Episode 22
An era had come to an end.
And though they said a new era was beginning with Richard I and me…
The truth is, my time was still a little ways off.
Richard I needed to ascend the throne and clear out the nobility before I could claim my own lands.
In other words, to usher in my era, I had to strengthen Richard’s royal authority.
Westminster, located north of the Thames.
This place, favored by the kings of England since the time of the Confessor King, was bustling with life once more.
It was customary for the new king of England to hold his official coronation at Westminster.
The influential figures of England gathered like clouds to witness the birth of their new king.
“Presenting His Highness Richard, heir to England, Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony, Count of Poitiers, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine!”
“Wowwwww!”
Thunderous applause erupted as Richard, crowned, made his appearance.
The expensive silk canopy, laid out by the great lords themselves, fluttered, emphasizing Richard’s imposing presence.
“Long live the heir of England!”
“Richard! Richard! Richard!”
Even in the Middle Ages, when royal power wasn’t absolute, a king was still a special figure.
Those shouting the king’s name at the top of their lungs weren’t doing so just out of love for him.
They were hoping that with the new king, blessings would also come to their own futures.
Standing beside Richard, I could feel the fervor of the coronation firsthand.
Though, if I thought about it calmly, it was a bit of a funny sight.
‘How can they welcome Richard so warmly when they’ve barely seen him?’
Even though he was the King of England, Richard had left England before he turned eight.
Since then, he had lived in France and planned to continue doing so even after becoming king.
His primary language was French, and he could only speak English awkwardly.
To be blunt, England was his second priority; his main base was France.
But that was just his true feelings. Outwardly, he did pay attention to England.
After all, Anjou and Aquitaine in France were ultimately fiefs of the French king.
Richard could stand on equal footing with the King of France only because he held the title of King of England.
Without it, no matter how successful the rulers of the Angevin Empire were, they would be nothing more than great lords under the French king.
Holding the coronation in England was ultimately a display of his royal status.
Regardless of Richard’s true feelings, the influential figures of England were excited to see the king’s face for the first time.
Moreover, to give Richard’s coronation greater significance, a new event was added, different from the original history.
The ‘anointing’ ceremony at the coronation was to be made more meaningful.
Richard wholeheartedly agreed, giving me a chance to shine.
Strictly speaking, the ceremony wasn’t unimportant even in the Middle Ages.
At the coronation, the archbishop or cardinal would crown the new king and anoint him with holy oil.
But there’s a reason why the original is always popular.
In the Bible, when renowned prophets anointed kings, the weight of the act was entirely different.
For medieval monarchs, this was akin to a dream.
Everyone knew the story of Saul, the first king of Israel, being anointed by the prophet Samuel.
Even the great Persian king Cyrus was mentioned in the Bible as an anointed one.
The term ‘Messiah,’ meaning ‘anointed one,’ held great significance in Christianity.
Richard’s plan was to perfectly recreate the ceremony described in the Bible, not just pour holy oil.
Through this ceremony, he wanted to emphasize once again that he was a monarch chosen by God.
You could call it the Angevin Empire’s version of the divine right of kings.
It was an indirect declaration that, as a king chosen by God, no one should dare challenge his authority.
And the reason the divine king could be so confident was none other than me.
Thanks to Edward Marshall, the first prophet to appear since the Old Testament era.
If the king had done this on his own, the church would have immediately gone into a frenzy and torn Richard apart.
As I pondered these thoughts, a bishop approached and spoke to me in a low voice.
“Sir Marshall, it’s your turn to step forward.”
I watched as Geoffrey, the newly appointed archbishop, placed the crown on Richard’s head, then stepped forward.
As I stood before the altar, the archbishop stepped aside, and two counts followed behind me.
John, attending as the second in line for the coronation, brought the vial of holy oil and handed it to me.
Then, Archbishop Geoffrey looked around the assembly and spoke in a solemn voice.
“Traditionally, the following ceremony is performed by the archbishop, but today, a special guest will take his place. Recognized by His Holiness the Pope as a saint and a modern-day Samuel who has heard God’s voice, Saint Marshall will personally anoint the new King of England.”
Instead of responding, I gave a slight nod, and the gathered dignitaries replaced applause and cheers with the sign of the cross and silent prayers.
“Do you, Richard, servant of God, swear to uphold the holy word and maintain peace and dignity throughout your life?”
“Yes. I swear to devote my life to fairness and justice.”
“As the Lord has made you King of England, your authority comes from heaven. To undermine it is to blaspheme the divine and will plunge not only yourself but the nation into ruin. Do you swear to fulfill your duties and responsibilities as the new king?”
“I swear to dedicate my life to realizing God’s will on this earth.”
“As long as the King of England keeps this oath, God’s blessing will remain upon this land forever. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I recognize Richard, Duke of Normandy, as the new King of England, Richard I.”
I could see Richard’s eyes tremble with joy.
Maintaining a composed expression, I anointed his head with the holy oil and dressed him in the royal robes.
Finally, I handed him the sword of governance to punish the wicked, along with the scepter and staff, marking the end of the ceremony.
As the choir sang in celebration of the divine king’s birth, Richard descended from the altar, and the previously suppressed cheers erupted once more.
The birth of a king anointed by a prophet for the first time since the establishment of Christian civilization. Who could possibly stand in his way now?
The influential figures supporting Richard were intoxicated with excitement, chanting Richard’s and my names alternately as they ran around.
