Note return to page 1 Charles Kean's influential 1857 production of RICHARD II, lovingly documented by this acting edition, used nearly six hundred extras in its crowd scenes to create a vast stage panorama of mediaeval life, cutting Shakespeare's text to make room for its minutely-researched archaeological spectacle.

Note return to page 2 For reference to Historical Authorities indicated by Letters, see end of each Act.

Note return to page 3 1The principal badges and cognizances of King Richard the Second, were the white hart kneeling, collared and chained, or, the sun in splendour; the pod of the plantagenista, or broom; and branches of rosemary. The white hart still remains painted, of a colossal size, on the wall over the door leading to the east cloister from the south aisle of Westminster Abbey.

Note return to page 4 2The costume of the king in this scene is taken from the curious and authentic portrait of Richard, preserved in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey.

Note return to page 5 3The Lord Chancellor was Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter.

Note return to page 6 4The Lord High Constable was the Duke of Aumerle. The office ceased with Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded for high treason in 1521. It is now merely an appointment to officiate at coronations, and was last held by the late Duke of Wellington, at that of Queen Victoria.

Note return to page 7 5On which you come.

Note return to page 8 6Id est., to charge.

Note return to page 9 7Drawn in a right or just cause.

Note return to page 10 8Lewd here signifies wicked. It is so used in many of our old statutes.

Note return to page 11 9Charged against me.

Note return to page 12 10Arrogant.

Note return to page 13 11John of Gaunt's dress is taken from the Cotton MS., where he is represented in a long party-coloured robe. White and red were the colors assumed by Richard II., as his livery, and were consequently much worn by the courtiers of his reign. White and blue were the colors of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

Note return to page 14 12&lblank; the part &lblank;] That is, my relation of consanguinity to Gloster.

Note return to page 15 13&lblank; thou dost consent, &c.] i. e., assent.

Note return to page 16 14Complain myself is a literal translation of the French phrase, me plaindre.

Note return to page 17 15A caitiff &lblank;] Caitiff originally signified a prisoner; next a slave, from the condition of prisoners; then a mean and dishonest person, from the qualities of a slave.

Note return to page 18 16A base villain.

Note return to page 19 17The Duchess of Gloucester's House in Essex.

Note return to page 20 18The tapestry which covered the stone walls of the Castle chambers having been removed.

Note return to page 21 19Those parts of the Castle on the ground floor occupied by the servants.

Note return to page 22 20The Royal Pavilion is lined with hangings powdered with crowns, and the king's initial on alternate bands of red and white, his livery colors. The canopy along the whole front is enriched with his badges of the white hart, surrounded with broom pods, (as shewn on the mantle of his very interesting portrait at Wilton House, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke), the ostrich feather treated as ermine, and the white falcon.

Note return to page 23 21To play in jest—to perform a part in a mask.

Note return to page 24 22&lblank; hath thrown his warder &lblank;] A warder appears to have been a kind of truncheon carried by the person who presided at these single combats.

Note return to page 25 23Nursed.

Note return to page 26 24Id est, concerted, deliberated.

Note return to page 27 25&lblank; upon good advice,] Upon great consideration.

Note return to page 28 26Grief.

Note return to page 29 27&lblank; gnarling] Growling.

Note return to page 30 34800001[A] (A) King Richard,] Richard the Second, son of Edward the Black Prince, was born in 1366; succeeded his grandfather, King Edward the Third, whilst a child of eleven years of age, on the 20th June, 1377. He was murdered in 1400, in the round tower of Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire, having been previously deposed by his cousin, Henry, Duke of Lancaster, who succeeded him under the title of Henry IV. He was named Richard of Bordeaux, because he was born at Bordeaux, in Gascony, whilst his father ruled there. —Vide Holinshed's “English Chronicles.” The monk of Evesham describes King Richard as of the common stature, yellowish hair, fair, round, and feminine face, abrupt in speech, capricious in manners, and too apt to prefer the recommendations of the young to the advice of the elder nobles— prodigal in his gifts, extravagantly splendid in his entertainments and dress, timid as to war, passionate towards his domestics, haughty, and too much devoted to luxury and voluptuousness— fond of late hours, drinking, and other excesses—heavily taxing his people—an encourager of architecture, and most beneficent to the clergy.

Note return to page 31 34800002[B] (B) John of Gaunt,] John of Gaunt was so called from Gant, or Ghent, the place of his birth; he was born in 1340, and died in 1399. His posterity swayed the sceptres of Spain and Portugal, and from him many of our nobility are descended. He did not survive his son's banishment more than three months.

Note return to page 32 34800003[C] (C) Bolingbroke.] The name of Bolingbroke was derived from the birth-place of Henry IV., Bolingbroke Castle, in Lincolnshire.

Note return to page 33 34800004[D] (D) The Duke of Gloster's death.] Thomas of Woodstock, was murdered at Calais in 1397.

Note return to page 34 34800005[E] (E) These home alarms.] The following description is taken from an ancient Chronicle, entitled “The Betrayal and Death of Richard, King of England”:— “As the King was setting out on horseback to go to Shrewsbury, the Duke of Hereford came and presented a petition to the King, in which he impeached the Duke of Norfolk of treason, and challenged him to battle as a false and disloyal traitor to the realm of England. When the King had received the petition, he caused it to be read in the presence of the two lords, and then the Duke of Norfolk replied, that in all the Duke of Hereford wished to insinuate against him he lied, false knight as he was. The King said to the Duke of Hereford, ‘Cousin Henry of Lancaster, the petition which I received from you has been here read, what say you before all present?’ Upon which the Duke of Hereford removed his bonnet, which was black, from his head, and said, ‘My lord, as the petition which I have given you makes mention, so say I for troth, that Thomas of Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, such as he is, is a traitor, false and recreant towards you and your royal majesty, to your crown, to the nobles, and to all the people of your realm.’ Then the King asked the Duke of Norfolk, ‘What have you to say, Thomas?’ The Duke replied, ‘My dear sire, by your leave, in answer to your cousin, saving your grace, I say that Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, has lied, in that he has said and wished to insinuate against me, like a false traitor and disloyal subject as he is.’ ‘Ho!’ said the King, ‘we have heard enough of that;’ and he then commanded the Duke of Surrey, who was then Marshal of England, to arrest the two lords. It is true that the Duke of Lancaster, father of the said Duke of Hereford, the Duke of York, the Duke of Albemarle, constable, and the Duke of Surrey, marshal, these four princes ware bail, body for body, for the Duke of Hereford; and it was thought that the Duke of Norfolk was not able to find bail, but was taken in arrest to Windsor, and a guard was appointed over him until the day that was appointed for the combat.” Afterwards, in the month of January, a day was appointed at Windsor to hear the two lords who had accused each other of treason, when the King caused the parties to be asked if they would not agree to make peace together, but they both answered that never should peace be made between them. The two lords were then summoned before the King and his Council, the description of which Shakespeare has taken for the opening scene, with the exception that Norfolk and Bolingbroke in the play speak for themselves, instead of through the mouth of a knight, as described by the Chronicles. The King finding it impossible to reconcile the two dukes, appointed the combat to take place at Coventry on St. Lambert's Day, 17th September, 1398.

