same was very expedient did each man singly by himself and in Common with the People unanimously Admit the said Cession and Renunciation After which Admission it was then and there publickly declared that besides such Cession and Renunciation so as aforesaid admitted It would be very expedient and profitable to the Kingdom for the removing of all Scruples and taking away sinister suspitions That very many Crimes and Defects by the said King about the ill Governance of his Kingdom very often committed reduced into writing by way of Articles by reason of which as himself affirmed in the Cession by him made he was deservedly to be deposed should be publickly read and declared to the People And so the greatest part of the said Articles were then and there read through The Tenour of all which Articles is such But yet in the Roll before the Articles there are first these words Here followeth the form of the Oath used and accustomed to be taken by the Kings of England at their Coronation which the Archbishop of Canterbury hath used to require and receive from the said Kings as in the Book of the Pontifical Archbishops and Bishops more fully is contained Which Oath Richard the Second after the Conquest of England did take at his Coronation and the same was administred by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the very same Oath the King afterwards repeated as in the Rolls of the Chancery may more fully be found of Record Thou shall keep to the Church of God and People Intire Peace and Concord in God according to thy power The King shall answer I will keep them Thou shalt in all thy Judgements cause to be done equal and right Justice and discretion in mercy and in Truth according to thy power He shall answer I will do so Thou dost grant the just Laws and Customes as shall be held and dost promise the same shall by thee be protected and for the Honour of God Corroborated quas vulgus elegerit which the People shall chuse to the utmost of thy power He shall answer I do so grant and promise To the aforesaid Questions such others are added as shall be just and all things being so pronounced the King by his own Oath on the Altar before all the Assembly Confirms and Promises that he will 〈◊〉 and observe the same Then follow THE OBJECTIONS or ARTICLES Against the King touching his Deposition IMprimis It is objected against King Richard that whereas by reason of his ill Government viz. His giving away the Goods and Possessions belonging to his Crown and that to Persons unworthy and his indiscreet squandering the same away otherwise adn to that end imposing without cause Collections and other grievous burthens on his People more than they were able to bear and also innumerable other Evils by his assent and Command perpetrated there were by the whole Parliament certain Prelates and others Temporal Lords Elected and Assigned who might with all their power and at their own Charges faithfully labour about the just Government of the Realm Yet the King causing a Conventicle to be held by him with his accomplices the said Lords as well Spiritual as Temporal so occupied about the safety and profit of the Kingdom did propose to impeach of High Treason and did violently draw the Judges of the Kingdom for fear of Death and Corporal Tortures to such his wicked purpose most vigorously striving to destroy the said Lords II. Item The said King lately at Shrâ—wsbury caused several and the greater part of the Judges to come before him and his Favourites privatly in a Chamber and by Menaces and Various Terrors as such affrightments as might fall even upon men of constant Resolutions did induce cause and compel them severally to answer certain Questions there propounded on the behalf of the King concerning the Laws of his Kingdom besides and against their will and otherwise than they would have answered had they been at Liberty and unforced By colour of which answers the said King purposed to have proceeded afterwards to the destruction of Thomas Duke of Glocester and the Earls of Arundel and VVarwick and other Lords against whose deeds and behaviour the said King was much incensed chiefly because they desired the said King to be under good Guidance But Providence withstanding it by the resistance and power of the said Lords the King was not able to bring such his design to effect III. Item When the Lords Temporal defending themselves had withstood his malice and fraud and the said King had prefix'd a day for holding his Parliament to do them and other Inhabitants of the Realm Justice in that behalf and the said Temporal Lords were quietly and peaceably gone home and at Rest in their houses in hope and confidence of the said Parliament the King secretly sent the Duke of Ireland with his Letters and Standard towards Chester and there gathered multitudes in Arms and caused them to rise against the said Lords the Nobles of the Kingdom and Servants of the State publickly erecting his Standard against the Peace which he had Sworn to keep From whence slaughters of men Captivities Dissentions and other infinite mischiefs did ensue throughout the whole Kingdom By which Act he became Guilty of Perjury IV. Item Although the said King had in full Parliament and by the assent thereof Pardoned the said Duke of Glocester and Earls of Arundel and Warwick and all their Assistants and others all offences and had for many years shown Signs of Peace and Love to the said Duke and Earls and to the rest appeared with a pleasant and benign Countenance Yet the said King always and continually bearing Gall in his Heart did at last taking an Opportunity cause the said Duke of Glocester the Uncle of him the said King and also the Son of Edward late King of England of happy memory and Constable of England then humbly going to meet the said King in solemn Procession and the said Earls of Arundel and Wâ—â—â—ick to be taken and Arrested and him the said Duke out of the Kingdom of England to the Town of Callice did cause to be led and there imprisoned and under the Custody of the Earl of Nottingham and of the Appellors of the said Duke detained and without answer or any lawful process whatsoever did inhumanely and cruelly cause to be suffocated strangled and murdered And the Earl of Arundel though he pleaded as well the General Pardon as a Pardon afterwards to him specially granted and desired justice to be done him yet in his Parliament encompassed with armed men and innumerable Archers of the People by him gathered to that purpose by Pressing did damnably cause to be Beheaded And the Earl of Warwick and Lord Cobham did commit to perpetual Imprisonment wickedly and against Justice and the Laws of his Kingdom and his express Oath confiscating their Lands and Tenements as well Fee-simple as Fee-tail from them and their Heirs and giving the same to their Appellors V.
or in lieu thereof great Sums of Money in the said Letters expressed By which manner of Writing he forced many of such Religious out of fear to fulfil his Will and Command whereby they were heavily impoverisht and opprest in manifest derogation of Ecclesiastical Liberty by which Pretext the said King Richard did incur Perjury XXIII Item In most of the great Royal Councils when the Lords of the Realm the Judges and others being charg'd that they would faithfully Council the King in Matters relating to his State and that of his Kingdom The said Lords Justices and others very often in giving Counsel according to their best Discretion have been by the King suddenly and so fiercely chidden and reproved that they have not dared to speak the Truth in giving their Advice for the State of the King and Kingdom XXIV Item The Treasures Crowns Reliques and other Jewels viz. The Goods of the Kingdom which time out of mind have been Reposited in the Treasury of the Kingdom for the Honour of the King and preservation of his Kingdom against any sudden Event or Exigency the said King Going out of his Kingdom into Ireland did take away and caused the same to be carried with him without the consent of the States of the Kingdom Whereby this Kingdom had been vastly impoverisht if God by the retaking of the said Goods against the said Kings Will had not otherwise provided And furthermore the said King did cause the Rolls of Records touching the State and Government of his Kingdom uo be destroyed and rased to the great prejudice of his People and disinheriting the Crown of the said Kingdom And all this as 't is probably believed in favour and support of his evil Governance XXV Item The said King was wont as it were perpetually to be so variable and dissembling in his Words and Writings and so contrary to himself and especially in writing to the Pope and to Kings and other Lords out of the Kingdom and within it and also to others his Subjects that no man living that knew his Conditions could or would confide in him nay he was reputed so unfaithful and unconstant that it became scandalous not only to his own person but also to the whole Kingdom and especially amongst Foreigners of all the World that came to know the same XXVI Item Although The Land and Tenements the Goods and Chattels of every Freeman by the Laws of the Realm used from all time heretofore ought not to be taken from him unless they be forfeited Yet the said King purposing and longing to weaken such Laws in the pretence of very many Lords and others of the commonalty of the Kingdom hath frequently said and affirmed That the Life of every one of his Svbjects and his Lands Tenements Goods and Chattels are his the said Kings at his will and pleasure without any forfeiture Which is utterly against the Laws and Customs of the Kingdom aforesaid XXVII Item Although it was Fnacted and Ordained and is hitherto Confirmed That no Freeman shall be taken c. nor any way destroyed and that the King shall not pass nor send any to pass upon him but by the Lawful Judgment of his Peers or by the Law of the Land Yet by the Will Command and Order of the said King very many of his Liege People being maliciously accused for having publickly or secretly said something that might tend to the disyraise scandal or disgrace of the person of the said King have been taken and Imprisoned and brought before the Constable and Marshal of England in the Court Military in which Court the said Liege People being accused would not be admitted to make any other Answer than that they were no way guilty and would justifie the same and defend themselves by their Bodies and not otherwise notwithstanding their Appellors were young men stout and lusty and those so accused antient and impotent maim'd or infirm Whereby not only destruction of the Lords and grandees of the Kingdom but also of all and singular persons of the Commonalty of the same may probably ensue Since therefore the said King hath wilfully acted contrary to such a Statute of his Kingdom 't is not to be doubted but he hath thereby incurred the Crime of Perjury XXVIII Item Although the People of the Realm of England by vertue of their Leigeance are fully enough bound to their King and the said King by the Laws and Customs of his Kingdom is enabled to Correct and punish his People if in any kind they Transgress yet the said King desiring to trample on and too much oppress his People that he might the more freely execute and follow the Humour of his foolish and unlawful Will by his Letters to all the Counties of his Kingdom did Injoyn and Command That all his Subjects as well Spiritual as Tempâ—ral should make certain Oaths in general which were too grievous to them and which might probably cause the final destruction of his People and that they should confirm such their Oaths under their Letters and Seals To which Royal Command the People of his Kingdom did submit and pay Obedience that they might not incur his Indignation or Displeasure