1390-1399 Henry IV Accedes is in 14th Century Events.
Westminster Chronicle. Also, on the 29th day of January, there was made and confirmed in Parliament the hateful statute against provisors: namely, that all those going to the Roman Curia to obtain or procure benefices should, by that very fact, enjoy neither that benefice nor any other thereafter in the realm, and that his body should nevertheless be subject to the king’s will. By this means they wished to exclude the pope from the collation of any benefices whatsoever, and to hand over and assign the collation of them to the lawful patrons. In the same way, they ordained concerning the greater dignities of churches, that is, whenever an archbishopric, bishopric, abbacy, or any other elective dignity should fall vacant, that they should enjoy their elections entirely, notwithstanding any prohibition of the pope in this matter. When this reached the pope’s ears, he took it deeply to heart. For this reason they resolved to send certain ambassadors to the Curia, namely some clerks and some knights, irregular persons, so that these men, setting little store by ecclesiastical benefices, might press the pope more strongly in this cause.
Item xxix die Januarii factum fuit et confirmatum in parliamentum statutum odiosum contra provisores scilicet quod omnes transeuntes ad curiam Romanam pro beneficiis obtinendis sive impetrandis eo ipso neque illo neque alio expost in regno gauderet, corpusque ejus nihilominus voluntati regiæ subjaceret; per hoc enim volentes excludere papam a collatione quorumeunque beneficiorum et legitimis patronis collationes eorundem contradere et conferre. Eodem modo ordinarunt de majoribus dignitatibus ecclesiarum, seilicet vacante archiepiscopatu, episcopatu seu abbatia sive alia dignitate quacunque eligibili, quod suis electionibus omnino gauderent, prohibitione papæ in hac re nequaquam obstante, quod postquam aures papæ insonuit, graviter tulit cordi. Qua de causa statuerunt certos ambassiatores destinare ad curiam quosdam videlicet clericos et quosdam milites personas irregulares, ut hi beneficia ecclesiastica parvipendentes fortius penes papam in hac causa instarent.
On 23rd April 1390, St George's Day, a Jousting Tournament was held at London Bridge [Map]. David Lindsay 1st Earl Crawford [aged 30] so easily unhorsed the King's Champion John Welles 5th Baron Welles [aged 38] as to make the crowd suspect Lindsay of foul play by fastening himself to his saddle. To prove the crowd wrong David Lindsay 1st Earl Crawford leapt from his horse in full armour, then back again. Realising John Welles 5th Baron Welles was injured he rushed to his aid. He visited Welles every day until he recovered. The two became firm friends.
Westminster Chronicle. At length, as the solemnity of Easter approached, the king and his household continued for almost a month in constant joyful entertainments suited to that season. Then, after the feast of St George had been celebrated, at the beginning of the month of May solemn jousts were held at Smithfield. There were present the king and queen, dukes and duchesses, earls and countesses, together with the other nobles of England of both sexes, and countless common people. But on the 4th day of May [1390], Henry [aged 23], Earl of Derby, son and heir of the Duke of Lancaster, having obtained licence both from the king and from his father, set out towards the sea with his men. He intended, with his honourable company, and with the aid of other Christians, to succour the said Christians besieged by the pagans, but in vain. For he came to Calais, where he waited for a long time to obtain safe-conduct for himself and his men from the King of France; but he could not in any way obtain it in the form in which he sought it. Therefore he returned to England.
Tandem imminente solemnitate paschali rex cum suis quasi per unum mensem jugiter in jocundis solatiis huic tempori congruentibus persistebat. Demum celebrato festo sancti Georgii in principio mensis Maii ficbant solemnia hastiludia apud Smethefeld. Ubi namque affuerunt rex et regina, duces et ducissæ, comites et comitissæ, cum aliis Angliæ nobilibus utriusque sexus ac popularibus infinitis Quarto vero die Maii comes Derbeye Henricus filius et heres ducis Lancastriæ obtenta licentia, tam a rege quam a patre suo, dirigens se versus mare cum suis proponensque cum sua honorabili comitiva succurrere dictos Christianos a paganis obsessos aliorum auxilio Christianorum, sed frustra. Nam venit Calesias ubi diu expectavit pro habendo salvum conductum pro se et suis a rege Francorum, sed illud sub ea forma qua petebat nullatenus potuit obtinere. Igitur in Angliam repedavit.
Westminster Chronicle. On the 8th day of August, the Earl of Derby landed in Prussia at the town of Danzig, where he at once heard certain news concerning the Marshal of Prussia: namely, how he had set out with his army towards the kingdom of Lithuania. Having received this news, the said earl immediately came to the town of Königsberg. There, with all possible speed, he prepared 50 lances and 60 archers, together with provisions for himself and his men. After spending one day there, he hastened his steps after the aforesaid marshal, who had ridden for five days through the deserted places of that country before the earl could catch up with him. At length he found him by the river Memel, with his army, waiting for his provisions, which were to come to him by water. When the marshal learned of the earl’s arrival, he took with him the king Vytautas1, with a large company of his men, and came to meet him. He received him very honourably, with a cheerful face and joyful expression. He told him that the king of Lithuania, as he had learned, had long before, namely for three months, been in a broad field with all his power for the defence of his country, and had preoccupied all the passes leading to him on the aforesaid river, so that no one could enter his kingdom without a warlike assault.
Octavo die Augusti comes Derbeye applicuit in Prussya apud villam de Dansk ubi statim audivit certa nova de mareschallo Prussyæ quomodo ipse cum suo exercitu iter arripuit versus regnum de Lettowe. Quo accepto dictus comes confestim venit ad villam de Conyngghesbrok, paratisque ibidem cum celeritate possibili quinquaginta lanceis et sexaginta sagittariis cum victualibus pro se et suis, transactaque mora ibidem unius diei gressus suos accelerat post mareschallum prædictum, qui diebus quinque per loca deserta illius patriæ equitavit antequam potuit ad eum attingere. Quem demum super rivuam de Memble cum suo exercitu invenit expectando victualia sua quæ venirent ad eum per aquas, Qui, postquam comitis adventus sibi innotuit, assumpto secum rege de Wytort cum multitudine copiosa de suis, venit ei obviam quem læta fronte et vultu jocundo satis honorifice suscepit, referens sibi regem de Lettowe longe ante, scilicet per tres menses, pro defensione suæ patriæ ut didicit in lato campo cum tota sua potentia exstitisse, ac omnia passagia ad eum introeuntia præoccupasse super rivum prædictum sic quod nullus in suum regnum intraret sine bellicoso insultu.
Note 1. Vytautas the Great, around 1350-1430, Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1401. He was regent of Lithuania from 1392 to 1401. In January 1429 he was proposed as King of Lithuania but died before his coronation. The Chronicler here, and in the next paragraph, appears to use 'king' for 'regent'. In early 1390 Vytautas allied himself with the Teutonic Order through the Treaty of Königsberg.
Westminster Chronicle. Also, on the 26th day of July [1391], the Count of Armagnac was cut down in Lombardy, with his men, before the army of the Count of Vertus1. For he involved himself in battle too hastily; because if he had waited for Sir John Hawkwood [aged 71]2, who had already prepared to come to his aid, perhaps he might have escaped alive, having taken good counsel. But as it was, he and others to the number of 11,000 perished. Many of them fled to the mountains, where they were captured by the peasants of that country while still armed. Because of the immense heat, they had first become excessively overheated inside their armour; then, suddenly after taking it off, they lost their lives and were miserably extinguished.
But John Hawkwood, hearing the report about the Count of Armagnac, how he had perished with his men, refused to enter battle with so great an army, three times larger than his own. He skilfully withdrew himself and his men, and arrived safely at Padua, although his enemies harassed him in many ways as he went. For they broke the banks of the rivers in various places and flooded the whole country round about, so that he might not obtain free passage towards Padua. Nevertheless, he and his men escaped safely, and he lost no more than four of his own men. Also, in the month of August, in the northern parts there was an unheard-of storm of thunder, lightning, and rain.
Item xviii die Julii clerici Londonienses fecerunt ludum satis curiosum apud Skynnereswell per dies quatuor duraturum, in quo tam vetus quam novum testamentum oculariter ludendo monstrabant. Item xxvi die Julii cæsus est comes Darmenak in Lombardia cum suis a facie exercitus comitis Virtutum. Nam præpropere bello se immiseuit, quia si expectasset dominum Johannem Haukewode, qui in ejus suceursum jam venire paraverat, forsitan vivus habito bono consilio evasisset, nune autem ipse cum aliis ad numerum xi milia perierunt, plures eorum ad montes fugerunt ubi a rusticis illius patriæ armati fuerunt capti, qui pro immenso calore armorum prius introrsus nimium calefacti subito post depositionem eorundem vitam perdentes miserabiliter sunt extincti.
Johannes vero Haukewode audito rumore de comite Darmenak, quomodo cum suis interiit, noluit inire certamen cum tam magno exercitu triplo majori suo, callide retraxit se et suos ac sanus pervenit Paduæ quamvis hostes ejus eum in eundo multipliciter infestassent. Nam ripas fluminum per loca fregerunt et totam patriam cireumcirca inundaverunt ne liberum transitum versus Paduam obtineret, ipse tamen cum suis salvus evasit et de suis ultra quatuor non amisit, Item de mense Augusti in partibus borealibus erat tempestas tonitrui fulguris et pluviæ inaudita.
Note 1. John, Count of Armagnac, was travelling through Piedmont, Italy, to support his brother-in-law Carlo Visconti [aged 31] who was in conflict with his first cousin Gian Visconti [aged 39], Count of Vertus, later Duke of Milan.
Note 2. John Hawkwood, around 1320-1394, was an English soldier who served as a mercenary leader in Italy; he is sometimes referred to as Giovanni Acuto. He died on 17th March 1394.
On 23rd December 1392 Isabella of Castile Duchess York [aged 37] died. She was buried at King's Langley Priory, Hertfordshire [Map]. She the wife of Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 51]. Isabella had travelled to England with her sister Constance of Castile Duchess of Lancaster [aged 38] who had married Edmund's elder brother John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 52]. Isabella and Edmund's marriage was not, apparently, a happy one. She is known to have had an affair with John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 40] who may have been the father of Richard of Conisbrough 1st Earl Cambridge [aged 7] progenitor of the House of York.
