THE year
1376 King Edward III held his parliament at London, and such a parliament was
never heard of before, nor lasted so long, for it began on Monday [28 April],
in the third week after Easter, and it lasted until the translation of St Benedict
[11 July], that is to say for ten weeks altogether. In this parliament were
gathered the king of England; the prince of Wales; Lord John of Gaunt, the duke
of Lancaster; Lord Edmund Langley, duke of Cambridge; Lord Thomas of Woodstock,
duke of Buckingham, sons of the most noble king of England, and two archbishops
and fourteen bishops, and several abbots and priors, and the earls of March,
Arundel, Salisbury , Warwick, Suffolk, and Stafford, and all the barons and
bannerets of standing in the country and 280 knights and esquires and citizens
and burgesses for the community of diverse cities and boroughs and counties.
And the Monday aforesaid, at the beginning of the parliament, in the
presence of our Lord the King and the Lords and Commons previously mentioned,
there was pronounced the usual causes and articles of the parliament by Sir
John Knyvet, then chancellor of England, among which was that the kingdom of
England was in peril and on the point of being destroyed by sea and land by
the enemies of France, Spain, Gascony, Flanders, the Scots and other countries;
on account of which the said Sir John asked on behalf of the king aid and succour
against his enemies, and that they should willingly grant a tax of a tenth from
the clergy, and a fifteenth from the laity, and the custom of wool and other
merchandise for one year or for two to support the war. And of this, the Lords
and Commons considered their reply as the law demanded. And at the same time
at the end of the statement, the said Sir John Knyvet, the chancellor, demanded
on behalf of the king from the knights and burgesses and all the commons of
the counties, by their allegiance, and on pain of forfeiture, that if any matter
required to be redressed or amended in the same kingdom, or if the said kingdom
was badly ruled or governed or ingenuously counselled, that they, by their good
And the
second day afterwards [30 April] the archbishops and bishops and earls and barons
assembled and took their places to treat and take counsel in the White Chamber
in the palace of the king. And the chapter house of the abbey of Westminster
was assigned to the knights and Commons, in which they could deliberate privately
without being disturbed or being bothered by others. And on the said second
day all the knights and Commons aforesaid gathered and went into the chapter
house and sat around, each close to the other, and they began to talk of the
substance of the causes of parliament, and they said that it would be desirable
at the beginning to be sworn one to the other, to hold counsel as to what was
spoken and ordered among them, and loyally to treat and ordain for the welfare
of the kingdom without concealing anything; and to this they all unanimously
assented and took an oath to be loyal one to the other. And then one of them
said, ‘If any of us knew of anything to say for the welfare of the king and
kingdom he should lay his knowledge before us’, and after that, one after another
[said] what was on his mind.
Then a knight of the south region arose quickly and went to the lectern
in the middle of the chapter house so that all could hear, and leaning on the
said lectern began to speak in this manner,
Bless
us O Lord, etc. Sirs, you
have heard the causes of parliament which are grievous, how our Lord the King
has demanded of the clergy and the commons a tax of a tenth and a fifteenth
and the customs of the wools and other merchandise for a year or two, and it
seems to me this is hard to grant because the Commons are so weakened and impoverished
by various tallages and taxes which they have paid previously, that they cannot
bear such a charge or at this time pay it, and on the other hand all that we
have granted for the maintenance of the war for a long time we have lost because
it has been badly wasted, and mis-spent. Therefore it is desirable to counsel
our Lord the King how to live, and rule the kingdom and to carry on the war
from the proceeds of his own lands, and not hold to ransom his liege men, and
I have heard that there are many people who have in their hands goods and treasure
and much gold and silver from our Lord the King, without his knowledge, and
have falsely concealed these goods, and have profited in many matters in an
evil and extortionate manner to the great damage of our Lord the King and the
kingdom. At this time I shall say no more. You, however, O Lord have mercy upon
us.