Note return to page 35 34800006[F] (F) The Duke of Lancaster's Palace.] The Savoy Palace was situated close to the Strand, near the site of the present Waterloo Bridge. It was afterwards endowed by Henry VII. as “The Hospital of the Savoy.” The chapel still exists.

Note return to page 36 34800007[G] (G) Duchess of Gloster.] The Duchess of Gloster was Eleanor Bohun, widow of Duke Thomas, youngest son of Edward III.

Note return to page 37 34800008[H] (H) Edward's seven sons,] The seven sons of King Edward III. were— 1. Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince. 2. William of Hatfield. 3. Lionel, Duke of Clarence. 4. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. 5. Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. 6. William of Windsor. 7. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloster.

Note return to page 38 34800009[I] (I) Lord Marshal,] Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, was the Earl Marshal of England; but being himself one of the combatants, the Duke of Surrey officiated as Earl Marshal for the day.

Note return to page 39 34800010[K] (K) Aumerle.] Aumerle, or Aumale, is the French for what we now call Albemarle, which is a town in Normandy. Edward, Duke of Aumerle, so created by his cousin German, King Richard II., in 1397. He was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, fifth son of King Edward the Third, and was killed in 1415, at the battle of Agincourt, being then Duke of York by succession. He officiated at the lists of Coventry, as High Constable of England.

Note return to page 40 34800011[L] (L) Upon pain of life.] The reason given for the severe sentence passed upon the Duke of Norfolk is, that he confessed at Windsor on Monday, 29th April, certain points which he denied at Oswestry 23rd February, which points were, that he had fomented great troubles within the kingdom.

Note return to page 41 34800012[M] (M) All the world's my way.] The Duke of Norfolk, accompanied by a suite of thirty persons, proceeded to Holland. After a short residence on the Rhine, he visited Jerusalem, and died of a broken heart at Venice, 22nd September, 1399. His son and heir was afterwards beheaded at York, for conspiring against Henry IV., 1405.

Note return to page 42 34800013[N] (N) A trueborn Englishman.] Henry proceeded by way of Calais to Paris. More than 40,000 persons assembled to see him depart, saying, with tears and lamentations, “Ah! kind Lord Derby, must you leave us? Things will never go happily or well in this country till you return to us.” The mayor and principal inhabitants accompanied him to Dartford, and some even as far as Dover. —Froissart. Holinshed gives the following description of the intended duel at Coventry:— At the time appointed the king came to Coventry, where the two dukes were ready, according to the order prescribed therein, coming thither in great array, accompanied with the lords and gentlemen of their lineage. The king caused a sumptuous scaffold or theatre, and royal lists there to be erected and prepared. The Sunday before they should fight, after dinner the Duke of Hereford came to the king (being lodged about a quarter of a mile without the town, in a tower that belonged to Sir William Bagot), to take his leave of him. The morrow after, being the day appointed for the combat, about the spring of the day came the Duke of Norfolk to the court, to take leave likewise of the king. The Duke of Hereford armed him in his tent, that was set up near the lists, and the Duke of Norfolk put on his armour betwixt the gate and the barrier of the town, in a beautiful house, having a fair perclois of wood towards the gate, that none might see what was done within the house. The Duke of Aumarle that day, being high constable of England, and the Duke of Surrey, marshal, placed themselves betwixt them, well armed and appointed; and when they saw their time, they first entered into the lists with a great company of men apparelled in silk sandal, embroidered with silver, both richly and curiously, every man having a tipped staff to keep the field in order. [These men are described in the “Chronicle of the Betrayal of Richard,” as wearing short red doublets, covered with silver circles or girdles, with the motto of the garter.] About the hour of prime came the barriers of the lists, the Duke of Hereford, mounted on a white courser, barded with green and blue velvet, embroidered sumptuously with swans and antelopes of goldsmith's work, armed at all points.* [Subnote: * His shield was argent, with a cross gules, like unto the arms of St. George. —Chronicle of the Betrayal of King Richard.] The constable and marshal came to the barriers, demanding of him what he was; he answered—“I am Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, which am come hither to do mine endeavour against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, as a traitor untrue to God, the king, his realm, and me.” Then incontinently he sware upon the holy evangelists, that his quarrel was true and just, and upon that point he required to enter the lists. Then he put up his sword, which before he held naked in his hand, and putting down his visor, made a cross on his horse, with spear in hand, entered into the lists, and descended from his horse, and set him down in a chair of green velvet, at the one end of the lists, and there reposed himself, abiding the coming of his adversary. Soon after him, entered into the field with great triumph, King Richard, accompanied with all the peers of the realm, and in his company was the Earl of St. Paule, which was come out of France in post to see this challenge performed. The king had there about ten thousand men in armour, lest some fray or tumult might arise amongst his nobles, by quarrelling or partaking. When the king was set in his seat, which was richly hanged and adorned, a king-at-arms made open proclamation, prohibiting all men in the name of the king, and of the high constable and marshal, to enterprise, or attempt to approach, or touch any part of the lists upon pain of death, except such as were appointed to order or marshal the field. The proclamation ended; another herald cried—“Behold here Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, appellant, which is entered into the lists royal to do his devoir against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, defendant, upon pain to be found false and recreant.” The Duke of Norfolk hovered on horseback at the entry of the lists, his horse being barded with crimson velvet, embroidered richly with lions of silver, and mulberry trees; and when he had made his oath before the constable and marshal that his quarrel was just and true, he entered the field manfully, saying aloud— “God aid him that hath the right.” And then he departed from his horse, and set him down in his chair, which was of crimson velvet, curtained about with white and red damask. The Lord Marshal viewed their spears, to see that they were of equal length, and delivered the one spear himself to the Duke of Hereford, and sent the other unto the Duke of Norfolk by a knight. Then the herald proclaimed that the traverses and chairs of the champions should be removed, commanding them on the king's behalf to mount on horseback, and address themselves to the battle and combat.* [Subnote: * Each of the dukes went to a prodigious expense to outshine the other. The Duke of Hereford procured his armour from Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, who sent him the Chevalier François, and four of the best armourers in Lombardy. —Froissart.] The Duke of Hereford was quickly horsed, and closed his beaver, and cast his spear into the rest, and when the trumpet sounded set forward courageously towards his enemy six or seven paces. The Duke of Norfolk was not fully set forward, when the king cast down his warder, and the heralds cried, “Ho! ho!” Then the king caused their spears to be taken from them, and commanded them to repair again to their chairs, where they remained two long hours, while the king and his council deliberately consulted what order was best to be had in so weighty a cause. Finally, after they had devised, and fully determined what should be done therein, the heralds cried silence, and Sir John Bushie, the king's secretary, read the sentence and determination of the king and his council, in a long roll, the effect whereof was, that Henry, Duke of Hereford, should, within fifteen days, depart out of the realm, and not to return before the time ten years were expired, except by the king he should be repealed again, and this upon pain of death. And that Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, because he had sown sedition in the realm by his words, should likewise avoid the realm, and never to return again into England, nor approach the borders or confines thereof, on pain of death; and that the king would stay the profits of his lands, till he had levied thereof such sums of money as the duke had taken up of the king's treasurer for the wages of the garrison of Calais, which were still unpaid. When these judgments were once read, the king called before him both the parties, and made them to swear that the one should never come in place where the other was willingly, nor keep any company together in any foreign region; which oath they both received humbly, and so went their ways. The Duke of Norfolk departed sorrowfully out of the realm into Almanie (Germany), and at the last came to Venice, where he, for thought and melancholy, deceased; for he was in hope (as writers record) that he should have been bourn out in the matter by the king, which, when it fell out otherwise, it grieved him not a little. The Duke of Hereford took his leave of the king at Eltham, who there released four years of his banishment: so he took his journey over into Calais, and from thence went into France, where he remained. A wonder it was to see what number of people ran after him in every town and street where he came, before he took the sea, lamenting and bewailing his departure; as who would say, that when he departed, the only shield, defence, and comfort of the commonwealth was faded and gone. And then, that Henry Bolingbroke, and he, Being mounted, and both roused in their seats, Their neighing coursers daring of the spur, Their armed staves in charge, their beavers down, Their eyes of fire sparkling through sights of steel, And the loud trumpet blowing them together; Then, then The king did throw his warder down, His own life hung upon the staff he threw; Then threw he down himself. Shakespeare, Henry IV., Part 2, a. 4, s. 1.