On 29th January 1393 the Bal de Ardents (aka Ball of the Burning Men or Ball of the Wild Men) was a masquerade ball held at the Hôtel Saint Pol, Paris [Map] by Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France [aged 24] who performed with five members of the French nobility. The performers were dressed as wild men of the woods; four were killed when their costumes caught fire.
Charles "Beloved Mad" VI King France was rescued by his aunt Joan II Countess of Auvergne Duchess Berry [aged 15] who smothered him in her dress.
Sieur de Nantouillet jumped into an open vat of wine and remained there until the flames were extinguished.
Count de Joigny died. Yvain de Foix, son of Gaston Fébus, Count of Foix, and Aimery Poitiers, son of the Count of Valentinois died after two days. Huguet de Guisay died after three days.
Life Charles VI by a Monk of St Denis [~1420]. [29th January 1393] For while they were thus intent upon unlawful revels, when a certain person, perhaps unaware of the danger and paying no heed to the peril, cast a spark of flame upon one of the dancers, immediately, at the very first movement, as they whirled about one another in their dancing, all their combustible garments were suddenly set ablaze, as it were in the twinkling of an eye. From that moment onward, without doubt, whoever might have observed the raging flames stretching upward toward the roof amid their frantic and unfeigned running; whoever might have heard the uninterrupted cries raised in bristling terror; whoever might have seen the pitch dripping and melted by fire upon the bodies of those wretches, would have judged that no stage-play, no feigned spectacle, but true and most dreadful calamity was being enacted. Some were consumed entirely by the fire; others, scorched and half-burnt, were carried away scarcely alive; others again, though rescued by chance or by the compassion of bystanders, bore the marks of that punishment for the remainder of their lives. Thus did the wanton licence of a moment end in horror, grief, and lasting shame.
While the young lords were thinking of nothing but their amusement, one of the bystanders, no doubt without foreseeing the harm he might cause, threw a spark of flame upon one of those taking part in the masquerade. Immediately the dancers’ inflammable garments all caught fire in the twinkling of an eye. One would have needed a heart of stone to hear, without shuddering, the dreadful cries uttered by those wretches; for the flames penetrated even to their innermost parts, and no one, unless he had a heart of rock, could have heard or seen this without tears. For nearly half an hour the fiery burning endured upon them. And when they strove to drive it off by tearing apart, as best they could, the combustible coverings in which they were wrapped, the fire left their hands dried up and burned. It likewise penetrated the lower parts of their bodies and inward as far as the navel, so that their genitals, together with the virile members, fell off in fragments, soaking the pavement with blood.
Nam sic illicitis intenti, dum quidam, forsan minime sequens discrimen attendens, flamme scintillam in quemdam choreancium injecisset, subito ad primum motum, dum saltando se volvunt mutuo, omnium vestes combustibiles subito et quasi iu ictu oculi accense sunt. Abhinc procul dubio si quis ex eorum discursu rabido et non ficto flammas voraces ad tectum usque tendere attendisset, si quis horrissonis vocibus continuatos clamores, si quis picem distillantem et igne liquefactam corporum qui ont la sottise de croire que c’est le comble du déshonneur pour une femme de se remarier, et en pareille circonstance ils se livrent à toutes sortes de licences, se déguisent avec des masques et des travestissements, et font essuyer mille avanies aux deux époux. C'estun usage ridicule et contraire à toutes les lois de la décence et de l'honnéteté. Cependant, entraîné par les conseils de quelques jeunes seigneurs de sa cour, le roi, - qui se laissait aller trop facilement à son goût pour les plaisirs, voulut se donner ce divertissement; il prit avec lui cinq d'entre eux, et voici ce qu'ils firent. Ils se vétirent de la tête aux pieds d'habits de lin, sur lesquels on avait collé des étoupes avec de la poix. Ensuite ils se masquérent, entrèrent dans la salle sous cet affreux déguisement qui les rendait méconnaissables, et se mirent à courir de tous côtés en faisant des gestes obscénes, en poussant d'horribles cris et en imitant les hurlements des loups. Leurs mouvements ne furent pas moins inconvenants que leurs cris; ils dansérent la sarrasine avec une sorte de frénésie vraiment diabolique. L'ennemi du genre humain leur avait sans doute tendu ce piége pour les perdre, et la France aurait été affligée d'un malheur irréparable, d'une honte éternelle, si l'ange gardien du roi et la Providence qui veillait sur lui ne l'eussent en ce moment tenu à quelque distance de ses compagnons.
Pendant que les jeunes seigneurs ne songeaient qu'à se divertir, un des assistants, sans prévoir sans doute le mal qu'il pouvait faire, jeta une flamméche sur un de ceux qui faisaient partie de la mascarade. Aussitôt les vétements inflammables des danseurs s'embrasérent tous en un clin d'oeil. Il eût fallu avoir un cœur de roche pour entendre sans frémir les cris affreux que poussérent alors ces malheureux, usque ad interiora penetrare, nisi cor saxeum habuisset, non sine lacrimis hoc audisset vel vidisset. Per dimidiam fere horam ardor igneus in eis perduravit. Quem cum pellere niterentur, cremabilia, quibus tegebantur, pro posse dilaniando, manus eorum aridas reddidit et combustas. Inferiores quoque partes, et usque ad umbilicum introrsum sic penetravit, quod genitalia cum virgis virilibus frustratim cadencia sanguine madefacerent pavimentum.
Annals of King Richard II. In this year, shortly after Christmas, the King held a Parliament at Winchester. Nothing at all came of it, except that he demanded half a tenth and half a fifteenth for the expenses of the Dukes of Lancaster and Gloucester, who were to set out to negotiate peace. At the same time there were rumours in the kingdom that the King of France, while dancing in his hall with four knights of his household [on 29th January 1393], and being disguised as a wild man, wearing a tight garment covered with resin and pitch so that the flax tow fixed to the garment might cling more strongly and firmly, and might represent a woodland man more plainly, would have been burnt to ashes, had grace not been present. This was said to have been contrived by his brother, who, from the time of the King’s illness, had aspired to the kingdom. For while the King was leading the dance with his companions, a certain man, appointed for this purpose, deliberately put the flame of a torch to the tow. Burning down to the garment, which was tight and sewn to the body, the fire found the pitch and resin, and burned inextinguishably as far as the flesh. Seeing such great danger, a certain lady ran forward and snatched the King out of the dance. In this way the King was saved, but his four companions could by no device be rescued, and died after their skins and flesh had been half burnt.
Hoc anno tenuit Rex cito post Natale Parliamentum Wyntoniæ; ex quo nullus omnino fructus evenit, præterquam quod exegit dimidiam decimam et mediam quintam-decimam, ad expensas Ducum Lancastriæ et Gloverniæ, pro tractando de pace profecturorum. Eodem tempore fuere rumores in regno quod Rex Franciæ, dum tripudiaret in aula sua cum quatuor militibus de familia sua, et esset disfiguratus in sylvestrem hominem, habens strictum vestimentum resina et pice refertum, ut lini stipula, quæ fixa erat in vestimento, hæreret fortius et tenacius, et repræsentaret sylvanum evidentius, nisi gratia affuisset, in cineres combustus fuisset; factione fratris sui, qui a tempore suæ infirmitatis aspiravitb ad regnum. Nempe illo cum sociis ducente choream, quidam, ad hoc subrogatus, ex industria torticii submisit ignem in stipula; qui, ardens usque ad vestimentum, quod constrictum et consutum erat corpori, ubi invenit materiam picis et resinæ, inextinguibiliter arsit usque ad corpus. Videns tantum periculum, quædam domina occurrit, et Regem rapuit de chorea. Rex vero hoc modo salvatus fuit, sed quatuor socii nullo ingenio potuerunt salvari, donec semiustis pellibus atque carnibus expirassent.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Froissart Book 4 Chapter 53. [29th January 1393] At this moment, a most unfortunate accident befel the others, through the youthful gaiety of the duke of Orleans, who, if he had foreseen the mischief he was about to cause, it is to be presumed would not, for any consideration, have so acted. He was very inquisitive in examining them, to find out who they were; and, as the five were dancing, he took one of the torches from his servants, and, holding it too near their dresses, let them on fire. Flax, you know, is instantly in a blase, and the pitch, with which the cloth had been covered to fasten the flax, added to the impossibility of extinguishing it. They wore likewise chained together, and their cries were dreadful; for, the fire was so strong, scarcely any dared approach. Some knights indeed did their utmost to disengage them, but the pitch burnt their hands very severely; and they suffered a long time afterward from it.
One of the five, Nantouillet, recollected that the buttery was near, broke the chain, and flying thither, flung himself into a large tub of water which was there for washing dishes and plates. This saved him, or he would have been burnt to death like the others: but he was withal some time very ill. When the queen heard the cause of the cries, she was alarmed lest the king should be hurt, for he had told her he would be one of the six, and in her fright fainted and fell down: her ladies and knights hastened to her assistance; and the confusion was so great, no one knew what to do. The duchess of Berry saved the king by throwing the train of her robe over him, and detaining, him, for he wanted to quit her. "Where are you going," said she: "do you not see your companions are in a blaze? who are you? for it is not now a time to keep it a secret." He then named himself, saying, "I am the king." "Ah, my lord," replied the duchess, "put on quickly another dress, and show yourself to the queen, for she is very much distressed about you."
The king on this left the room, and, having thrown aside his mummery, dressed himself as fast as he could, and returned to the queen, who had been much comforted by the duchess of Berry. When the king had quitted her, she went to the queen and said, Madam, do not be alarmed, for the king: you will shortly see him, for I have been talking with him." As she said this, the king appeared, and the queen trembled for joy: she was carried by her knights to her chamber, where the king attended and comforted her. The bastard of Foix, when on fire, cried aloud, "Save the king, save the king!" who indeed was saved in the manner I have related. It was the providence of God that inspired him to leave bis companions and converse with the ladies, for, had he remained with them, he must inevitably have been burnt to death.
