I found some old 3.5” discs and a disc drive (all from 23 years ago in 2001) that still worked. On one of them were these notes. Fun to read what 34-year-old John found interesting and insightful (this was before I earned my first MATS in Christian History and Thought)!

The third crusade was originally led by King Frederick of Germany, but the other two kings with him were King Richard from England and King Phillip Augustus from France. King Frederick was soon to meet his final fate while on this crusade. When they were crossing a mountain stream, somewhere in present day Turkey, he forgot his age and that he could not swim—well, anyway, he decided to cross and drowned (oops).

This left the crusade without a leader. So, they appointed the second most able soldier—King Richard the Lion Heart, as their new leader. Richard was a strong king that was always willing to do things for his people. As a boy, much of Richard's time was spent was spent sparring with his brothers and father, which gave him quite a fighting background.

During the crusade, Richard never stopped receiving bad news from such as that his brother John was still trying to overthrow him. Once in a battle against Saladin's armies, Richards horse fell out from underneath him, Saladin saw this accident and sent his servant out with two new fresh horses and a message, "A gift from one king to another." This shows that Saladin was truly a kind person.

Another show of his sensitivity was when a plague spread around Richard’s camp and Richard also got it. The legend said that during the time that Richard was ill, Saladin would send out a basket of fresh fruits everyday, and in return Richard would send him a thank-you-present of two falcons, a prized bird for its unique hunting skills.

When they went home, they returned only with the belief that they had been brave enough to go on the crusade and that they had been good enough fighters to live. They were happy because they were going home to their families in Europe, and the thought that they were definately going to heaven. (based on the word of the Priests and Popes). There were just a couple of problems: they hadn't gotten the land, and many of their soldiers were dead. There was also sure to be an uproar about King Frederick’s death.