Note return to page 43 1Beds belonging to the nobility were usually embroidered with the arms and devices of the owners, in the most costly materials. In this scene the bearings of John of Gaunt are displayed on the coverlid. The head of the bed has in the centre his arms as King of Castile and Leon, in right of his first wife, surrounded with his own badge of the ostrich feather, on a ground of his livery colors, blue and white, powdered with his badges of S. S., and an eagle standing on a padlock, and essaying to open the same, as shown on one of his seals. The vallance is enriched with similar devices. The walls are covered with paintings, selected from a very beautifully illuminated manuscript in the British Museum, containing 120 miniature representations of scenes from the legendary lives of St. Edmund (the patron saint of Richard II.), and St. Fremund.

Note return to page 44 2Paltry.

Note return to page 45 3Inky blots are written restrictions.

Note return to page 46 4Alluding to the circumstances of Richard having actually farmed out his royal realm to the Earl of Wiltshire, one of his favorites.

Note return to page 47 5Kerns. The scum and dross of the country.

Note return to page 48 6Sir John Bushy was speaker of the House of Commons in the years 1394–1397, and 1398.

Note return to page 49 7Expedition.

Note return to page 50 8The costume of Bolingbroke in this scene is copied from the illuminations of the Metrical History: the black cap and surcoat are supposed to represent him in mourning for the death of John of Gaunt, his father. Northumberland's dress is taken from the same authority.

Note return to page 51 9I know.

Note return to page 52 10&lblank; the absent time,] i. e., time of the king's absence.

Note return to page 53 11&lblank; indifferent eye] i. e., with an impartial eye.

Note return to page 54 12It stands your grace upon to do him right.] i. e., it is your interest, it is matter of consequence to you.

Note return to page 55 34800014[A] (A) Ill in bed;] John of Gaunt died, as Leland and others say, at Ely House, Holborn, and was buried at St. Pauls.

Note return to page 56 34800015[B] (B) Duke of York,] By the marriage of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, second son of this Duke of York, with Ann Mortimer, the lineal representative of Lionel, Duke of Clarence (third son of Edward III.) the house of York claimed priority in the regal succession over the junior branch of Lancaster. Edward IV. was the grandson of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, and Ann Mortimer. The title and honors of York were restored to his father, Richard Plantagenet, who was killed at Wakefield (1460), in the wars of the roses.

Note return to page 57 34800016[C] (C) Lord Ross,] Now spelt Roos, one of the Duke of Rutland's titles. Lord William Roos was afterwards Lord Treasurer to Henry IV.

Note return to page 58 34800017[D] (D) Willoughby.] Willoughby was William, Lord Willoughby, of Eresby, who afterwards married Joan, widow of Edmund, Duke of York.