And he
rejoined and sat by his companions. Immediately another knight arose and went
to the lectern and said,
Sirs, our
colleague has spoken profitably, and I will make a further point for the good
of the kingdom, as God gives me grace. You have heard that it was ordered by
the common council in parliament that the Staple of wools and of other merchandise
should be solely at Calais to the great advantage of our Lord the King, and
at that time the said town was governed and ruled by English merchants, and
they took nothing in recompense for soldiers to maintain the war nor for the
governing of the said town. And then after the Staple was suddenly taken from
various cities and towns in England, and the merchants were driven out of Calais
with their wives and their households without the knowledge or assent of parliament
for private profit, against the law and against the statute which was made,
in order that Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons of London and others might have
these advantages, and raise great sums from the maltote, concealing the fact
that the king had the right to these Because of this the king spends each year
for the preservation of the town the amount of eight thousand pounds of gold
and silver, where before there was no need for expenditure. For this reason
it was desirable to ordain a remedy by advising that the Staple should go back
to Calais.
And he
did not wish to say anything more, but went back to his place. And a third [knight]
arose and went to the lectern and said,
Sirs, our
colleagues have spoken very well and very profitably, and it seems to me that
to consider such great affairs and serious matters for the profit of the whole
kingdom without the counsel and aid of those who are greater and wiser than
we will not be profitable. Nor is it honourable for us to begin such a procedure
without the consent of the Lords. For this reason it is a good thing to start
by asking our Lord the King and his wise council in parliament that they should
be willing to grant and to assign to us certain bishops and certain earls, barons,
and bannerets, that we wish to name, to help and counsel us, and to hear and
to witness as to what we say.
And to
this all agreed, and after this they arose in the same manner in two’s and three’s,
one after the other, and spoke of various motions and points the substance of
which will be more fully declared. When they had all finished speaking and were
sitting among their companions they took counsel together, what was the most
profitable course to pursue. At this time a knight from the Welsh Marches and
steward of the earl of March, Sir Peter de la Mare by name, began to speak when
the others had spoken and said, ‘Sirs, you have heard already the words and
the wisdom of our colleagues, and the manner of what they intend, and as it
seems to me they have spoken loyally and profitably’, and he went through word
by word all the points that they had previously mentioned in an effective, wise,
and convincing fashion. And apart from that he counselled them on various points
and articles, as will be seen more fully later, and so ended the second day.
The third day after [3 May] there assembled all the knights and Commons
in the said chapter and deliberated from day to day until the Friday next following
[9 May] concerning various matters and extortions committed by different people
and treasonably as they were advised. In these deliberations and this council
by common consent because the said Sir Peter de la Mare had spoken so well and
had so wisely rehearsed the matters and the purpose of his companions, formulating
them more clearly than they themselves could do, they asked that he should take
charge on their account, and have the power to state their wishes in the great
parliament before the said Lords, how they [the Commons] were advised to act
and to speak in discharge of their conscience. And the said Sir Peter for the
reverence of God, and his worthy colleagues, and for the profit of the kingdom
undertook this responsibility. And on the said Friday when they were all assembled,
the king sent a messenger to them, Sir Raynald Bukkeshill, beseeching them on
behalf of the king, that they should consider his estate, for he was anxious
that they should grant his petition and request which he had made on the first
day of parliament, and that they should let the parliament end as early as they
could for he himself wished to be elsewhere on his affairs. And at this time
it was decided among them that the whole assembly should go straight to the
Lords and that what the said Sir Peter spoke by their advice, all should assent
to and should maintain. And on the same Friday the Commons entered parliament
and went to the parliament house; one group entered but the rest were held back
and shut out and dispersed. And when the said Sir Peter and a group of his colleagues
had come before the Lords, and saw that their companions had not been able to
enter, they were greatly astonished by this affair.
Then the duke of Lancaster at that time the king’s lieutenant holding
parliament in the absence of the king and the prince began to speak, very anxiously,
‘Which of you has the word and substance of what you have decided among yourselves?’
