emperor called upon his vassal, Duke Leopold, to deliver the prisoner to
him, saying that none but an emperor had the right to imprison a king.
The duke assented, and the emperor, filled with glee, sent word of his
good fortune to the king of France, who returned answer that the news
was more agreeable to him than a present of gold or topaz. As for John,
the brother of the imprisoned king, he made overtures for an alliance
with Philip of France, redoubled his intrigues in England and Normandy,
and secretly instigated the emperor to hold on firmly to his royal
prize. All Europe seemed to be leagued against the unlucky king, who lay
in bondage within the stern walls of a German prison.

And now we feel tempted to leave awhile the domain of sober history, and
enter that of romance, which tells one of its prettiest stories about
King Richard's captivity. The story goes that the people of England knew
not what had become of their king. That he was held in durance vile
somewhere in Germany they had been told, but Germany was a broad land
and had many prisons, and none knew which held the lion-hearted king.
Before he could be rescued he must be found, and how should this be
done?

Those were the days of the troubadours, who sang their lively lays not
only in Provence but in other lands. Richard himself composed lays and
sang them to the harp, and Blondel, a troubadour of renown, was his
favorite minstrel, accompanying him wherever he went. This faithful
singer mourned bitterly the captivity of his king, and at length, bent
on finding him, went wandering through foreign lands, singing under the
walls of fortresses and prisons a lay which Richard well knew. Many
weary days he wandered without response, almost without hope; yet still
faithful Blondel roamed on, heedless of the palaces of the land, seeking
only its prisons and strongholds.