(M389)
The sentence passed on the late king proved his death warrant; his haughty
spirit broke down, and he died at Pontefract the following year. According
to Henry's account he died of wilful starvation. There were many, however,
who believed him to have been put to death by Henry's orders; whilst
others, on the contrary, refused to believe his death had actually taken
place at all, notwithstanding the fact of the corpse having been purposely
exposed to public view throughout its journey from Pontefract to
London.(730) This belief that Richard was still alive was fostered by
many, and, among others, by William Serle. He had been at one time the
late king's chamberlain, and he kept up the delusion of Richard being
still in the land of the living, by exhibiting the late king's signet,
which had come into his possession. Serle was eventually arrested in the
north of England and brought to London, to be executed at Tyburn.(731)
(M390)
Sixteen years later (1416), a certain Thomas Warde, called "Trumpyngtone,"
personated the late king, and a scheme was laid for placing him on the
throne with the aid of Sigismund, king of the Romans Sigismund, however,
refused to have anything to do with the plot, which was hatched within the
city's liberties by Benedict Wolman and Thomas Bekering. The conspiracy
having been discovered, its authors were thrown into prison. One died
before trial, the other paid the penalty for his rashness with his
head.(732) In August, 1420, long after Trumpington was dead, two others,
Thomas Cobold and William Bryan, endeavoured still to keep up the delusion
in the city. The mayor, Whitington, himself ordered their arrest. Bryan
had time to escape from the house of William Norton, a barber given to
Lollardry, where he and his fellow conspirator were lodged. Cobold tried
to hide himself, but was discovered cunningly concealed in the house, and
taken before the mayor and aldermen. Being questioned as to the identity
of Trumpington and the late king, he gave an evasive reply, adding, that
the question of identity had become immaterial since Trumpington had been
dead some time. Cobold was thought to be too dangerous a man to be allowed
at large, so he was committed to prison.(733)
(M391)
In the meantime Wycliffe had died (1384), and Lollardry had become only
another name for general discontentment. The clergy made strenuous efforts
to suppress the Lollards. Pope Boniface had invoked the assistance of the
late king (1395) to destroy these "tares" (_lolium aridum_) that had
sprung up amidst the wheat which remained constant to church and king, and
called upon the mayor and commonalty of the city to use their interest
with Richard to the same end.(734) Besides seeking the support of the
commonalty against the powerful nobles, the new king sought the support of
the church, and he had not been long on the throne before he issued
commissions for search to be made in the city for Lollards, and for the
arrest of all preachers found sowing the pestilential seed of Lollardry
(_semen pestiferum lollardrie_).(735) Early in 1401 a price was put upon
the head of the captain and leader of the sect, Sir John Oldcastle,
otherwise known as Lord Cobham. Public proclamation was made in the city,
that any one giving information which should lead to his arrest should be
rewarded with 500 marks; any one actually arresting or causing him to be
arrested should receive double that amount, whilst the citizens and
burgesses of any city or borough who should take and produce him before
the king, should be for ever quit of all taxes, talliages, tenths,
fifteenths and other assessments.(736) Not only were conventicles
forbidden, but no one was allowed to visit the ordinary churches after
nine o'clock at night or before five o'clock in the morning.(737)
(M392)
Still the clergy were not satisfied. The ecclesiastical courts could
condemn men as heretics, but they had no power to burn them. Accordingly,
a statute was passed this year (1401), known as the statute of heresy (_de
haeretico comburendo_), authorising the ecclesiastical courts to hand over
to the civil powers any heretic refusing to recant, or relapsing after
recantation, so that he might pay the penalty of being publicly burnt
before the people.(738) It was the first English law passed for the
suppression of religious opinion, and its first victim is said to have
been one William Sautre, formerly a parish priest of Norfolk.(739)
(M393)
Henry had other difficulties to face besides opposition from the nobles.
