This battle-axe was a very famous weapon. It was one which Richard had caused to be made for himself before leaving England, and it was the wonder of the army on account of its size and weight. The object of a battle-axe was to break through the steel armor with which the knights and warriors of those days were accustomed to cover themselves, and which was proof against all ordinary blows. Now Richard was a man of prodigious personal strength, and, when fitting out his expedition in England, he caused an unusually large and heavy battle-axe to be made for himself, by way of showing his men what he could do in swinging a heavy weapon. The head of this axe, or hammer, as perhaps it might more properly have been called, weighed twenty pounds, and most marvelous stories were told of the prodigious force of the blow that Richard could strike with it. When it came down on the head of a steel-clad knight on his horse, it broke through every thing, they said, and crushed man and horse both to the ground.
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The assault on Limesol was successful. The people made but a feeble resistance. Indeed, they had no weapons which could possibly enable them to stand a moment against the Crusaders. They were half naked, and their arms were little better than clubs and stones. They were, in consequence, very easily driven off the ground, and Richard took possession of the city.
He then immediately made a signal for Joanna's galley-which, during all this time, had remained at the mouth of the harbor-to advance. The galley accordingly came up, and Joanna and the princess were received by the whole army at the landing with loud acclamations. They were immediately conducted into the town, and there were lodged splendidly in the best of Isaac's palaces.
But the contest was not yet ended. The place to which Isaac had retreated was a city which he possessed in the interior of the island called Nicosia. From this place he sent a messenger to Richard to propose another conference, with a view of attempting once more to agree upon some terms of peace. Richard agreed to this, and a place of meeting was appointed on a plain near Limesol, the port. King Isaac, accompanied by a suitable number of attendants, repaired to this place, and the conference was opened. Richard was mounted on a favorite Spanish charger, and was splendidly dressed in silk and gold. He assumed a very lofty bearing and demeanor toward his humbled enemy, and informed him in a very summary manner on what terms alone he was willing to make peace.
"I will make peace with you," said Richard, "on condition that you hold your kingdom henceforth subject to me. You are to deliver up all the castles and strongholds to me, and do me homage as your acknowledged sovereign. You are also to pay me an ample indemnity in gold for the damage you did to my wrecked galleys. I shall expect you, moreover, to join me in the crusade. You must accompany me to the Holy Land with not less than five hundred foot-soldiers, four hundred horsemen, and one hundred full-armed knights. For security that you will faithfully fulfill these conditions, you must put the princess, your daughter, into my hands as a hostage. Then, in case your conduct while in my service in the Holy Land is in all respects perfectly satisfactory, I will restore your daughter, and also your castles, to you on my return."
Isaac's daughter was a very beautiful young princess. She was extremely beloved by her father, and was highly honored by the people of the land as the heir to the crown.
These conditions were certainly very hard, but the poor king was in no condition to resist any demands that Richard might choose to make. With much distress and anguish of mind, he pretended to agree to these terms, though he secretly resolved that he could not and would not submit to them. Richard suspected his sincerity, and, in utter violation of all honorable laws and usages of war, he made him a prisoner, and set guards over him to watch him until the stipulations should be carried into effect. Isaac contrived to escape from his keepers in the night, and, putting himself at the head of such troops as he could obtain, prepared for war, with the determination to resist to the last extremity.
Richard now resolved to proceed at once to take the necessary measures for the complete subjugation of the island. He organized a large body of land forces, and directed them to advance into the interior of the country, and put down all resistance. At the same time, he placed himself at the head of his fleet, and, sailing round the island, he took possession of all the towns and fortresses on the shore. He also seized every ship and every boat, large and small, that he could find, and thus entirely cut off from King Isaac all chance of escaping by sea. In the mean time, the unhappy monarch, with the few troops that still adhered to him, was driven from place to place, until at last he was completely hemmed in, and was compelled to fight or surrender. They fought. The result was what might have been expected. Richard was victorious. The capital, Limesol, fell into his hands, and the king and his daughter were taken prisoners.
The princess was greatly terrified when she was brought into Richard's presence. She fell on her knees before him, and cried,
"My lord the king, have mercy upon me!"
Richard put forth his hand to lift her up, and then sent her to Berengaria.
"I give her to you," said he, "for an attendant and companion."
The king was almost broken-hearted at having his daughter taken away from him. He threw himself at Richard's feet, and begged him, with the most earnest entreaty, to restore him his child. Richard paid no heed to this request, but ordered Isaac to be taken away. Soon after this he sent him across the sea to Tripoli in Syria, and there shut him up in the dungeon of a castle, a hopeless prisoner. The unhappy captive was secured in his dungeon by chains; but, in honor of his rank, the chains, by Richard's directions, were made of silver, overlaid with gold. The poor king pined in this place of confinement for four years, and then died.
As soon as Isaac had gone, and things had become somewhat settled. Richard found himself undisputed master of Cyprus, and he resolved to annex the island to his own dominions.
"And now," said he to himself, "it will be a good time for me to be married."
So, after making the necessary arrangements for assembling his whole fleet again, and repairing the damages which had been sustained by the storm, he began to make preparations for the wedding. Berengaria made no objection to this. Indeed, the fright which she had suffered at sea in being separated from Richard, and the anxiety she had endured when, after the storm, she gazed in every direction all around the horizon, and could see no signs in any quarter of his ship, and when, consequently, she feared that he might be lost, made her extremely unwilling to be separated from him again.
The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendor, and many feasts and entertainments, and public parades, and celebrations followed, to commemorate the event. Among the other grand ceremonies was a coronation-a double coronation. Richard caused himself to be crowned King of Cyprus, and Berengaria Queen of England and of Cyprus too.
The dress in which Richard appeared on these occasions is minutely described. He wore a rose-colored satin tunic, which was fastened by a jeweled belt about his waist. Over this was a mantle of striped silver tissue, brocaded with silver half-moons. He wore an elegant and very costly sword too. The blade was of Damascus steel, the hilt was of gold, and the scabbard was of silver, richly engraved in scales. On his head he wore a scarlet bonnet, brocaded in gold with figures of animals. He bore in his hand what was called a truncheon, which was a sort of sceptre, very splendidly covered and adorned.
He had an elegant horse-a Spanish charger-and wherever he went this horse was led before him, with the bits, and stirrups, and all the metallic mountings of the saddle and bridle in gold. The crupper was adorned with two golden lions, figured with their paws raised in the act of striking each other. Richard obtained another horse in Cyprus among the spoils that he acquired there, and which afterward became his favorite. His name was Favelle, though in some of the old annals he is called Faunelle. This horse acquired great fame by the strength and courage, and also the great sagacity, that he displayed in the various battles that he was engaged in with his master. Indeed, at last, he became quite a historical character.