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Chapter XXXVII. Ñ
How King Richard, moved with pity, gave to King Guy the
island of Cyprus as a reward for his prowess in war, and to console him for the loss
of his kingdom.
But since it is hardly possible for one man to rise without anotherÕs
downfall, so that the loss of the one turns to the advantage of the other,
King Guy was now deprived of the kingdom, in the acquisition of which
Count Henry gloried, and for which he had fought so many battles. He
now dwelt therein like a private man, not because he was undeserving of
the kingdom, for there was not another king to be found of more royal
habits or character than he, but for this only reason, that he was simple-
minded and unversed in political intrigue; instead of being esteemed the
more
on this account, as he should have been, he was considered the more
contemptible. He was a soldier of great prowess, and conducted the siege
of Acre, when occupied by the Turks, with the greatest vigour and
perseverance; but owing to the increasing numbers of the enemy on the
side towards the sea, he could not storm the city, which two kings
afterwards with difficulty gained possession of. Ought, then, the simplicity
of his character to have injured him in obtaining his rights? For such was
the perversity of the age, that he whoever was known to be most inhuman
in his actions was thought worthy of greater honour and glory; and thus
while
craftiness gained respect, piety sunk into disrepute, because
prudence is the reigning virtue of the present age. Thus, then, Guy became
a king without a kingdom, until King Richard, moved with pity for him
and his well-known probity, gave him the unconditional sovereignty of the
island of Cyprus, although the Templars had previously bought it of him;
and thus the condition of purchase by the Templars being set aside, Guy
was made emperor of Cyprus.
Chapter XXXVIII. Ñ
How messengers arrived frequently from England, and how
the news they brought made King Richard doubtful what to do.
Itinerary
230
At the time that the marquis was assassinated at Tyre as aforesaid,
many messengers arrived from England, soliciting the king to return; some
of them
said that every thing was safe, others that England was on the
point of being taken from him; some begged him to return home, while
others used all their endeavours to persuade him to accomplish his
pilgrimage in the land which he had come to; and thus their different
assertions disturbed his mind, and made him doubtful to which he should
lean. But he measured the spirit of the king of France by his former
experience, for, according to the proverb, ÒHe who has a bad man for his
neighbour, is sure to find something wrong in the morning.Ó
Chapter XXXIX. Ñ
How King Richard, without the aid of the French, and with
his own amy alone, took Darum by storm in four days, and captured 300 Turks
therein.
In the meantime, while Count Henry and the French at Acre were
proceeding to the siege of the fort of Darum, King Richard, who hated
delay, started with his men from Ascalon, and sent his stone-engines,
which had been placed piecemeal on board the ships, to proceed thither by
sea. The king, deputed men to guard the city, and hired others, at the most
lavish price, to keep a good look-out by day towards the neighbouring
forts, and a careful watch by night to prevent the Turks from carrying
supplies as before to Darum, or whatever might
be wanted by the army at
Jerusalem, or from any longer having a safe retreat to Darum, whence they
frequently planned ambuscades against our men. Then the king, with his
own soldiers only, set out armed for the fort of Darum, and arriving there
on a Sunday, he pitched his tent and those of his followers at a short
distance from it. Owing to the paucity of our men, it was doubted which
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