At the same time that Frederick was thus reasserting the imperial
power, England had a strong king in Henry II. By wedding the most
important feudal heiress in France, Henry added so many provinces to
his ancestral French domain of Normandy that more than half France lay
in his possession, and the French kings found that in this overgrown
duke, who was also an independent monarch, they possessed a vassal far
wealthier and more powerful than themselves. Henry took more than one
step toward the humiliation, or even subjugation, of France, but seems
to have been hampered by a real feudal respect for his overlord.
Moreover, he got into the same difficulty as the Emperor. He
quarrelled with the Church, and found it too strong for him. Much of
his time and most of his energy were devoted to his celebrated
struggle against his great bishop, Thomas Becket.[2]

Thus the French King was given time and opportunity to strengthen his
sovereignty. Then came the great Third Crusade, altering and once more
upsetting the growing forces of the times, and among its many
unforeseen results was the rescue of France from the grip of her too
mighty vassal. The long threatening recapture of Jerusalem became a
fact in 1187.[3] The Christian kingdom established by the First
Crusade was overthrown; and Emperor Barbarossa, in his splendid and
revered old age, vowed to attempt its reëstablishment.

Once more did all the nobility of Europe pour eastward, embracing
eagerly the purpose of their chief. This was the last great crusade,
those that followed being but feeble and unimportant efforts in
comparison. Not only was the Emperor at its head, but the King of
England, son of Henry II, the famous Richard of the Lion Heart, took
up the movement with enthusiasm. So, also, though less passionately,