France had refused to acknowledge his title to the crown, and demanded the
restoration of Richard's widow, a mere child of eleven. The Scots(740) and
the Welsh were on the point of engaging in open insurrection. Invasion was
imminent; the exchequer was empty, and the Londoners appealed to could
offer no more than a paltry loan of 4,000 marks.(741)
(M394)
As time went on, Henry had to try new methods for raising money. The
parliament which met at the opening of 1404, granted the king a 1_s._ in
the pound on all lands, tenements and rents, besides 20_s._ for every
knight's fee. The money so raised was not, however, to be at the disposal
of the king's own ministers, but was to be placed in the hands of four
officials to be known as treasurers of war (_Guerrarum Thesaurarii_). The
names of the treasurers elected for the purpose are given as John Owdeby,
clerk, John Hadley, Thomas Knolles, and Richard Merlawe, citizens of
London.(742) Three of these were citizens of note. Hadley had already
served as mayor in 1393, Knolles had filled the same office in 1399, and
was re-elected in 1410, whilst Merlawe was destined to attain that honour
both in 1409 and 1417.
(M395)
It was during Merlawe's first mayoralty that the citizens advanced to the
king the sum of 7,000 marks,(743) to enable him to complete the reduction
of Wales, which his son, the Prince of Wales, had already nearly
accomplished. In 1412 they advanced a further sum of 10,000 marks.(744) At
the beginning of that year a commission was addressed by Henry to Robert
Chichele, the mayor, brother of the archbishop of the same name, to the
sheriffs of the city, to Richard Whitington and Thomas Knolles, the late
mayor, instructing them to make a return of the amount of land and
tenements held in the city and suburbs, with the view of levying 6_s._
8_d._ on every L20 annual rent by virtue of an act passed by the late
parliament.(745) A return was made to the effect that it was very
difficult to discover the true value of lands and tenements in the city
and suburbs, owing to absence of tenants and dilapidations by fire and
water, but that they had caused enquiry to be made, and the names of men,
women and other persons (_hominum, feminarum et aliarum personarum_)
mentioned in the commission were forwarded by them in the following a, b,
c (_in sequenti a, b, c_). What lands and tenements the "men, women and
other persons" had elsewhere they had no means of discovering.(746) The
schedule, or "a, b, c," is not entered in the City Letter Book, but is to
be found among the Exchequer Rolls, preserved at Her Majesty's Public
Record(747) Office. The gross rental was returned at L4,220, and the sum
paid into the exchequer at 6_s._ 8_d._ for every L20, under the provisions
of the act amounted to L70 6_s._ 8_d._ The mayor and commonalty of the
city are credited as possessing lands, tenements and rents of an annual
value of no more than L150 9_s._ 11_d._, whilst the Bridge House Estate
was returned at L148 15_s._ 3_d._ Of the livery companies, the Goldsmiths
appear as the owners of the largest property, their rental of city
property amounting to L46 10_s._ 1/2_d._, the Merchant Tailors following
them closely with L44 3_s._ 7_d._ The Mercers had but a rental of L13
18_s._ 4_d._ whilst the Skinners had L18 12_s._ 8_d._ Robert Chichele, the
mayor, was already a rich man, with an annual rental of L42 19_s._ 2_d._,
derived from city property, or nearly double the amount (L25) with which
Richard Whitington was credited.
(M396)
Whitington had already three times occupied the mayoralty chair; once (in
1396) at the word of a king, and twice (in 1397 and 1406) at the will of
his fellow citizens. On the occasion of his third election a solemn mass
was for the first time introduced into the proceedings, the mayor,
aldermen and a large body of commoners attending the service at the
Guildhall Chapel, before proceeding to the election.(748) The custom which
then sprang up continues in a modified form to this day, the election of a
mayor being always preceded by divine service. Its origin may perhaps be
ascribed in some measure to the spirit of Lollardry which, in its best
sense, found much favour with the citizens.
The enormous wealth which he succeeded in amassing was bestowed in
promoting the cause of education, and in relieving the sufferings of the
poor and afflicted. He built a handsome library in the house of the Grey
Friars and also the Church of Saint Michael in the "Riole." He is credited
by some writers with having purchased and presented to the corporation the
advowson of the Church of St. Peter upon Cornhill. But this is probably a
mistake arising from the fact of a license in mortmain having been granted
by Henry IV to Richard Whitington, John Hende, and others, to convey the
manor of Leadenhall, together with the advowsons of the several churches
of Saint Peter upon Cornhill and Saint Margaret Patyns, held of the king
in free burgage, to the mayor and commonalty of the City of London and
their successors.(749)
(M397)
On the accession of Henry V, Archbishop Arundel, whom Walsingham describes
as the most eminent bulwark and indomitable supporter of the church,(750)
renewed his attack on the Lollards, and endeavoured to serve Oldcastle
with a citation. Failing to accomplish this he caused him to be arrested.
