1380 |
||
January |
16: Parliament convened. .Scrope reveals poll tax fell short
30: Simon Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, named Chancellor |
England renews alliance with Portugal
French raid Winchelsea and Gravesend by 1380 the English Crown Jewelsare in pawn; the royal treasury exhausted; several loans for defense are not being serviced; none of troops in French garrisons [inc. Calais, Cherbourg, Brest]. have been paid for 20 weeks; troops in Gascony and Ireland are also behind; the Earl of Buckingham’s army, in the midst of a chevauchée in Brittany is 6 months in arrears. Poll tax: 4d a head Wycliffe forced to cease teaching at Oxford Another French revolt, prob. before September. French taxation system disrupted |
February |
||
March |
3: Parliament terminated | |
April |
||
May |
||
June |
marriage mission sent to Germany | |
July |
Sir John Arundel (Earl’s brother and Marshal of England) raids Brittany; soldiers storm a “schismatic” convent and rape nuns. On his return voyage to England, a storm sends 20 ships and 1000 men to the bottom. Only Sir Hugh Calveley and 7 others survive
Earl of Buckingham/Gloucester and Sir Robert Knollys (as “chief of staff”) march out of Calais on chevauchée, making for Brittany by circular route through Artois and Picardy (Beauce and Vendome), linking with “Duke John’s” troops at Rennes. They cause damage but have no battles. The French withdraw into towns too strong to besiege. Foraging proves difficult. The army stays in close formation due to presence of nearby French army. Troops are near starvation when reach Brittany. It is the last English expedition into France in 14th century Bertrand du Gesclin falls ill and dies while besieging a castle in the Auvergne |
|
August |
26: Parliament summoned | |
September |
16: at Vincennes Charles V dies of heart attack. He is 43 | |
October |
||
November |
5: Parliament convened in Northampton | |
December |
6: Parliament terminated | |
1381 |
||
January |
Sir Robert Salle (a hardy and vigorous knight but a great thief and brawler) is murdered in his home county of Norfolk by “envious peasants.” He had been conscripted in a commission of array in 1340 to serve in Brittany and later knighted by Edward III
Parliament refuses to grant taxes for war Michael de la Pole [aged 50] and Richard, Earl of Arundel, are made “governors” of the king An attempt is made to subvert the key port of la Rochelle 7000 marks [£4,666 13s 4d] per annum is the fee of the captain of Brest [about same time cherbourg captain’s fee £10,000] |
|
February |
1: Sir Robert Hales, Prior of St. John named Treasurer | |
March |
The Imperial Proctors [Duke of Teschen, the Chamberlain, and Seneschal of the Household] are in residence at the English Court | |
April |
||
May |
1: marriage settlement signed
3: Richard II is officially engaged to Anne of Bohemia in a proxy ceremony |
|
June |
A fleet leaves under Earl of Cambridge [Lancaster’s brother] to fight with the Portuguese against usurper of Castille
3: The Sir Simon de Burley incident in Kent 10: A mob takes control of Canterbury Another mob pillages the manor house of the treasurer, Sir Robert Hales. There are reports of mobs gathering in Kent, rebellion in Dartford, and the taking of the royal castle at Rochester 11: Men of Kent begin marching to London The men of Essex move down the north bank of the river Themes and into the city; they camp at Mile End, outside city wall at Aldgate Bondsmen in Kent, Sussex, Essex, & Bedford rise in rovolt, marching on London The “true commons” kill any tax collectors they catch, but in Kent, they vow they will kill no living soul within 12 leagues of the coast. They sack manor houses and monasteries and molest the king’s mother 12: Richard comes to London and goes to Tower That evening: the mob from Canterbury, led by Tyler, arrives. John Ball is with them. They have told royal messengers met along the way that they are coming to London to rescue the king and to destroy traitors. They ask to meet the king the next morning at Blackheath, where they camp. The rebels demand the heads of the Chancellor, the Treasurer, and Lancaster [who is in Scotland] The mob takes 5 Flemish whores and 35 other Flemings and beheads them in the street outside St. Matrin’s-in-the-Vintry 13: Thursday, Feast of Corpus Christi. Richard takes a barge with some counselors