1193. Pope Celestin III threatens to excommunicate the princes who hold King Richard in captivity.
John Lackland, brother of Richard, King of England, attempts to usurp the throne; he is resisted by the barons.
Discord and wars among the municipal republics of Italy.
1194. Richard, after having been a captive for more than a year, is released for a ransom of 150,000 marks, raised by his subjects. He returns to England, declares war against Philip Augustus, and invades Normandy. He pardons his brother John.
Emperor Henry VI puts an end to the Norman line in Sicily; he founds the Hohenstaufen dynasty there.
1195. Battle of Alarcos; Alfonso the Noble, King of Castile, defeated by the Moors.
1196. Crusade of German barons to Palestine.
1197. Death of Henry VI of Germany; his heir is an infant son, Frederick II.
1198. Contest for the crowns of Germany and Italy between Philip of Swabia, supported by the Ghibellines, and Otho of Brunswick, son of Henry the Lion, aided by the Guelfs.
Florence becomes an independent republic.