The Courts of Love - Jean Plaidy [207]
Some did not believe him, but others did. They did not want to face trial for murder. They knew what happened to murderers. The late King had been fanatically set on bringing law and order to the country, and he had done so by severely punishing violent acts.
“If he is a Christian,” said one of them, “let him be baptized.”
This was a new turn to the revelry. The mob forced Benedict to go into the nearest church and insisted on his immediate baptism.
Meanwhile there was rioting throughout London. The shops and houses of the Jews were full of valuables. They were Jewish goods and therefore they belonged to Christians.
So what began as a day of rejoicing turned into a nightmare of horror for many people.
Richard was angry. What a beginning to his reign! He wanted peace. It was imperative that he have peace for he must go off to the Holy Land with an easy conscience.
I was with him when he sent for Ranulf de Glanville, one of the most able of his ministers and the man who had very often been my jailer during my imprisonment. Neither I nor Richard felt any rancor toward him; he was a far-seeing man; he had always been respectful to me, looking ahead to the day when Richard would be King and his mother would be beside him.
Richard commanded Ranulf to put an end to the rioting. The people must be told that it was his intention to have no such disturbances. People must live in peace side by side, though they had differences of opinion on certain things, including religion.
Ranulf was certainly efficient. Very soon he had quelled the rising in London, and then Richard sent him off to stop it elsewhere, for when the news of what had happened after the coronation spread through the country, people in provincial towns thought they could enjoy a few pickings from the wealthy Jews.
There was a sequel to the story of Benedict of York. A few days after the coronation he begged an audience with the King.
Richard permitted him to come. He knelt before him.
“So you are the new Christian,” said Richard. The man was silent.
Richard went on: “Were you not baptized on the day of my coronation?”
“I was, my lord,” the man replied.
“Are you a true Christian?” asked Richard. “And will you abjure your old faith and cling to your new?”
Benedict raised his head. “My lord King,” he said, “I lied. I was in fear of my life. I was baptized. But I am a Jew and as such can never be a true Christian. In a moment of terror I renounced my faith. Now that has passed, I wish to tell the truth. I am ready to die for my faith.”
“Why are you so ready to die today when you were not a few days ago?” asked Richard.
“I spoke in a moment of panic. Now I have had time to reflect, I see what this means and I would rather die honorably than live ignobly.”
Richard said: “You are an honest man and an honorable one. I respect these virtues. Forget your baptism and return to the faith of your fathers.”
Benedict was overcome with gratitude; he fell on his knees and kissed Richard’s feet.
When I heard of this, I was filled with emotion. I knew my son could be a great king . . . if he would.
Once the coronation was over, Richard was obsessed by one thing: the need to raise money for the crusade.
I was beginning to be alarmed: he was proposing to sell all his castles; if anyone wanted a special favor, they could have it for cash. William Longchamp paid him 3,000 for the office of Chancellor. Was that wise? I wanted to know. Could such an important post be a matter of money? And why Longchamp? Just because he had been prepared to pay! Henry had said that Longchamp was the son of a traitor. His father had been deep in debt and disgrace not so long ago, and his grandfather was nothing but a French serf who had taken the name of Longchamp from the Norman village where he was brought up. First he had been in my son Geoffrey’s service and, seeing an advantage in transferring to Richard’s, he had done this. He was rather uncouth, slightly deformed, lame and by no means handsome. Moreover, he did not speak English