Note return to page 59 34800018[E] (E) Our Irish wars:] King Richard the Second went to Ireland with a mighty array to revenge the death of his cousin, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, and Lieutenant of Ireland (slain by O'Brien and the Irish of Leinster) to whom he intended the crown of England, if he failed of issue; to the furnishing of which expedition he had extorted money on all hands, taking up carriages, victuals, and other necessaries, without any recompense, whereby the hatred of his government grew universal. The death of John, Duke of Lancaster, happened about this time, upon whose estate the king most unjustly seized, banishing Henry, the new rightful Duke of Lancaster, not for a few years, but for ever. —Sandford's “Geneological History of the Kings of England.” Froissart gives the following description of the Irish at this period, on the authority of an English squire, Henry Castide, who accompanied Richard II. in his first expedition to Ireland:— “Ireland is one of the worst countries to make war in or to conquer, for there are such impenetrable and extensive forests, lakes, and bogs, that there is no knowing how to pass them and carry on the war advantageously; it is so thinly inhabited, that whenever the Irish please they desert the towns and take refuge in the forests, living in huts made of boughs like wild beasts. Moreover, whenever they perceive any parties advancing with hostile intentions, and about to enter their country, they fly to such narrow passes, that it is impossible to follow them. When they find a favourable opportunity to attack their enemies to advantage, which from their knowledge of the country frequently happens, they fail not to seize it; and no man-at-arms, be he ever so well mounted, can overtake them, so light of foot are they. Sometimes they leap from the ground behind a horseman and embrace the rider so tightly, that he can in no way get rid of them. The Irish have pointed knives with broad blades, sharp on both sides, like a dart head, with which they kill their enemies; but they never consider them as dead, until they have cut their throats like sheep, opened their bellies, and taken out their hearts, which they carry off with them; and some who are well acquainted with their manners say that they devour them as delicious morsels. They never accept of ransom for their prisoners; and when in any skirmishes they find they have not the advantage, they instantly separate and hide themselves in hedges, bushes, or holes under ground, so that they seem to disappear, no one knows whither. Sir William Windsor, who had made war in Ireland longer than any other English knight, has never been able, during his residence among them, to learn correctly their manners, nor the condition of the people. They are a very hardy race, of great subtlety, and of various tempers, paying no attention to cleanliness, nor to any gentleman, although the country is governed by kings, of whom there were several; but seem desirous to remain in the savage state in which they have been brought up.”

Note return to page 60 34800019[F] (F) And his lands.] “Alas!” cried some, “what have his children done? When the king seizes their inheritance—an inheritance which ought to be theirs by direct succession from grandfather to father. There must be some change in public measures, we neither can nor will suffer them to go no longer.” —Froissart.

Note return to page 61 34800020[G] (G) Lord Governor of England.] When Richard set out from England, he constituted his uncle, the Duke of York, his Lieutenant in England, and caused him to take an oath to be true and loyal to him, and proclaimed that all persons throughout the kingdom should pay the same obedience to the duke as to his own person. He also appointed the Marquis of Dorset admiral, and Sir William Scrop treasurer; and Sir John Bussy (Bushy), Sir Thomas Green, and Sir William Bagot, these four knights he constituted Lords Commissioners of England. —Chronicle of the Betrayal of Richard, King of England.

Note return to page 62 34800021[H] (H) Our northern shore:] Henry, Duke of Lancaster, therefore laying hold on this opportunity (accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the late Earl of Arundel's son and heir, with three ships which he borrowed of the Duke of Bretagne, and not above sixty persons) set sail for England, and hovering a while upon the coast, the better to observe the countenance of his affairs, landed at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire, where Henry, Earl of Northumberland, his son, the Lord Henry Percy, Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, with great numbers of the nobility, gentry, and commons, resorted to him, continuing their solicitation for his acceptance of the crown, whilst the Duke pretended his coming to be only for the inheritance descended to him from his father. And before he had advanced as far as Berkeley, his army was grown so very numerous, that all the castles in those parts were surrendered to him.” —Sandford's “Geneological History of the Kings of England.”

Note return to page 63 34800022[I] (I) Enter the Queen.] Shakespeare has deviated from historical truth in the introduction of Richard's queen as a woman in the present piece. Isabella of Valois, daughter of Charles VI., of France, and Isabeau of Bavaria, was a child, not nine years old, when she was espoused by Richard, then in his 27th year. The following interesting description is given in the cotemporary work entitled “Chronicle of the Betrayal of Richard, King of England,” of the parting of Richard and his “little queene,” at Windsor, previous to his departure for Ireland:— “King Richard and the Queen of England walked hand in hand, from the castle to the lower court, and thence to the deanery of St. George, where the canons brought St. George's mantle to the King, and the King wore it over his shoulders, as is the custom of the country, and then entered the church. The canons chaunted very sweetly, and the King himself chaunted a collect, and afterwards made his offering; he then took the Queen in his arms, and kissed her more than forty times, saying sorrowfully, ‘Adieu, Madame, until we meet again; I commend me to you.’ Thus spoke the King to the Queen in the presence of all the people; and the Queen began to weep, saying to the King, ‘Alas! my lord, will you leave me here?’ Upon which the King's eyes filled with tears on the point of weeping, and he said, ‘By no means, Madame; but I will go first, and you, Madame, shall come there afterwards.’ Then the King and Queen partook of wine and comfits together at the deanery, and all who chose did the same. Afterwards the King stooped, and took and lifted the Queen from the ground, and held her a long while in his arms, and kissed her at least ten times, saying ever, ‘Adieu, Madame, until we meet again,’ and then placed her on the ground, and kissed her at least thrice more; and, by our Lady! I never saw so great a lord make so much of, nor show such great affection to, a lady, as did King Richard to his Queen. Great pity was it that they separated, for never saw they each other more. Afterwards the King embraced all the ladies, and then mounted his horse. “There many knights kissed hands on taking their departure, and trumpets sounded, and men-at-arms and archers from every country arrived to serve the noble King Richard, who was careful to ride early and late, until he arrived at Milford, where was a very fine port, with many fine ships. From Milford the King wrote a most affectionate letter to the Queen, commending himself to her many times, for she was ill with grief from losing her lord.”

Note return to page 64 34800023[K] (K) At Ravenspurg.] Ravenspurg—once a considerable port in Yorkshire, near the mouth of the Humber, which has long since been covered by the encroachments of the sea. It is remarkable, that Edward IV. landed there in 1471 on a similar errand to that of Henry Bolingbroke.

Note return to page 65 34800024[L] (L) Berkley Castle.] Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire, was the place where the unfortunate Edward II. was murdered, in September, 1327. The title and estates were conferred by Henry II. on Robert FitzHarding, who assumed the title of Baron de Berkeley.

Note return to page 66 34800025[M] (M) Harry Percy.] Eldest son of the first Earl of Northumberland. His name is celebrated in history and in ballads. Educated in the marshes, he acquired all the intrepidity and enterprise of a border chieftain, and for the energy displayed against the Scots, received the appellation of Hotspur. He was slain in rebellion against Henry IV., at the battle of Shrewsbury, 21st July, 1403.

