Biography of Robert Tresilian -1388
In 1381 Robert Tresilian was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Calendars. 01 Mar 1382. Coinmission to Robert Tresilian, Robert Bealknap, William Skipwyth, Nicholas Brembre, William Gunthorp, Adapı de Bury and William Spaigné to examine the record and process and correct any error therein, or in the judgment rendered, in the suit before the mayor of Cales between William de Montagu (age 53), Earl of Salisbury, proctor and attorney of John Buterleigh and Alesia his wife, executrix of the will of William Teynturer the younger, late citizen of Salisbury, William Warmwell and William Loerde, her co- executors, and one William Gilbert called Salesbury,' touching a debt of 3291. which the earl demanded from the said Gilbert, and to do justice therein according to the law and custom obtaining in Cales.
Calendars. 06 Jul 1384. Commission to Robert Tresilian, Nicholas Brembre, mayor, Simon Westminster. Wynchecombe and John More, sheriffs, of London, and John Charney to enquire touching felonies and treasons in the county of Middlesex. By C.
Calendars. 15 May 1385. Pardon to John Quenyld, fishmonger, 'sumtyme duellyng in Edyngbregg,' of outlawries in the counties of Southampton and Middlesex, for not appearing in the King's Bench to answer Hugh Crane and John Glemesford respectively touching trespasses, or to pay the king a ransom in each case, he having now surrendered to the Marshalsea prison [Map], as certified by Robert Tresiliam, chief justice,
Calendars. 07 Nov 1385. Pardon, at the supplication of Robert Tresilian, knight, to Richard Servyngton alias Beare, for the death of Walter Bachiler and William Eykebery, killed after st. Gregory, 5 Richard II. By p.s.
Calendars. 05 Dec 1385. Pardon to John de Brabourne, 'cappere,' of his outlawry for not appearing to answer Richard Riggesby touching a trespass, he having surrendered to the Marshalsea prison and paid the said Richard the damages adjudged, as is certified by Robert Tresilyan, chief justice of the King's Bench; on condition, however, that he pay the king his ransom.
Calendars. 30 Aug 1386. Grant to Robert Brandon of the goods and chattels of Hugh de Byseley, forfeited on account of his outlawry at the suit of Robert Tresiliam in a plea of debt. By signet letter.
Calendars. 12 Oct 1386. Geoffrey Harnold of Bleseworth, for not appearing in the King's Westminster. Bench to answer Thomas Grene, knight, touching a trespass, he having surrendered to the Marshalsea prison as certified by Robert Tresiliam, chief justice. co. Northampton.
The Chronicle of Adam of Usk. 27 Dec 1387. The mayor of London, hearing of their coming, sent forth to them the keys of the city; and thereafter those same five lords did, on the feast of Saint John the Evangelist (27th December), blockade the Tower1 of London till it yielded; then straightway they placed the king, who lay therein, under new governance, and delivered his fawning councillors into divers prisons until the next following parliament1. On the morrow of the Purification of Our
Note 1. The confederate lords entered London on the 26th December, and immediately invested the Tower. Richard submitted, and summoned parliament to meet on the 3rd February, Lady (3rd February), they declared exiles those who had fled, and they banished into Ireland all the king’s justices, for that they had knowledge of the imagining of the death of the lords, as above written, and also the king’s confessor, the bishop of Chichester1. Others who had wrongfully fostered the king’s unruliness, if not the causers thereof, namely, sir Simon Burley (age 47), chamberlain, sir Robert Tresilian, chief justice, Nicholas Brembre, mayor of London, sir John Berners and sir John Salisbury, knights, and Thomas Usk and John Blake, esquires, and very many others were beheaded2.
Note 1. The judges who had taken a part in the council of Nottingham were—sir Robert de Belknap, chief justice of the Common Pleas; sir Robert de Fulthorp, sir John Holt, and sir William Burgh, puisne judges of the same; sir John Cary, junior baron of the Exchequer ; and with them, John Lokton, serjeant-at-law. Belknap and Holt were banished to Drogheda, Fulthorp and Burgh to Dublin, Cary and Lokton to Waterford. Thomas Rushook, bishop of Chichester and the king's confessor, was sent to Cork.—Rymer, Federa, 8th and 13th July, 1388.
