Editing Richard I of England (section)

===Crusade plans===
Richard had already taken the cross as Count of Poitou in 1187. His father and Philip II had done so at Gisors on 21 January 1188 after receiving news of the fall of [[Jerusalem]] to [[Saladin]]. After Richard became king, he and Philip agreed to go on the Third Crusade, since each feared that during his absence the other might usurp his territories.{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|p=100}}

Richard swore an oath to renounce his past wickedness in order to show himself worthy to take the cross. He started to raise and equip a new crusader army. He spent most of his father's treasury (filled with money raised by the [[Saladin tithe]]), raised taxes, and even agreed to free King William I of Scotland from his oath of subservience to Richard in exchange for {{Formatnum:10000}} [[mark (currency)|marks]] (£{{Formatnum:6500}}). To raise still more revenue he sold the right to hold official positions, lands, and other privileges to those interested in them.{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|pp=97–101}} Those already appointed were forced to pay huge sums to retain their posts. [[William Longchamp]], [[Bishop of Ely]] and the King's chancellor, made a show of bidding £{{Formatnum:3000}} to remain as Chancellor. He was apparently outbid by a certain Reginald the Italian, but that bid was refused.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Richard made some final arrangements on the continent.<ref name=FloriF_101>{{Harvnb|Flori|1999f|p=101}}</ref> He reconfirmed his father's appointment of [[William Fitz Ralph]] to the important post of [[seneschal]] of Normandy. In Anjou, [[Stephen of Tours]] was replaced as seneschal and temporarily imprisoned for fiscal mismanagement. Payn de Rochefort, an Angevin knight, became [[seneschal of Anjou]]. In Poitou the ex-provost of Benon, Peter Bertin, was made seneschal, and finally, the household official Helie de La Celle was picked for the seneschalship in Gascony. After repositioning the part of his army he left behind to guard his French possessions, Richard finally set out on the crusade in summer 1190.<ref name=FloriF_101/> (His delay was criticised by [[troubadour]]s such as [[Bertran de Born]].) He appointed as regents [[Hugh de Puiset]], [[Bishop of Durham]], and [[William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex]]{{snd}}who soon died and was replaced by William Longchamp.{{Sfn|Flori|1999f|p=99}} Richard's brother John was not satisfied by this decision and started scheming against William Longchamp. When Richard was raising funds for his crusade, he was said to have declared, "I would have sold London if I could find a buyer".{{Sfn|Gillingham|2002|p=118}}