and also for fear of Death XXIX Item When Parties contending in the Ecclesiastical Court in Causes meerly Ecclesiastical and Spiritual had endeavoured to obtain from the Chancellor of England Prohibitions to hinder the lawful Process in the said Courts and the said Chancellor had justly refused to grant the same yet the said King by Letters under his Signet has frequently prohibited the Ecclesiastical judges to proceed in such Causes thereby evilly infringing the Liberties of the Câ—urch in the Grand Charter approved to the Conservation whereof he was sworn and damnably incurring Perjury and the Sentence of Excommunication against such Violators thereof by the Holy Fathers pronouâ—ced XXX Item The said King without any reasonable or lawful cause whatsoever or any other process of Law did in his Parliament encompass'd in warlike manner by armed men adjudge Thomas of Arundel Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England his Spiritual Father absenting himself by the Treacherous Counsell of the said King to Banishment against the Laws of his Kingdom so by him sworn to as aforesaid XXXI Item By inspection of the Testament of the said King Sealed with the Great and Privy Seal and also with his Signet among other things there is contained this clause or Article Item we will that the residue of our Gold the true debts of our House-hold Chamber and Wardrobe being paid for payment whereof we bequeath Twenty Thousand Marks reserving to our Executors Five or Six Thousand Marks which wee will by them to be expended towards the more plentiful maintainance of the Lepers and Chaplains to celebrate before them by us founded at Westminster and Bâ—rmondeseye shall remain to our Successor provided alwaies that he approve ratify and confirm and hold and cause to be holden and firmly observed all and singular
Treasurer The Lord Michael de Pole Earl of Suffolk was with much disgrace turn'd out of the Office of Chancelor and Thomas de Arundel Bishop of Ely by Consent of Parliament put in his stead And sometime afterward the said Michael de Pole was Impeached of several High Crimes and Misdemeâ—â—ors by the Commons as follows The Impeachment or Articles made by the Commons in full Parliament against Michael de Pole Earl of Suffolk late Chancellor of England in the Term of S. Michael in the Tenth Year of the King and the Judgment upon them following from Point to Point IMprimis That the said Earl being Chancellor and Sworn to Act for the just Profit of the King hath Purchased of Our Lord the King Lands Tenements and Rents to a great Value as appears by the Record-Rolls of the Chancery And against his Oath not regarding the great Necessity of the King and Realm being Chancellor at the time of such Purchase made did cause the said Lands and Tenements to be Extended at a much smaller value than really they were worth by the year and thereby deceiv'd the King And for that he purchased the said Lands when he was Chancellor against his Oath the King shall have the said Lands again intirely and the said Earl shall make Fine and Ransom to the King with all Profits received since the Purchase 2. Item Whereas Nine Lords were Assigned by the last Parliament to View and Examine the Estate of the King and Realm and to deliver their Advice how the same might be Improved Amended and put into better Order Governance and thereupon such Examination to be delivered to the King as well by Word of Mouth as in Writing The said late Chancellor did say in full Parliament That the said Advice and Ordinance should be put in due Execution which yet was not done and that by the default of him who was the principal Officer To this Article and the Third and the Seventh the said Earl shall answer if he have any thing to say against the same in special 3. Item Whereas a Tax was granted by the Commons in the last Parliament to be laid out in a certain Form demanded by the Commons and assented to by the King and Lords and not otherwise yet the Moneys thence arising were expended in another manner so that the Sea was not Guarded as it was ordered to have been whence many Mischiefs already have happen'd and more are like to ensue to the Realm and all this by the default of the said late Chancellor 4. Item Whereas the Tydeman of Limbergh having to him and his Heirs of the Gift of the King's Grandfather Fifty pounds per annum out of the Customs of Kingstone upon Hull which the said Tydeman forfeited to the King and also the payment of the said Fifty pounds per annum was discontinued for Five and thirty years and upwards The said Chancellor knowing the Premisses purchased to him and his Heirs of the said Tydeman the said Fifty pounds per annum and prevailed with the King to confirm the said Purchase whereas the King ought to have had the whole Profit For this Purchase the said Earl was adjudged to Fine and Ranson and the said Fifty pounds to go to the King and his Heirs with the Mannor of Flaxâ—â—ete and Ten Marks of Rent which were exchang'd c. with the Issues c. 5. Whereas the high Master of S. Antony is a Schismatick and for that Cause the King ought to have the Profits which appertain to him in England the said late Chancellor who ought to advance and procure the Profit of the King took to Farm the said Profits of the King at Twenty Marks per annum and so got to his own use above a Thousand Marks And afterwards when the said Master in England which now is ought to have had the Possession and Livery of the said Profits he could not obtain the same till he and two persons with him became bound by Recognizance in Chancery of Three thousand pounds to pay yearly to the said Chancellor and his Son John One hundred pounds for the term of their two Lives For which it is adjudged That the King shall have all the Profits belonging to the said S. Anthony's at the time of the Purchase and that for the Recognizance so made the said Earl shall be Awarded to Prison and Fined and Ransom'd at the pleasure of the King 6. Item That in the time of the latâ— Chancellor there were granted and madâ— divers Charters and Patents of Pardoâ— for Murders Treasons Felonies c. against the Laws and before the Commencement of this present Parliament there was made and sealed a Charter of certain Franchises granted to the Castle of Dover in Disinherison of the Crown and to the subversion of the Pleas and Courts of the King and of his Laws The King Awards that those Charters be Repealed 7. Whereas by an Ordinance made in the last Parliament that Ten thousand Marks should be raised for the Relief of the City of Gaunt by the default of the said late Chancellor the said City of Gaunt was lost and also a Thousand Marks of the said Money Vpon all which Articles the Commons demand the Judgment of Parliament WAlsingham tells us That all these Articles were so fully proved that de Pole could not deny them insomuch that when he stood upon his Answer and had nothing to say for himself the King Blushing for him shook his Head and said Alas alas Michael see what thou hast done And when the King desired a Supply the Commons answered That he did not need the Tallage of his Subjects who might so easily furnish himself of so great a sum of Money from him who was his just Debtor But at last upon his Majesties yielding to have him turn'd out of the Chancellorship and admitting the Articles which he was very unwilling to suffer they freely gave him half a Tenth and half a Fifteenth only providing that it might be necessarily Expended To which purpose it was to be deposited in the hands of the Earl of Arundel who was then going to Sea with a Fleet to secure the Coasts They likewise gave the King on every Pipe of Wine Imported or Exported Three shillings and on every Twenty shillings worth of all sorts of Merchandize Foreign or Domestick brought in or carried out one shilling Wool Hides and Pelts onely excepted And also at the King's Instance granted that the Heirs of Charles de Bloys should for Thirty thousand Marks be permitted to sell Bretaigne in France to the French and that Robert de Vere the new Duke of Ireland the Kings most dangerous Favourite should have the said Thirty thousand Marks a prodigious sum of Money in those days wholly to his own use provided he would be gone before next Easter into Ireland and there make use of it to recover the Dominions that the King hath given him in that Kingdom so passionately did both Lords and
again in England The Appeal or Charge exhibited against them in Parliament tho' long is yet remarkable and not being extant in English I shall so far presume on the Reader 's Patience as to insert it Translated from the Original as we find it in Knyghton de Eventibus Angliae Col. 2713. as follows viz. TO our Most Excellent and redoubted Lord the King and his Council in this present Parliament do shew Tho. Duke of Glocester Constable of England Henry Earl of Derby Richard Earl of Arundel and Surry Thomas Earl of Warwick and Tho. Earl Marshal That whereas they the said Duke and Earls as Loyal Subjects of our Lord the King for the profit of the King and Realm on the Fourteenth day of November last past at Waltham-Cross in the County of Hertford did before the most Reverend Fathers in God William Bishop of Winchâ—ster Thomas Bishop of Ely late Chancellour of England John Waltham then Lord Privy Seal John Lord Cobham the Lords Richard le Scrope and John Denross then Commissioners of our Lord the King Ordain'd and made in the last Parliament Appeal Accuse or Charge Alexander Archbishop of York Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland Michael de Pole Earl of Suffok Robert Tresylian the false Justice and Nicholas Brember the false Knight of London of several High Treasons by them committed against the King and his Realm and did offer to prosecute and maintain the same and sufficient Sureties to find praying the said Lords to certifie the same to their said Soveraign Lord which the same day the said Commissioners did accordingly certifie to the King at Westminster where most of the said persons so Appealed being present were fully informed and certified of such Appeal And whereas shortly after by the Assent of the King and his Council the said Thomas Duke of Glocester c. coming to Westminster in presence of the King and of his Council there for the profit of the King and his Realm did again Appeal the said Arch-bishop of York and other false Traytors his Companions appealed of High Treasons by them committed against the King and his Realm as Traytors and Enemies to the King and Realm in affirmance of their former Appeal offering to pursue and maintain it as aforesaid Which Appeal our Lord the King did accept and thereupon assigned a day to the said Parties at his first Parliament which should be holden on the Morrow after Candlemass next insuing then to have receive full Justice upon the said Appeal and in the mean time took into his safe and most special protection the said Parties with all their people Goods and Chattels and caused the same to be then proclaimed and published And whereas also on Monday next after the day of the Nativity of our Lord Christ next after the said Duke of Gloucester c. in the presence of the King in the Tower of London as Loyal Subjects of the King and his Realm did appeal the said Archbishop of York c. as false Traytors c. Whereupon the King assign'd them a day in the next Parliament to pursue and declare their Appeal and by the advice of his Council did cause Proclamation to be made in all the Counties of England by Writs under his great Seal That all the said persons so Appealed should be at the said Parliament to answer thereunto Which Appeal the said Duke of Gloucester c. the Appealors are now ready to pursue maintain and declare and do by these Presents as loyal Subjects of our Lord the King for the profit of the King and