Note 2. The execution of sir Simon Burley (age 47), the retainer of the Black Prince and Richard’s tutor, which was carried out in spite of all the king’s efforts to save him, made an impression on Richard’s mind which goes far to account for the fierceness with which he attacked his enemies in the parliament of 1397. Berners and Salisbury (as well as sir John Beauchamp, who was also executed) were of the royal household. Thomas Usk had been appointed undersheriff of Middlesex, with the view of influencing the elections to parliament; and John Blake had been commissioned to draw the bill of indictment which Richard, had he not been forestalled, would have brought forward against the confederate lords, in 1387, after the council of Nottingham. Usk has recently risen into a more interesting position than that which he holds in history, having been identified as the author of "The Testament of Love," a work which has been wrongly attributed to Chaucer. (Dict. Nat. Biogr. lviij. 60; Skeat, Chaucerian and other Pieces, 1897.)
On 03 Feb 1388 the Merciless Parliament commenced. It ended on 04 Jun 1388. Its primary function was to prosecute members of the Court of King Richard II of England (age 21). The term "Merciless" is contemporary having been coined by the chronicler Henry Knighton.
Michael de la Pole 1st Earl Suffolk (age 58) was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered in his absence. He had escaped to France.
Archbishop Alexander Neville (age 47) was found guilty of treason and it was determined to imprison him for life in Rochester Castle, Kent [Map]. He fled to Louvain [Map] where he became a parish priest for the remainder of his life.
On 19 Feb 1388 Robert Tresilian was hanged naked and his throat cut. See Chronicle of Adam of Usk.
On 25 Mar 1388 Nicholas Brembre was hanged. He was buried at Christ Church Greyfriars [Map].
On 05 May 1388 Simon Burley (age 48) was executed despite the protestations of his friend Edmund of Langley 1st Duke York (age 46). See Chronicle of Adam of Usk.
On 12 May 1388 John Beauchamp 1st Baron Beauchamp (age 69) was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map]. He was buried at Worcester Cathedral [Map]. Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster forfeit.
Robert de Vere 1st Duke Ireland (age 26) was attainted.
Calendars. 20 Mar 1388. Presentation of Richard Rysyngdom, chaplain, to the chantry founded in the church of All Saints, Oxford, in the diocese of Lincoln, by John Stodley, in the king's gift by reason of the lands and tenements late of Robert Tresulian, knight, being in the king's hands by judgment in Parliament.
Froissart. 1397. News of this event was sooner known in France and Flanders than in England. The French rejoiced much at it; for it was commonly reported that there would never be any solid peace between France and England as long as the duke of Gloucester (age 41) lived; and it was well remembered, that in the negotiations for peace he was more obstinate in his opinions than either of his brothers; and, for this reason, his death was no loss to France. In like manner, many knights and squires of the king of England's household, who were afraid of him, for his severe and rough manners, were pleased at his death. They recounted how he had driven the duke of Ireland to banishment, and had ignominiously beheaded that prudent and gallant knight sir Simon Burley, who had been so much beloved by the prince of Wales, and had done essential services to his country. The deaths of sir Robert Trevilian, sir Nicholas Bramber, sir John Standwich, and others, were not forgotten, so that the duke of Gloucester (age 41) was but little lamented in England, except by those who were of his party and manner of thinking.
Froissart. Before 16 Sep 1398. King Richard of England (age 31) was of a temper that, when he took a liking to any one, he instantly raised him to high honours, and had such confidence in him that no-one dared to say anything to his prejudice. At the same time, there had not been a king of England in the memory of man who so easily believed all that was told him. His favourites, however paid no attention to the miserable fate of many of their predecessors; how the duke of Ireland had been banished, sir Simon Burley, sir Robert Tresilian, sir Nicholas Bramber and others had lost their lives, for counsels they had given the king, and for which the duke of Gloucester had taken great pains in their destruction. The duke was now dead, and the favourites of the moment, who continually counselled the king as they pleased, were not sorry, for they imagined no one would now pretend to oppose them. Some about the king's person could not disguise their pride and presumption, especially the earl marshal (age 30), who was in the highest degree of favour. To flatter and please the king, and to show how true and loyal a servant he was, whenever he heard any reports he told them to the king, expecting from such means to rise still higher in favour; but many, thinking to advance, are repulsed. Thus it happened to the earl marshal (age 30).