Chronicles

One of the loudest anti-French voices at Richard II’s court was Richard II’s uncle and Edward III’s youngest son, the Duke of Gloucester, who argued that the wars with France should be resumed. Further, he “conceived such a hatred for the King that he could find nothing to say in his favour” (423). Gloucester began to scheme to put his great-nephew John, Earl of March, on the throne. However, John declined to participate in the plot and left for Ireland. After that, Gloucester turned to the merchants of London, convincing them that Richard II was squandering their tax money on luxuries. At a session of Parliament and later a meeting with the king and his advisors, the Duke of Lancaster and others successfully squashed the allegations.

Richard II was still nervous at the unrest and Gloucester’s plotting. To try to appease his enemies, he ended the truce with France and gave Charles VI the option to end Richard II’s marriage to Isabella on the pretext that the marriage had not yet been consummated due to Isabella’s young age. Richard II’s uncles advised him to be calm and patient, although they also abandoned the king, leaving London for their own estates. Under advice from his own friends, Richard II had Gloucester arrested, sent across the English Channel, and imprisoned in Calais. Richard II’s other uncles still refused to intervene. While in captivity, Gloucester was strangled to death by four unknown assassins. News spread instead that he died of an “apoplectic fit” (431). A high-profile supporter of Gloucester, the Earl of Arundel, was also beheaded. “In those days, not even the greatest in England dared to criticize the King’s acts or intentions. He had his private circle of advisers, the knights of his chamber, who persuaded him to do everything they wanted” (433).

The imprisonment and sudden death of Gloucester raised further discontent against Richard II. When the Earl of Derby, the Duke of Lancaster’s son, made a remark mildly critical of the king, he was accused of treason publicly by one of Richard II’s advisors, the Earl Marshal. The Earl Marshal and the Earl of Derby challenged each other to a duel. However, Richard II, who had been criticized for not stepping in, exiled the Earl Marshal for life and the Earl of Derby for 10 years (although Richard II soon reduced the period of banishment to four years). Still, when the Duke of Lancaster died, Richard II claimed the Duke’s estates for himself rather than summon back the Duke’s heir, the Earl of Derby.

In exile, the Earl of Derby became popular in France and nearly married Charles VI’s granddaughter Marie, but the engagement was called off due to English pressure. Back in England, Richard II tried to host a tournament, but most of the nobility of England did not appear, reflecting the king’s unpopularity. Nonetheless, Richard II decided to lead an army into Ireland. Law and order broke down in England. The Archbishop of Canterbury was sent by a group of Londoners and knights on a secret mission to the Earl of Derby in France, offering their support for the Earl to become king of England. The Earl of Derby reluctantly accepted the offer and sailed for England from Brittany.

With the support of the citizens of London and many nobles, the Earl of Derby rallied support in England. At the same time, Richard II was deserted by many nobles. His advisers convinced Richard II to hole up in Flint Castle while waiting for armed support from Calais and Ireland. Help did not come in time. The Earl of Derby and his supporters reached Flint Castle, and Richard II surrendered, believing that at least the Earl of Derby could protect him from the Londoners who hated him.

In London, Richard II was imprisoned in the Tower, and four of Richard II’s advisors were executed. Richard II was devastated, “cursing the hour when he was born if he was to come to such an end…” (458). To try to save his life and those of his remaining allies, Richard II offered to abdicate his crown to the Earl of Derby, whom Froissart now calls the Duke of Lancaster. Before Parliament, Richard II renounced his kingship. Soon, the Duke of Lancaster was acclaimed as King Henry IV by right of conquest, by being the true heir, and because Richard II had abdicated (463).

On news that the French were planning an invasion of England, Henry IV was advised to have Richard II killed so he could not be put back on the throne, and Richard II died soon after. Froissart admits, “How it happened I did not know at the time I wrote these chronicles” (468). Froissart reflects on how he was asked to record the birth of Richard II.