104 ROGEU OF WEN DOVER, [A.D. 1101 religious men, who had come to see him from many quarters, was taken to the casth and thrown into a dungeon, where hi' was kept close prisoner for eight days. This treatment coming to the knowledge of the bishop of London, that prelate immediately went to the chancellor, and with much difficulty after many entreaties obtained the archbishop's release, being obliged to give his whole bishopric as security for him. The archbishop therefore, released from prison, came to London, where he was received by the bishop, clergy, and people, with all honours and in solemn procession. This rash presumption, as the following history will show, afterwards redounded very much to the disgrace of the chancellor. A remarkable eclipse of the sun. In the month of June in the same year, on Sunday, the eve of St. John the Baptist, there appeared about the sixth hour of the day, an eclipse of the sun, which lasted till the eighth hour, the moon being twenty seven days old and the sun being in the sign of Cancer. Iloic king Richard took a ship called a dromund. On the 21st of March* in that year, Phili]) king of the French landed at Acre, and Kichard following him. embarked at Cyprus with a large stock of provisions, lie heard that the French king's army was suffering at Aere from hunger and scarcity to such a degree, that a quart of corn cost sixtv marks, and he therefore hastened to the relief of such distress and misery with his ships loaded with large quantities of corn. Whilst he was sailing with a fair wind towards Acre, which city was formerly called Ptolemais, there came in sight on the 6th of June, a very large ship, called a dromund, which had been sent loaded with an immense sum of money from the city of Baruch, by Saladin's brother, Salahadin, Soldan of Babylon, to carry assistance to the pagans who were besieged in Acre. On board this vessel they had Crock fire, and many pots of fiery serpents; and the crew consisted of fifteen hundred warriors, besides fifteen hundred strong men by whose aid the ship might be strengthened. King Kichard immediately ordered his followers to prepare for * Some mistake in date here : Philip onlv left Messina on the '29th of March.