On 7th June 1394 Anne of Bohemia Queen Consort England [aged 28] died of plague (probably) at Sheen Palace [Map]. King Richard II of England [aged 27] was so distraught at her death he ordered the destruction of Sheen Palace [Map].
On 3rd August 1394 Anne of Bohemia Queen Consort England was buried at Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey [Map] with Archbishop Thomas Fitzalan aka Arundel [aged 41] presiding. King Richard II of England [aged 27] attended. Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [aged 48], brother of the presiding Archbishop, and his wife Philippa Mortimer Countess Pembroke, Arundel and Surrey [aged 18], arrived late causing Richard, in a rage, to snatch a wand and strike FitzAlan in the face drawing blood.
Westminster Chronicle. On the twenty-fifth day of March, the Duchess of Lancaster [deceased] died, the elder daughter of Sir Peter, formerly King of Spain, and she was buried at Leicester. On the seventh day of June, at the manor of Sheen, Anne [aged 27], Queen of England and daughter of the Emperor, died1. Very early in the morning on the ninth day of June, Sir Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of York and Chancellor of England, buried her in the Church of Saint Peter, Westminster.
Vicesimo quinto die Martii obiit ducissa Lancastriæ senior filia domini Petri quondam regis Hispaniæ et apud Leycestriam sepelitur. Septimo die Junii apud manerium de Shene obiit Anna regina Angliæ et filia imperatoris, quam summo mane novo die Junii dominus Thomas de Arundell archiepiscopus Eboracensis et cancellarius Angliæ in ecclesia sancti Petri Westmonasieriensis sepelivit.
Note 1. Chronicle of Adam of Usk: "In the year of our Lord 1394, on Whitsun-day [7th June], died that most gracious lady Ann, queen of England, at the manor of Shene, which lies on Thames near to Brentford. Which manor, though a royal one and very fair, did king Richard, by reason that that lady's death happened therein, command and cause to be utterly destroyed."
It is the Annals of Richard II that describes King Richard striking the Earl of Arundel for being late for the funeral: "Indeed, the King, offended with the Earl of Arundel for a slight cause, or for none at all, took a beadle’s staff and struck him violently on the head with such force that he fell at his feet, and blood ran abundantly onto the pavement. The King would have killed him in the church, had he been allowed. These things were committed at the beginning of the funeral office. It was necessary, therefore, that the Office of the Dead be set aside, and that the bishops hasten to the solemn reconciliation of the church. Before this was completed, deep night had fallen. Thus all things were disturbed and everything thrown into confusion. The cause of the King’s anger was that the Earl had not been present at the procession and carrying of the Queen’s body, which had been carried from the Church of Saint Paul to Westminster. And because, when he had arrived rather late, he was the first of all to ask the King for permission to depart, on account of certain causes which pressed upon him."
Chronicle of Adam of Usk [~1352-1430]. 7th June 1394. In the year of our Lord 1394, on Whitsun-day (7th June), died that most gracious lady Ann, queen of England [aged 28], at the manor of Shene [Map], which lies on Thames near to Brentford. Which manor, though a royal one and very fair, did king Richard, by reason that that lady's death happened therein, command and cause to be utterly destroyed. After the ceremony of her funeral, which was carried out with becoming honours on the morrow of Saint Peter ad Vincula (2nd August), the king, clad, with his train, in weeds of mourning, straightway passed over into Ireland with & great power, to subdue the rebellion of the Irish1. Yet he gained but little; for the Irish, then feigning submission to his will, straightway after his departure were in revolt, as all men know.
Note 1. Richard sailed for Iréland early in September, 1394, and returned in May of the next year.
Annals of King Richard II. In that year Lady Anne, Queen of England, died on the seventh day before the Ides of June [7th June], and was buried at Westminster. She was a woman, beyond the opinion of many, devoted to God, a lover of almsgiving, a supporter of the poor and of the Church, a cultivator of the true faith and of justice, and a performer of secret penance, but nevertheless defamed by the slanders of many. Her obsequies were the more splendid in expense, so that they surpassed all those of our time, and yet the more notorious for infamies because of the King’s deeds, for he polluted the church with the blood of the Earl of Arundel at the beginning of the funeral office.
Eo anno obiit Domina Anna, Regina Anglia, septimo Idus Junii, et sepulta est apud Westmonasterium; nudier, ultra multorum opinionem, Deo dedita, amatrix eleemosynæ, fautrix pauperum et Ecclcsiæ, cultrix verse fidei et justitiæ, executrix furtivæ pœnitentiæ; sed tamen multorum obloquiis infamata. Cujus exequiæ quanto celebriores fuerunt expensis, ita ut omnes antecederent nostri temporis, tanto famosiores fuere infamiis, Regis factis, qui polluit ecclesiam sanguine Comitis Arundellæ, in principio officii funeralis.
In October 1394 King Richard II of England [aged 27] travelled to Ireland with William Hankford [aged 44].
Annals of King Richard II. Around the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin [8th September 1394], the King of England crossed over into Ireland with the Duke of Gloucester, the Earls of March, Nottingham, and Rutland, and a very large household. The Irish, terrified by so great a force, did not dare to meet him openly, but by secret raids they frequently harassed the King’s army. Nevertheless, as the English prevailed, many petty kings of that land were compelled to submit themselves to the King. Some of these the King kept with him, lest they should attempt some new enterprise. Those who had submitted were le Poer1, with his son, near Waterford; Ocell’ Oueloñ, with his son; Abron Makmouth, with the priest of Power; Dymyl, Dangwyth, Dymysyn, and Archi.
Rex Angliæ, circa festum Nativitatis Beatæ Virginis, cum Duce Gloverniæ et Comitibus Marchiæ, Notynghamiæ, et de Ruthland, ac familia multa valde, in Hiberniam transfretavit. Hibernienses nimirum, de tanto apparatu territi, quia palam non audebant occurrere, clandestinis irruptionibus frequenter Regis exercitum fatigarunt. Coacti sunt tamen, Anglis prævalentibus, se Regi submittere plures reguli illius terræ; quorum quosdam Rex secum detinuit, ne nova aliqua molirentur. Erant autem qui se submiserant, Power, cum filio suo, juxta Waterford, Ocell’ Oueloñ, cum filio suo, Abron Makmouth, cum presbytero Powerensi, Dymyl, Dangwyth, Dymysyn, et Archi.
Note 1. The le Poer family, later Anglicised to Power, later Earls of Tyrone and Marquesses of Waterford [through female descent into the Beresford family]. As to the rest of the names it is difficult to associate any with a particular person; they are likely phonetic spellings in some cases missing 'mac' or other prefixes.
Annals of King Richard II. In this Parliament, the Lollards, having found an opportunity in the King’s absence, raged with their supporters into every kind of malice. They publicly fastened upon the doors of Saint Paul’s and Westminster abominable accusations against the clergy, and Conclusions hitherto unheard of, by which they strove to destroy ecclesiastical persons and all the sacraments of the Church. They were encouraged, as it is said, by the favour of certain nobles and by the instigation of courtly knights. Among these the ringleaders were Richard Stury, Thomas Latimer, Lewis Clifford, and John Montagu. And so that I may show more clearly their most wicked designs, I shall insert here the Conclusions which they fixed upon the aforesaid doors, under this preamble:
Lollardi in hoc Parliamento, nacti oeccasionem ex Regis absentia, cum suis fautoribus, in omnem malitiam efferebantur, figentes publice super ostia Sancti Pauli et Westmonasterii abominabiles cleri aceusationes, et hactenus inauditas Conclusiones, quibus nitebantur destruere personas ecclesiasticas et cuncta Ecclesiæ Sacramenta; animati, ut fertur, favore quorundam procerum, et instigatione militum aulicorum. Inter quos fuere campi-ductores, Ricardus Stury, Thomas Latymer, Lodewicus Clyfford, et Johannes Mountagu. Et ut evidentius demonstrem pessimos illorum conceptus, Conclusiones hic inseram, quas fixerunt super ostia supradicta, sub isto prœmio:
Annals of King Richard II. In that year, that barbarian Morettus, with three hundred and fifty thousand pagans, fought against the Prior of Saint John of Rhodes and other Christians. But by the power of God he was defeated, with one hundred thousand of his army slain1. And because fortunc failed him in a land battle, he went on to try his luck, like Rhamnusia2, in naval war. But He who rules over land and sea weakened his efforts and again compelled him to flee in the greatest confusion. The city of Constantinople also, which we said above had been besieged by his army, as though numberless, was freed when the Emperor of Constantinople arrived with a small number of Christians, five hundred thousand of the pagan people being miraculously slain.
Quo anno, Morettus ille barbarus, cum trecentis quinquaginta millibus paganorum, conflixit contra Priorem Sancti Johannis de Roodes, aliosque Christianos. Sed Dei virtute victus est, centum millibus de suo exercitu interfectis Et quia fortuna sibi defuit in campestri prœlio, navali bello Rhamnusiam experiri perrexit. Sed Qui terræ marique dominatur, ejus conatus enervavit, e6 cum confusione maxima fugere compulit iterato. Civitas quoque Constantinopolitana, quam supra diximus obsessam per ejus exercitum, veluti infinitum, superveniente Imperatore Constantinopolitano, cum parvo Christianorum [numero], liberatur, quingentis millibus miraculose de gente Pagana peremptis.
Note 1. Probably a reference to the Battle of Rovine, fought 17th May 1395, at which the Ottoman army of Bayezid I fought with the Wallachian [Romanian] army of Voivod Mircea the Elder. The outcome of the battle is disputed. The Latin text describes 'Morettus ille barbarus' i.e. Murad, who had died in 1389 and was succeeded by his son Bayezid I.
Note 2. Rhamnusia, the goddess of Rhamnus i.e. Nemesis, the Ancient Greek Goddess of retribution, righteous indignation, and the punishment of excessive pride or undeserved good fortunc. Rhamnus is a place in Attica where Nemesis had a famous sanctuary.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On or after 13th January 1396 John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 55] and Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster [aged 45] were married at Lincoln Cathedral [Map]. She by marriage Duchess Lancaster. He the son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainaut Queen Consort England.