Realm Appeal the said Archbishop c. of High Treasons by them committed against our Lord the King and his Realm as Traytors and Enemies of both King and Kingdom which Treasons are declared and fully specified in certain Schedules hereunto annexed and they do pray that the said persons Appealed may be called and Right and Justice done in this present Parliament Imprimis Thomas Duke of Gloucester Constable of England Henry Earl of Derby c. do Appeal and say that Alexander Archbishop of York Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland and Michael de la Pole Earl of Suffolk false Traytors to the King and Realm seeing the tender Age of our said Lord the King and the Innocency of his Royal Person have by many false Contrivances by them without Loyalty or Good Faith imagined and suggested endeavoured wholly to Ingross his Majesties Affection and to make him intirely give Faith and Credence to what they should say though never so pernicious to himself and his Realm and to hate his Loyal Lords and People by whom he would more faithfully have been served Encroaching and assuming to themselves a power to the endefranchising our Lord the King of his Soveraignty and imparing his Royal Prerogative and Dignity making him so far obey them that he hath been sworn to be govern'd and counsel'd only by them by means of which Oath and the power they have so trayterously usurped great inconveniencies mischiefs and destructions have hapned as by the subsequent Articles will appear 2. Item Whereas the King is not bound to make any Oath to any of his Subjects but on the day of his Câ—ronation or for the common profit of him and his Realm the said Bishop Duke and Earl false Traytors to the King and Realm have made him swear and assent to them that he will maintain and defend them and live and die with them And so whereas the King ought to be of a free condition above any other in his Realm they have brought him more into Servitude and Bondage against his Honour Estate and Royalty contrary to their Allegiance and as Traytors unto him 3. Item The said Traytors by the Assent and Councel of Robert Tresylian the false Justice and Nicholas Brember the false Knight of London by their false Covin would not at all suffer the great Persons of the Realm nor the good Subjects of the King to speak to or approach the King to give him wholsome advice nor the King to speak to them unless in the presence and hearing of them the said Duke of Ireland c. or two of them at their will and pleasure or about such things as they thought fit to the great disgrace of the Nobles and good Counsellors of the King and to the preventing of their good will and service towards the King thereby encroaching to themselves the Royal power and a Lordship and Soveraignty over the person of the King to the great dishonour and peril of the King his Crown and Realm 4. Item The said Archbishop c. by such their false devices and pernicious Councels have diverted the King from shewing due countenance to his great Lords and Liege People so that they could not be answered in their Suits and Rights without the leave of them the said Archbishop c. Thereby putting the King besides his Devoir contrary to his Oath contriving to alienate the Heart of our Lord the King from
the West that Terror and Dread cannot but Invade your Adversaries for evermore to this day as oft as the Gallant English have fought the French so oft have they carried Victory with them from the Field Let not therefore most Potent Prince the Heart of the Lion slumber longer against Nature in Pusillanimity But vouchsafe to apply that matchless Strength which Nature has conferr'd upon you to warlike Actions in defence of your Commonwealth the maintenance of your Hereditary Rights the encrease of your Merit and perpetuating the Renown of so incomparable great and Magnanimous a King Walsingham says That this Prince came also in person into England to perswade the King against making Peace either with the French or Scots and that he was very honourably entertain'd But it seems his motion was not much regarded for the time was spun out in further Truces and nothing done And now the Citizens of London fall into the Kings grievous displeasure the Causes whereof are said to be Two The first Their not only denying to lend the King a thousand pounds which he desired themselves but also affronting a certain Lombard who was willing to accommodate him and abusing him some Authors say they beat and half kill'd him for his forwardness The other an Accident which hapning just in the neck of this seem'd or perhaps was made a far greater Offence than otherwise it need have been reputed viz. A Baker carrying his Bread along the Street one of the Bishop of Salisbury's Servants took a loaf out of his Basket which the Baker demanded to be restored but the Bishop's man instead thereof broke his head for which Injury the people would have seized him but he fled into his Masters house Thither the Constable came and peaceably desired he might be surrendred up to Justice But the Bishop's Servants shut the Gates and made resistance This more exasperated the people who though sometimes they may be deceived bâ— Fiâ—â—sses and Craft are yet generally shrewd Guessers at Right and Wrong in Matters of Fact and 〈◊〉 of common life insomuch that many threatned to fire their way and began to use violence Of which the Mayor and chief Officers having notice they immediately repaired thither and by their Presence and Authority suppressed the Multitude and preserved the Kings Peace so that hitherto the harm was but small and all this Combustion might easily have been quenched and forgot had not the Bishop whose ill-govern'd Servant was the Beginner and Cause of all the Broil kindled the Fuel afresh And 't is said he the rather stirr'd in it out of an old grudge which he had against the Citizens because they were generally lookt upon to be Favourers of Wickliffs Doctrine But whatever the Motive was a loud Complaint was made by him and other Prelates to the King affirming That if upon every paultry pretence the Citizens should be suffered thus to Affront the Bishops without Chastisement they would endanger not only the Dignity but the Liberty of the whole Church The King was so incens'd hereat being prepared by former Provocations that he was once resolv'd to have raised an Army and utterly destroyed the City and made spoil thereof But being perswaded by more moderate Councils he only sent for the Mayor and two Sheriffs and Four and twenty Aldermen and Four and twenty others of the ablest Citizens to his Court then held at Nottingham where the said Tumult and divers other Offences were laid to their Charge As that they had forfeited their Obligations formerly given to the King c. They at first resolv'd to justifie their Innocency and faithfully engaged to stand by one another But it seems there was falshood in Fellowship and as it often happens in such Cases some timorous persons hoping to curry favour Impeach'd the rest who again recriminated upon them and so all were liable to be undone and therefore left themselves wholly to the Kings Mercy who committed the Mayor to Windsor Castle and the rest to several other places of Confinement seizes the Liberties of the City into his own hands and Annuls all their Priviledges commands there should be no more any Major be chosen but that he would himself appoint one who should be called Keeper of the City and accordingly did qualifie one Sir Edward Dalyngrygge other Authors call him Balerygge with that Title who being thought too favourable to the Citizens was quickly removed and Sir Baldwin Radington a person of a rougher temper put in his place And also the Terms and Courts of Justice were removed to York In the mean time the Duke of Glocester and others were not wanting to Intercede with the King on behalf of the Londoners of whom the Principal on Sunday next after the Assumption of S. Mary waited on him at Windsor and submitted to him Themselves and their Fortunes With which he seemed somewhat well pacified and on the Wednesday following came towards London being met from the City with four hundred Men on Horse-back clad all in one Livery an innumerable multitude on foot a solemn Procession of the Clergy and Five hundred Boys in Surplices The Fronts of the Houses adorned with Tapestry and Pictures the Conduits freely running Wine c. Besides they presented the King with a Crown of Gold of great value and another of the same Metal to the Queen together with a Picture of the Trinity worth 800 l. and several other great Gifts And so they obtained their Priviledges restored and confirmed to them the Election of a Mayor and all things as before And having been at all this Charge doubted not but to be quiet and free from further Fine or Penalty But herein they were deceived for notwithstanding all their Presents the King yet upon such submission before made demanded and forced them to pay after all this Ten thousand pounds or else they must have ventured the Effects of his new Displeasure The Duke of Glocester having been furnisht with Money to raise an Army for an Expedition into Ireland of which the King had lately created him Duke when his Troops were now just ready to march and all things prepared was on a sudden without any cause Recall'd and the Voyage Countermanded to the great Detriment as well of England as Ireland For upon the Report of his Coming almost all the petty Irish Kings had advised one with another and resolved to submit themselves to the English The Year 1393 a Parliament at Winchester gave the King half a Tenth for the Clergy and half a Fifteenth for the Laiety towards the Expences of the Dukes of Lancaster and Glocester who were going into France to Treat of a Peace between the two Crowns The French King sometime before had lost his Senses but was now pretty well recovered yet at this time narrowly escaped with his life from the Treachery of the Duke his Brother who over-greedily Aspired to the Crown For the King and several other Persons of Quality dancing a Rural Mask to make