And the said Sir Peter replied that by common assent he had the word at that
time. The duke said, ‘Say what you wish’. ‘Sire,’ he replied, ‘willingly. Sirs,
you well know and are fully advised, that all the Commons who have come here,
have come by the writ of our Lord the King and by the election of the sheriffs
of the different counties, and what one of us says, all say and assent to. Because
of this, at the outset, I demand to know from everyone for what reason some
are held outside, and for certain I will move no matter before they all enter
and are present.’ Then the said duke of Lancaster replied, ‘Sir Peter, there
is no need for so many Commons to enter in order to give a reply. Two or three
at a time will suffice as was previously the custom.’ And Sir Peter replied
briefly that he would say nothing before they were all assembled. Because of
what had just taken place the duke sent for them and asked where they were,
and they were searched for in various places for more than two hours before
they could be found, and they joined their companions. And when they had all
entered Sir Peter began to expound what had been spoken and established among
them in this way,
Sirs, if
you please, you have heard the commission we have from the Lord our King on
our allegiance to treat and ordain concerning his estate and that of the kingdom,
and to redress and amend those faults which we find so far as we can. And we
have found many faults and grievous points which it will be to the profit of
our Lord the King and of the kingdom to have put right, and we are so lacking
in knowledge and skill that we cannot amend such grave matters without the advice
of wise men. Because of this we ask that for the profit of the kingdom you should
grant and associate with us four bishops, four earls, four barons and bannerets,
to hear and to witness what we say.
And the
Lords spoke among themselves about this, and agreed that it was a reasonable
and profitable request.
Then the duke said to Sir Peter, ‘Whom do you want?’ ‘Sire,’ he replied,
‘the bishops of London, Norwich, Carlisle, and Bath, and the earls of March,
Warwick, Suffolk, and Stafford; of barons and bannerets, Lord Percy, Sir Roger
Beauchamp, Sir Guy Brian, and Sir Richard Stafford. And when they have heard
and seen our counsel, we will declare our purpose and ordinance to you, and
for this day we will say no more.’ And they took their leave of the Lords and
commended them to God. And when the Commons had left, the Lords took their counsel
as to what should be done, and they ordered certain messengers to go to the
king, and to tell him what had been said on behalf of the Commons. And when
the king heard their wishes he was well pleased, and he ordered the Lord to
be associated with them.
And the Monday after [12 May], the bishops and earls and barons aforesaid
went to them [the Commons], and took charge in the great parliament to be attendant
on the Commons, and afterwards they went together to them to their chapter house
to hear their counsel. And the Commons received them favourably and pointed
out to them certain matters on which they wished to pronounce with their assent,
and when they had assented they all went to the parliament and, when they had
come before the Lords, they greeted them, and the Lords returned their greeting.
And when they were all at peace and the noise had subsided the duke of Lancaster
said, ‘Who speaks ?’ and Sir Peter replied,
Sire, as
I said to you on the third day past it was decided by common assent that I should
be the spokesman at this time, making protestation in all ways before all who
are here, that if I speak incorrectly on any point, I will subject myself to
the correction and amendment of my colleagues, for even the wisest man, and
I reckon myself a fool, can err in so great a matter. And as for our matter,
we are of opinion in our council with reference the king’s demands of a tenth
and a fifteenth and the custom of wools, and twelvepence from each pound of
merchandise to carry on his war against his enemies, we say that if he were
well governed by his ministers, and his treasure spent loyally and without Waste,
there would be no need to raise such loans, but he has with him certain councillors
and servants who are not at all loyal or profitable to him or the kingdom, and
they have taken advantage by cunning, and deceived our Lord the King.
And at
this the duke of Lancaster was astonished and said, ‘How is this, and who are
the people who have profited in this way ?’ ‘[I answer] willingly,’ said Sir
Peter. ‘My Lords, a statute was made in parliament by common assent that the
entire Staple of wools and other merchandise should be at Calais, and
that certain
citizens and merchants of England should live there and have the governance
and defence of the Staple and of the town, so that our Lord and King could have
the profit both of the customs and of the exchange of gold and silver. The advantage
of the exchange which was made there by all the merchants of Christendom amounted
by general estimate to eight thousand pounds a year from the exchange, and,
when the said citizens and merchants had the government of the said town, they
governed and ordered the town loyally and well, so that our Lord the King should
spend nothing on soldiers nor for the defence of the said town against his enemies,
where now he spends eight thousand pounds a year to the great damage of himself
and the kingdom. And now the said Staple has for a long time been secured from
the different cities and towns in England, without the common assent of parliament
and against the statute made there, so that Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons,
a citizen of London, recently and cunningly raised with great advantages such
great sums by different patents granted on the customs without the knowledge
of the king that one could not count the number of times the king was deceived.