Froissart Book 4 Chapter 73. [13th January 1396]. At this period, the duke of Lancaster [aged 55] married his third wife [Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster [aged 45]], the daughter of a Hainaut knight, called sir Paon de Ruet: he had formerly been one of the knights to the good and noble queen Philippa of England, who much loved the Hainauters, as she was herself of that country.
This lady whom the duke of Lancaster married was called Catherine, and in her youth had been of the household of the duchess Blanche of Lancaster. Before the lady Blanche's death, and even when the duke was married to his second wife Constance, the daughter of don Pedro, he cohabited with the lady Catherine de Ruet, who was then married to an English knight [Hugh Swynford] now dead.
The duke of Lancaster had three children1 by her, previous to his marriage, two sons and a daughter: the eldest son was named John [aged 23] lord Beaufort of Lancaster; the other Thomas [Henry] [aged 21], whom the duke kept at the schools in Oxford, and made a great churchman and civihan. He was afterward bishop of Lincoln, which is the richest bishopric in the kingdom: from affection to these children, the duke married their mother, to the great astonishment of France and England, for Catherine Swynford was of base extraction in comparison to his two former duchesses Blanche and Constance. When this marriage was announced to the ladies of high rank in England, such as the duchess of Gloucester [aged 30], the countess of Derby2, the countess of Arundel [aged 20], and others connected with the royal family, they were greatly shocked, and thought the duke much to blame. They said, "he had sadly disgraced himself by thus marrying his concubine;" and added, that, "since it was so, she would be the second lady in the kingdom, and the queen [aged 6] would be dishonourably accompanied by her; but that, for their parts, they would leave her to do the honours alone, for they would never enter any place where she was. They themselves would be disgraced if they suffered such a base-born duchess, who had been the duke's concubine a long time before and during his marriages, to take precedence, and their hearts would burst with grief were it to happen." Those who were the most outrageous on the subject were the duke [aged 41] and duchess of Gloucester. They considered the duke of Lancaster as a doating fool for thus marrying his concubine, and declared they would never honour his lady by calling her sister. The duke of York [aged 54] made light of the matter, for he lived chiefly with the king and his brother of Lancaster. The duke of Gloucester was of a different way of thinking: although the youngest of the three brothers, he yielded to no man's opinion, was naturally very proud and overbearing, and in opposition to the king's ministers, unless he could turn them as he willed. Catherine Ruet, however, remained duchess of Lancaster, and the second lady in England, as long as she lived. She was a lady accustomed to honours, for she had been brought up at court during her youth, and the duke fondly loved the children he had by her, as he showed during his life and at his death.
Note 1. Froissart mistakes in the number, and Thomas for Henry. According to Sandford, he had four children by Catherine Swynford: — John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, — Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester and cardinal of Beaufort, — Thomas Beaufort [aged 19], duke of Exeter and earl of Dorset, — Joan Beaufort [aged 17], countess of Westmoreland. For farther particulars, see Sandford and Dugdale.
Note 2. This reference to the Countess of Derby is confusing. In 1396 the Earl of Derby was Henry [aged 28], future King Henry IV, who inherited the title from his mother Blanche when she died in 1368. Henry's first wife Mary Bohun had died in 1394, and he marired his second wife Joanna of Navarre Queen Consort England [aged 26] in 1403?
Walsingham Chronica Majora. Accordingly dismissed by the King, he departed from the court and hastened to Lincoln, where Katherine de Swynford was then living; and after the Octave of Epiphany [13th January 1396], to the amazement of all at so extraordinary an event, he married her, since such a turn of fortune seemed scarcely fitting for a woman of such exalted station.
Licentiatus proinde a Rege, recessit a Curia et properavit Lincolniam, ubi Katerina do Swynford tunc morabatur; quam post Octabas Epiphaniæ, cunctis admirantibus facti miraculum, desponsavit, quia fortuna talis fœminaæ tantaæ sublimitatis error minime competebat.
Annals of King Richard II. At the same time, Sir John, Duke of Lancaster, to whom the King had given the Duchy of Aquitaine, after he had already poured out an inestimable sum of treasure in those parts to win the goodwill of the inhabitants, was suddenly recalled by command. He at once obeyed the one who summoned him, with due reverence, and shortly after Christmas crossed over into England. He came to Langley, where the King kept Christmas that year. He was received by the King, as was fitting, with due honour, but, as some assert, not with affection. Then, having received licence from the King, he withdrew from court and hastened to Lincoln, where Katherine Swynford was staying at that time. After the Octave of Epiphany [13th January 1396], to the astonishment of everyone at the marvel of the deed, he married her, because the fortunc of such a woman was thought hardly fitting for a hero of so great an exalted rank.
Per idem tempus, Dominus Johannes, Dux Lancastriæ, cui Rex donaverat Ducatum Aquitaniæ, cum jam inæstimabilem summam thesauri profudisset in illis partibus pro adipiscenda patriotarum benevolentia, subito per mandatum revocatur. Qui mox reverentia debita vocanti paruit, et cito post Natale in Angliam transfretavit, pervenitque Langleyam, ubi Rex Natale Domini tenuit isto anno. Susceptusque est a Rege, prout decuit, debito cum honore; sed, ut quidam asserunt, non amore. Licentiatus proinde a Rege, recessit a Curia, et properavit Lincolniam, ubi Katerina de Swynforde eo tempore morabatur; quam post Octavas Epiphaniæ, cunetis admirantibus facti miraculum, desponsavit; quia fortuna talis fœminæ tantæ sublimitatis heroi minime competebat.
Annals of King Richard II. At that time, in accordance with the agreements previously settled between their envoys, the Kings of England and France met at the place beyond Calais appointed for their conference, where the tents of both kings had been magnificently erected. Before they held their discussions, each of them publicly swore a bodily oath of this kind for the security of the peace:
Eo tempore, juxta pacta prius firmata inter nuncios, Reges Angliæ et Franciæ convenerunt ad locum ultra Calesiam, eorum colloquio designatum, ubi amborum Regum tentoria magnifice sunt erecta. Quique, priusquam colloquerentur, pro pacis securitate, corporale præstiterunt hujusmodi publice juramentum:—
On 25th September 1396 at the Battle of Nicopolis..
Henry of Bar [aged 32] was captured.
Philippe of Bar [aged 24] was killed. His brother Edward [aged 19] succeeded III Duke Bar.
Philip Artois Count of Eu [aged 39] was captured.
On 18th February 1397 Enguerrand de Coucy 1st Earl Bedford 1st Count Soissons [aged 57] died whilst a prisoner following the Battle of Nicopolis without male issue. Earl Bedford extinct. His daughter Marie [aged 30] succeeded Countess Soissons.
On 28th September 1396 John Grandison [aged 49] was killed at the Battle of Nicopolis.
In January 1397 Thomas Haxey presented a bill to Parliament criticising the costs of King Richard II of England's household. King Richard II of England [aged 29] took offence and had Haxby charged with treason and sentenced to be executed. On appeal by the Archbishop of Canterbury [aged 44] Haxey was released into the Archbishop's care.
Parliament Rolls Richard II. 23. Be it remembered that on the Wednesday after Candlemas [7 February 1397], immediately after the judgment rendered against Thomas Haxey, clerk, who was adjudged to death in parliament as a traitor, there came before the king in parliament with great humility the archbishop of Canterbury and all the other prelates, and made full protestation that their whole and full intent was, and always would be, that the royal estate and regality of the king should be be forever saved and kept from blemish; and they humbly prayed of the king that it might please him of his grace to have pity and mercy for the said Thomas, and of his high and royal benignity to remit and release the execution of the said Thomas's death and grant and give him his life.
And the king thereupon, at the prayer of the said prelates, of his royal pity and of his special grace, remitted and released the execution of the said Thomas's death and granted him his life. Whereupon the said prelates, thanking the king for his great kindness and mercy he had shown, prayed humbly of the king that it might please him of his most abundant grace, to the reverence of God and for the honour of holy church, to grant them the keeping of the body of the said Thomas, the said prelates protesting thereon that they did not make that request nor prayer, nor demand such great grace of the keeping of his said body, for any right or due which pertained or might pertain to them in the cause, but only of the special grace and will of the king himself. Whereupon the king, only of his special grace and for the honour of holy church, and not as any due or right of the said prelates in this matter, granted and released to them the keeping of the body of the said Thomas: and thereupon he ordered Sir Thomas Percy, steward of the king's household, to deliver the body of the said Thomas Haxey to the said archbishop, to keep safely, of the king's grace, as was said above.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 16th September 13971 Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 42] was murdered in Calais [Map] for his role as leader of the Lords Appellant. Duke Albemarle, Duke Gloucester, Earl Essex forfeit. His son Humphrey [aged 16] succeeded 2nd Earl Buckingham.
Walter Clopton was part of the inquiry into his death the outcome of which is not known. A John Hall was executed for the murder.
Note 1. The date based on the reference in the Annals of Richard II and Henry IV in which the Chronicler write that the Hereford-Mowbray duel of 16th September 1398 took place "on the anniversary of the very day on which the same Duke of Norfolk had caused the Duke of Gloucester to be suffocated."