Item At the same time that the King in his Parliament caused the Duke of Glocester and Earls of Arundel and Warwick to be adjudged that he might more freely exercise his Cruelty upon them and accomplish his injurious will in other matters he gathered to himself a great multitude of Malefactors of the County of Chester of whom some passing with the King through the Kingdom as well within the Kings Pallace as without did cruelly kill the Liege Subjects of the Kingdom and some they beat and wounded and did plunder the Goods of the People and refuse to pay for their Victuals and did Ravish and Violate their Wives and other Women and though their were grievous Complaints of such their excesses brought to the hearing of the said King Yet the said King did not regard to cause Justice to be done or any Remedy thereuponâ— but did favour the said Troops in such their evil doings trusting in them and their Guard against all others of his Kingdom for which cause the faithful People of his Kingdom had great matter of Commotion and Indignation VI. Item Although the said King by his writs caused Proclamation to be made throughout the whole Kingdom that he had caused his Uncle the Duke of Glocester and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick to be taken and Arrested not for any Assemblings or Troopings by them formerly made within the Kingdom of England but for very many Extortions Oppressions and other things by them afterwards done and perpetrated against his Royalty and Kingly Majesty And that it was not his Intention that any of the Family of the said Duke and Earls or of their followers at the time of such Assembling and Trooping should for that occasion be molested or aggrieved Yet the said King at last in his Parliament did not Impeach the said Lords for Extortions Oppressions or any such matters but for the Assemblings and Troopings aforesaid did adjudge them to Death and very many of the Family of the said Lords and others who were following them at the time of such their Assembling and Trooping he did for fear of Death force to make Fine and Ransom as Traytors or Rebels to the great destruction of a great Number of his People And so he did subtily fraudulently and maliciously deceive the said Lords and their familiars and the People of his Kingdom VII Item After very many of those Persons so making Fine and Ransom had obtained of the King his Letters Patent of full Pardon in the Premises they could not reap any Commodity by such Letters of Pardon till they had made new Fine and Ransoms for saving of their Life whereby very many were Impoverished which was a great Derogation and dishonour to the Name and State of a King VIII Item In the Last Parliament held at Shrewsbury the said King purposing to oppress his People subtily procured and caused it to be granted that the power of the Parliament by the consent of the States of his Kingdom shall remain in certain Persons to determine after the dissolution of the Parliament certain Petitions in the said Parliament exhibited but then not dispatched By Colour of which grant the Persons so deputed proceeded to other things generally touching that Parliament And this with the will of the King in Derogation of the state of Parliament the great dammage of the whole Kingdom and pernitious Example And that they might seem to have some Colour and Authority for such their doings the King called the Parliament Rolls to be altered and blotted at his pleasure against the Effect of the said Grant IX Item Notwithstanding the said King in his Coronation had sworn that in all his Judgments he would cause to be done equal and right Justice and discretion in mercy and truth according to his power Yet the said King rigorously without all mercy did amongst other things Ordain under grievous penalties that none should sue for any favour or intercede with the said King for Henry Duke of Lancaster being Banished whereby the said King did act against the Bond of Charity rashly violating his Oath aforesaid X. Item Although the Crown of the Kingdom of England and the Rights of the said Crown and that Kingdom it self have in all time past been so free that our Lord the Pope nor any other without the Kingdom ought to concern himself about the same Yet the aforesaid King for the Corroboration of such his erroneous statutes did make supplication to our Lord the Pope that he would confirm the statutes ordained his last Parliament whereupon our Lord the King obtained the Apostolick Letters in which grievous Censures are denounced against any that should presume in any thing to act contrary to the said statutes all which are well known to tend against the Crown and Royal dignity and against the Statutes and Liberties of the said Kingdom XI Item Although the Lord Henry now Duke of Lancaster by the Kings Command had preferred his Bill touching the State and Honour of the King against the Duke of Norfolk and the same had duely prosecuted so that according to the Kings Order he had exhibited himself in all Points prepared for the Combate And the said King had declared that the said Duke of Lancaster had honourably performed his Devoir as much as in him lay and this by a Decree publickly Proclaimed before all the people Assembled at the said Combate Yet the said King without any Legal Reason whatsoever did cause and command the said Duke to be Banisht for ten Years against all Justice and Laws and Customs of his Kingdom and the Law of War in that behalf thereby damnably incurring Perjury XII Item After the said King had graciously granted by his Letters Patents to the Lord Henry now Duke of Lancaster that in his absence whilst he was banisht his General Attorneys might prosecute for Livery to him to be made of all manner of Inheritances or Successions belonging unto him and that his Homage should be respited paying a certain reasonable Fine he injuriously did revoke the said Letters Patent against the Laws of the Land thereby incurring the Crime of Perjury XIII Item Notwithstanding that it was Enacted that every Year the Officers of the King with his Justices and others of the Kings Council should choose Sheriffs for all the Counties of England and name them to our Lord the King according as to their Discretion and Conscience should seem expedient for the good and utility of the Kingdom the said King hath caused persons to be made Sheriffs not so nominated or elected but other according to the Capricio's of his pleasure sometimes his Favourites or Creatures and sometimes such as he knew would not oppose his humour for his own and others private advantage to the great grievance of his People and against the Laws of his Kingdom thereby notoriously incurring Perjury XIV Item At such time as the aforesaid King requested and had of very many Lords and others of his Kingdom divers Sums
of Money by way of Loan to be paid again at a certain term notwithstanding the said King faithfully promised by his several Letters Patent to the several persons of whom he borrowed the said Moneys that at the term limited as aforesaid he would repay the same yet he did not fulfill such his Promise nor are they yet satisfied the said Moneys whereby such Creditors are much agrieved and not only they but many others of the Kingdom repute the King unfaithfull XV. Item Whereas the King of England by the Revenue of his Kingdom and the Patrimony belonging to his Crown is able to live honestly without the oppression of his People as long as the Kingdom is not burthen'd with the Charge of Wars yet the said King in a manner for his whole time during the Truces between the Kingdom of England and its Adversaries hath not only given away a great yea indeed the greatest part of his said Patrimony and this to unworthy Persons But also hath further imposed on his Subjects so many Burdens of Monies granted as it were every year of his Reign that thereby he hath extreamly and too excessively oppressed his People to the Impoverishment of his Kingdom Not converting the Goods so levied to the Commodity and profit of the Kingdom of England but prodigally squandering it away for the Ostentation of his Name and in Pomp and Vain-glory Whilst great Sums of Money are owing in his Kingdom for the Victuals of his Houshould and other things bought though he hath abounded with Riches and Treasures more than any of his Progenitors XVI Item The said King not willing to keep or Protect the just Laws and Customs of his Kingdom but according to his Arbitrary Will to do whatsoever should occur to his Desires sometimes and very often when the Laws of his Kingdom have been expounded and declared to him by the Judges and others of his Council and that they have desired that he would do Justice according to those Laws hath expresly and with an angry and haughty Countenance said That his Laws were in his Mouth and sometimes That they were in his Breast And that he himself alone could make and change the Laws of his Kingdom And being seduced with that Opinion did not suffer Justice to be done to very many of his Leige People but by Threats and Terrors hath forced very many to cease from the prosecution of Common Justice XVII Item That after certain Statutes had been made in Parliament which always bind till they are specially revok'd by the Authority of another Parliament The said King desiring to enjoy such Liberty that no such Statutes should so bind him but that he might do and execute his pleasure subtily procured a Petition to be preferred in his Parliament on the behalf of the Commonalty of his Kingdom and to be granted to him in general That he might be as free as any of his Progenitors were before him By colour of which Petition and Concession the said King hath very often commanded very many things to be done against such Statutes unrepealed acting therein expresly and knowingly against his Oath taken in his Coronation as aforesaid XVIII Item Although it was Enacted and Ordained that no Sheriff should hold his Office above one year together but that three years should pass before he should be again admitted to that Office The said King Richard sometimes for his own single Commodity and sometimes at the instance of others for their advantage hath permitted and caused certain Sheriffs to stand and remain continually in their Offices sometimes two sometimes three Years against the Tenor and effect of the Statute aforesaid thereby incurring Perjury and this is notorious publick and generally ill spoken of XIX Item Although by the Statuteâ— and Custom of his Realm in the calling together of every Parliament his People in several Countries of the Kingdom ought to be free in choosing and deputing two Knights to be present in such Parliament for each respective County and to declare their Grievances and to prosecute such Remedies thereupon as to them shall seem expedient Yet the aforesaid King that in his Parliaments he might be able more freely to accomplish the effects of his head-strong will did very often direct his Command to his Sheriffs that they should cause to come to his Parliaments as Knights of the Shire certain Persons by the said King named which Knights being his Favourites he might lead as often as he has done sometimes by various Menaces and Terrors and sometimes by Gifts to consent to those things as were prejudicial to the Kingdom and exceeding burthensom to the People And especially to grant to the said King a Subsidy on Wooll for the term of his Life and another Subsidy for certain Years thereby too grievously oppressed his People XX. Item the said King that he might more freely fulfil and follow in every thing his own Arbitrary Will did unlawfully cause and command That the Sheriffs throughout his whole Realm besides their ancient accustomed Oath should swear that they would obey his commands as often as they should be directed to them under his Great and Privy Seal and also his Letters under his Signet And that in case the said Sheriffs could come to know that any within their Bailiwicks of whatsoever condition they were had publickly or secretly said or spoken any ill that might tend to the disgrace or scandal of his Royal Person they should Arrest and imprison them there safely to be kept till they should receive Command from the King to the contrary as may be found in the Record which Fact may probably tend to the destruction of many of the Liege People to the said Kingdom XXI Item The said King striving to trample under foot his People and subtily to acquire their Goods to himself that he might abound in superfluous Riches did cause the People of Seventeen Counties of the Realm to submit themselves to the King as Traitors by Letters under their Seals By colour whereof he got mighty Sums of Money to be granted him by the Clergy and People of those Counties for obtaining his Royal good Will and Favour And though to please the People the King had caused those Obligatory Letters to be restored yet the Procurators of the People having full Power granted them to oblige themselves and their Heirs to the said King he the said King caused them under their Seals to be bound to him in the Name of the said People and so deceived his people and Subtily extorted from them their Goods XXII Item Although the said King in his Corâ—nation had sworn to keep the Liberties granted to the Arglicane Church yet the said King by reason of his Voyage into Ireland did by his Letters command very many Religious Persons viz. Abbots and Priors of his Kingdom strictly requiring that some of them should send to him certain Horses and some of them not only Horses but also Waggons and Carriages for his said Voyage