And many of these patents were too easily granted to merchants before these
times. For this we seek the remedy for the profit of our Lord the King, that
the Staple should be moved back to Calais and should stay entirely there.
And when
Lord Latimer heard these words he said, ‘When the Staple was moved from Calais,
it was done by the order of the king, and his council.’ And Sir Peter replied
that it was done against the law of England, and against the statute made in
parliament, and what was done in parliament by statute could not be undone without
parliament, ‘and this I will show you by written statute’. And Sir Peter had
a book of statutes by him, and he opened the book and read the statute before
all the Lords and Commons, so that he could not be contradicted. And there was
a great altercation among them and Sir Peter said,
Sire, we
will say more of this later. Sirs, the second point that we wish to raise is
that a loan was made by Lord Latimer who is here and Richard Lyons, previously
mentioned, to their own great profit and to the great damage and loss of the
king, where there was no need at that time of making a loan, the which loan
amounted to twenty thousand marks, and for these twenty thousand marks the king
had to pay twenty thousand pounds so that those who made the loan had a profit
of ten thousand marks.
The duke
of Lancaster said that such a situation and necessity might arise that the king
would be very happy to give the sum of ten thousand marks to have a loan of
twenty thousand marks. Sir Peter replied that it was not in order to make the
loan for he had heard that there were two London citizens, that is to say Adam
Francis and John Walworth, who had offered Sir Richard Scrope, then Treasurer
of England, for the profit of the king fifteen thousand marks, ready at hand
without damage or loss to the king, and in return take the customs of the wools
at Calais on an annual basis until they should be repaid. And to prove this
he asked the council of parliament on behalf of the Commons to have full information
from the bishop of Exeter and from Sir Richard Scrope, who were the Treasurers
of England a short while before, that they should testify before them by the
advice and consent of our Lord the King and his good council. And when Sir Richard
Scrope heard these words he rose before the Lords and Commons and said, ‘Sirs,
you know well that I was the treasurer and a member of the council of our Lord
the King, and what I saw there is for myself alone, unless I am [otherwise ]
ordered by my sovereign Lord. But if I am sworn I will spare no living person
and I shall speak only the truth as I am able, as I have understood it and heard
it, and taken its sense.’ And on this point the Lords and the Commons took respite
until another day when they would have the reply of our Lord the King and information
from him.
The third
point is that when our Lord the King had raised large sums of gold and silver
from archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors, citizens burgesses and merchants,
Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons bargained with them to have their tallies and
gave them a smaller sum where otherwise they should not have had anything. And
this was done by trickery to their own profit, so that they took tallies from
several people by bargaining and paid some five hundred pounds for a thousand
pounds, and others two hundred pounds for four hundred pounds, and one hundred
pounds for two hundred pounds, and so they acquired large sums for their own
use without the knowledge of the king where he himself should have been able
to have the advantage. Another point was that a lady or a young lady, Dame Alice
Perrers by name, had every year from the treasury of our Lord the King two or
three thousand pounds of gold and silver from the coffers of our Lord the King
without any notable profit and to the great damage of our Lord the King; and
it would be a great gain to the kingdom to remove the said dame from the presence
of the king both as a matter of conscience and of the ill prosecution of the
war, so that the said sum could be restored to and could profit our Lord the
King, and that the wardships of sons and daughters of the great Lords which
belong to the King should not be too lightly given to those who are not able
to profit or avail themselves of it. And at this time we will say no more, but
we wholeheartedly implore, for the profit of our Lord the King and of the kingdom
that the Lords previously mentioned, the bishop of Exeter and Sir Richard Scrope
should be assigned to us and be sworn to inform us of what they know for profit
by their conscience.
And so
they departed on this day.