Froissart Book 4 Chapter 92. Around 8th September 1397. When the duke of Gloucester [aged 42] saw himself confined in the castle of Calais [Map], abandoned by his brothers, and deprived of his attendants, he began to be much alarmed. He addressed himself to the earl-marshal [aged 29]: "For what reason am I thus carried from England and confined here? It seems that you mean to imprison me. Let me go and view the castle, its garrison, and the people of the town." "My lord," replied the earl, "I dare not comply with your demands, for you are consigned to my guard, under pain of death. The king [aged 30] our lord is at this moment somewhat wroth with you; and it is his orders that you abide here a while, in banishment with us, which you must have patience to do, until we have other news, and God grant that it may be soon! for, as the Lord may help me, I am truly concerned for your disgrace, and would cheerfully aid you if I could, but you know the oath I have taken to the king, which I am bound in honour to obey." The duke of Gloucester could not obtain any other answer. He judged, from appearances of things around him, that he was in danger of his life, and asked a priest who had said mass, if he would confess him. This he did, with great calmness and resignation, and with a devout and contrite heart cried before the altar of God, the Creator of all things, for his mercy. He was repentant of all his sins, and lamented them greatly. He was in the right thus to exonerate his conscience, for his end was nearer than he imagined. I was informed, that on the point of his sitting down to dinner, when the tables were laid, and he was about to wash his hands, four men rushed out from an adjoining chamber, and, throwing a towel round his neck, strangled him, by two drawing one end and two the other1. When he was quite dead, they carried him to his chamber, undressed him, and placed the body between two sheets, with his head on a pillow, and covered him with furred mantles. They then re-entered the hall, properly instructed what to say and how to act, and declared the duke of Gloucester had been seized with a fit of apoplexy as he was washing his hands before dinner, and that they had great difficulty to carry him to bed. This was spoken of in the castle and town, where some believed it, but others not. "Within two days after, it was published abroad that the duke of Gloucester had died in his bed at the castle of Calais; and, in consequence, the earl marshal put on mourning, for he was nearly related to him, as did all the knights and squires in Calais.
Note 1. He was smothered with pillows, not strangled. Hall, one of the accomplices, made a particular confession of all the circumstances. See Parl Plac[?] viii p. 452. Ed.
Walsingham Chronica Majora. [8th September 1397] Meanwhile, because it did not seem safe to the king that the Duke of Gloucester [aged 42] should make his defense publicly, on account of the favor of the people, who were excessively devoted to him, the king ordered the Earl Marshal [aged 29] to have him secretly killed. And he, having sent instruments of wickedness, caused him to be suffocated, mattresses and feather-beds being heaped over his face. Thus perished that most noble man, both the king's son and the king's uncle, in whom had been placed the hopes and consolation of the whole community of the realm. Afterwards the king craftily arranged for that parliament to be postponed until after Christmas, when it was to be resumed, or rather continued, at Shrewsbury, on the borders of Wales.
Interea, quia non videbatur tutum Regi ut Dux Gloverniæ responsis astaret publice, propter favorem populi, qui ei nimis afficiebatur, Rex jussit Comiti Marescallo, ut eum occulte occideret; qui, missis iniquitatis ministris, fecit eum suffocari, superjectis culcitris et lectis, pluma refertis, super os ejus: sic que mortuus est ille vir optimus, Regis filius et Regis patruus, in quo posita fuere spes et solatium totius regni communitatis. Postea Rex astute fecit illud Parliamentum differri usque post Natale Domini, quod reincipitur, vel potius, continuaretur apud Salopian in confinibus Walliarum.
Annals of King Richard II. In these days, so that the King might complete all his malice against the Duke of Gloucester, he sent to Calais a certain justice named William Rickhill, an Irishman by birth, to ask the said Duke whether he had made armed ridings against the King, etc.; and to write down whatever the Duke confessed in this matter, and to report to the King and to Parliament whatever he had discovered from the words of the said Duke of Gloucester. It happened that he reported the Duke’s words, but in a sense other than the Duke had intended, nor was his testimony suitable. And so the King, striving by every means he could to kill the Duke, and thinking that this could not be done publicly because of the commons of the realm, who loved him most tenderly, ordered the Earl of Nottingham, Marshal, that is Lord Thomas Mowbray, who had custody of the Duke at Calais, secretly to have the Duke’s throat cut. But he, at first fearing to commit so great a crime, delayed carrying out the King’s commands. For this reason it is said that the King was so greatly moved against the said Earl that he swore he would have him killed unless he hastened more quickly to destroy the Duke. At length, compelled in this way, Mowbray had the Duke summoned in the middle of the night, as though he were to return to England, and led him to a certain lodging in the town of Calais. There, after his own attendants had been removed, he caused the said Duke to be suffocated by certain valets, who had first been prepared to carry out the said crime. They threw cushions, or feather-filled beds, over his face, and, lying upon him for so long, violently pressed him down and strangled his breath until, suffocated, he was deprived of life.
Sub hiis diebus, Rex, ut omnem suam posset complere malitiam in Ducem Gloverniæ, misit Calesiam quemdam Justiciarium, dictum Willelmum de Rikille, Hibernicum mnatione, qui requireret a dicto Duce,nunquid fecisset equitationes contra Regem etc, ets scriberet quæcunque Dux in hac materia fateretur, Regique referret, et Parliamento, quæcunque de dictis verbis Ducis Gloucestriæ comperisset. Factum fuit quod ipse renunciaret verba Ducis, sed in alia sententia quam Dux intenderat, nec esset conveniens testificatio sua Rex itaque, nitens Ducem viis omnibus quibus valebat occidere, et putans hoc non posse fieri publice, propter communes regni, qui diligebant eum tenerrime, mandavit Comiti Notynghamiæ, Marescallo, et Domino Thomæ Moumbray, qui custodiam Ducis habebat Calesiæ, ut occulte Ducem faceret jugulari. Ile vero, primo metuens tantum scelus committere, distulit perficere jussa Regis. Quamobrem fertur quod Rex tantum commovebatur contra dictum Comitem, ut juraret ipsum occidendum, nisi celerius Ducem perimere maturasset. Qui tandem, tali modo coactus, Ducem evocatum nocte media, quasi ad redeundum in Angliam, duxit ad quoddam hospitium in villa Calesiæ; ubi, amotis suis familiaribus, dictum Ducem suffocari fecit per quosdam valectos, ad dictum facinus perpetrandum primitus præparatos. Qui, injectis culcitris, vel lectis pluma refertis, super ejus faciem, tam diu incumbentes super eum jacuerunt, eundem violenter opprimentes, et ejus halitum strangulantes, donec suffocatus spiritu privaretur.
On 12th July 1397 Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [aged 51] was arrested for his opposition to King Richard II of England [aged 30].
On 21st September 1397 Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [aged 51] was tried at Westminster [Map].
He was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map] immediately thereafter. Earl Surrey and Earl Arundel forfeit.
Annals of King Richard II. When he first came out of the Palace [on 21st September 1397], he asked that, with his hands loosened, he might enjoy this liberty: that with his own hands he might be allowed to distribute to the poor, sitting from that place as far as Charing Cross, the gold which he carried in his purse. This liberty having been granted to him, and the money having been distributed with the greatest devotion as he pleased, his arms were very tightly bound behind his back. He, however, walking bound, made his confession very devoutly to a certain Austin [Augustinian] friar, and afterwards began to say the Office of the Dead with the same friar. And so, thus bound, he went on, with the said Cheshiremen driving him forward quite inhumanely through the crowded streets of London, while everyone groaned and pitied the fate of so great a man. A little before, he had been held among the princes of Christendom as so famous, so rich, and so noble that even distant peoples praised him for his probity, his knighthood, and his other gifts. Now they saw such a man, who before had brought safety to his country, with its enemies crushed and defeated, bound like a robber, prodded, dishonoured, and forced to a most shameful death. They lamented, and were especially saddened by this, that they could not rescue him from the hands of those stronger than he. And when he came to the place of execution, beside the Tower, the above-named earls, who had taken custody of him, pressed him at least now to confess that he was a traitor. He plainly refused to do this. "For I was never," he said, "a traitor to the King, in word or deed. This one thing I confess: that by reason of my roughness I did not know how, or was not able, to please the King as he desired. For that reason he was often offended with me; and for this alone I grieve and repent, and I ask his pardon." Turning therefore to the friar who had heard his confession, in arrogance and mockery they ordered him to confess the crime of treason against the King on the Earl’s behalf. "To you," they said, "he revealed his secrets." The friar answered them: "He confessed his secrets to me, but he by no means confessed that he was a traitor. And even if he had confessed this, you may believe that I would on no account reveal it to you."
When the Earl had already bent his knees for the stroke, he turned, and, looking intently at his kinsmen, the Earls of Nottingham and Kent, who were so eager that his beheading should be hastened, said: "Truly, it would have been fitting for you to have been absent from this business. For I brought you up, enriched you, and raised you high, and you repay me with dishonour, like ingrates. Certainly the time will come, God granting it, and soon, when as many will marvel at your misfortuncs as now marvel at my misfortunc." Then, having granted pardon to the executioner and given him the kiss of peace, he asked him not to torment him for long, but to strive to cut off his head with a single stroke. He tested with his own fingers the edge of the sword with which he was to be struck. "It is sharp enough," he said. "Do what you are going to do." With a single stroke the executioner beheaded him. But the headless body rose to its feet and stood, with no one supporting it, for as long a space of time as the Lord’s Prayer could be said. At last it fell face downwards to the ground. The Austin friars took his head and body, and buried them honourably in their church1, near the high altar.
Ecressus primo de Palatio, rogavit ut, laxatis manibus, illa libertate posset perfrui, ut propriis manibus liceret erogare pauperibus, sedentibus ab eo loco usque ad Le Charyng Cros, auvum quod in bursa gerebat. Qua. libertate sibl concessa, pecunia cum summa devotione distributa, prout ei placuit, brachia sua durissime constringuntur a tergo. Ille vero nexus [gradiens] confitebatur cuidam fratri Augustinensium devote satis, et expost incepit dicere cum eodem fratre Officium Mortuorum; sieque constrictus incessit, impellentibus eum satis inhumaniter dictis Cestrensibus, per celebres vicos Londoniarum, cunctis gementibus et miserantibus fortunam tanti viri, qui parum ante inter Christianorum proceres tam famosus, tam dives, tam nobilis, habebatur, ut etiam gentes remotæ eum pro sua probitate et militia, cæterisque dotibus, prædicarent; cernentes, inquam, talem, et qui salutem intulerat perante patriæ, hostibus contritis et devictis, more latronis vinciri, pungi, dehonestari, et ad mortem cogi turpissimam. Lamentabantur, et eo maxime tristabantur, quod nequibant eum eripere de manu fortiorum ejus. Utque pervenit ad locum supplicii, juxta Turrim, urgebant eum supranominati Comites, qui ejus cepere custodiam, [ut] vel saltem nune fateretur se proditorem. Negavit ille plane se hoc facturum,— " Quia nunquam," ait, "fui Regi proditor, verbo vel facto; hoc unum confiteor, quod ratione meæ ruditatis nescivi, vel non potui, placere Regi, prout desideravit. Quamobrem multotiens fuit offensus mihi; et de hoc tantum doleo et pœniteo, et veniam ab eo peto." Conversi ergo ad fratrem, qui ejus confessionem audierat, in superbia et abusione jusserunt, ut ipse fateretur pro Comite crimen proditionis in Regem, — "Tibi" inquiunt, "sua secreta revelavit." Quibus frater — "Secreta," inquit, "mihi confessus est, sed quod fuit proditor minime fatebatur. Qui licet hoc fassus fuisset, credatis quôd hoc vobis nulla ratione revelarem."