to meet the rebels at Blackheath. Richard wants to meet but the Chancellor and Treasurer advise against it. An exchange between boat and shore takes place. The barge returns to Tower Invasion of the city: the mob breaks into Marshalsea prison and releases prisoners; burn chancery records in Lambeth; force keepers of London Bridge to lower the span; break open Fleet Street prison; burn lawyers’ parchments in New Temple; burn houses, including one of the Treasurer’s. The out-of-towners join a mob of Londoners already attacking Lancaster’s Savoy palace Richard Lyons, associate of Alice Perrers, is caught by mob and beheaded Richard addresses mob at Tower Hill, offering a pardon, which they scorn. A meeting is set for next morning at Mile End, 7 o’clock Jack Straw’s band attacks more Flemings in the Vintry The city is in flames that night 14: The king arrives at Mile End in company of Mayor of London, William Walworth, and other dignitaries. Rebels present a petition to end villeinage, establish fair labor practices, and grant the right to land at 4p an acre. Richard agrees and says he will turn over anyone found a traitor by process of law The rebels enter the Tower and terrorize the king’s mother, Princess Joan of Kent. They seize and behead the Archbishop of Canterbury (Lord Chancellor); the Prior of St. John (Treasurer); John Legge, a tax collector; and William Appleton, a friar and Lancaster’s personal physician. They almost catch Henry of Bolingbroke, Lancaster’s heir Jack Straw’s band fires the Treasurer’s new house in Highbury 15: A band of released prisoners drags Richard Imworth, head of Marshalsea prison, from St. Edward’s chapel and hauls him to Cheapside where they behead him. The king’s party prays at the desecrated shrine in the afternoon and moves out to meet the rebels at Smithfield. Wat Tyler, leader of the rebels, is rude to the king. Confused events follow during which Tyler is killed [or severely wounded]. Richard pardons the rebels and bids them go home in peace. Richard knights several of his companions, including the Mayor of London 16: Hugh Seagrave is named keeper of the Great Seal (in lieu of Chancellor) and Steward of the Household 19: Chaucer sells his family home in London to lessor Henry Herbury |
|
July |
16: Parliament summoned. Originally to convene 16 September | |
August |
10: Sir Hugh Seagrave is named Treasurer; William Courtenay, archbishop of Canterbury, named Chancellor | |
September |
||
October |
War subsidies to the Aquitaine are cut completely. [They had been £20,000 a year 1373-79 and were cut to £500 per annum in November 1379] | |
November |
Near the beginning: Lancaster’s candidate for mayor of London, John of Northampton, is elected [still mayor in 1383]
3: Parliament convened. Speaker of Commons is Sir Richard Wldegrave Parliament appoints two governors [the Earl of Arundel and Michael de la Pole] to control the person of the King. This appointment reduces courtier influence on the king until summer next year |
|
December |
Anne of Bohemia and a large entourage arrive in England. Her entourage came through Brussels where she stayed for a month or more with her uncle [the Duke of Brabant] due to fears that her ship might be intercepted by Norman vessels lying in wait — purportedly a plot by Charles VI to stop the marriage
4: Richard Scrope is again named Chancellor 13: Parliament prorogates to 24 Jan 1382. 13: William of Deighton, canon of St. Paul’s, is named Keeper of the Privy Seal |
|
1382 |
winter 1381-82: Louis de Malle blockades Ghent, refuses to accept anything short of unconditional surrender | |
January |
14: Richard II marries Anne of Bohemia in the chapel of the palace at Westminster. The ArchbBishop of Canterbury crowns Anne Queen. Elaborate feasts and tournaments are held
Legend says Anne introduced sidesaddle riding to England A general amnesty published for surviving insurgents of the Revolt 24: Philip van Artevelde elected ruwaert of Ghent, and probably makes immediate overtures to England for aide. By early spring negotiations are in full swing. In return for recognition as king of France and sovereign of Flanders, Richard offers to lead an army to Ghent’s assistance in coming summer |
Count Louis de Male defeated by the weavers of Ghent. Artevelde, as “regent,” overruns the country and appeals to the English for aid when de Male appeals to his son-in-law, Duke of Burgundy, for help. Commons refuses to grant money