The bold defence made by the so-called heretic, when before his judges,
gained additional weight from the reputation he enjoyed for high moral
character. Nevertheless he was adjudged guilty of the charges brought
against him. A formal sentence of excommunication was passed, and he was
remitted to the Tower for forty days in the hope that at the expiration of
that time he might be found willing to retract. This, however, was not to
be.
(M398)
He contrived to make his escape from prison,(751) and shortly afterwards
appeared at the head of a number of followers in St. Giles's Fields. Great
disappointment was felt at not receiving the assistance that had been
expected from city servants and apprentices. According to Walsingham, no
less than 5,000 men, comprising masters as well as servants, from the
city, were prepared to join the insurgents, had not the king taken
precautions to secure the gates. As soon as it was discovered that the
young king had made ample preparations to meet attack, the Lollards took
to flight. Many, however, failed to make good their escape, and nearly
forty paid the penalty of their rashness with their lives.(752) Walsingham
was probably misinformed as to the number of the persons who were prepared
to assist the Lollards. The fact is that, to the respectable City burgess,
Lollardism was a matter of less moment than was the scandalous life led by
the chantry priest and other ministers of religion, and this the civic
authorities were determined to rectify as far as in them lay. Between the
years 1400 and 1440, some sixty clerks in holy orders were taken in
adultery and clapt into prison by ward beadles.(753) Nevertheless the
clergy, and more especially the chantry priest, continued to live a life
of luxury and sloth, oftentimes spending the day in dicing, card playing,
cock fighting and frequenting taverns.
(M399)
The recent abortive attempt of Oldcastle gave rise to another Statute
against the Lollards,(754) by which the secular power, no longer content
with merely carrying into execution the sentences pronounced by
ecclesiastical courts, undertook, where necessary, the initiative against
heretics. Archbishop Arundel, the determined enemy of the Lollards, had
had no hand in framing this Statute--the last that was enacted against
them.(755) He had died a few months before parliament met, and had been
succeeded by Henry Chichele.
(M400)
Early in the following year (1415) the king made an offer of pardon to
Oldcastle, who was still at large, if he would come in and make submission
before Easter.(756) Instead of accepting so generous an offer, Oldcastle
busied himself in preparing for another rising to take place as soon as
the king should have set sail on his meditated expedition to France.
Lollard manifestoes again appeared on the doors of the London churches;
whilst Oldcastle himself scoured the country for recruits, to serve under
a banner on which the most sacred emblems of the church were
depicted.(757)
(M401)
In August (1415) another Lollard, John Cleydone by name, a currier by
trade, was tried in St. Paul's Church before the new Archbishop and
others, the civic authorities having taken the initiative according to the
provisions of the recent Statute, and arrested him on suspicion of being a
heretic. The mayor himself was a witness at the trial, and testified as to
the nature of certain books found in Cleydon's possession; they were "the
worst and the most perverse that ever he did read or see." Walsingham, who
styles Cleydon "an inveterate Lollard" (_quidam inveteratus Lollardus_),
adds, with his usual acerbity against the entire sect, that the accused
had gone so far as to make his own son a priest, and have Mass celebrated
by him in his own house on the occasion when his wife should have gone to
church, after rising from childbed.(758) Having been convicted of heresy
by the ecclesiastical court, the prisoner was again delivered over to the
secular authorities for punishment.(759) Both he and his books were
burnt.(760)
(M402)
Two years later Oldcastle himself was captured in Wales and brought to
London. At his trial he publicly declared his belief that Richard II was
still alive; he was even fanatic enough to believe that he himself would
soon rise again from the dead.(761) He was sentenced to be hanged and
burnt on the gallows, a sentence which was carried out in St. Giles's
Fields.(762) Lollardry continued to exist, especially in London and the
towns, for some years, but it ceased to have any historical or political
significance.(763)
(M403)
Henry V was resolved to maintain not only the old religion of the days of
Edward III, but also the old foreign policy, and in 1414 he commenced
making preparations for renewing the claim of his great-grandfather to the
crown of France. In 1415 this claim was formally made, and Henry gathered
his forces together at Southampton. On the 10th March he informed the
civic authorities of his intention of crossing over to France to enforce
his claim and of his need of money. On the 14th a brilliant assembly,
comprising the king's two brothers, John, Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey,
Duke of Gloucester, Edward, Duke of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Bishop of Winchester, and others, met at the Guildhall to consider the
matter.