Conversus Comes, cum jam genua flexisset ad percussionem, et intuens attentius suos affines, Comites Notynghamiæ atque Canciæ, ita ferventes ut acceleraretur ejus decollatio; — "Vere," inquit, "vos decuisset absentes fuisse in isto negotio. Ego vos nempe educavi, ditavi, et extuli, et vos dedecus rependitis mihi, velut ingrati. Certe tempus, Deo dante, veniet, et in brevi, quando tot mirabuntur de vestris infortuniis, quot de meis casibus modo mirantur." Deinde data lictori venia, atque pacis oseulo, rogavit ne cum torqueret diutius, sed unico ictu caput ejus amputare studeret. Tentavitque digitis propriis aciem gladii quo fuerat feriendus; — "Satis," inquit, "acutus est. Facito quod facturus [es]" Qui iectu unico decapitavit eum; at corpus truncum se erexit in pedes, stetitque, nullo sustentante, per tantum spatium temporis quo Oratio Dominica posset dici: tandem corruit in terram pronum. Fratres Augustinenses tulerunt caput et corpus [ejus], et in sua ecclesia, prope majus altare, honorifice sepelierunt.
Note 1. The Austin Friars Church in Old Broad Street, London. The church was dissolved in 1538. In 1550, King Edward VI gave part of the priory church to the Dutch Protestant community who formed the Dutch Church which remains extant today albeit rebuild following its destruction during the 1940 London Blitz.
Chronicle of Adam of Usk [~1352-1430]. [21st September 1397]. The king, out of respect for his blood, ordered that he only be beheaded. And his enemies, the Earl of Kent, his nephew, and others coveting his lands, carried him [Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [aged 51]] off to the Tower Hill with the scourge of a wicked death, as will become clear below, and there they beheaded him. With whose soul I wish I might deserve to share, for I certainly do not doubt that he has been added to the company of the saints. His body, however, although at that time it was buried without reverence at the Augustinians in London, is now gloriously venerated with the highest reverence and with frequent offerings from the people.
Tune rex, ob reverenciam sanguinis sui, jussit eum tantum decollari. Et duxerunt eum emuli sui, comes Cancie, ipsius nepos, et alii terras suas sicientes, mala mortis peste, ut inferius liquebit, perempti, ad montem Turris, et ibi ipsum decollarunt. Cum cujus anima utinam me participem fieri mererer, quia pro certo ipsum sanctorum colegio non dubito aggregari. Corpus tamen suum, licet tunc irreverenter aput Augustinenses! Londonie tumulatum, modo cum summa reverencia et populi frequenti oblacione quam gloriose veneratum excistit.
Froissart Book 4 Chapter 92. [21st September 1397]. The duchess of Gloucester [aged 31], her son Humphrey [aged 16], and her two daughters, were sorely grieved when the body of the duke arrived. The duchess had double cause of affliction, for the earl of Arundel [aged 51], her uncle, had been publicly beheaded in Cheapside [Map] by orders of the king. No baron nor knight dared to interpose, nor advise the king to do otherwise, for he was himself present at the execution, which was performed by the earl's son-in-law, the earl-marshal [aged 29], who bandaged his eyes.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Annals of King Richard II. On the evening of that same night, the King sent to the Mayor of London, ordering him to arm as many men as could be found in the city fit for arms, so that they would be ready within the space of two or three hours to follow the King wherever he wished. Accordingly, the King, and the Earls of Rutland, Kent, Huntingdon, and Nottingham, and all those who were of the King’s household, armed themselves; and with the Londoners and the auxiliaries whom they were then able to gather, they advanced towards Pleshey [Map] in Essex, where the Duke of Gloucester was staying. For the most part, those present did not know where this force was heading. When they had drawn near to the said place, the King reviewed the people who had followed him in a certain field. Their number was estimated by the heralds at fifteen thousand.
Sub ejusdem noctis vespera, Rex misit ad Majorem Londoniarum, jubens ut armaret quotquot inveniri possent habiles ad arma in civitate, ut parati forent, sub duarum aut trium horarum spatio, sequi Regem quocunque vellet. Rex proinde, et Comes de Ruthlond, de Kancia, de Huntingdonia, et de Notyngham, et quotquot erant de familia Regis, armati, cum Londoniensibus et auxiliariis quos contrahere pro tunc potuerunt, processerunt versus Plashi in Essexia, ubi Dux Gloucestriæ morabatur; ignorantibus pro majori parte, quorsum tenderet apparatus [iste] Cumque propinquassent loco prædicto, Rex recensuit populum qui eum secutus fuerat, in quodam campo; quorum numerus autumabatur ad quindecim millia per præcones.
Annals of King Richard II. The King had erected a very large building in the Palace of Westminster, which occupied almost the whole space of the palace. In it an extremely high throne was prepared for him, with a spacious place for all the estates of the realm; a place was specially assigned for the appellants on one side, and on the other side a place was assigned for the accused to make their answers. A separate place was provided for the knights of Parliament, who had not been elected by the community, as custom requires, but by the royal will. Their leader was Sir John Bussy, a most cruel man, excessively ambitious, and greedy for another’s property; a man who, for earthly substance or for the attainment of honours, thought little of abandoning faith and conscience. Yet he was full of worldly prudence and cunning, and surpassed in eloquence all the knights of his rank; for this reason the King appointed him Speaker of the present Parliament. Associated with him, by the King’s connivance, were several others, who proposed to say or request nothing except what would please the royal will; and, on the other hand, whatever they were ordered on the King’s behalf to propose, request, and extort by insistent clamours, they were ready to do. But the chief of these were Sir Thomas [Henry] Green1 and Sir William Bagot, in no way unlike John Bushy in vices or sins.
Erexit autem Rex quamdam domum amplissimam in Palatio Westmonasterii, quæ pene totum spatium Palatii occupavit; in qua sibi thronus parabatur altissimus, et pro cunctis regni statibus locus largus, atque pro appellantibus in uno latere locus specialiter deputatus, et in alio latere locus reis pro responsis assignatus; seorsum vero pro militibus Parliamenti, qui non fuerunt electi per communitatem, prout mos exigit, sed per regiam voluntatem. Quorum primicerius fuit Dominus Johannes Bushi, vir crudelissimus, ambitiosus supra modum, atque rei alienæ cupidus; et qui, pro terrena substantia vel consequendis honoribus, fidem et conscientiam deserere parvipendit. Erat tamen sæculari prudentia plenus, et astutia, pollens eloquentin super cunctos ejus fortunæ milites; unde Rex constituit eum Prolocutorem præsentis Parliamenti. Associatique sibi fuere, Regis conniventia, plures alii, qui nihil dicere vel petere proponebant, nisi quod placeret Sregiæ voluntati; et e contra, quiequid jussum foret eis ex parte Regis, proponere, petere, et importunis clamoribus extorquere, parati fuerunt. Sed horum præcipui fuerunt Dominus Thomas Grene et Dominus Willelmus Bagot, in nullo dispares Johannis Buschi in vitiis aut peccatis.
Note 1. Throughout the text the Chronicler refers to Henry Green as Thomas. Henceforward we have adopted Henry.
On 29th September 1397 King Richard II [aged 30] rewarded his relations with Dukedoms, possibly for their part in downfall of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [deceased], Thomas Beauchamp 12th Earl Warwick [aged 59] and Richard Fitzalan 9th Earl of Surrey 4th or 11th Earl of Arundel [deceased]...
His older half-brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 45] was created 1st Duke Exeter. Elizabeth Lancaster Duchess Exeter [aged 34] by marriage Duchess Exeter.
His nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 23] was created 1st Duke Surrey.
His first cousin once-removed Margaret [aged 77] was created 1st Duchess Norfolk - for life only. On the same day her grandson Thomas [aged 29] was also created Duke of Norfolk - see below.
His second cousin once removed Thomas Mowbray 1st Duke of Norfolk was created 1st Duke Norfolk. Elizabeth Fitzalan Duchess Norfolk [aged 31] by marriage Duchess Norfolk.
His first cousin Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 24] was created 1st Duke Albemarle. Beatrice Burgundy Countess Rutland and Cork [aged 24] by marriage Duchess Albemarle.
His illegitimate first cousin John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 24] was created 1st Marquess Somerset, 1st Marquess Dorset. Margaret Holland Duchess Clarence [aged 12] by marriage Marchioness Somerset, Marchioness Dorset.
Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 33] was created 1st Earl of Westmoreland. Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 18] by marriage Countess of Westmoreland.
On 20th July 1398 Roger Mortimer 4th Earl March 3rd Earl of Ulster [aged 24] was killed. He was buried at Wigmore Abbey [Map]. His son Edmund [aged 6] succeeded Heir to the Throne of England, 5th Earl March, 4th Earl of Ulster, 7th Baron Mortimer of Wigmore.