But when the fervor rises, it’s a tradition among European fanatics to cause trouble.
Just before Richard and I left the scene, a rough shout erupted from afar.
“What the hell? These bastards are Jews! How dare Jews come in here? Didn’t they hear Jews are banned from entering?”
“No, we just came to present gifts to the new king. We came to offer congratulatory gifts, so why are we being insulted?”
“Why not, you bastards! All that money was made by exploiting our good citizens! And these filthy people who crucified Christ dare to attend the coronation of a great king anointed by God? Are they spies here to ruin the event?”
“Well… if you think about it, this ceremony is rooted in our Jewish tradition…”
Thwack!
Before the Jewish merchants could protest further, the fists of English citizens rained down mercilessly on their faces.
Then, the angry Englishmen’s kicks followed relentlessly on the fallen men.
Whack! Whack!
“You Jews always have too much to say! Don’t you know that cunning people like you can’t enter heaven?”
“Hey! Stomp them, stomp them! We need to teach these bastards a lesson!”
“The bastards who killed Christ still don’t know what repentance is!”
Strictly speaking, both Christianity and Islam have their roots in Judaism, but that meant nothing to these people.
What mattered was that they simply couldn’t stand the arrogant Jews.
Richard, who should have been quelling this chaos, merely glanced indifferently at the Jews being beaten and turned away.
He then discreetly instructed the attendant walking beside him.
“Make sure to collect the gifts they brought. Keep an eye out so no rioters sneak them away.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
He intended to take all the treasures but didn’t stop the beatings.
The citizens’ violence didn’t stop there; they began attacking other Jews outside, but no one tried to stop them.
This was a stark display of how Jews were perceived in Europe.
It also indirectly hinted at Richard’s future actions.
Of course, the nobles, unaware that the blade of violence could turn on them, merely watched the Jews being beaten.
Some even laughed, saying it served them right.
I was personally curious about how long they could keep laughing.
If I had to guess, they wouldn’t last a month before shedding tears of blood.
Or maybe not.
“Your Majesty! This is unacceptable!”
Once again, my prediction was spot on.
In fact, I might have overestimated Richard’s character.
In less than two weeks, the royal palace of England was filled with wails so vivid they seemed to echo in surround sound.
“Your Majesty! I am innocent!”
“Innocent? With evidence as clear as day, what kind of nonsense is this?”
“Your Majesty! You can’t do this to me! I even drew my sword against the late king for your sake!”
“Not for me, but for your own wealth and power. You should have known when to be content with what you had.”
Richard looked down at the Count of Auvergne with a voice devoid of emotion.
The Count wasn’t the only one pleading his case.
There were those who were furious, those choking on their own sense of injustice, and those trembling with fear.
Various nobles were desperately trying to convince Richard of their innocence, claiming they had done nothing wrong.
Despite their differences, they shared a common trait.
They all owned lands, large or small.
And they had all betrayed Henry II to side with Richard.
“Anyone can claim innocence. But remember, denying the evidence before you will only provoke my anger further.”
Richard irritably tossed a bundle of parchments, and the nobles scrambled to read them.
“This… this is a setup, Your Majesty!”
“I’ve never done anything like this!”
“Really? With all this evidence piled up, you still want to deny it?”
Of course, they would deny it. Most of the evidence was fabricated by Richard himself.
But it wasn’t as if he was creating crimes out of thin air.
No one is without a speck of dust if you look closely enough.
Add a little seasoning to that dust, and voilà, you have a villain that seems beyond redemption.
Blasphemy, adultery, conspiracy, breaking the Ten Commandments, and so on.
As the irrefutable evidence continued to mount, the nobles’ faces grew increasingly pale.
By now, anyone with half a brain would realize the king was deliberately targeting them.
“Your Majesty! We…”
Richard cut off the nobles’ protests before they could gain momentum.
“Oh, I’m sure you have plenty to say. Some of you might even think I’ve fabricated evidence to frame you. To clear up any misunderstandings, I’ll give you a chance to prove your innocence.”
“What?”
What was he saying now?
Could it be that the king wasn’t plotting against them after all?
Richard gestured toward me, and the bewildered nobles turned their eyes in my direction.
“The charges against you were submitted by other nobles. The accusations are so meticulously detailed that I doubt they’re fabricated, but if there’s even a chance of innocence, it’s only fair to investigate. I’ll have Marshal verify everything.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“The Prophet will surely see our innocence!”
“Indeed. So, meet with Marshal individually and plead your case. If your innocence is proven, the nobles who falsely accused you will be punished instead.”
From the start, Richard had no intention of punishing all the nobles present.
If he had used fabricated evidence to eliminate them all, it would only lead to suspicion against the king.
But by sowing discord among the nobles, the situation changed.
The summoned nobles would now rack their brains to deduce who might have betrayed them, compiling lists of potential suspects.
After all, no noble lives without making a single enemy.
Then, by fanning the flames of their rivalries, Richard could make them expose each other’s secrets.
The expressions of the nobles, who had been suspicious of the king, changed all at once.
The great purge would begin not by the king’s hand, but by the nobles themselves.
In the end, the royal authority would be strengthened, and Richard would gain the Auvergne lands. Could there be a more satisfying mutual benefit?
A perfect divide and conquer.
The alpha and omega of political maneuvering, effective a thousand years ago and a thousand years hence.
This is how you truly divide and conquer.