The next day [13 May] there were sent to the king by the
common assent of parliament various Lords to inform the king of the ordinances
and speeches of the Commons, and how they had asked him that he should consent
to assign to them the Lords previously mentioned. And concerning this, when
the Lords had come to him and had delivered their message on behalf of the Commons,
he agreed willingly and commanded that the said bishops and Sir Richard Scrope
should be associated with them and sworn to tell what they knew and had at heart,
without falsity for his profit and for that of the kingdom.
The Monday next following [19 May] all the Lords entered the White
Chamber of the palace for their parliament, and the Commons entered the chapter
house previously mentioned and they took counsel as to how their purpose should
be affected. And by common assent they sent for the three bishops, three earls,
barons and baronets who were assigned to them, and when they had come and sat
among the Commons they began to speak of their purpose, and to say to the Lords
that they did not wish to make any further point in parliament before the bishop
of Exeter and Sir Richard Scrope had been sworn and assigned to us,3 and apart
from that, until the points and articles previously mentioned had been redressed
and amended by the king and his good council of parliament. And when they had
spoken they all arose together and went from the chapter house to parliament,
and entered before the Lords and greeted them and asked if they might have a
reply to their petition made to our Lord the King. And then the duke of Lancaster
said, ‘Have you any other points to raise?’ And Sir Peter replied briefly that
they did not wish to say anything further until the truth should have been declared
on the points already mentioned, and justice done on those who had in an extortionate
manner taken and detained the goods of the king, deceiving him and the kingdom,
and that the Staple should be completely restored to Calais [and until the truth
had been declared] concerning the loans which had been made to the king without
necessity, and concerning the large sum which Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons
cunningly took by bargaining with those who had lent the king their goods in
order to save the remainder, and that Alice Perrers should be removed from the
presence of the king; and furthermore ‘we ask that Sir Richard Scrope should
be charged to say how the loan was made without necessity at that time’. And
the duke said before the Lords that the wish of the king was that the bishop
of Exeter and Sir Richard Scrope should be sworn to say what they knew by reason
of their having been treasurers before this time, ‘and I think this is reasonable’,
and because of this he made the bishops and Sir Richard on behalf of the king
swear on oath to attend their council, and loyally reveal what they know for
the good of the kingdom. And because of this the Commons were well pleased and
happy to have from them full information. Then Sir Peter began to speak, ‘Sirs,
as you well know, as to the loan which was made and a great loss which our Lord
the King suffered as a result of this, Sir Richard Scrope knows how it was,
and it would be a good thing if he should wish to speak.’ And Sir Richard replied
that he would speak since he was charged to do so.
Sirs [he
said], you know well that I was treasurer and present at the council of our
Lord the King, and the loans were made as I suppose by Lord Latimer who is here,
and Richard Lyons, without my knowledge, and without necessity, for there were
two citizens of London, Adam Francis and William Walworth previously mentioned.
The said William is present here, who offered to me to lend for the aid of our
Lord the King in the necessity fifteen thousand marks to be repaid from the
customs of the wools at Calais on easy terms without damage or loss, and it
is remarkable that all the ministers and councillors of our Lord the King were
not able to make a loan of five thousand marks, but gave on the other hand ten
thousand marks for a loan of five thousand marks.
And at
this the duke said, ‘Who made the loan?’ And the Commons replied, ‘As we suppose,
Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons, as Sir Richard Scrope has said, and to prove
and confirm this William Walworth knows the truth.’ And because of this the
duke had him called and examined them upon allegiance. And William said that
he did nothing, but as he had heard Richard Lyons and John Pyel made the loans.
‘Where is John Pyel?’ said the duke. ‘Sire,’ they replied, ‘he is near by.’
‘Call him to us,’ said the duke. And when he had come before them, the duke
commanded him to put his hand on the book and he did this, and he was charged
to speak the truth as to how the loans were made and if he had done this with
his own goods or not. And he replied that it was not done through his own possessions.