Annals of King Richard II. At this time1 also, the Earl of March, Roger, a young man, while trusting too much in his own courage and riding in Ireland too rashly, without his companions or arms, was suddenly surrounded by the Irish and miserably killed by them. When his death became known, the King resolved personally to avenge the Earl’s death and to subdue the Irish, not considering how much hatred he had accumulated against himself among his subjects throughout all England, and how bitter a spirit the whole common people bore against him. But his fates were driving him on, having irreversibly woven his ruin, which was to come in that year. He therefore made very great preparation throughout the whole season of Lent and afterwards, extorting money, demanding horses and carts, seizing everywhere provisions of grain, meat, and fish for his expedition, and paying nothing. He did not consider that:
"Ill-gotten plunder does not have good outcomes,"
and that the more he unjustly heaped up for himself from the goods of his subjects, the more justly he incurred their hatred.
Hoc quoque tempore, Comes Marchiæ, Rogerus, ætate juvenis, dum confidens nimis in virtute sua, et minus consulte sine [sociis suis sive] armis equitat in Hibernia, subito circumventus per Hibernicos, miserabiliter occiditur ab eisdem. Cujus morte cognita, Rex statuit personaliter mortem vindicare Comitis, Hibernicosque domare, non attendens quantum odium sibi accumulaverat suorum ligeorum per totam Angliam, et quam amarum animum vulgus omne gerebat contra eum. Sed urgebant eum fata sua, quæ irrevertibiliter texuerant ejus ruinam, hoc anno futuram. Fecit ergo præparationem maximam per omne tempus Quadragesimæ, et deinceps pecunias extorquens, equos et quadrigas exigens, victualia frumenti, carnium, atque piscium, ubique pro sua profectione rapiens, nilque solvens; non attendens quod—
"Non habet eventus sordida præda bonos,"
et quod quantum sibi accumulavit de bonis subditorum suorum injuste, tantum eorum odium incurrit satis juste.
Note 1. The Chronicler has reverted back to 1398 to describe the death of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, aged twenty-four, at the Battle of Kellistown on 20th July 1398; Roger was first cousin once-removed of King Richard II. He had been appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1392. At the time of his death Roger Mortimer was heir to the English throne since King Richard II had no issue. On his death Roger's his son Edmund became Earl of March and heir to the throne. On Edmund's death in 1425 the issue of his sister Anne, who died in 1411, and her husband Richard of Conisburgh, became heirs to the throne; their son was Richard, 3rd Duke of York, father of Kings Edward IV and Richard III.
In 1398 King Richard II of England [aged 30] travelled to Ireland with Rhys ap Tudor and Gwilym ap Tudor Tudor.
On 3rd February 1399 John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 58] died at Leicester Castle [Map]. Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster [aged 48] was by his side. His son Henry [aged 31] succeeded 2nd Duke Lancaster, 7th Earl of Leicester. He was buried in the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral [Map] with his first wife Blanche Duchess of Lancaster.
King Richard II of England [aged 32] witheld the future Henry IV's inheritance from him giving Henry reason to return to England to claim his lands and titles.
Annals of King Richard II. A little before the present time, Lord John, Duke of Lancaster, had died, namely on [3rd February 1399] the morrow of the Purification of Saint Mary. His body, with the King present, was buried in London, in the church of Saint Paul, with the most solemn obsequies. From his death the King took occasion to act maliciously against Lord Henry, Duke of Hereford, son and heir of the said Duke of Lancaster, whom he had recently banished for ten years. He now decreed that he should be exiled for ever, revoking the letters patent which he had previously granted to him. These had allowed that, during Henry’s absence, while he was banished, his general attorneys might sue for delivery to be made to him of any inheritances or successions whatsoever which might then fall to him, and that his homage might be deferred upon payment of a reasonable fine. When these letters were thus revoked, it was clearly apparent that the King hated the said Duke intensely, and that he had previously banished him not because of the dissensions, discords, or disturbances which might plausibly arise between the households and liveries of the said Duke and the Duke of Norfolk, as he had cautiously pretended, but so that, by occasion of such banishment, he might thrust him into exile for life, and thus lay hands on his possessions, which were very extensive, and appropriate them to himself.
Parum ante præsens tempus, obierat Dominus Johannes, Dux Lancastriæe, in crastino, seilicet, Purificationis Sanctæ Mariæ; cujus corpus, Rege interessente, solemnissimis exequiis sepultum est Londoniis, in ecclesia Sancti Pauli Ex cujus morte Rex sumens occasionem malignandi contra Dominum Henricum, Ducem Herefordise, fillum et hæredem dicti Ducis Lancastriæ, quem dudum relegaverat ad decennium, exulare decrevit in perpetuum; revocans patentes litteras quas sibi prius concesserat, quod in ipsius absentia, dum fuerat relegatus, generales attornati sui possent prosequi pro liberatione sibi facienda de quibuseunque. hæreditatibus, sive successionibus, ipsum extune contingentibus, et quod homagium suum respectuari posset, pro fine rationabili faciendo. Quibus litteris sic revocatis, evidenter apparuit Regem dictum Ducem vehementer odire, et eum prius relegasse, non pro dissensionibus, discordiis, vel tumultibus, quæ possent verisimiliter oriri inter familias et liberatas dicti Ducis et Ducis Norfolchiæ, ut cautelose prætenderat; sed ut, occasione relegationis hujusmodi, in exilium posset eum trudere per vitam suam, et sic manus injicere suis possessionibus, quæ fuerant satis amplæ, et ea sibimet appropriare.
On 16th April 1399 King Richard II of England [aged 32] wrote his Last Will from which the following extracts are taken … Also we bequeath to our beloved nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 25] ten thousand marks and to our beloved brother Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 26] two thousand marks and to our beloved brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 47] three thousand marks and to our faithful and beloved William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49] two thousand marks... we ordain and set aside for the fulfilment of all and singular the premises the sum of ninety-one thousand marks, of which sixty-five thousand marks are in the keeping of Sir John Ikelyngton and twenty-four thousand marks in the hands and keeping of our dear nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey.
Of this our royal testament we nominate make and depute executors the venerable fathers in Christ Bishop Richard Mitford, Bishop Edmund Stafford [aged 55], Bishop Robert Tideman of Winchcombe, Bishop Thomas Merke and Bishop Guy Mone Aka Mohun; our beloved brother Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle, our nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey, our brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter and William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire to each of whom we bequeath a gold cup of the value of twenty pounds and our beloved and faithful clerks Master Bishop Richard Clifford Keeper of our Privy Seal, Master Richard Maudeleyn, Master William Fereby and Master John Painter Ikelyngton clerks and John Lufwyk and William Serle laymen, to each of whom we will shall be paid their expenses and necessary costs while it shall happen that they or any of them are employed about the execution of our present last will, but according to the discretion of their said co-executors...
Whom all and singular we have charged and charge that they shall do as much as in them is for the due execution and fulfilment of this our last will as they shall wish to answer before God. We create ordain depute and make overseers of this our will the reverend fathers in Christ Archbishop Roger Walden and Archbishop Richard Scrope [aged 49], William bishop of Winchester and William abbot of the monastery of Westminster Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle our uncle and Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland [aged 57] our cousin.
In May 1399 King Richard II of England [aged 32] travelled to Ireland with Bishop Thomas Merke, Rhys ap Tudor and Gwilym ap Tudor Tudor.
Annals of King Richard II. Around the feast of Pentecost [18th May 1399], the King sailed to Ireland with his Cheshiremen and certain lords, namely the Dukes of Aumale and Exeter, and many others. But he took particular care that none of the lords going with him should bring such a great number of fighting men as could be compared with his own hired retainers; so that, if ever it pleased him to crush them, as was said, he would always have sufficient power to do so. For those who, as it is said, were accustomed to bring five hundred men were now permitted to bring scarcely twenty.
Circa festum Pentecostes, Rex navigavit in Hiberniam, cum suis Cestrensibus et quibusdam dominis, videlicet, Ducibus de Almarle et de Excestria, aliisque quampluribus; sed hoc cavit præcipue, ne omnes domini, sive proficiseentes cum eo, multitudinem tantam ducerent bellatorum, quæ comparari posset suis propriis conductitiis; ut si quando placuisset eos opprimere, ut fertur, fuisset continue satis potens. Nam qui quingentos, ut dicitur, solebant ducere, modo permissi sunt ducere vix viginti.
Around 4th July 1399 Henry Bolingbroke Earl of Derby [aged 32] landed at Ravenspur [Map] with Thomas Rempston.
William Ros 6th Baron Ros Helmsley [aged 29] joined Henry Bolingbroke Earl of Derby with a large retinue.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 7th July 1399 Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 58] appointed William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] to protect Kent against invasion by Henry Bolingbroke Earl of Derby [aged 32].
Chronicle of John Benet. [Around July 1399] In the year of our Lord 1399, King Richard crossed over to Ireland with a great army around the feast of Pentecost. On the feast of Saint Swithin that followed, Lord Henry, Duke of Lancaster, landed in England at Ravenspur, a place where no one had previously landed. He gathered to his cause earls and barons and proceeded to Bristol, where he beheaded three knights—namely, John Bushy, Henry Green, and William Scrope, the king's treasurer. He also seized the king's treasury in the castle of Bristol.
Anno Domini MCCCLXXXXIX transfretavit rex Ricardus cum magno exercitu in Hiberniam circa festum Pentecostes, et in die sancti Swythini sequente applicuit dominus Henricus dux Lancaster in Angliam apud Raveneshere spurne ubi nullus ante applicuit, et associavit sibi Comites et barones et ivit Bristodiam et ibi decollavit tres milites, scilicet Johannes Busche et Henricuse Grene, et Willelmus Scroope thesaurarius regis, et cepit Thesaurum regis in castro de Bristodia,
Annals of King Richard II. Meanwhile, around the feast of the Translation of Saint Martin [4th July 1399], the Duke of Lancaster, with no one opposing him, landed with his men near the place where the town of Ravenspur1 had once stood. Many of his father’s household and his own retainers immediately came to him, so that in a short time he was surrounded by an army that was, as it were, invincible. When the said King’s councillors heard this, namely William Scrope, John Bussy, Henry Green, William Bagot, and John Russell, they were greatly afraid, so much so that they seemed to have no spirit left in them. Observing them, the Bishop of Norwich said, "These men," he said, "are now half-dead, and we can place no hope in resistance from men who so quickly collapse in both countenance and mind." Since they no longer trusted in the goodwill of the townsmen of St Albans, they caused the Duke of York, together with those forces which had arrived, to move to Oxford. They also had it publicly proclaimed that armed men, together with archers, should come at once, without delay, and receive in hand an overflowing wage from the King’s treasury, which was sufficient and abundant in wealth to reward any who were willing to stand for the King against his enemies. They declared the King to be rich enough, although a little earlier, while devising ways to heap up riches for him, they had impoverished rich and poor alike. Many, therefore, taking money in hand to gather the strength of the region, immediately assembled a crowd and made their way to the Duke of Lancaster, to serve him as soldiers at King Richard’s expense.
