Such being our chief scene, the date of our story refers to a period towards the end of the reign of Richard I., when his return from his long captivity had become an event rather wished than hoped for by his despairing subjects, who were in the meantime subjected to every species of subordinate oppression.
A király hazatérését hosszú fogságából epedve várták, de már alig remélték kétségbeesett alattvalói, akiket ezalatt kegyetlenül elnyomtak és sanyargattak. A nemesek féktelen hatalma már régebben, István király idejében is elviselhetetlen volt.