‘ And how was it done then?’ asked the duke. ‘Sire,’ he replied, ‘by oath that
I made, I suppose that it was done through the possessions of our Lord the King
or through the possession of Lord Latimer by the assent of the said Lord Latimer
and Richard Lyons.’ And then all the Commons cried with one vote, ‘My Lord,
pray that you should well see and hear that Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons have
acted falsely in order to have the advantages for themselves, for this reason
we pray for remedy and redress, and that the said Richard should be arrested
and put under guard until our Lord the King and the council of parliament have
pronounced their will of him.’ And Lord Latimer said in the hearing of all that
this was not satisfactory , for he was able to find sufficient pledges to answer
to him in the time to come. And to this Sir Peter de la Mare said that all the
goods which he had, moveables and non-moveables would not add up to what he
had extorted from our Lord and King, ‘as we are ready to prove and say beyond
what we have said; and Sirs we will say no more at this time’. And so they departed
until another day. And Lord Latimer was very irritated and grieved by their
words.
The next day [20 May]
the Lords entered their parliament and the Commons went into the chapter house
and they deliberated from day to day what should be done and established. On
the fourth day [24 May] the Lords entered their parliament and sent for the
Commons in order to hear what they wished to say and the Commons in one body
and openly came before the Lords in parliament. And the aforementioned Sir Peter
began to speak,
Sirs, we
are here come before you and at your command to show what we have at heart,
and we say that we have declared to you and to all the council of parliament
several trespasses and extortions made by various people, and we have no remedy,
nor is there anyone around the king who wishes to tell him the truth, or loyally
and profitably counsel him, but on all occasions with fooling and mocking they
procure their own profit, because of this we declare to you that we will say
no more until all these false and evil councillors who are around the king,
are removed and ejected from his presence, and until the present chancellor
and treasurer are removed from their offices, for they are of no value, and
until Dame Alice Perrers is completely removed both as a matter of conscience
and [because] of the bad management of the war, and of the ills and damages
brought to the kingdom; and that our Lord the King should assign to be members
of his council three bishops, three earls, and three barons, such as will not
hesitate to speak the truth and improve matters; and that no great matters should
be accomplished or ended without them, and no wardships or marriages should
be given without their counsel, and they should be willing to put right what
was badly done and employed before this time of the deceit of the king; because
before these [evil councillors] are removed, no one will dare to speak the truth,
nor give a remedy, nor govern the country well. And they [the new councillors]
should be willing to hear and put right, by their good counsel and advice, the
wrongs which have been committed, as we have shown before this time.
And the
Lords replied that this would be a good thing to do, and they would willingly
inform the king of their consent and counsel and purpose. And they departed
on this day without doing anything further.
The second day after [26 May], the duke
and the other Lords of parliament sent certain Lords to the king to inform him
of the words of the Commons, and the consent of the Lords to advise him to remove
those who were of his council, and Dame Alice Perrers completely, informing
him of their actions and how they had acted to deceive him, and that he should
take to himself such councillors who wished loyally and profitably to govern
[for him] and ordain for his estate and kingdom and that he should not place
faith and credence in evil councillors and wrongdoers. And the king kindly said
to the Lords that he willingly wished to do that which was profitable to the
kingdom, and the Lords thanked him, beseeching his most excellent lordship that
he should elect three bishops, three earls, and three barons as was previously
mentioned to be of his council, for it appertained to him to elect [them] and
not to the others of parliament. And the king replied patiently that he would
willingly act according to their advice and good ordinance. And so they spoke
among themselves as to who they should be, and they elected the archbishop of
Canterbury, the bishop of London, the bishop of Winchester, the earls of Arundel,
March, and Stafford, and the Lord Percy, Sir Guy Brian, and Sir Roger Beauchamp.
And when this was done he sent for the duke of Lancaster and his brother the
earl of Cambridge, and the nine lords already mentioned, and when they came
to him they began to give their opinion of the ordinance already enacted and
spoken of in parliament. Then the king asked the said nine lords that they should
be willing to attend him and his council, and ordain for him and the kingdom,
and remedy the trespasses which had been committed and done before this time.
And the Lords kindly agreed to do his pleasure so far as they could, and they
were sworn to be loyal to the king and loyally govern him and the kingdom in
so far as they could.