(M404)
A question arose as to order of precedence, and it was arranged that the
mayor, as the king's representative in the City, should occupy the centre
seat, having the Primate and the Bishop of Winchester on his right, and
the Duke of York and the king's brothers on his left.(764) This question
having been settled, the meeting, we presume, got to business; but what
took place is not recorded in the City's archives. We know, however, that
in June the king pledged his jewels to the City for a loan of 10,000
marks,(765) and that on the 1st August--just as he was preparing to set
sail--he raised a further loan of 10,000 marks on the security of the
customs.(766)
(M405)
On the 15th June the king, who was then on his way to the coast, took
solemn leave of the civic authorities, who had accompanied him to
Blackheath. He bade them go home and keep well his "chamber" during his
absence abroad, giving them his blessing and saying "Cryste save
London."(767) Arriving at Southampton, he there discovered a conspiracy to
place the young Earl of March, the legitimate heir of Edward III, on the
throne, as soon as he himself should have set sail. The traitors were
seized and executed, and the City lost no time in sending the king a
letter congratulating him upon his discovery of the plot.(768)
(M406)
A few days later (12th August) he sailed for France and landed near
Harfleur, to which town he laid siege. It offered, however, a stubborn
defence, and it was not until the 18th September that the town
surrendered. On the 22nd Henry sent a long account of the siege and
capture to the mayor and citizens of London, bidding them render humble
thanks to Almighty God for this mercy, and expressing a hope of further
success in the near future.(769)
(M407) (M408)
Early in October the king caused proclamation to be made in the City, that
all and singular knights, esquires and valets who were willing to go with
him to Normandy, should present themselves to his uncle Henry, Bishop of
Winchester and Treasurer of England, who would pay them their wages. By
the same proclamation merchants, victuallers and handicraft-men were
invited to take up their residence in the recently captured town of
Harfleur, where houses would be assigned to them, and where they should
enjoy the same privileges and franchises to which they had always been
accustomed.(770)
(M409) (M410)
The battle of Agincourt was fought on the 25th October, and news of the
joyous victory arrived in England on or before the 28th, on which day--the
Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude--Nicholas Wotton, the recently elected
mayor, was sworn into office at the Guildhall according to custom. On the
following day, therefore, the mayor, aldermen and a large number of the
commonalty made a solemn pilgrimage on foot to Westminster, where they
first made devout thanksgiving for the victory that had been won, and then
proceeded to present the new mayor before the Barons of the Exchequer.
Care is taken in the City records to explain that the procession went on
this occasion on foot, simply and solely for the purpose of marking their
humble thanks to the Almighty and his Saints, and more especially to
Edward the Confessor, who lay interred at Westminster, for the joyful news
which so unexpectedly had arrived. The journey on foot was not to be drawn
into precedent when others succeeded to the mayoralty, nor supplant the
riding in state which had been customary on such occasions.(771) The
reception given to the king by the Londoners on his return from France,
was of so brilliant and varied a character, that one chronicler declares
that a description of it would require a special treatise.(772) On the
16th November he landed at Dover and proceeded towards London. On
Saturday, the 23rd, the mayor and aldermen and all the companies rode
forth in their liveries to meet the king and conduct him and his train of
French prisoners through the City to Westminster. On Sunday morning a
deputation from the City waited upon Henry and presented him with the sum
of L1,000 and two basons of gold worth half that sum.(773)
(M411)
During the next eighteen months succeeding the battle of Agincourt, Henry
devoted himself to making preparations at home for renewing active
military operations. He had intended at midsummer, 1416, to lead an
expedition in person to the relief of Harfleur, but the command was
subsequently delegated to his brother, the Duke of Bedford. Proclamation
was publicly made in the city by order of the king, dated the 28th May,
that all and singular knights, esquires and valets holding any fief or
annuity from the king should proceed to Southampton by the 20th June,
armed each according to his estate, for the purpose of joining the
expedition.(774) In 1417 France was rendered weak by factions, and Henry
seized the opportunity for another attack. On the 1st February he issued
his writ to the sheriffs of London for a return to be made of the number
of men-at-arms and archers the City knights could furnish.(775) In March
the mayor, Henry Barton, was made a commissioner for victualling the navy
which was to rendezvous at Southampton.(776)
(M412)
In the same month the City advanced the king the sum of 5,000 marks,(777)
and in the following June a further sum was advanced by private
subscription among the wealthier citizens on the security of a Spanish
sword, set in gold and precious stones, of the estimated value of L2,000.