Note return to page 67 34800026[N] (N) Enter York, attended.] The Duke of York, who was left governor of the kingdom during the King's absence in Ireland, used all diligence to raise forces to oppose Lancaster; but the people in general protesting that they would not hurt the Duke, whom they knew to be wronged, the Duke of York could effect little: so that Lancaster, with an army of 60,000 men, marched to Bristol, besieged the castle, and took it, and therein William, Earl of Wiltshire, Bushie, and Green, whose heads were the next day severed from their bodies. The Duke was six weeks in England before King Richard had notice, by reason of the contrary winds, which as soon as he understood, he resolved upon his return, but was dissuaded by the fatal advice of the Duke of Aumerle; however, he sent the Earl of Salisbury before, promising to follow himself within six days. The Earl landed at Conway, and soon got an army of 40,000; but the King not coming at his time, the soldiers suspecting that he was dead (though, by the Earl's persuasion, they continued together some time longer) at length disbanded, and went away; so that eighteen days after the Earl departed, the King (having secured the sons of the Dukes of Gloster and Lancaster in Trym Castle) took shipping, being then in no fear of prevailing; but, upon his arrival, hearing of the revolt of his castles, the death of his councellors, and that the greater part of the nobility and commons forsook him, he fell into despair; and though his soldiers offered to live and die with him, yet he dismissed his family, bidding his steward, Sir Thomas Percy, and others, to reserve themselves for better times, and the next night, with the Dukes of Surrey and Exeter, the Bishop of Carlisle, and others, stole away from the army to Conway Castle. —Sandfords's “Geneological History of the Kings of England.” The Duke of York's loyalty must be regarded as subject to suspicion. We do not hear of his having made any strenuous effort on behalf of his sovereign; but he appears to have suffered himself to be led by the current of events.

Note return to page 68 34800027[O] (O) Weed and pluck away.] Upon the Vanguard showing itself before Bristol, the city surrendered immediately, and the castle also: and in it were taken Sir William Scrop, Sir John Bussy, and Sir Thomas Green. Sir William Bagot escaped, and was not taken at that time, but he was captured afterwards. It is true that, after they were taken, the Duke caused them to be beheaded, and sent their heads in a white basket to London, with a letter which was read before all the commonalty of London, of which this is the beginning. ‘I, Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford and Earl Derby, commend myself to all the people of London, high and low. My good friends, I send you my salutations, and I acquaint you that I have come over to take my rightful inheritance. I beg of you to let me know if you will be on my side, or not: and I care not which, for I have people enough to fight all the world for one day, thank God! But take in good part the present I send you.’ When the Londoners had heard this letter read, they cried out unanimously, ‘Our lives, our possessions, and all we have are at his service.’ —Chronicle of the Betrayal of Richard, King of England.

Note return to page 69 1The ships are copied from the Metrical History in the British Museum.

Note return to page 70 2The King's costume in this scene is taken from the same authority.

Note return to page 71 3Force.

Note return to page 72 4Portion, or quantity—a modicum.

Note return to page 73 5&lblank; there the antick sits,] Here is an allusion to the antick or fool of old farces, whose chief part is to deride and disturb the graver and more splendid personages. —Johnson.

Note return to page 74 6Tradition,] Traditional practices: that is, established, or customary homage.

Note return to page 75 7On his side or part.

Note return to page 76 8I'll hate him everlastingly, That bids me be of comfort &lblank;] This sentiment is drawn from nature. Nothing is more offensive to a mind convinced that its distress is without a remedy, and preparing to submit quietly to irresistible calamity, than these petty and conjectured comforts which unskilful officiousness thinks it virtue to administer. —Johnson.

Note return to page 77 9Our author uses the word testament in its legal sense. Bolingbroke is come to open the testament of war, that he may peruse what is decreed there in his favour. Purple is an epithet referring to the future effusion of blood. —Steevens.

Note return to page 78 10&lblank; the flower of England's face;] The flowery surface of England's soil.

Note return to page 79 11When Richard came down from the tower of Flint Castle, and put himself into the hands of his adversary, Sir Stephen Scroop bore the sword before him. —Vide “Metrical History.”

Note return to page 80 12With words of sooth!] Sweetness or softness.

Note return to page 81 13A road of much traffick.

Note return to page 82 14A bow or curtsey, as an acknowledgement of assent.

Note return to page 83 34800028[A] (A) Bishop of Carlisle,] Thomas Merkes, Bishop of Carlisle, was the faithful adherent of Richard, and accompanied him in his expedition to Ireland. This prelate had the firmness to plead the cause of Richard II. against all the influence of the successful Bolingbroke, for which he was imprisoned in the abbey of St. Albans, and deprived of his bishoprick. In 1404 he became Rector of Todenham, in Gloucestershire, and expired about five years afterwards.

Note return to page 84 34800029[B] (B) Call you this at hand?] Shakespeare describes the First Scene of the Third Act as the coast of Wales with a castle in view, and makes Richard say, “Barkloughly Castle call you this at hand?” Our author has followed Holinshed, who states that the King landed at Barclowlie Castle, in Wales. There does not appear to be any record of the name of Barcloughly, and the place of Richard's debarkation is a matter of some uncertainty; yet Creton, in his Metrical History, as well as several other historians, mention Milford Haven. The Castle of Pembroke has therefore been restored, and substituted for Barcloughly.

Note return to page 85 34800030[C] (C) Enter Salisbury.] At the meeting of the King and the Earl, instead of joy there was very great sorrow. Tears, lamentations, sighs, groans, and mourning quickly broke forth. Truly it was a piteous sight to behold their looks and countenance, and woeful meeting. The Earl's face was pale with watching; he related to the King his hard fate; and how he had made his muster when he landed in England; and that he had straightway sent through the country for the Cheshire men, and the Welsh, who were heartily willing to conquer their enemies. Forty thousand of them were brought together. There, said I to them often, “My good friends, let us go forward; the King hath sent me over hither to lead you on. Be sure that I will not desert you till I die. But I could not persuade them from going, each of them when he saw his danger (his tail on fire), some to the Duke, others elsewhere; thinking because they saw you not directly there, that you were of a truth dead beyond the sea. So after I had kept them nearly a fortnight in the field, they left me alone in the plain. Alas! very little doth he love you, who hath so long detained you in Ireland. All is lost; without the help of our Lord, I surely think that we are delivered over to our latter end.” No one would believe how much the King grieved at it. His mortal misfortune was not light, neither (was) his wrath, while he often said, “Glorious and merciful God, who didst endure to be crucified for us, if by sin I have greatly trangressed against thee, with folded hands I cry thee mercy. Suffer me not to lose my country and my life through these perfidious traitors, full of envy, who thus would thrust me out, and deprive me of mine inheritance. Alas! I know not what they would require of me. According to mine ability I have desired to observe (have respect unto) justice and righteousness. That sovereign King, who sitteth above, and seeth afar, I call to witness it, so truly, that my sad heart could wish that all mortals, past, present, and to come, could know my thought and my desires. If I have been most invariable in preserving right, reason demands it; for a king should be firm and steady both in keeping himself notable for the punishment of the wicked, and for holding to the truth in every place. Alas! and because I have followed this righteous course, as far as I was able, for these three years past, yea, for eight or ten, do these people keep me in this affliction. O God of glory! I humbly beseech thee, that as I have never consented, according to my ability, to bring evil upon any one who had not deserved it, be pleased to have mercy upon me, alas! a poor king; for I know right well, that unless thou shouldst speedily deign to regard me, I am lost. —Creton's “Metrical History.”