of his Pillow was nothing so fierce next Morning but resolv'd to lay aside the thoughts of going himself and to send some body else To which purpose the Duke of Lancaster was nominated but so tedious in making Preparations that the Bishop in the mean time was glad to leave Graveling having first dismantled and destroyed it and so return'd home to England after a vast Treasure dissipated and many thousand Lives lost and more Souls cheated with as little Glory as he set forth with mighty Expectation the Success of his Armes being suitable to the ridiculous occasion of them And what was yet worse for the haughty Prelate soon after his coming home in a Parliament held at London about Alhallontide all his Temporalities were seized into the Kings hands for his Contempt in disobeying the Kings Writ when His Majesty sent to him to come back just as he was putting to Sea on this piece of Ecclesiastical Knight-Errantry and he refused to come as aforesaid In this Parliament also was granted to the King half a Fifteenth by the Laity and half a Tenth by the Clergy In the Year 1384 a Truce was made with France and the Duke of Lancaster and his Brother Thomas of Woodstock entred Scotland with a mighty Army but the Scots wholly declining to fight and many of the English being destroyed with Want and cold Weather they return'd making very small Advantages by that expensive Expedition Soon after which an Irish Carmelite Fryer made a discovery in Writing to the King of a Design the Duke of Lancaster had to destroy His Majesty and usurp the Crown but the King advising about the same only with certain young Favourites the Duke obtained notice of the Charge and cleared or seemed to clear himself so much to the Kings satisfaction that the poor Fryer was committed to Custody and 't is said on the Evening before the Hearing should have been was most cruely murdered Whose Information if real shews what aâ— Opportunity the King slipt of preventing his after misfortune and that some times it proves even more dangerous to discover Treasons than to act them which yet should discourage no good Subject from the discharge of his Duty But possibly this whole Accusation or the Relation of such a thing might be a Contrivance of the Duke's Enemies to render him suspected to the King and odious to the People for it 't is certain they entred not many Months after into a formal-Design against his Life the occasion whereof I do not find mentioned by Authors but only that the King by the Instigation of his young Cabal-Council had conceiv'd displeasure against him and that they had conspired to take away the said Duke's Life In order whereunto certain Crimes were suggested Appellors prepared and t was agreed that he should be suddenly Arrested and brought before the Lord Chief Justice Trysilian who had boldly untertaken to pronounce Sentence upon him according to the quality of the matters to be objected though by Law he could not be tryed but by his Peers and so Execution should immediately have followed But the Duke being fore warn'd of these Contrivances hastned to his Castle of Pomfret and there stood upon his Guard And the King's Mother considering the Dangers that would ensue such a Rupture took great pains by riding notwithstanding her Age and corpulency to and fro between the King and him to pacifie each side and at last brought them to such a Reconcilement that all appearance of Displeasure on the one part and Distrust on the other was for that time removed About the Feast of S. Martin was held a Parliament at London wherein the Earl of Nothumberland was Condemn'd for the loss of the Castle of Barwick Surprised by the Scots through the Treachery of one that he had put in there as his Deputy But the King after Judgment was pleased to Pardon him who went forthwith down and retook the said Castle In the Year 1385 the French made great Preparations for the Invading of England and to facilitate the Attempt by a Diversion â—end the Admiral of France with a considerable Force into Scotland the Common Back-door at which they were wont to Infest us Of which King Richard having notice raises a mighty Army and by speedy Marches pierces into the Heart of Scotland and reduc'd their chief City Edenburgh into Ashes as a Bonfire to give the whole Kingdom notice of his Arrival and Challenge them to Battel But they declined it and Victuals growing very scarce the King thought fit to return homewards the rather for that the Scots in the mean time had entred Nothumberland and besieg'd Carlile but hearing of the Kings approach fled back into Scotland During this Expedition the Lord John Holland the Kings Brother by the Mother side near York Killed the eldest Son of the Earl of Stafford for which he fled and the King was so highly incensed that he caused all his goods to be Confiscated the King's Mother interceded for him but could not be heard and resented the denial so heavily that soon after she died At a Parliament the latter end of this Year the Laity granted the King one Fifteenth and an half upon condition that the Clergy would give a Tenth and an half who took this Articulating of the Commons in grievous dudgeon protesting that the Laity should not Charge them and the Archbishop of Canterbury was so hot as to declare he would rather venture his Head in this Cause than that the Holy Church of England should thus Truckle whereupon the Commons and many of the Temporal Lords began to bid Battel to the Clergies Temporalities saying they were grown to that excess of Pride that it would be a Work of Piety and Charity to clip their Wings and reduce them to an Humility suitable to their Profession The Clergy at this were not a little Alarm'd and to prevent the worst make a voluntary offer of a Tenth to the King and so the Dispute is rock'd to sleep Also during this Parliament the King Conferred several Honours Creating his Uncle Thomas of Woodstock who before was Earl of Buckingham Duke of Gloucester and his other Uncle Edmund of Langley before the Earl of Cambridge Duke of York With whom too he prefer'd his pernicious Favorites as Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford to be Marquess of Dublin in Ireland the first man within the Realm that was Enobled with that Title and Sir Michael de la Pole the Son of a Merchant in London was made Earl of Suffolk and Lord Chancelor of England But these last grew in Hatred faster then they did in Honour the Ancient Nobility disdainfully resenting their undeserved as they deemed Advancement Nor were the People better satisfied but grumbled heavily for they durst not speak out against these Court Ear-wigs as Seducers of the King and occasion of all misadministrations of Affairs In this Parliament likewise the Duke of Lancaster desired Leave of the King Lords and Commons to go into Spain
might come and go with safety and if any were designed that they would admonish them of it A Caution that in the Event proved not unnecessary For on the day they should appear they had Intelligence that there was an Ambuscade laid for them about the Mews whereupon they delayed their coming and the King who had waited an hour or two for them beyond the time appointed enquiring the reason was told by the said Bishop of Ely that it was because he did not keep his word for there was secretly planted above a thousand Armed Men to cut them off in their passage The King seemed much offended at this Treachery and swore that he was not privy to it and therefore commanded the Sheriffs of London to search the Mews and if they found any persons assembled there for such a purpose to kill them But in truth the Contrivance was not there but in a place at Westminster where Sir Thomas Trivet and Sir Nicholas Bramber had to this intent got together great numbers of their Faction in Arms whom upon this discovery they dismist and retired into London And now the King promising again safe Conduct to the Lords they soon after arrived in his Royal presence whom they found in Westminster-Hall in his Robes of State and with his Crown on his Head and Scepter in his hand To whom they presented themselves on their Knees and the Bishop of Ely Lord Chancellor on the Kings behalf made a Speech blaming them for their raising Forces and demanding the Cause withal recommending the Kings Goodness who chose thus graciously to Treat with them rather than to Chastise them by Arms which he told them his Majesty wanted not power easily to have done To this the Lords answered That they had Assembled together for the good of the King and Kingdom and to remove Traytors from the King Naming particularly Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland Alexander Nevil Archbishop of York Michael de Pole Earl of Suffolk Robert Tresylian the false Chief Justice and Nicholas Bramber the false Knight of London whom they averr'd to be Traitors and flinging down their Gloves that they were ready to prove them to be such by Battle a manner of Tryal not unusual in those times To which the King himself answered That it shall not be determined in that manner but in the next Parliament which We appoint to be the Morrow after the Purification of the blessed Virgin next where both Parties coming should have Justice done according to Law And in the mean time all of them to be in the Kings protection without injuring one another And so after some friendly Discourse and Drinking with the King they departed thence And two days after the King the more to appease the Lords and satisfie the people caused Proclamation to be made in London seeming in Excuse of the Duke of Gloucester and his Associates but indeed to amuse them and preserve his dear Favourites from threatned Violence the Tenour whereof was to this effect RIchard KING c. We hereby make known to all our Liege and faithful Subjects throughout our whole Kingdom of England That whereas Tho. Duke of Gloucester Rich. Earl of Arundel Tho. Earl of Warwick have been by certain persons who little understood the truth of Affairs Defamed as Traytors to Vs and Our Kingdom We therefore having as becomes us with the highest Deliberation and greatest Diligence weigh'd the cause of such Scandal and most diligently to our utmost Power searching to the bottom for the Truth with the assistance of our Council do not finde any thing done or acted by them worthy of the blot of Suspicion much less any scruple of Evidence of their being guilty Whereupon we have Decreed to declare the said Defamation to be false unjust wicked and wholy void of all Truth And we do testifie the said Duke and Earls to be worthy of good Fame and Innocent and not so much as suspected of any Crime and as much as in us lies and as we are able we will approve and maintain them so to be and do take them hence-forwards into our Special Protection Farthermore We are willing to make known to all Persons by these Presents who are their Defamers Viz. Alexander Archbishop of York Robert Duke of Ireland Michael Earl of Suffolk Robert Tresylyen Our Chief Justice and Nicholas Brembre of London Kt. whom also We take into Our Protection that they may Answer whatever shall be objected against them in Our next Parliament Commanding that none on any pretence whatsoever shall either to Them or the forenamed Lords openly or secretly offer any kind of disturbance grievance or obedience till such prefixt time of Our Parliament But for all these fair words the Popular Lords knowing the Kings Mutability and as well the Influence those his ill Counsellors had over him as their malice and perfidiousness thought it the safest course not to separate themselves but with a vigilant Eye to observe the Motions of Affairs The Duke of Ireland and the rest accused did not appear with the King at this Meeting and 't was their wisest course to be