Richard II Henry Bolingbroke, the only son of John of Gaunt, returned to England in 1399 to claim the throne as Henry IV Life in the time of Richard II Duelling for honour Honour among knights and noblemen was extremely important and often the way that disputes wold be settled was by a duel In 1398 a remark made by Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, was believed to have been treasonous by the Duke of Norfolk so the two agreed to a duel, but Henry was banished to France to avoid bloodshed Two popes In 1378 a papal schism began that would split the catholic church and see two rival popes; Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII in Avignon Both these popes were supported by different countries and the conflict was eventually resolved in 1418 with the Council of Constance which saw the election of Pope Martin V, although tensions continued afterwards demands and it was around this time that Robert also had a more practical purpose: to try to shore Tresilian, the chief justice, was found hiding in up his support throughout the nation and ensure a house in a ramshackle disguise and was taken that, if it came to it, plenty of nobles and barons to be hanged Many of the king’s men were would offer him military support either killed or exiled as his circle of favourites A battle between these two opposing sides did was ruthlessly broken up in what was called the take place in 1387 but, for Richard at least, it was Merciless Parliament of 1388 Despite as an anticlimax The king had instructed having his power base shattered, one of his favourites, Robert de Vere, the authority the King of England to raise an army and come to his Richard wielded was still strong and aid, but this force was met by was born on the when, in 1389, the steadying men loyal to Parliament on religious feast day hand of John of Gaunt returned one of the bridges of the river and Richard declared himself Thames in what is called the of Epiphany – thought old enough to rule without Battle of Radcot Bridge; in truth, to be a good omen, so advisors and secured a peace it was barely a skirmish The great things were treaty with France, the signs men who had been summoned expected of him were positive It looked as if to Richard’s aid found they would the conflict that had disturbed be unable to cross the bridge and the country could just be a blip in had no hope of winning against the Richard’s rule, but this was a mere illusion troops commanded by Henry Bolingbroke – Richard believed that God had placed him on (this would not be the last time that he played a Earth to rule and he never forgot how Parliament key role in Richard’s life) and so their options were had challenged his authority or executed and to surrender or flee The 16th Century chronicler exiled his chosen men He would bide his time Raphael Holinshed wrote that only three people before he reminded them of the supreme authority were killed at the battle and de Vere escaped and of the king went into exile in France This fragile peace was built on a house of cards The king now had no choice if he wanted and by the end of the 1390s came crashing down to keep his crown but to agree to Parliament’s vk.com/englishlibrary vk.com/bastau A peasant’s life In England during the Middle Ages, most peasants held very few rights and lived in serfdom – this is where they worked a lord’s lands for the right of protection and to farm it themselves Following the Black Death, many peasants had been paid to work on the land and seen their status improved, but they were worried these new rights would be taken away and were prepared to fight to keep them The Hundred Years’ War This conflict, which actually lasted 116 years, began in 1337 when Edward III declared himself king of France Richard did not win any major battles in the conflict and the taxation required to pay for the war was one of the reasons for his unpopularity In 1396 he signed a 28-year truce with Charles VI and married his seven-year old daughter to forge an alliance Great men While the king was the ultimate authority, during Richard II’s reign there were many great men who had considerable land, power and access to troops Five of these men – the Duke of Gloucester and Earls of Arundel, Warwick, Derby and Mowbray – formed the Lords Appellant and effectively ruled England for a brief period in 1388 51