Note return to page 86 34800031[D] (D) Northumberland.] Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland, having by base and artful persuasions, and the mockery of a solemn oath for the King's safety, induced Richard to quit Conway Castle, rode on before, under the pretence of preparing dinner, for the purpose of placing his men in ambush in a pass between a steep rock and the sea, where he seized the person of the King, in violation of his sworn vow, and carried him a prisoner to Flint Castle. The grossest perjury appears to have been lightly thought of, and unblushingly committed in England; not a little of this general depravity may be attributable, perhaps, to the evil example and arbitrary authority of the King.

Note return to page 87 34800032[E] (E) Enter on the walls King Richard.] (I shall treat) in this part, of the afflictions and sorrows of King Richard, in the castle of Flint, when he awaited the coming of the Duke of Lancaster, who set out from the city of Chester on Tuesday, the 22nd day of August, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord 1399, with the whole of his force, which I heard estimated by many knights and squires at upwards of one hundred thousand men, marshalled in battle array, marching along the sea shore with great joy and satisfaction, and eager also to take their rightful and natural lord King Richard, who, early on the morning of the said Tuesday, arose, attended by sorrows, sadness, afflictions; mourning, weeping, and lamentations: he heard mass most devoutly, like a true Catholic, with his good friends, the Earl of Salisbury, the Bishop of Carlisle, Sir Stephen Scroope, and another knight, named Ferriby, who for no adversity, nor any disaster that befel the King, would desert, or relinquish him. . . . King Richard having heard mass, went up upon the walls of the castle, which are large and wide on the inside, beholding the Duke of Lancaster as he came along the seashore with all his host. It was marvellously great, and showed such joy and satisfaction, that the sound and bruit of their instruments, horns, busines, and trumpets, were heard even as far as the castle. Then did he commend himself into the holy keeping of our Lord, and of all the saints of heaven in this manner. “Alas! now see I plainly that the end of my days draweth nigh, since I must needs be delivered into the hands of mine enemies, who mortally hate me that have never deserved it. Surely, Earl of Northumberland, thou shouldst have great fear and dread of heart, lest our Lord God take vengeance upon the sin which thou didst commit when thou swaredst so foully by him to draw us forth from Conway, where we were right secure. Now for this may God reward thee. —Creton's “Metrical History.”

Note return to page 88 34800033[F] (F) Enter Bolingbroke, attended.] Then they made the King, who had dined in the donjon, come down to meet Duke Henry, who, as soon as he perceived him at a distance, bowed very low to the ground; and as they approached each other he bowed a second time, with his cap in his hand; and then the King took off his bonnet, and spake first in this manner: “Fair cousin of Lancaster, you be right welcome.” Then Duke Henry replied, bowing very low to the ground, “My lord, I am come sooner than you sent for me; the reason wherefore I will tell you. The common report of your people is such that you have, for the space of twenty, or two and twenty years, governed them very badly, and very rigorously, and in so much that they are not well contented therewith. But if it please our lord, I will help you to govern them better than they have been governed in time past.” King Richard then answered him, “Fair cousin, since it pleaseth you, it pleaseth us well.” . . . The said Duke Henry called aloud with a stern and savage voice, “Bring out the King's horses; and then they brought him two little horses that were not worth forty franks. The King mounted one, and the Earl of Salisbury the other. Every one got on horseback, and we set out from the said castle of Flint about two hours after mid-day. In form and manner as you have heard, did Duke Henry take King Richard, his lord; and he brought him with great joy and satisfaction to Chester, which he had quitted in the morning. And know, that with great difficulty could the thunder of heaven have been heard, for the loud bruit and sound of their instruments, horns, busines, and trumpets; insomuch that they made all the sea shore resound with them. Thus the Duke entered the city of Chester, to whom the common people paid great reverence, praising our Lord, and shouting after their king, as it were in mockery. The Duke led him straight to the castle, which is right fair and strong, and caused him to be lodged in the donjon. —Creton's “Metrical History.”

Note return to page 89 1In consequence of the valiant conduct of Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor of London, who killed Wat Tyler at the head of his rebels, the king being present, Richard II. knighted the Lord Mayor and five Aldermen, and augmented the city arms with a dagger in the dexter quarter. —Vide Sandford's History. Walworth belonged to the Fishmonger's Company.

Note return to page 90 2The Banner of St. Paul was always carried with that of the City, in civic processions.

Note return to page 91 3Thomas Knolles was Lord Mayor of London in 1399. He belonged to the Company of Grocers. Two years previously (1397), the office was filled by the celebrated Richard Whittington. The city authorities on the present occasion are dressed in gowns of blue and white, in compliment to the Duke of Lancaster. Knighton relates, that some years previously, the mayor, accompanied by the citizens of London, in a very large company, met Richard the Second and his Queen on Blackheath, all of them being clothed in the king's colours, that is to say, in party coloured gowns of white and red, and conducted them first to St. Paul's Church, and then to the Royal Palace at Westminster. The civil authorities and companies went out in the same sort of array to meet the Black Prince when he brought over his prisoner, John, King of France, from Poitiers, A. D. 1356.

Note return to page 92 4The original founders of the Worshipful Company of Grocers were known, at a very remote period of English history, under the name of Pepperers; and, although they bore this distinctive appellation, they were recognised as general traders, who bought and sold, or, according to the legal acceptation of the word, engrossed all kinds of merchandize. At the early dawn of commerce in this country, they established the first mercantile association on record, and, no doubt, suggested, at an after period, the first idea of the East India and Levant Companies. —I. B. Heath's account of the Grocer's Company, page 38.

