It is a curious circumstance that in this treaty Richard should name Rouen, and not London, as his principal capital. It confirms what is known in many other ways, that the kings of this line, reigning over both Normandy and England, considered Normandy as the chief centre of their power, and England as subordinate. It may be, however, that one reason why Rouen was named in this instance may have been because it was nearer to the dominions of the King of France, and so better known to him.
This treaty was signed in February, and the preparations were now nearly complete for setting forth on the expedition in March, at the appointed time.
The plan of embarking the troops.--The English fleet.--The French forces.--Richard's rules.--The origin of tarring and feathering.--Command of the fleet.--The fleet dispersed by a storm.--A delay in Lisbon.--The rendezvous at Vezelai.--Devastation by the armies.--Richard goes to the East in advance of his fleet.--The rendezvous at Messina.--Joanna.--Richard's visit.--King Richard's excursions.--Ostia.--A quarrel.--Why Richard quarreled with the bishop.--Naples and Vesuvius.--The crypt.--Salerno.--Richard's visit there.--The fleet.--Richard pursuing his journey along the coast of the Mediterranean.--Richard's tyrannical disposition.--Stealing the falcon.--Richard flees to a priory to escape the peasants.
The plan which Richard had formed for conveying his expedition to the Holy Land was to embark it on board a fleet of ships which he was sending round to Marseilles for this purpose, with orders to await him there. Marseilles is in the south of France, not far from the Mediterranean Sea. Richard might have embarked his troops in the English Channel; but that, as the reader will see from looking on the map of Europe, would require them to take a long sea voyage around the coasts of France and Spain, and through the Straits of Gibraltar. Richard thought it best to avoid this long circuit for his troops, and so he sent the ships round, with no more men on board than necessary to manoeuvre them, while he marched his army across France by land.
As for Philip, he had no ships of his own. England was a maritime country, and had long possessed a fleet. This fleet had been very much increased by the exertions of Henry the Second, Richard's father, who had built several new ships, some of them of very large size, expressly for the purpose of transporting troops to Palestine. Henry himself did not live to execute his plans, and so he left his ships for Richard.