A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

Tumultuous scene in the first Parliament.

The King’s insecure position for nine years. 1400.

The arbitrary character of the government at the close of the late King’s reign, and the acts of vengeance which had marked it, were the evils which were most prominent at the moment. Henry’s first step was of necessity the reversal of these acts, and the restoration of the state of things which had existed in 1388. The Parliament was therefore induced to declare all the acts of the last Parliament null, while those nobles whose adhesion to the late King had procured them fresh rank fell back to their old titles. Thus, the Dukes of Albemarle, of Surrey, and of Exeter, appear again as the Earls of Rutland, Kent, and Huntingdon, the Marquis of Dorset as Earl of Somerset. The scene in the House of Lords in the first Parliament marks the pitch to which passion had risen, and the preparation already made for future civil war. Rutland, the son of the Duke of York, was challenged by Lord Fitz-Walter, and when Lord Morley, the friend of the new King, challenged Lord Salisbury, no less than forty lords threw down their hoods as gages of battle on one side or the other. This point is further illustrated by the petition of the Commons, that all liveries except those of the King should be forbidden. The nobles had been gathering paid retainers around them, and getting themselves ready for the threatening quarrel. Meanwhile, the King had been crowned, supported by his two great partisans—whose names show the great influence of the North in the late change of government—Percy, Earl of Northumberland, now made Constable of England, and Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, with the rank of Marshall. It by no means suited Henry to excite remark as to his right. He therefore stepped as quietly as he could into the position of his predecessor, and his son Henry was declared Prince of Wales and heir-apparent, entirely without mention of the young Earl of March, the real heir, who was then a child in the custody of the King at Windsor. A grant of a tax on wool and leather for three years closed the session, and enabled Henry to take measures to secure his position; for it was not to be supposed that the party which had lost its influence would calmly acknowledge the new King. He was scarcely crowned when plots began to be formed against him, nor was it till he had been nine years upon the throne that the dangers which assaulted him both from his own kingdom and from foreign countries were finally overcome. It was during this period of weakness and uncertainty that he had to rest principally upon the Commons, who supported him as the champion of order against baronial disorder, but did not fail to take advantage of his weakness.

Insurrection of the late Lords Appellant.

The first of these difficulties arose from those lords who had been the appellants against Gloucester, and whose loss of rank has been already mentioned. A week before Christmas, 1399, several others of the depressed party met at Westminster, and there the Earls of Huntingdon, Rutland, Kent, and Salisbury entered into a conspiracy for the restoration of Richard. Their plan was to seize the King at Windsor, but Rutland, a never-failing traitor, disclosed the project to his cousin; the King hastily betook himself to London, and the insurgent lords, finding that their plans were discovered, fell back towards the West. The King was rapidly pursuing them; but at Cirencester, the inhabitants, under their Mayor, surrounded their lodgings, took them prisoners, and afterwards beheaded Kent and Salisbury. Several escaped for the time, but the same fate at length overtook Despenser at Bristol, and Huntingdon at Pleshy in Essex. Subsequently, Sir Thomas Blunt and eighteen others were executed at Oxford. Among them was a priest, Maudelin by name, who had been chosen for his strong personal resemblance to represent the late King in the insurrection. That the leaders of this conspiracy should have all fallen victims to popular vengeance sufficiently shows the feelings of the bulk of the nation with regard to King Henry and his rival.

Imprisonment and secret death of Richard.

Meanwhile, Richard had been imprisoned in Pontefract Castle. In February a report was spread that he was dead. On this the Privy Council begged that, if still alive, he might be carefully secured. The answer was given that he was already dead, and a corpse was exhibited in London, the face of which, from the eyes to the chin, was left uncovered, the rest of the body being carefully clothed. This peculiar arrangement excited suspicions, which were probably groundless, but were further supported by the complete mystery which hung over the manner of the King’s death. Hunger and violence were both alleged; while some asserted that the corpse exhibited was not that of Richard, but of the priest Maudelin.[84]

Hostile attitude of France and Scotland.

Useless and impolitic march into Scotland.

His domestic enemies for the present silenced, Henry could look abroad. He made advances towards friendship with France, but it soon became plain that that kingdom was inclined to support the cause of the late King, whose young widow, Isabella, was the daughter of Charles VI. The title of King of England was refused to Henry, Isabella and her dowry demanded, and hostility thus kept continually alive. In Scotland, also, the same feeling showed itself. The King, Robert III., was confined by weakness of body and mind almost exclusively to the Isle of Bute; his brother, the Duke of Albany, was the real ruler of the country. Henry, who had a party in the country, and at whose court Dunbar, the Earl of March, the chief enemy of the Douglas family, was resident, thought it desirable to show his power. He therefore marched as far as Leith, demanding homage from the Scotch King similar to that claimed by his predecessors, but the Duke of Rothesay, heir-apparent, held firm in the Castle of Edinburgh, and want of provisions speedily obliged the English to beat a somewhat hasty retreat. As in the case of France, this transaction with Scotland established a constant hostility.