The sword was pledged with the subscribers on the understanding that they
would not dispose of it before Michaelmas twelve-month.(778)
(M413) (M414)
On the 9th August the king addressed a letter to the mayor, sheriffs,
aldermen and good folk of the City of London, informing them of his safe
arrival in Normandy and of his success in making himself master of the
castle of "Touque" without bloodshed.(779) To this the citizens sent a
dutiful reply on the 28th day of the same month, assuring the king of the
peaceful condition of the city. On the 2nd September an order went forth
from the Common Council of the City that each alderman should immediately
instruct the constables of his ward to go their rounds and warn all
soldiers they might come across, to vacate the City and set out on the
king's service before the end of the week on pain of imprisonment.(780)
Success continued to attend Henry's arms. On the 5th September he was able
to inform the citizens, by letter,(781) of the capture of Caen, excepting
only the citadel, and this was to be rendered to him by the 19th day of
the same month at the latest, unless relief should have previously arrived
for the besieged from the King of France, his son the Dauphin, or the
Count of Armagnac, Constable of France. The Duke of Clarence wrote a few
days later to the citizens, notifying the extraordinary success which had
followed the king. So many towns and fortresses had been taken that the
only fear was that there were not sufficient men to keep guard over
them.(782)
(M415) (M416)
In order to keep the English force in Normandy better provided with
victuals, the Duke of Bedford, who had been left behind as the king's
lieutenant, caused the Sheriffs of London to proclaim that all persons
willing and able to ship victuals to France for Henry's use, might do so
without paying custom dues on their giving security that the victuals
should be sent to Caen and not elsewhere.(783) Bedford, who was learning
how to rule a free people--a lesson which, had he been allowed to practice
in after years, might have saved the house of Lancaster from utter
destruction(784)--presided in the parliament, which met in November, 1417.
On the 17th December this parliament granted the king two fifteenths and
two tenths. No time was lost in taking measures for collecting these
supplies, the king's writ appointing commissioners for the City of London
being issued the day following.(785)
(M417)
In Paris matters were going on from bad to worse. Whilst the capital of
France was at the mercy of a mob, Henry proceeded to lay close siege to
Rouen. Frequent proclamation was made in London for reinforcements to join
the king, either at Rouen or elsewhere in Normandy.(786) This was in
April, 1418, or thereabouts. On the 5th July, the Duke of Clarence
informed Richard Merlawe, the mayor, by letter, of the fall of Louviers,
and of the expected surrender of Pont de l'Arche,(787) from which latter
place the duke wrote. On the 10th August Henry himself wrote to the
citizens informing them of his having sat down before Rouen and of the
straits his forces were in for lack of victuals and more especially of
"drink." He begged them to send as many small vessels as they could, laden
with provisions, to Harfleur, whence they could make their way up the
Seine to Rouen.(788) In less than a month a reply was sent (8 Sept.) from
Gravesend under the seal of the mayoralty, informing Henry that the
citizens had been busy brewing ale and beer and purveying wine and other
"vitaille," and that they had despatched thirty butts of sweet
wine--comprising ten of "Tyre," ten of "Romesey," and ten of "Malvesy"--and
1,000 pipes of ale and beer. With these they had also sent 25,000 cups for
the king's "host" to drink out of.(789) In the meantime, the besieged
received no such relief from the pains of hunger and thirst, and on the
19th January, 1419, they were compelled to surrender their ancient
town.(790) The war continued throughout the year (1419), all attempts at a
reconciliation proving abortive. Pointoise fell into Henry's hands; and
both Henry and the Duke of Clarence sent word of its capture to London.
