CHAPTER XXII.

RICHARD II.

WAT TYLER'S INSURRECTION-MISGOVERNMENT-BOLINGBROKE
THE CROWN.

USURPS

THE affection of the nation for the Black Prince seemed, from the time of his death, to centre almost with the strength of idolatry in his young son, Richard of Bordeaux. He was so named from his birthplace, his father's beautiful capital on the banks of the Garonne. The people gave full scope to these feelings at the coronation of Richard, and paid to this boy-king, not yet eleven years old, more flattering homage than ever his grandfather, the great Edward, had received. This excess of flattery did its evil work upon the heart of the young monarch.

1377.

One of the king's uncles was the Duke of Lancaster, better known as "John of Gaunt," because of his birthplace at Ghent in Flanders, which in those days was pronounced Gaunt. This nobleman was extremely ambitious. He had married a Spanish princess, and in right of his wife laid claim to the crown of Spain. He was also strongly suspected of a design to supplant his nephew, and make himself king of England.

1378

to 1380.

The Scots, taking advantage of the youth of the king, made forays across the border. War, too, was carried on with France. To raise money to repel these enemies, as the kingdom was already exhausted by the wars of the previous reigns, parliament laid heavy taxes on the people.

tax.

One of these taxes was particularly odious. It was a pollThe sum of three groats was to be paid by every person in the kingdom over fifteen years of age. The manner of collecting this money was in many instances harsh, and the

common people, already more alive to a sense of their wrongs than they had been in any previous century, rose in rebellion. In Essex, the peasantry armed themselves under a riotous fellow, named, from his occupation, that of a thresher, "Jack Straw," and, calling themselves "the true commons of England," committed many acts of violence.

In Kent, one of the tax-gatherers entered the house of Walter the Tyler, and demanded the tax for his daughter, a young girl, who, her mother said, was under the specified age. The tax-gatherer insisted on collecting the money, and became so insolent, that the father of the child fell upon him and killed him. Soon Walter, or Wat Tyler, as he is usually called, became the leader of a mob of peasantry, and marched with them towards London, committing no small amount of violence on the road. A body of nearly one hundred thousand of these insurgents encamped at Blackheath, where their passions were inflamed by the preaching of a Kentish monk, who, taking for his text the old adage,

1381.

"When Adam delved and Eve span,
Where was then the gentleman ?"

told them that all should be rich alike: that there should be no upper classes, &c.

Entering London, this rabble destroyed the beautiful Savoy palace, the residence of John of Gaunt; they drank the wines found in the duke's cellars, and, becoming still more infuriated by liquor, proceeded to demolish the Temple, the Priory of the Knights of St. John, and other ancient and beautiful buildings. The insurgents had always professed affection for the young king, accusing his uncles and ministers of all the oppressions in the kingdom. Richard now sent them word that he would meet them at Mile-End, and listen to all their complaints.

About sixty thousand of the rioters kept this appointment, but Wat Tyler and a large body of the peasantry of Kent were not present. The insurgents demanded "the total abo

lition of slavery for themselves and their children for ever; the reduction of the rent of good land to fourpence an acre; the full liberty of buying and selling like other men in all fairs and markets; and a general pardon for all past offences." The king not only listened to these demands, but forthwith set thirty clerks to write out charters, in which all they asked was granted.

The following day, as the king rode into Smithfield, he met Wat Tyler and the other rebels, who had not been present at the meeting at Mile-End. Wat Tyler, turning to his men, said: "Here is the king; I will go speak with him." So saying, he rode boldly up, and, it is said, seized the bridle of the king's horse. At this moment, Walworth, the mayor of London, plunged a dagger into the insurgent's throat. When his followers saw Wat Tyler fall, they cried: "We are betrayed! they have killed our captain and guide!" For once, Richard displayed the courage and spirit of his ancestors. Riding up to the rebels, he exclaimed: "What are ye doing, my lieges! I am your king, and I will be your leader!" The rebels were subdued. Some laid down their weapons, and others fled.