Interea, circa festum Translationis Saneti Martini, Dux Lancastriæ, nullo contradicente, cum suis, applicuit prope locum ubi quondam fuit villa de Raveneshere; ad quem confestim venerunt plurimi de familin patris sui, et sua propria retinentia; sie quod in brevi, exercitu velut invincibili vallatus [fuit] Quod cum audissent dicti Regis consiliarii, scilicet, W[illelmus] Serop, J[ohannes] Bussy, T[homas] Grene, W[illelmus] Bagot, J[ohannes] Russel, timuerunt maxime, ita quod videbantur spiritum non habere. Quos notans Episcopus Nortwicensis, dixit;— "Isti," inquit "modo sunt præmortui, nec sperare possumus in horum resistentin qui tam cito vultu concidunt, atque ménte." Ipsi vero, quia jam non sperabant in benevolentia villanorum Sancti Albani, fecerunt Ducem Eboraci, cum illis copiis quæ advenerant, Oxoniis se conferre; feceruntque proclamari publice, ut armati, cum sagittariis, nil morantes, oceurrerent, et præ manibus soldam reciperent supereffluentem de thesauro Regis, qui satis esset, et abundans divitiis, ad remunerandum quoseunque volentes pro Rege stare contra hostes: profitebanturque Regem satis divitem, qui parum ante meditati fuerant, ad cumulandas illi divitias, divitem et omnem [et] panperem apporiasse. Multi ergo pecunias accipientes præ manibus, ut congregarent fortitudinem regionis, statim collecta multitudine se ad Ducem Lancastriæ contulerunt, militaturi sibi stipendiis Regis Ricardi.
Note 1. Ravenspur, or Ravenspurn, was a town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, which was lost due to coastal erosion. What remains of the penisula on which it was located is now called Spurn Head at the mouth of the River Humber.
On 28th July 1399 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] were captured at Bristol Castle, Gloucestershire [Map].
On 29th July 1399 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] were beheaded at Bristol Castle, Gloucestershire [Map]. Earl Wiltshire forfeit.
Annals of King Richard II. When the Duke of Lancaster came to Bristol with his uncle, the Duke of York, the Earl of Northumberland, Henry, the son of the said Earl, and almost countless other lords and commoners, he sent to the keeper of the castle, Lord Peter Courtenay, whom the Duke of York had some time before appointed keeper there, ordering him to surrender the castle together with the aforementioned persons. He, however, resisted as much as he could, until the Duke of York, by the authority of his commission, ordered him to surrender the castle. The castle was surrendered, and permission was given for everyone to depart freely, except for three persons, namely William le Scrope, John Bussy, and Henry Green. These men were seized and committed to close custody in the evening, and in the morning [of 29th July 1399] were beheaded. For the lords were urged to pass such a sudden sentence upon them by the persistent clamour of the commons, who would have torn them to pieces if they could have done so in any way, and also by the news which came that day of the King’s landing in Wales, he having come from Ireland with a large army. They did not think it safe to carry these men about alive while such pressing anxiety remained. And therefore, as has been said, at the insistent demand of the people, they received the sorrowful sentence, while all the middling people of the realm rejoiced that so quickly, and so graciously, as it seemed to them, they were being freed from their most bitter enemies.
Cum enim Dux Lancastriæ, cum patruo suo, Duce Eboraci, Comiteque Northumbriæ, et Henrico, filio dicti Comitis, aliisque velut innumeris dominis et communibus, Bristolliam venisset, misit ad custodem Castri, Dominum Petrum Courtenay, quem ibi dudum [Dux]: Eboraci custodem constituerat, ut Castrum [cum] personis redderet prænotatis. Ille vero, quantum poterat, renitebatur; donee Dux Eboraci, auctoritate suæ commissionis, ut Castrum redderet demandasset. Redditum est Castrum, et facultas data cuilibet recedendi libere, exceptis personis tribus, videlicet, Willelmi Le Scrop, Johannis Bussy, et Thomæ Grene; hii namque capti sunt, et custodiæ forti commissi vespere, et mane decapitati. Urgebat nempe dominos ad ferendum in eos tam repentinam sententiam clamor importunus communitatis, quæ voluisset eos in frusta decerpsisse, si quomodolibet potuisset; et nova quæ eo die venerunt de Regis applicatione in Walliam, qui cum exercitu de Hibernia venerat numeroso; quos non reputabant tutum vivos cireumducere, dum instaret tanta sollicitudo; et idcirco, ut præfertur, ad plebis importunam instantiam, tristem exceperunt sententiam, lætantibus cunetis regni mediocribus, quod tam cito, tam gratiose, prout eis videbatur, de infestissimis liberabantur hostibus.
On 13th October 1399 King Henry IV of England [aged 32] was crowned IV King of England at Westminster Abbey [Map]. Archbishop Thomas Fitzalan aka Arundel [aged 46] officiated. Bishop Robert Braybrooke carried the sacraments and said mass.
The future King Henry V of England [aged 13] carried the Sword Curtana. Thomas Beauchamp 12th Earl Warwick [aged 61] and/or John Beaufort 1st Marquess Somerset and Dorset [aged 26] carried a sword wrapped in red and bound with golden straps symbolising two-fold mercy. Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland [aged 57] carried the Lancaster Sword.
Thomas Percy 1st Earl of Worcester [aged 56] carried the Steward's baton. Thomas Erpingham [aged 44] carried a Sword.
Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford [aged 21] was appointed Knight of the Bath. John Lancaster 1st Duke Bedford [aged 10], John Arundell [aged 33] and Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 17] were knighted.
Archbishop Richard Scrope [aged 49] attended.
Froissart Book 4 Chapter 116. 12th October 1399. On the Saturday before the coronation, the new king went from Westminster to the Tower of London, attended by great numbers, and those squires who were to be knighted watched their arms that night: they amounted to forty-six: each squire had his chamber and bath, in which he bathed.
Annals of King Richard II. When the King came to Westminster, he was received with a solemn procession and brought into the Palace, where he spent that night. In the morning, that is, on the day of the Translation of Saint Edward [13th October 1399], a most solemn procession was made, as is customary, from the choir of the monks of Westminster to the Palace Hall. The archbishops, with their suffragans, went before, along with many abbots wearing mitres and lesser mitres. Among them the Abbot of Westminster held the chief place, carrying in his right hand the King’s sceptre, which had a golden cross at its top, and in his left a golden rod with a dove. The Abbot performed this office not because he is first among the abbots, but because his place is the repository of the royal insignia. The prelates, namely the abbots, were followed by the vested community of Westminster. When they reached the entrance to the door of the King’s chamber, they all waited until the King should come out to meet them. When the King came there, he was sprinkled with holy water by the archbishops and censed, and immediately the procession returned, with the abbots and community going first, followed by the bishops and archbishops, and then the King, who walked barefoot, wearing only stockings, according to ancient custom. And because this place requires it, I shall describe the manner and form of the royal coronation used up to now, as I have found it in the books of Westminster and of the Archbishop of Canterbury, since it is useful to know the customs which are duly to be performed in so great a solemnity.
Ut autem pervenit Rex ad Westmonasterium, susceptus est cum processione solemni, et in Palatium introductus, ubi ea nocte pernoctavit. Mane, id est, die Translationis Sancti Edwardi, facta fuit, prout moris est, processio solemnissima de choro monachorum Westmonasterii usque in Aulam [Palatii], Archiepiscopis, cum suis Suffraganeis, præcedentibus Abbatibus multis cornutis et muterillis; inter quos Abbas Westmonasterii tenuit principatum, portans in dextera manu sceptrum Regis, habens in summitate crucem auream, et in sinistra virgam auream cum columba—Hoc officium fecit Abbas, non quia primus est inter Abbates, sed quia regalium insignium est repositorium locus suus:— [prælatos, scilicet Abbates, sequebatur] Conventus Westmonasterii revestitus, Cumque pervenissent ad aditum ostii cameræ Regis, expectabant omnes, donec Rex occurrisset eisdem. Ibi igitur cum venisset Rex, aspersus [est ab] Archiepiscopis, et thurificatus; et mox processio revertebatur, præcedentibus Abbatibus et Conventu, sequentibus Episcopis et Archiepiscopis, atque Rege, qui discalceatus incedebat, indutus tantum caligis, ex antiquo more. Et quia locus hie exigit, describam modum et formam Coronationis regiæ, hactenus usitatas, prout in libris comperi Westmonasterii et Archiepiscopi Cantuariensis; quia juvat scire consuetudines in tanta solemmitate debite faciendas.
Froissart Book 4 Chapter 116. 13th October 1399. The procession entered the church about nine o'clock; in the middle of which was erected a scaffold covered with crimson cloth, and in the centre a royal throne of cloth of gold. When the duke entered the church, he seated himself on the throne, and was thus in regal state, except having the crown on his head. The archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed from the four corners of the scaffold, how God had given them a man for their lord and sovereign, and then asked the people if they were consenting to his being consecrated and crowned king. They unanimously shouted out, "Ay!" and held up their hands, promising fealty and homage. After this, the duke descended from his throne, and advanced to the altar to be consecrated. This ceremony was performed by two archbishops and ten bishops: he was stripped of all his royal state before the altar, naked to his shirt, and was then anointed and consecrated at six places; that is to say, on the head, the breast, the two shoulders, before and behind, on the back and hands: they then placed a bonnet on his head; and, while this was doing, the clergy chanted the litany, or the service that is performed to hallow a font.