Note return to page 93 5Now called Merchant Tailors.

Note return to page 94 6Minstrels were very famous at this period, and bands of them were in the pay of various noble families. Minstrels accompanied King Richard to Ireland; and Creton remarks, that trumpets and the sound of minstrels might be heard day and night. The musical instruments of the time were the organ, harp, dulcimer, tambourin, trumpets (large and small), busine (supposed to be a kind of wind instrument made of metal), hautboy, a sort of kettle drum, flute, flageolet, and sackbut, with various kinds of fiddles. Stringed instruments were employed in processions.

Note return to page 95 7Bolingbroke, when he entered London with the captive Richard, was dressed, according to Froissart, in a short jacket of cloth of gold, with a blue garter on his left leg, and was mounted on a white courser.

Note return to page 96 8And as he (King Richard) rode through London on a little horse, on his way to prison, they kept an open space round him, that every one might see him; and there was a boy who pointed him out with his finger, saying, “Behold King Richard, who has done so much good to the kingdom of England.” It is true that some pitied him much, and others were exceedingly glad, cursing him loudly in their language, and saying, “Now are we all well revenged of him who has governed us so ill.” And in this manner was he taken to the Tower of London. —Chronicle of the Betrayal of King Richard II.

Note return to page 97 9Several citizens had contrived to kill him (King Richard) as he passed through the city; but the mayor and aldermen having timely notice of their design, prevented it by their vigilance. —Metrical History.

Note return to page 98 34800034[A] The historical episode is introduced for the purpose of exhibiting in action what is described by the Duke of York to his Duchess, in the fifth set, thus giving an embodiment of what really occurred in London, in 1399. The contemporary Chronicle of the Betrayal of Richard, King of England, as well as the Metrical History, give a detailed account of the progress of Bolingbroke and the Captive King from Chester to London. At Lichfield, “a very fair little city, poor King Richard thought to escape from them by night, and let himself down into a garden through a window of a large tower in which they had lodged him, but he was perceived, and was most villainously thrust back into the tower; and from that time forth, at all hours of the night, he had ten or twelve armed men who guarded him, without his being able to sleep.” When they arrived near London, “the Mayor, accompanied by a very great number of the Commons, marshaled and clad, each trade by itself, in different garments, drawn up in rows, and armed, came to meet Duke Henry, with a great quantity of instruments and trumpets, showing great joy and great satisfaction. The sword was then borne before the said Mayor, as before the King.” The citizens are there described as saluting the Duke with the greatest respect, and shouting “Long live Henry, the noble Duke of Lancaster, who has conquered all England in less than a month! such a lord deserves to be king.” The Duke then said to the mayor and the people of London, “My lords and friends, here is King Richard; I deliver him into your custody, and beg you to do with him what you wish.” The unfortunate King, who, during his journey, had never been allowed to change his clothes, was then presented to the people, and alighted from a very small horse, bathed in tears. He was then delivered into the hands of the citizens, “who made such a noise, shouting ‘Long live the Duke of Lancaster,’ and the trumpets and other instruments, and the bells of the churches and monasteries rang so merrily, that you could not even hear God thundering.” Richard was first taken to Westminster, and afterwards to the Tower of London.

Note return to page 99 1Now called King's Langley, on the North-Western line of railway.

Note return to page 100 2Published by the editor of the Glossary of Architecture, in his work entitled “Some Account of Domestic Architecture in England, from Edward I. to Richard II.”

Note return to page 101 3A weight fixed on one side of the bowl, which turns it from the straight line.

Note return to page 102 4It profits not.

Note return to page 103 5Against a change: Woe is forerun with woe.] The poet, according to the common doctrine of prognostication, supposes dejection to forerun calamity, and a kingdom to be filled with rumours of sorrow when any great disaster is impending. The sense is, that public evils are always presignified by public pensiveness, and plaintive conversion. —Johnson.

Note return to page 104 6This is an anachronism. Apricots were first introduced into England from Epirus, by the gardener of Henry VIII., A. D. 1540. —Haydn's “Dic. of Dates.”

Note return to page 105 7Inclosure.

Note return to page 106 8id est, no doubt.

Note return to page 107 9Pity.

Note return to page 108 10This circumstance is stated in the Rolls of Parliament.

Note return to page 109 11&lblank; his conduct.] i. e., conductor.

Note return to page 110 12Richard's costume is in this scene copied from the “Metrical History.”

Note return to page 111 13The favours, &c.] The countenances, the features.

Note return to page 112 14They tend] i. e., attend.

Note return to page 113 15&lblank; my balm,] The oil of consecration.

Note return to page 114 16This was a charge drawn up against Richard, consisting of thirty-three articles, and expressed with extreme acrimony.

Note return to page 115 17id est, if thou wouldst read over a list of thy own deeds.

Note return to page 116 18&lblank; a sort &lblank;] A pack, a company.

Note return to page 117 19&lblank; haught,] i. e., haughty.

Note return to page 118 20&lblank; Conveyers are you all,] To convey is a term often used in an ill sense, and so Richard understands it here. To convey is the word for sleight of hand, which seems to be alluded to here. Ye are all, says the deposed prince, jugglers, who rise with this nimble dexterity by the fall of a good king. —Johnson.