Not thus, however, did the matter end. The king raised a body of forty thousand horse, and then informed the insurgents "that all his charters meant nothing, and that they must return to their old bondage." His insincerity was fully confirmed, for his revenge was not gratified until fifteen hundred of "the true commons of England" had perished at the hands of the executioner.

1382

to

The king surrounded himself with favorites, and the eyes of the nation, which had hitherto been 1386. blinded by their affection for the son of the Black Prince, were at length opened to his misgovernment. In 1386 the powerful and formidable John of Gaunt went to Spain to fight for the crown of Castile. The Duke of Gloucester, another of Richard's uncles, obliged the king to resign the government into the hands of a council of bishops and nobles. To this Richard was forced to submit, until the year

1389, when he again asserted his authority. During the government of Gloucester, the Scots, under Earl Douglas, made a foray across the English border. They were driven back by Henry Percy, and on the 15th of August, 1388, the battle of Otterburn was fought between these brave young knights. This is supposed to be the encounter commemorated in the stirring ballad of Chevy Chase.

In the year 1397, Richard found means to revenge himself on all who had opposed his government. His uncle, Duke of Gloucester, with other powerful barons, was put to death. The following year, taking advantage of a quarrel between his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, and the Duke of Norfolk, he banished them both from the land. The father of Hereford was the powerful John of Gaunt. He did not long survive his son's departure, dying early in the year 1399. Richard then seized the estates which belonged to the banished Bolingbroke. The Duke of York, the only surviving son of Edward III., foreseeing that it might imperil his crown, entreated the king not to commit this deed. Richard would not yield to his uncle's expostulations, and not only danger, but dethronement and death, followed upon this seizure of "the royalties and rights of banished Hereford."

1399.

Henry Bolingbroke, burning with the sense of his injuries, landed in England. The king had gone on an expedition into Ireland. The great earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, with all the friends of " time-honored Lancaster," gathered around the banished earl, and welcomed him to his own again. Richard returned to England. Treachery met its reward. The son of the Black Prince, once the idol of the nation, was wholly deserted, and, like his ancestor, Edward II., became a fugitive among the mountains of Wales. At length, he surrendered himself, and, at Flint Castle, held an interview with his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke.

Bolingbroke thus addressed him: "Your people complain that you have ruled them harshly for twenty-two years; but, if it please God. I will help you to rule them better."

Nothing was left the deserted king but submission.

So com

plete does this seem to have been, that Shakspeare makes Joan, the queen mother, exclaim:

"Hath Bolingbroke deposed thine intellect?"

Richard became a prisoner in Pontefract Castle. It is little doubted, that within its gloomy walls, this once idolized monarch met a violent death.

QUESTIONS.-What was the feeling of the nation towards Richard? -Relate the account given of the Duke of Lancaster.-For what expenditures were new supplies of money needed? What tax was especially odious to the people?-Relate the incident which gave rise to Wat Tyler's insurrection.-Describe the progress, and relate the result of this movement.

What treachery and cruelty was practised by the king?--What measures were taken to restrain the king ?--When, where, and between whom, was fought the battle of Chevy Chase ?--How did the king revenge himself on his enemies?--What act of injustice did he commit in 1399?-In what did it result?--Who espoused the cause of Bolingbroke?-Describe the meeting between him and the king at Flint Castle.-What was the end of Richard II. ?

CHAPTER XXIII.

CONDITION OF ENGLAND DURING THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

RELIGION-LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN-LANGUAGE-LAW SCHOOLSINDUSTRY-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

LORD MORLEY, a great English baron, having trespassed on the grounds of a bishop of Norwich, was compelled, despite the earnest intercession of the king, to do severe penance before he could be absolved by the church. He walked to the cathedral through the streets of the town, barefoot, and with head uncovered, carrying in his hand a lighted wax candle of great weight. There, in the sight of