The duke took the opportunity of asking that the freedom of the City might
be conferred on his servant, Roger Tillyngton, a skinner; but the citizens
in acknowledging the duke's letter make no reference to his request.(791)
(M418)
On the 17th August the king wrote again to the mayor, aldermen and commons
of the City, thanking them for their "kynde and notable prone of an ayde,"
which they had granted of their own free will, therein setting a good
example to others, and prayed them to follow such directions as the Duke
of Bedford should give them respecting their proffered assistance. The
bearer of this letter having been taken prisoner at Crotoye, a duplicate
copy of it was afterwards forwarded from Trie le Chastel on the 12th
September.(792)
(M419)
The murder of John, Duke of Burgundy, by a partisan of the Dauphin, which
took place about this time, induced Duke Philip to come to terms with
England in the hope of avenging his father's death;(793) and the French
king, finding further resistance hopeless, was content to make peace. By
the treaty of Troyes (20 May, 1420), the Dauphin was disinherited in
favour of Henry, who was formally recognised as the heir to the French
crown, and who agreed to marry Catherine, daughter of Charles VI.(794) The
marriage took place on the 3rd June, and on the 14th a solemn procession
was made in London and a sermon preached at Paul's Cross in honour of the
event.(795)
(M420) (M421)
On the 12th July Henry addressed a letter from Mant to the corporation of
London informing them of his welfare. He had left Paris for Mant in order
to relieve the town of Chartres, which was being threatened by the
Dauphin. The Duke of Burgundy had joined him and had proved himself "a
trusty, lovvng and faithful brother." The king's expedition proved
unnecessary, for the Dauphin had raised the siege before his arrival and
had gone into Touraine. To this letter a reply was sent under the
mayoralty seal on the 2nd August, congratulating Henry upon his success,
and assuring him that there was no city on earth more peaceful or better
governed than his City of London.(796)
(M422)
On the 26th January, 1421, the Duke of Gloucester, the Guardian of England
in the king's absence, ordered the Sheriffs of London to announce that the
queen's coronation would take place at Westminster on the third Sunday in
Lent.(797) The king and queen landed at Dover with a small retinue on the
1st February, and after a few days' rest at Canterbury, entered the city
of London amid tokens of welcome and respect from the laity and clergy.
They took up their abode at the Tower, whence they were conducted on the
day appointed for the coronation to Westminster by the citizens on foot
and on horseback.(798)
(M423)
Henry had not been at home six months before he again left England, never
to return.(799) The hopes that he entertained of reforming and governing
his possessions in France, and his ambition to have headed, sooner or
later, a crusade which should have stayed the progress of the Ottoman and
have recovered the sepulchre of Christ, were not destined to be realised.
He died at the Bois de Vincennes, near Paris, on the last day of August,
1422, leaving a child nine months old--the unhappy Henry of Windsor who
succeeded to the throne as Henry VI. When the body of the late king was
brought over from France to be buried at Westminster, the citizens showed
it every token of respect in its passage through London. The streets of
the city, as well as of the borough of Southwark, were cleaned for the
occasion. The mayor, sheriffs, recorder and aldermen, accompanied by the
chief burgesses, and clad in white gowns and hoods, went forth to meet the
remains of the king they loved so well, as far as St. George's bar in
Southwark, and reverently conducted them to St. Paul's Church, where the
funeral obsequies were performed. The next day they accompanied the corpse
to Westminster, where further ceremonies took place. Representatives of
the various wards were told off to line the streets, the solemnity of the
occasion being marked by the burning of torches, whilst chaplains stood in
the porches of the various churches, clad in their richest copes, with
thuribles in their hands, and chanted the _venite_ and incensed the royal
remains as they passed. The livery companies provided amongst them 211
torches, and to each torch-bearer the city chamberlain gave a gown and
hood of white material or "blanket" (_de blanqueto_), at the "cost of the
commonalty." (800)