London and the Kingdom - Volume 1 / A History Derived Mainly from the Archives at Guildhall in the Custody of the Corporation of the City of London.

by Reginald R. Sharpe

CHAPTER X.

Doubtful reports as to the late king's death.

The sentence passed on the late king proved his death warrant; his haughty spirit broke down, and he died at Pontefract the following year. According to Henry's account he died of wilful starvation. There were many, however, who believed him to have been put to death by Henry's orders; whilst others, on the contrary, refused to believe his death had actually taken place at all, notwithstanding the fact of the corpse having been purposely exposed to public view throughout its journey from Pontefract to London.[730] This belief that Richard was still alive was fostered by many, and, among others, by William Serle. He had been at one time the late king's chamberlain, and he kept up the delusion of Richard being still in the land of the living, by exhibiting the late king's signet, which had come into his possession. Serle was eventually arrested in the north of England and brought to London, to be executed at Tyburn.[731]

The "Trumpington" Conspiracy, 1416-1420.

Sixteen years later (1416), a certain Thomas Warde, called "Trumpyngtone," personated the late king, and a scheme was laid for placing him on the throne with the aid of Sigismund, king of the Romans[pg 248] Sigismund, however, refused to have anything to do with the plot, which was hatched within the city's liberties by Benedict Wolman and Thomas Bekering. The conspiracy having been discovered, its authors were thrown into prison. One died before trial, the other paid the penalty for his rashness with his head.[732] In August, 1420, long after Trumpington was dead, two others, Thomas Cobold and William Bryan, endeavoured still to keep up the delusion in the city. The mayor, Whitington, himself ordered their arrest. Bryan had time to escape from the house of William Norton, a barber given to Lollardry, where he and his fellow conspirator were lodged. Cobold tried to hide himself, but was discovered cunningly concealed in the house, and taken before the mayor and aldermen. Being questioned as to the identity of Trumpington and the late king, he gave an evasive reply, adding, that the question of identity had become immaterial since Trumpington had been dead some time. Cobold was thought to be too dangerous a man to be allowed at large, so he was committed to prison.[733]

Proceedings against the Lollards.

In the meantime Wycliffe had died (1384), and Lollardry had become only another name for general discontentment. The clergy made strenuous efforts to suppress the Lollards. Pope Boniface had invoked the assistance of the late king (1395) to destroy these[pg 249] "tares" (lolium aridum) that had sprung up amidst the wheat which remained constant to church and king, and called upon the mayor and commonalty of the city to use their interest with Richard to the same end.[734] Besides seeking the support of the commonalty against the powerful nobles, the new king sought the support of the church, and he had not been long on the throne before he issued commissions for search to be made in the city for Lollards, and for the arrest of all preachers found sowing the pestilential seed of Lollardry (semen pestiferum lollardrie).[735] Early in 1401 a price was put upon the head of the captain and leader of the sect, Sir John Oldcastle, otherwise known as Lord Cobham. Public proclamation was made in the city, that any one giving information which should lead to his arrest should be rewarded with 500 marks; any one actually arresting or causing him to be arrested should receive double that amount, whilst the citizens and burgesses of any city or borough who should take and produce him before the king, should be for ever quit of all taxes, talliages, tenths, fifteenths and other assessments.[736] Not only were conventicles forbidden, but no one was allowed to visit the ordinary churches after nine o'clock at night or before five o'clock in the morning.[737]

The statute of heresy, 1401.

Still the clergy were not satisfied. The ecclesiastical courts could condemn men as heretics, but they had no power to burn them. Accordingly, a statute was passed this year (1401), known as the[pg 250] statute of heresy (de hæretico comburendo), authorising the ecclesiastical courts to hand over to the civil powers any heretic refusing to recant, or relapsing after recantation, so that he might pay the penalty of being publicly burnt before the people.[738] It was the first English law passed for the suppression of religious opinion, and its first victim is said to have been one William Sautre, formerly a parish priest of Norfolk.[739]