ABSTRACT
Richard Lionheart was aware that within his kingdom of England he possessed powers that he lacked in most of his French possessions, enabling him to raise efficiently revenues for his fighting forces along his continental 'empire's' frontiers. Francis J. West describes the new arrangement as a 'superficial' break from the past, designed to handle the king's long periods of isolation from England's affairs. It could have been seen by Richard as experimental, given the context of crusade and his lack of experience with this form of governance. Richard I's initial plans for the justiciarship reflect both his experience in Aquitaine and his appreciation of the English administrative system. Historians have noted that the new king had learned his politics in an unruly duchy, where divisions of authority and balance-of-power schemes proved the best means of keeping peace. Richard's departure for crusade raised the possibility of renewed pogroms against the Jewish community that had accompanied earlier crusades.
