Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire 1347-1399

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. 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 [aged 47], 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] Green [aged 50]¹ 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.

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. 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 [aged 49], John Bussy [aged 49], and Henry Green [aged 52]. 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.