In 1397, Richard finally saw the chance to try to get his revenge on the Appellants – Gloucester, Arundel and Warwick. So the parliament of September 1397 was momentus.
The Fate of the Apellants – the Parliament of 1397
In 1397 , Richard finally moved on the men who had humiliated him back in 1388. After 9 years of reasoonably reasonable rule this was odd. The theory is thast Richard was a narcisist – depply egocentric, convinced of his own perfection and importance – yet deeply insecure. And so his reactions were extreme. It also became clear that he had never forgotten, nor forgiven the events of 1388.
In 1397 he moved. Two of the Appelannts – Bolingbroke and Mowbray he subborned to his side. The Senior Appellants were his target. Gloucester was arrested and taken to Calais into the care of Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham. Warwick was invited to supper and arrested afterwards. Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, was talked out of his castle by his brother, Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury.
At the Parliament of 1397, Thomas Arundel was banished. Gloucester was secretly killed in Calais – the blood royal could not be put on trial. Warwick was put on trial, weeped and wailed and was banished. Richard Of Arundel was a fighter. The transcript of his trial below, with John of Gaunt as the Accuser and John Bussy as the Speaker of hte House, is largely the words of contemporary chroniclers, with a bit of tweaking here and there.
Arundel |
For what reasons am I standing here accused? I have been pardoned twice by the king |
Gaunt |
Those pardons have been revoked, traitor! |
Arundel |
Truly, you lie. I was never traitor |
Gaunt |
Then why did you seek a pardon? |
Arundel |
To silence the tongues of my enemies, of whom you are one. And to be sure, when it comes to treason, you are in greater need of a pardon than I am |
Richard |
Answer the appeal! |
Arundel |
I see it clearly now. All you who accuse me of treason, you are all liars! Never was I traitor! I still claim the full benefit of my pardon, which you, within these last six years, when you were of full age and free to act as you wished, granted to me of your own volition. |
Richard |
I granted it provided it were not to my prejudice |
Gaunt |
Therefore the grant is worthless |
Arundel |
In truth, I was as ignorant about that pardon as you were – and you were abroad at the time – until it was willingly granted to me by the king. |
Bussy |
That pardon has already been revoked by the king, the lords and us – the faithful commons. |
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At this point Arundel looked around at the Commons assembled in the hall. He might well have noticed that there were very few familiar faces; the Composition of the commons this time around was of almost entirely new men |
Arundel |
Where are those faithful commons? You are not here to act faithfully. You are here to shed my blood. If the faithful commons were here they would without doubt be on my side, trying to help mefrom falling into your clutches. They, I know, are grieving greatly for me while you, I know, have always been false. |
Bussy |
Look, lord king, how this traitor is trying to stir up dissent between us and the commons who stayed at home! |
Arundel |
Liars, all of you! I am no traitor! |
Bolingbroke |
Did you not say to me at Huntingdon, when we first gathered in revolt, that before doing anything else it would be better to seize the king? |
Arundel |
You henry, Earl of Derby, you lie in your teeth. I never said anything to you or to anyone else about my lord king, except what was to his welfare and honour. |
Richard |
Did you not say to me at the time of your parliament, in the bath behind the White Hall, that Simon Burley was worthy of death? And I replied that I neither knew nor could discover any reason for his death. And even the Queen, my wife, and I interceded tirelessly on his behalf, yet you and your accomplices, ignoring our pleas, traitorously put him to death. |
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Richard |
Pass judgement on him |
Gaunt |
Lord Arundel, you are found a foul traitor. You will be drawn to the gallows at Tyburn, here to be hanged from the neck, cut down before dead, beheaded and quartered. |
Richard |
In consideration of your rank, though you scarce deserve it, Lord Arundel, the sentence is commuted to beheading only. |
When will this new podcast be posted in iTunes?
I’m having problems with this episode on my android device.
It seems to be a Libsyn issue. I keep poking – I will keep trying…
It’s now in iTunes. Thanks.
WELL listening to this episode in Aug 2019, in the US, in the days of Trump, brought on some serious deja vu. Plus ça change…