
troops to attack once more. This time the citizens were taken by surprise. In a
few hours the English had captured Messina and had pillaged every quarter
except for the streets by the palace where King Philip was lodged. Margaritus
and the other notables barely had time to escape with their families. Their
houses were seized by Richard. The Sicilian fleet anchored in the harbour was
burnt. By afternoon the standard of the Plantagenets floated over the town.
    Richard’s truculence did not end there.
Though he agreed to let King Philip’s standard