absent for 't is believ'd the Kings Presence would scarce have been able to protect them Nor had they any mind to hazard themselves on the Justice of the next Parliament but rather resolv'd if they could to secure themselves by Arms. To which purpose the Duke of Ireland was all this while raising of Men in Cheshire and Wales either by the Kings Commission or Connivance and that it was more than the latter may justly be suspected because when he had made considerable Levies the King commanded Thomas Molineux a man of great Courage and Conduct Constable of the Castle of Chester to accompany and safe conduct the said Duke with all the Forces he could make to his Majesties Presence The Adverse Lords being Advertis'd of these Preparations and that they were upon their March beset the Ways by which the Duke should pass to London resolving to encounter him before he should have encreas'd his Power and countenanc'd his Actions with the Name and Presence of the King Accordingly Henry Earl of Derby Son of the Duke of Laneaster met them at a place called Babbelakâ— near Burfâ—rd in Oxfordshire whom the Duke no sooner saw but contrary to the Resolution of most of those that were with him he prepared for flight however Molineux prevailed with him to joyn Battel but scarce ten Ounces of Blood was lost on both sides before the Duke who had been so good at raising Quarrels shew'd himself as bad at stinting them and set Spurs to his Hâ—rse and forsook the Field whereby all his Men being disheartened and Sir Thomas Molineux slain the Earl of Derby obtain'd a cheap but intire Victory allay'd with nothing but the escape of Ireland who having mounted a fleet Nag and being to pass a River cast away both Gauntlet and Sword to be the lighter and so swam over and got first into Holland
just is the Divine Nemesis not only in revenging ill actions but causing the punishment to be attended with such circumstances as may make the world take notice of it The Duke of Hereford took his leave of the King at Eltham behaving himself so respectfully that his Majesty was there pleased to declare he would abate 4 Years of his Exilement yet could not that pacify the Murmurs of the people who could not be perswaded that there was any cause for his being Banisht at all Exclaiming that it was against the Law of Arms the custome of the Realm and all Justice that he should be Exil'd who had so honourably offered to mantain his Appeal according to the Law of the Field He directed his course from England to Paris where he was nobly received by the French King and found such favour in that Court That he was offered in Marriage the only Daughter of the Duke of Berry the said Kings Uncle But King Richard having notice thereof used means to stop the prosecution of that Treaty He had not been gone many Months but his Father the Duke of Lancaster pays Nature her Debt his Death perhaps being hastened by those Impressions of grief which this disgrace of his Son might occasion on his Spirits The Character given this Duke by Historians speaks him a man well advised and wary an approver of safe Councils with reason rather than Fortunate Exploits with hazzard One that was neither negligent nor ambitiously tender of Glory and therefore deported himself towards the King his Nephew in terms honourable and respective enough for a moderate Prince and yet not so plausible as an uncollected greatness and the depravity of the Court might desire whereby little happened unto him Extraordinary either in Prejudice or Preferment By his Death the Dutchy of Lancaster did lineally descend to his Eldest Son the said Duke of Hereford But as the Nature of Man is very Prone to hate those whom he hath injured the King forthwith seizes all the Lands and Goods of the deceased Duke endeavoured to perpetuate the Banishment of the Young Duke and revoked the Letters Patent he had granted and consented unto for enabling the said Dukes Attornies to sue out his Ouster Le Main and Livery of those Lands which during his Exile should descend to him his Homage being formerly concluded upon to be Respited at a reasonable Fine And all this without any Crime alleadged that we can hear of against the Father whereby he should have forfeited his Estate or new Provocation given by the Son whereby a Cloud might arise for his being deprived of it This severity could not but enrage the Duke who was already sufficiently discontented at his Banishment nor were the People sparing to Exclaim where they durst against these proceedings as unjust and thence to contract first a Pity and afterwards an high esteem for this Exil'd Noble-man who though not the Immediate Heir presumptive to the Crown for Edmund Mortimer Earl of March was therein before him the Right having by Parliament the common Arbitrator in that case in those daies been formerly declared to be in his Father as being Son of Phillipa the Daughter of Lionel the Third Son of King Edward the Third whereas the late Duke of Lancaster was but the Fourth Son of that King Yet being so near it and thus exasperated they thought he might step over that Obstacle Si jus violandum Regni causâ violandum est They knew him to be an active Prince and of great Courage and therefore generally fixt their Eyes on him as the man that must be their deliverer from those grievances and pressures under which they lay gasping And indeed their condition could not but be very uneasie for the King having got rid of two of his Uncles viz. Glocester and Lancaster one murdred the other naturally deceased and the Third which was York either in disdain for the Indignity offered to his Nephew Hereford or in distrust of his own safety being retired with his Son the Duke of Albemarle to his House at Langley look't upon himself as absolutely Hors de Page free from any Controul with which their unwelcome gravity was wont somtimes to check his irregular Appetite and therefore now took a greater Liberty than before to disoblige and harass his People For thus we find the condition of those times described That the King abandoned himself to sloth and lay plunged in the soft but destructive Charms of pleasure by whose example the Nobility too much gave themselves up to Ease and Luxury whereby Cowardice and Effeminacy crept in and Shipwrack was made both of Manhood and Reputation The chief Affairs of State had long been Bias'd by private respects which made the Nation decline as well in Riches as Honour and all things being out of due Motion the Common-weal seem'd not so much by degrees as with a main Course and at once precipating into inevitable Ruine The Northern parts by frequent losses almost consumed by the Scots who had taken several important Posts and defaced all the Countrey with Slaughter and Devastations Towards the South the Merchant Ships were daily surprized by the French who likewise frequently pillaged the Sea-coasts And of the Kings Hereditary Dominions in France many strong holds were lost by negligence or sold by ill advise and Treachery Forces sometimes were often pretended to be sent over for their defence but so scatteringly at such unseasonable times so ill accommodated or under such indiscreet conduct that they were occasions rather of loss than help Affairs were managed by such as neither Nature had design'd nor Education prepared nor Experience qualified for Politicians but corrupt or ignorant Ministers by flatteries and base Arts swai'd in the Kings affections and disposed of all things at their pleasure keeping him as it were beseiged from any better advise The profits and revenues of the Crown nay the whole Kingdome was let to farm the King making himself only ◠Landlord and challenging no greater priviledge by his Reign than a dissolute and uncontroled Life Great Sums of Money were by new-found and unwonted means every day rather extorted from than voluntarily granted by the subject whereof no advantage accrew'd to the Kingdom only private pleasures were maintain'd at an extravagant Rate and unworthy Favourites advanced To these the King was so excessively Liberal that he was forced to borrow begg and extort in many places to supply this vain lavish humour undoing many without cause to Inrich a few without desert Over and above the Tenths and Fifteenths and such usual Taxes which were many times gathered double in one Year strange Impositions were devised and put in practise sometimes exacting 12d per poll of every Subject 6s 8d of every Priest and Religious Person great Sums drawn from the People under the favourable Term of Benevolence and so much borrowed upon Privy-Seals that no Man of Ability could escape his Loan though very seldom any repayment was made And to add to
there present did publickly say before them that he was ready to make the Renunciation and to renounce and recede according to the Promise by him made as aforesaid And so forthwith although as was said unto him he might have made some Deputy to have served as the Organ of his Voice for avoiding so tedious a labour as the reading of the said Cession and Renunciation reduced by others into a Schedule of Parchment Yet the said King very willingly as appeared and with a pleasant Countenance holding the said Schedule in his hand said that he himself would read it and distinctly read the same through And also did absolve all his Leige People and renounce and recede and swear and other things did say and pronounce in Reading and did Subscribe it with his own hand as is more fully contained in the said Schedule the Tenor whereof is such THE RESIGNATION OF RICHARD II. IN the Name of God Amen I Richard by the Grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland do Absolve the Archbishops Bishops and other Prelates of Churches Secular or Regular of whatsoever Dignity Degree State or Condition they be The Dukes Marquesses Earls Barons Vassals and Valvasors and all and every my Leige People whatsoever Ecclesiasticks or Seculars of all the said Kingdoms and Dominions by what Name soever they are known from the Oath of Fealty and Homage and other Oaths whatsoever to be made and from all Bond or Tie of Legiance Royalty and Dominion whereby they have been or are obliged or otherwise in any manner bound unto me And I do Free Release and Acquit them and their Heirs and Successors for ever from the said Oaths and other Obligations whatsoever And I do dismiss them free unloosen quit and in full Immunity as far as relates to my Person to every effect of Law which may follow from the Prâ—mises or any of them And I do purely of my own Accord simply and absolutely in and by the best manner way and form that may be in these Writings Renounce and totally Resign all Kingly Dignity and Majesty and the Crown and Dominion and Power of the said Kingdoms and Dominions and all other my Dominions and Possessions or any way belonging or appertaining unto me by what Name soever they may be reckon'd up within the aforesaid Kingdoms or elsewhere And all Right and Colour of Right and Title Possession and Dominion which at any time I have had now have or by any means shall have in or to the same or any of them with their universal Rights and Appurtenances or any Dependences however on them or any of them And also the Rule and Government of the said Kingdoms and Dominions and their Administration and all manner of meer and Mixt Empire and Jurisdiction to me in the said Kingdoms belonging or that may be belonging and to the Name of King and the Honour Regality and Celsitude Royal purely voluntarily simply and absolutely by the best manner way and form that the same can be done in these Writings I do Renounce and them do totally Resign and in Deed and in Word dismiss and quit the same and from them do recede for ever Saving to my Successors Kings of England the Rights to them or any of them belonging or that shall any way belong