Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 48.djvu/158

 roialme,’ and his elevation of John Beaufort to be Earl of Somerset, were most distasteful to Gloucester, and only less so to Warwick, who had to yield precedence to the new peer. The recall of the banished judges from Ireland gave them even more uneasiness. If Richard had not already resolved to destroy his old enemies, Haxey's petition begging the commons to devise a remedy for the costliness of the royal household decided him; though emanating primarily from the clergy, he could not fail to regard the request as threatening a repetition of the coup d'état of 1386, and denounced it as a grave infringement of his ‘Regalie et Roial Estat et Libertie.’

The growing disquiet of Gloucester, Arundel, and Warwick must have been increased by the judgment which Nottingham now obtained against Warwick in their suit over Gower, the concentration of maritime offices in Rutland's hands, and the extraordinary jurisdiction in England which Pope Boniface conferred on the Earl of Huntingdon, with the title of ‘Captain and Counsellor of the Roman Church.’ Boniface was endeavouring with some success to detach Richard from the French plan for closing the schism by dangling before his eyes the prospect of succeeding Wenceslaus, who was threatened with deposition, as emperor. The three old appellants held aloof from court, and may have taken counsel together; but little reliance can be placed on the French story of their meetings at St. Albans and Arundel, where they decided on the perpetual imprisonment of Richard and his two elder uncles (Chronique de la Traïson, pp. 3–7). Their suspicions were probably only half aroused when Richard launched his thunderbolt. On 10 July he made a feast ‘like Herod,’ to which he bade the three, intending quietly to arrest them; but Gloucester, who was at Pleshy, his manor in Essex, excused himself on the plea of illness, and Arundel shut himself up in Reigate Castle. Warwick alone, more simple-minded or less conscious of offence, fell into the trap. Richard feigned cordiality, but as soon as they rose from dinner put him under arrest. He got Archbishop Arundel to persuade his brother to give himself up, assuring him with his usual oath, by St. John the Baptist, that no harm should come to him. The same evening Richard Whittington [q. v.], the lord mayor, received orders to call out the city trained bands, and Richard set off with them to Pleshy, thirty-five miles from London, which was reached in the early morning. Gloucester offered no resistance, coming out to meet the king at the head of the priests of his newly founded college; as he bent in obeisance Richard with his own hand arrested him, and, leading the procession to the chapel, assured the duke over his shoulder, ‘By St. John the Baptist, bel oncle, all this will turn out for the best for both of us.’ After breakfast Richard sent his prisoner to Calais, and returned to London. The arrests were received with consternation by all who had been concerned in the events of ten years before, but Richard disclaimed by proclamation (15 July) any intention of raking up these old scores. Their offences were more recent. A fortnight later he ordered the arrest of all who criticised his actions. Rutland, Nottingham, Kent, Huntingdon, Somerset, Salisbury, Despenser, and Scrope repaired to Nottingham, and there appealed the three prisoners of treason on 5 Aug.

Parliament was summoned for 17 Sept., and a spacious temporary hall, open at the sides, with a lofty throne for the king, was erected for the trial within the palace precincts. Arundel afterwards accused Richard of packing the parliament, and the unusual proportion of new members bears out the charge. London was overawed by armed force; at Kingston on the Saturday before the parliament, Richard reviewed a great body of ‘valets of the crown,’ and persons wearing his livery of the white hart (his mother's badge had been a white hind). Two thousand Cheshire archers formed a bodyguard attached to him by local loyalty. Richard carried matters with a very high hand. After the Cheshire men had once drawn their bows on the assembly—some said they started shooting—none dared resist the king's will. The clergy were frightened into appointing a lay proctor who should bind them to all that was done. The commission of 1386 was repealed as a usurpation of the royal power, along with the pardons received by the three accused. The Nottingham appellants, dressed in the king's colours, renewed their appeal, Lancaster as seneschal presiding, and the three lords were condemned to death as traitors. Arundel was beheaded the same day (21 Sept.). Nottingham, who, as captain of Calais, had custody of Gloucester, reported that he was dead. He had been ill when arrested, but there is strong presumptive evidence that he did not die a natural death. Warwick obtained mercy with unmanly tears. Archbishop Arundel, found guilty of treason, was banished to France. Sir Thomas Mortimer and the octogenarian Lord Cobham were also impeached for their share in the commission of 1386. It pleased Richard to declare the remaining members innocent. His uncle York and Bishop Wykeham fell on their faces and