Anjou departs for Naples, resigning as President of the Council Parliament refuses to grant taxes for war Another attempt to subvert the key port of La Rochelle French revolt; taxation arbitrary thereafter |
February |
25: Parliament terminated | |
March |
24: Parliament summoned | |
April |
Louis de Malle has spies in England to watch progress of Ghent-English negotiations
Chaucer is made controller of the Petty Custom |
|
May |
7: Parliament convened. Commons reports rumors that Scotland is readying for war: “the strongest and most evil war that could befall us.” Commons refuses to grant funds for a royal expedition to Ghent
22: Parliament terminated |
|
June |
The French surpress “troubles” in Rouen | |
July |
||
August |
9: Parliament summoned. Walter Skirlaw, dean of St. Martin’s-le-Grand, is named Keeper of the Privy Seal | |
September |
20: Robert Braybrook, bishop of London [kinsman and former secretary to Richard II] is named Chancellor, Richard Scrope having been dismissed for refusing to seal certain grants the King wished to make. Scrope opposed royal extravagance. There is widespread indignation at his removal. The king is no longer exempt from criticism with regard to misappropriation | |
October |
6: Parliament convened. Commons petitions the king to sue for “truce or peace” with the Scots
24: Parliament terminated |
|
November |
Battle of Roosebeke: the French slaughter the Flemish; Phillippe van Artevelde killed | |
December |
||
1383 |
||
January |
7: Parliament summoned | Parliament refuses to grant taxes for war |
February |
23: Parliament covened | |
March |
10: Parliament terminated
13: Sir Michael de la Pole named Chancellor |
|
April |
Under the guise of a “crusade,” Bishop Henry Dispenser and Hugh Calveley land at Calais for a short adventure. Calveley’s advice is ignored again and again by the bisho | |
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
20: Parliament summoned | |
September |
||
October |
26: Parliament convened | |
November |
26: Parliament terminated | |
December |
||
1384 |
||
January |
John Holland (half-brother of Richard II) tortures and apparently kills an insane friar
Richard II (now aged16) tells parliament that his choice of councilors is his own business |
|
February |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
||
1385 |
||
January |
John Holland murders the son of the Earl of Stafford; Richard II seizes Holland’s lands and threatens him with a common murderer’s death; the situation is said to contribute to death of Princess Joan of Kent (mother of both the king and John Holland)
Thomas of Woodstock, Earl of Buckingham, commands in Scotland Lancaster and Gloucester have a falling out; Richard II and Thomas Mowbray plot to murder Lancaster |
|
Februar |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
||
1386 |
||
January |
The “shotgun wedding” of John Holland to Elizabeth of Lancaster (the Duke of Lancaster’s daughter); John Holland comes into Lancaster’s patronage
The “Wonderful Parliament”: Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and Bishop Arundel force Richard II to dismiss ministers, impeach Suffolk, accept a commission of reform |
|
February |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
||
1387 |
||
January |
Richard II (now aged 19) refuses to dismiss even a kitchen scullery maid at parliament’s request
Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and the other Lords Appellant accused of treason for the acts of the Wonderful Parliament Radcot Bridge: The Lords Appellant (led by the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Arundel) defeat Robert Vere, Duke of Ireland, Richard II’s favorite. De Vere escapes and flees to France, soon to be followed by de la Pole John Holland made Earl of Huntingdon |
|
February |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
||
1388 |
||
January |
The “Merciless Parliament” yields the destruction of Richard II’s favorites | |
February |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
||
1389 |
||
January |
Richard II achieves his majority. Gloucester, Warwick, and Arundel are dismissed; Mowbray returns to favor | |
February |
||
March |
||
April |
||
May |
||
June |
||
July |
||
August |
||
September |
||
October |
||
November |
||
December |
Leave a comment