in the said Kingdoms and Dominions and all other the Premises for ever And I do confess acknowledge repute and truely and out of certain knowledge do judge my self to have been and to be utterly insufficient and unuseful for the Rule and Government of the said Kingdoms and Dominions with all their Appurtenances And that for my notorious demerits I deserve to be Deposed And I do swear upon these Holy Gospels of God by me corporally touched That I will never Act contrary to the said Resignation Renunciation Dismission and Cession nor any way oppose the same in Deed or in Word by my Self or any other or others Nor will as much as in melies permit the same publickly or privately to be contraried or opposed But the said Renunciation Resignation Dismission and Cession will for ever esteem ratified and well-pleasing and firmly hold and observe the same in the whole and in every part So God me help and these Holy Gospels of God I the before named King Richard do here subscribe my self with my own Hand And presently to the said Renunciation and Cession the said King added by word of mouth That if it lay in his power the said Duke of Lancaster should succeed him in his Kingdom But Because as he said this did not depend on his pleasure he did request the said Archbishop of York and Bishop of Hereford whom he for that time had constituted his Procurators to declare and imitate such his Cession and Renunciation to the States of the Kingdom That they would be pleased to signify to the People his will and intention in that behalf And in token of such his will and intention did then and there openly pluck off the Golden Ring of his signet from his own finger and put it upon the finger of the said Duke of Lancaster desiring as he affirmed that the same might be made known to all the States of the Kingdom Which being done taking their leaves on both sides they all went out of the said Tower to return to their Lodgings But on the Morrow viz. Tuesday the Feast of S. Jereme in the great Hall at Westminster in the place honourably prepared for holding the Parliament the said Arch-bishops of Canterbury and York and the Duke of Lancaster and other Dukes and Lords as well Spiritual as Temporal whose names are under written and the Commons of the said Kingdom Assembled in a great multitude in Parliament being present and the said Duke of Lancaster being seated in a place due to his Quality and the Chair of State or Royal Throne being solemnly adorn'd with Cloth of Gold but then empty without any body presiding therein the above named Archbishop of York in the name of himself and of the said Bishop of Hereford according to the order of the said King did publickly declare the Cession and Renunciation to have been so made by him as aforesaid with the subscription of his Royal Hand and delivery of his Signet And the said Cession and Renunciation did there cause to be ready by another first in Latin and then in English Immediately after which it was demanded of the Estates and People their present to wit first of the Archbishop of Canterbury to whom by reason of the dignity and prerogative of his metropolitan Church of Canterbury it belongs in this behalf to have the first voice amongst the rest of the Prelates and Nobles of the Realm whether for their interest and the utility of the Kingdom they would be pleased to admit such Renunciation and Cession And the said States and People judging from the Causes by the said king himself in his Renunciation and Cession aforesaid signified that the
in any kind lose his Archbishoprick And this he faithfully promised swearing upon the Cross of the late Martyr S. Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury by him the said King corporally touched all which promises notwithstanding the said King forced the said Archbishop to depart the Realm And forthwith transmitted special Letters to the Apostolical See to have him Translated And so and by other Frauds and deceitful Tricks of the said King the said Archbishop being a well-meaning believing man was subtily circumvented AND because it seemed to all the Estates of the Realm being asked their Judgments thereupon as well severally as jointly That these causes of Crimes and Defaults were sufficient and notorious to depose the said King Considering also his own Confession of his insufficiency and other things contained in his said Renunciation and Cession openly delivered all the said States did unanimously consent that ex abundanti that they should proceed unto a Deposition of the said King for the great security and tranquillity of the People and benefit of the Kingdom Whereupon the said States and Commons unanimously constituted and publickly deputed certain Commissioners viz. The Bishop of S Asaph the Abbot of Glassenbury the Earl of Glocester the Lord Berkley Sir Thomas Erpyngham and Sir Shomas Grey Knights and William Thirnyng one of the Justices to pass such sentence of Deposition And to depose the said King Richard from all Kingly dignity Majesty and Honour on the behalf and in the name and by the Authority of all the said States as in like Cases from the Antient Custom of the said Kingdom had been observed And forthwith the said Commissioners taking upon themselves the burthen of the said Commission and sitting on a Tribunal before the said Royal Chair of State having first had some debate of the matter did on the behalf and in the name and by the authority aforesaid pass the said Sentence of Deposition being reduced into writing and caused such their Sentence to be read and recited by the said Bishop ef S. Asaph their Collegue by the Will and Command of the rest of the said Commissioners In these words IN the Name of God Amen We John Bishop of Asaph John Abbot of Glassenbury Thomas Earl of Glocester Thomas Lord Berkley Thomas de Erpingham and Thomas Gray Knights and William Thirnyng Justice Commissioners specially deputed to the matters under written by the Peers and Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the Kingdom of England and the Commons of the said Kingdom Representing all Estates or Conditions of the said Realm sitting in Tribunal and having considered the multiplyed Perjuries Cruelty and very many other Crimes of the said Richard touching his government conmitted and perpetrated in his Kingdomes and Dominions aforesaid during the time of his Governance and before the said States openly and publickly propounded exhibited and recited Which have been and are so publick notorious manifest and scandalous that they could not nor can be concealed with denial or excuse And considering likewise the confession of the said Richard acknowledging and reputing and truly and of his own certain knowledge judging himself to have been and to be utterly insufficient and unmeet for the rule and Government of the said Kingdoms and Dominions and their Appurtenances and for such his notorious demerits worthy to be deposed as by him the said Richard was before declared and by his Will and Command published before the said States and made known and exposed to them in the vulgar Tongue having already had diligent deliberation upon these things and all others transacted in this Affair before the said States and us We do on the behalf and in the name and by the Authority to us in this matter committed ex abundanti and for Caution Pronounce decree and declare him the said Richard to have been and to be unfit unable and utterly in sufficient for and unworthy of the Rule and Government of the said Kingdoms and the Dominion and Rights and Appurtenances of the same and for any by reason of the Premisses to be deservedly deposed of and from all Royal Dignity and Honour if any thing of such Dignity and Honour were yet remaining in him And with the same Caution we do Depose him by this our deffinitive sentence in writing Expresly forbiding all and singular the Lords Archbishops Bishops and Prelates Dukes Marquesses Earls Barons Knights Vassals and Valvassors and other Subjects and Leige people of tbe said Kingdoms and Dominion and other places to the said Kingdoms and Dominion belonging that henceforth none of them shall any way obey or Regard the said Richard as King or Lord of the said Kingdom and Dominion Furthermore the said States willing that nothing should be wanting which might be of value or ought to be required touching the Premisses being severally interrogated thereupon did constitute the same Persons that were before nominated Commissioners to be their Procurators joyntly and severally to resign and give back to the said King Richard the Homage and Fealty to him before made and to intimate to him if it should be requisite all the Premises touching such his Deposition and Renunciation And then presently as soon as it appeared by the Premises and the occasion of them That the Crown of England with its Appurtenances was vacant the aforesaid Henry Duke of Lancaster rising up from his place and standing so erected as he might conveniently be seen by the People and humbly fortifying himself with the Sign of the Cross on his Forehead and on his Breast having also first called upon the name of Christ did claim the said Kingdom so vacant as aforesaid with its Crown and all its Members and Appurtenances In this form of words in his Mother Tongue IN the name of Fader Son and Holy Gost I Henry of Lancaster chalenge this Rewine of Yndlonde and the Croun with all the Members and the Appurtenances al 's I that am descendit be Right Line of the Blode comyng fro the Gude Lord King Henry Therde and thorghe that right that God of eis Grace hath sent mee with helpe of my Kyn and of my Frendes to recover it The which Rewme was in poynt to be ondone for defaut of Governance and undoyng of the Gude Lawes After which Claim and Challenge as well the Lords Spiritual as Temporal and all the States 〈◊〉 present being severally and joyntly interrogated what they thought of that Claim The said 〈◊〉 with the whole People without any difficulty or delay did unanimoâ—sly consent that the said Duke should Reign over them And forthwith as the said King shewed to the States of the Kingdom the Signet of King Richard delivered to him as a token of his will that he should succeed him as aforesaid the said Archbishop taking the said King Henry by the Right Hand led him to the Royal Chair of State And after the said King kneeling down before it had prayed a little while the said Archbishop of Canterbury assisted by the Archbishop of York did