At the same time there was
removed from the council of the king, Lord Latimer, Sir John Neville, Sir Richard
de Stafford, and Dame Alice Perrers; and the king himself swore before his Lords
that the said Alice would never come into his presence again, and it was ordained
by common consent that the aforementioned nine lords should stay in London,
or close to where the king was, so that they could be ready at all times to
counsel him when it was needed, and so they departed and went to London to the
parliament, and the duke of Lancaster was not pleased, but very much grieved
and annoyed that he had not been elected to be one of the councillors.
In the year 1377 [rectius
1376] in the time of the said parliament, the most noble prince of England and
Wales and the comfort of the whole of England, Sir Edward de-- IV fell seriously
ill at London before Whitsun [1 June] and was at Kennington near London. At
the time of his illness Richard Lyons previously mentioned was greatly annoyed
and he sent by water to the said prince a barrel which was secretly full of
gold, but appearing to be a barrel of sturgeons, to have his good lordship.
And when the present came the prince flatly refused to take it and gave his
reply in this manner: what was in the barrel was there and not profitable, for
it was not well put there or loyally come by, for this reason he did not wish
to take such a present, nor help the said Richard nor favour his evil designs,
but he was one with the Commons in counselling and ordering the estate of the
kingdom, and amending what had been done in an extortionate and evil fashion.
Then a short time afterwards,
the Lords and Commons entered the parliament, and the duke declared what the
king had done, and how the nine lords had been elected to be of his council
and were sworn loyally to counsel and govern him and the kingdom to the best
of their power. And for this the Commons thanked him warmly for his good grace
and wishes, and on the same day the nine lords previously mentioned were presented
in parliament and Sir Peter de la Mare began to speak in this fashion,
Sirs, if
you please, you have been commended by our Lord the King to hear about and to
amend the faults which we have previously revealed, and those of which we will
speak for you later, and concerning this we all beg you [to act] for the profit
of the kingdom, and we will tell you further of this matter. You know well that
we have spoken of different matters and trespasses which are still not redressed
concerning Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons, and they have committed several crimes
of which we have not spoken, and of this we will say more presently. As for
Lord Latimer we say to you that by his fault Bécherel and Saint-Saveur [-le-
Vicomte] were lost and surrendered to the French, and for giving them up the
said Lord took a great sum of gold and silver from the enemy as we have heard:
the which Lord could have succoured and aided them had he wished by his good
procurement and government. On account of this we pray and require you on behalf
of the king and the council of parliament that the aforesaid Lord Latimer should
be arrested and put under close guard for all the trespasses and crimes committed,
until he makes amends and satisfaction to the king for his misdeeds; and the
said Richard Lyons should be judged according to his deserts in the points and
articles brought against him, which he cannot reasonably deny.
At this
time the said Lord Latimer was summoned and arraigned for the matters previously
mentioned before the Lords of parliament, and the said Lord, denying that he
had had time to reply, asked to take counsel, and for a day on which he would
receive the articles in writing, so that he could give a considered reply. But
Sir William Wykham, bishop of Winchester, said before the Lords that it was
not necessary to have counsel or delay, for no one knew his deeds better than
himself, and for that reason he should reply without other advice and without
adjournment. And Lord Latimer replied to the bishop and said that it was very
hard and unreasonable to have the reply within so short a time to such grievous
and heinous points which had been made against him, making protestations in
all ways that he would put all his goods, his castles and his own person in
the grace and will of his sovereign Lord to do with him and his goods what he
wished. And at this time [26 May] he was arrested and put in the custody of
the earl of March, then the marshal of England; and the constabulary of Dover,
of which the said Lord Latimer was the guardian and constable was given to Sir
Edmund Langley, the earl of Cambridge and the son of the king. And at this time
Richard Lyons previously mentioned was apprehended and ordered to the Tower
of London as a perpetual prisoner and all his rents and tenements were given
to various people by the king, and all his goods were confiscated, and so ended
the parliament.
Source: John Taylor, English Historical Literature in the Fourteenth Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), pp. 301-313.
Last Update: 23 January, 2003