Form of such sentence of Deposition and presently did resign and give back to the said late King Richard the Horiage and 〈◊〉 formerly to him made as aforesaid With these words The Words which William â—â—â—nyng spake to Monsire Richard late King of England at the Tower of London in his Chamber on Wednesday next after the Feast of S. Michaâ—l the Archangel were as follow SIre It is wele know to Èow that ther was a parlement somon'd of all the States of the Reaume for to be at 〈◊〉 and to begin on the Tuesday in the Morn of the Fest of S. Miâ—hâ—el the Archangel that was Èesterday 〈…〉 of the which Summons all 〈…〉 of this Lond were there 〈◊〉 the which States 〈◊〉 made 〈…〉 persones that ben conten 〈…〉 now her 〈◊〉 and 〈…〉 Autorite and Power and charged hem for to say the words that we shall say to Èow in her Name and on their behalve that is to wytten the Bishop of Saint Assa for Ersbishoppes and Bishoppes the Abbot of Glastenbury for Abbots and Priours and all other men of Holy Chirche Seculers and Rewelers the Eearle of 〈◊〉 for Dukes and Erls the Lord of Berkley for Barons and Laueâ—ettes 〈◊〉 Thomas 〈◊〉 Chamberleyn for 〈◊〉 Bachilers and Commons of this Lond be South Sir Thomas Grey for all the Bachilers and Commons by North and my fâ—lawe Johan Markham and me for to come with hem for all thes States And so Svre these words and the doing that we shall say to Èowe is not onlych our wordes but the wordes and the dâ—yngs of all the States of this Lond and our Charge and in her Name And he answered and said That he myste wele that we wold noght say but as we were charged Sire Èe remember Èowe wele that on Moneday in the 〈◊〉 of Seinâ— Mâ—châ—â— the Archanâ—gel 〈◊〉 in this Chamber and in 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 and of Lordship 〈…〉 and Wyrship that longed thereto and assoiled all Èour Leiges of her Ligeance and Obeisance that longed to Èowe uppe the fourme that is contened in the same Renunciation and Cession whiche Èe redde Èour self by Èour mouth and affermed it by Èour Othe and by Èour own writing Upon whiche Èe made Ordeined Èour Procurators the Ersbishop of York and the Bishop of Hereford for to notifie and declare in Èour Name thes Renunciation and Cession at Westmynstre to all the States and all the People that was there gadyr'd betause of the summons aforesaid the which thus don yesterday by thes Lords Èour Procurators we le herde and understouden thes Renunciation and Cession ware plenelich and frelich accepted and fullish agreed by all the States and People foresaid And over this Sire at the instance of all thes States People ther ware certain Articles of Defautes in Èour Governance redde there and tho we le herd pleineâ—ich understoâ—den to all the States foresaid hem thoght hem so trewe and so notorie and knowen That by tho Causes and by mo other as thei sayd and 〈◊〉 Consideration to Èour own 〈…〉 Èour own Renunciation and Cession that Èe were not worthy no sufficient ne able for to Governe for Èour owne demerites as it is more pleinerlich contened therein hem thoght that wos resonable and cause for to depose Èowe and her Commissaries that they made and ordein'd as it is of Record that declared and decreed and adjudged Èowe for to be deposed and pryved and indede deposed Èowe and pryved Èowe of the Astate of King and of the Lordship conteined in the Renunciation and Cession forsayd and of all the dignite and wyrshipp and of all the Administration that longed thereto And we procurators to all thes States and People forsayd os we be charged by hem and by her Auctorite gyffen us and in her name Èelde Èow uppe for all the States and People forsayd Homage Leige and feaute and all Leigeance and all other Bondes Charges and Services that long therto and that non of all thes States and People fro thys tyme forward ne bere Èowe Feyth ne de Èowe Obeisance os to that King And he answered and seyd that he loked not ther after but he sayde that after all this he hoped that is Cosyn wolde be goode Lord to hym Thus far the Record word for word Translated out of the Latine and French and the English reâ—â—ted in the Old Words and obsolete spelling as it â—ands in the Rolls remaining in the Tower the some being attested to have been Examined and soâ—nd to â—gree theâ—â—with Thus 〈◊〉 the series of 〈◊〉 we have 〈…〉 this 〈◊〉 happy Prince through all the 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 and sâ—eâ— hoâ— by over-straining at too absolute a power he fatally came to be depriâ—ed of his 〈◊〉 unquestioned Dominâ—on so that on a sudden he was abandoned despised and reduced to the Condition of a private man a State so much worse than that of Death as it sâ—ffered him to 〈◊〉 his Honour and remain only a Monument of his own Ignominy and the Iriâ—mphs of his Successor Yet this 〈…〉 not very long for there 〈…〉 many steps between the Prison and the 〈◊〉 of Princes Though in truth his Fate 〈◊〉 have been 〈◊〉 by the vaiâ— attempts of pretended Friends to restore him rather than by any 〈…〉 of these that had dispossessed 〈◊〉 For at first after his Deposition he was carried to â—â—eds Castle in Kenâ— and there kept under 〈…〉 as a Prisoner but not in any very close Conâ—inement nos yet without Prince◠〈◊〉 in some proportion to his 〈…〉 On Monday the 20th of September 1â—9â— was the said King Richard's Resignation on the next 〈◊〉 he was Deposed by the Parliament and Henry 〈◊〉 the said claim to the Crown and actually began his Reign as King On the 6th of October a Parliament meets that was Summoned by him in his own Name and on Monday the 13th of the same October he was Crowned being the same day of the Month on which in the very last year he received Sentence of Banishment The better to establish his new assumed Throne he began with Acts of Clemency as hoping to purchase new Friends or at least extinguish old Exmitâ—es the Dukes of 〈◊〉 and Exeâ—er the Earl of Saliâ—bury and the Lord Morley all Privâ—â—â—â— to the late King Richard he freely pardon'd yeâ— could not this unexpected favour at which the common people not a little 〈◊〉 as being they thought undeserv'd restrain these very Noblemen from hazarding their own Lives and His too for whose sake they pretended to venture them in attempting fresh 〈◊〉 For before King Henry had reigned two years they with several others enter'd into a Confederacy first hatcht 't is said by the Abbâ—t of Westminster to destroy him by surprising him at a Tâ—urnament or Martial Exercise that they appointed to be held at Oxford and to which they had solemnly inâ—ited him and then to re-establish Richard A Plet which whether it were more justly or imprudently design'd more wonderfully discovered at
place the said King and cause him to sit in the said Royal Seat All the people wonderfully shouting for joy and by and by the said Archbishop of Canterbury having with much ado procured silence from the over joy'd multitude made a short discourse or Oration in these words Vir Dominabitur populo A man shall Reign over my people 1 Sam. 9. 17. These are the words of the King of Kings speaking to Samuel and teaching him how a person should be qualified to Rule since the people desired to have a King given And not unfitly may they be said of our Lord the King whom we behold this day and if we but intimately consider these words they afford us matter of great Consolation for God does not threaten us as he did formerly his people by Isaiah saying Isa. 3. I will make Children to rule over them But according to his Compassion who in his wrath remembreth mercy he hath visited his people and now no more Children as heretofore shall Lord it over them For the Lord saith to them A man shall Rule Of the late Rulers of this Kingdom or any of them one might have fitly said that of the Apostle Cor. 13. I spake as a Child I understood as a Child I thought as a Child The Apostle repeats it thrice As a Child I spake I understood and thought As to speech 't is certain that a Child is unconstant in speaking he easily speaks true and as easily false is 〈◊〉 inwards to promise but what he promiâ—â—â— presâ—ntly forgets Now these are things very 〈◊〉 and dangerous in a King nor is it possible that any Realm shall stand long in happiness where these Conditions bear sway But from such mischiefs a Kingdom is freed whese Scepter is sway'dly a Man for it belongs to a Man to sâ—t a watch before his Tongue and such is our present happiness over whom not a Child but a Man is set and such an one as I hope we may say of him That in Eccles 9 Blessed is the man that hath not erred with his Tongue Thâ—n saith the Apostle I understood as a Child Now a Child 〈◊〉 nothing but flatteries and pleasing things and understands only Bawbles and 〈◊〉 and loves not 〈◊〉 that argues according 〈…〉 hates him beyond all 〈…〉 amongst us Truth 〈…〉 under foot so that none durst 〈◊〉 and therefore 't is plain and apparâ—â—â— enough that He that thâ—n Reign'd understood as a Child For a Man is not addiâ—â—â— to such things but understands wisdom so that by the Grace of God it may be said of him 〈◊〉 is written Eccles. 9. Blessed is the man that abideth in wisdom For as a Child is delighted in Vanity so a man has regard to Truth and Wisdâ—m Truth therefore shall enter and Vanity depart which has done so much mischiâ—f in our Nation for now a Man shall Rule who seeks after Truth and not Vanity or Flattery Thirdly It is said I thought as a Child for a Child thinks and studies only how to have his humour and do things according to his own will and not according to Reason Thereforâ— when a Child Reigns there only Self-will Reigns and Reason is banisht and Constancy is put to flight and great danger ensues from which danger wâ— are dâ—lâ—verâ—d for a Man shall rule over us to wit One that speaks not like a Child but thus as one that has the perfection of Reason I come not to do my own will but the will of him that sent me to wit of God And thâ—râ—fore of such a man we will say not only that he will abide in wisdom but also that as a Man not a Child he will meditate on the Circumspection of God that is he will every way dâ—lâ—gently observe that Gods will not his own be done and so in the stead of a Child wantoning in foâ—lish stubborn humors a Man shall Râ—ign and such a Man that it shall be said of him A King shall Reign in wisdom and he shâ—ll eâ—â—ente Judgment and do Justice in the Earth Which Harrangue being ended the said Lord King Henry to appease the minds of his Subjects did then and there utter these words Sirs I thank God and Èowe Spiritual and Temporel and all the Astates of the Lond and do Èowe to wyte it es noght my will that no man thynke that be way of Conquest I wold disherit any man of his Heritage Franches or other Ryghts that hym aght to have no put hym out of that that he has and has had by the gude Laws and Customs of the Rewme Except those persons that has ben agan the gude purpose and the commune profit of the Rewme And forthwith considering that by the former vacancy of the Royal Throne by the Cession and Deposâ—â—ion aforesaid all power of Justices Sheriffs and other Officers throughout the Kingdom was ceased therefore to the end that there might be â—â—â—failure nor delay in the administration of Justice to the grievance of the People he caused principal Officers and Justices to be made and sworn to him with the usual Oaths And it was immediately proclaimed by the Kings Command that on Monday next after the said Feast of S. Michael a Parliament should be held and celebrated And that on the Monday following that that is to say on the Feast of S. Edward should be the Coronation of the said King at Westminster and that all those that could claim any service in the said Coronation should come to the White hall of the Palace before the Steward Constable and Marshall of England on Saturday next before the day of the said Parliament to make their just demands in that behalf and receive right therein But as for the shortning the day assigned to the Parliament there was a Protestation made by the King That it was not his intent that thereby any prejudice should be brought upon the States of his Kingdom nor that the same for the future should be drawn into Example but that such Abbreviation of Time was only made for the benefit and profit of the Kingdom and especially to save the Labour and Expences of several of his people and that the Grievances of the people might be the sooner remedied After which the King arising from his Royal Throne and beholding the people with a cheerful and benign Countenance retired himself from thence all the people rejoycing And the same day in the White-hall aforesaid made a solemn Feast to the Nobles and Gentry there in a vast multitude assembled And afterwards viz. On Wednesday next following the before named Procurators so deputed as aforesaid did according as they were commanded repair into the Presence of the said laâ—e King Richard being within the Tower aforesaid and the said Sir William Thirnyng the Justice for himself and his Companions and Fellow-Proâ—urators in the Name of all the States and People aforesaid did notifie and fully declare unto the said Richard their admission of his said Renunciation and the Manner Cause and