Note return to page 119 34800035[A] (A) Stow declares that Richard's abdication took place in Westminster Hall, in September, 1399. Previous, however, to this event, the following description is given in the Chronicle of Richard's Betrayal, before alluded to:— “The Duke of Lancaster went on the morrow to the Tower, with the Duke of York and the Earl of Rutland in his company; and, when there, he desired the Earl of Arundel to send King Richard to him. The Earl went to deliver his message; the which, when the King had heard, he replied, ‘Arundel, go tell Henry of Lancaster from me that I will do no such thing, and that, if he wishes to speak with me, he must come to me; otherwise I will not speak to him.’ The Earl reported his answer to the Duke, upon which he and the other lords went to the King; and, for sure, none of the lords shewed any respect to the King except the Duke of Lancaster, who took off his hat and saluted him respectfully, and said to him, ‘My lord, here is our cousin the Duke of Aumarle, and his father our uncle, who wish to speak to you.’ To which the King answered, ‘Cousin, they are not worthy to speak to me.’ ‘But have the goodness to hear them,’ replied the Duke. Upon which the King uttered an oath, and said to his uncle of York, ‘Thou villain! what wouldst thou say to me? And thou traitor of Rutland! thou art neither worthy nor good enough to speak to me, nor to bear the name of Duke, Earl, or Knight: thou, and the villain thy father, have both of you foully betrayed me. I pray to God, and to St. John the Baptist, that cursed may be the hour wherein ye were born; by you and by your false counsel was my uncle of Gloucester put to death. Alas! that I should have ever been so fond of so false a traitor; for by thee the kingdom of England will be destroyed, I am convinced!’ The Earl of Rutland replied to the King, that in what he said he lied, and threw down his bonnet at his feet; which the King kicked two or three paces from him, and said to him, ‘Traitor! I am King and thy lord, and will still continue King; and will be a greater lord than I ever was, in spite of all my enemies; and you are not fit to speak to me!’ Upon this the Duke of Lancaster forbad the Earl to speak, or he would order the Constable and Marshal to lay the hand upon him till such time as he should repent. After these words the King asked the Duke of Lancaster, ‘Why do you keep me so closely guarded by your men-at-arms? I wish to know if you acknowledge me as your lord and king, or what you mean to do with me?’ The Duke replied, ‘It is true you are my King and lord, but the council of the realm have ordered that you should be kept in confinement until the day of the meeting of Parliament.’ The King again swore, and desired that the Queen his wife might come to speak to him. ‘Excuse me, my lord,’ replied the Duke, ‘it is forbidden by the council.’ Then was the King in great wrath, but he could not help himself, and said to the Duke, that he did great wrong both to him and to the Queen. The Duke replied, ‘My lord, we cannot do otherwise till the Parliament meets.’ The King was so enraged with this speech, that he could scarce speak, and paced twenty-three steps down the room without uttering a word; and presently he broke out thus: ‘O God of Paradise! O Virgin Mary! O St. John the Baptist, and all the Saints of Paradise, how can you suffer the great wrongs and treason which this people have committed, and wish to commit against me, and my dear lady, my wife, and daughter of my dear and beloved lord and father the noble King of France, who little dreams of our miserable condition, and in what danger we are placed? Now I see plainly that you are all false traitors to God, my lady, and me; this will I prove against any four of the best of you with my body, like a loyal knight as I am, and I never forfeited my knighthood.’ (For it is true that my lord was all his life a good and loyal knight.) ‘My grandfather, King Edward, gave me the crown before his death, God have mercy on him! and afterwards was I crowned by the consent of all the nobles, and of the whole country; and you have acknowledged me as your King these twenty-two years—how dare you use me so cruelly? I say that you behave to me like false men, and like false traitors to their lord; this will I prove, and fight four of the best of you, and there is my pledge:’ saying which the King threw down his bonnet. The Duke of Lancaster fell on his knees, and besought him to be quiet till the meeting of Parliament, and there every one would bring forward his reason. ‘At last, fair sirs, for God's sake let me be brought to trial, that I may give an account of my conduct, and that I may answer to all that they would say against me.’ Then said the Duke of Lancaster, ‘My lord, be not afraid, nothing unreasonable shall be done to you.’ And so he took leave of the King, and not a lord who was there durst utter a word.” Richard is related, by Holinshed, to have yielded the insignia of royalty to Bolingbroke in the following words:—“I have reigned King of England, Duke of Aquitaine, and Lord of Ireland, about twenty-two years, which loyalty, lordship, sceptre, and crown, I now freely and willingly resign to my cousin, Henry of Lancaster, and intreat of him, in the presence of you all, to accept of this sceptre.” He then added, “Henry, fair cousin, I present and give to you this crown with which I was crowned King of England, and with it all the rights dependent on it.” The duke received the diadem, and handed it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Bolingbroke was crowned King of England in the following month, October 13th, 1399.

Note return to page 120 1This is a large square building, formerly called St. Thomas's Tower, but having under it a private passage by water from the Thames, through which state prisoners were usually brought into the fortress, it at length acquired its present appellation. —Bayley's History of the Tower of London.

Note return to page 121 2Join not with grief,] Do not thou unite with grief against me, do not, by thy additional sorrows, enable grief to strike me down at once. My own part of sorrow I can bear, but thy affliction will immediately destroy me. —Johnson.

Note return to page 122 3Passed.

Note return to page 123 4&lblank; to quit their grief,] To retaliate their mournful stories.

Note return to page 124 5With painted imag'ry, had said at once,] Our author probably was thinking of the painted clothes that were hung in the streets, in the pageants that were exhibited in his own time; in which the figures sometimes had labels issuing from their mouths, containing sentences of gratulation.

Note return to page 125 6Ever.

Note return to page 126 7&lblank; people this little world;] i. e., his own frame;—“the state of man;” which in our author's Julius Cæsar is said to be “like to a little kingdom.”

Note return to page 127 8The expression here means “that grave,” “that gloomy villain.”

Note return to page 128 9Former master.

Note return to page 129 10by jauncing Bolingbroke.] Jaunce and jaunt were synonymous words.

Note return to page 130 11Bolingbroke's dress is taken from the effigy of Henry IV., in Canterbury Cathedral.

Note return to page 131 12Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry V., in the twelfth year of his age. Thomas, afterwards Duke of Clarence, in the tenth year of his age. John, afterwards the celebrated Duke of Bedford, Regent of France, in the ninth year of his age. Humphrey, afterwards called the good Duke of Gloucester, in the eighth year of his age.

Note return to page 132 13Earl of Gloucester, Lord Despencer.

Note return to page 133 14Sir Thomas Blount.

Note return to page 134 15Duke of Surrey, Earl of Kent.

Note return to page 135 34800036[A] (A) Enter Queen and Ladies.] There is a tradition that Queen Isabella met her unhappy husband, while being brought a captive to London; and perhaps Shakespeare has taken advantage of this romantic but probably incorrect story, to introduce this beautiful interview between the royal pair.

Note return to page 136 34800037[B] (B) You must away to France.] Henry IV. detained Isabella in England for some time, and would have married her to his son, afterwards Henry V., who endeavoured, but in vain, to gain the heart of the maiden Queen Dowager. She was restored to her parents on the 26th July, 1402; Henry IV., however, most unjustifiably refusing to return her dowry, or restore her jewels. Isabella afterwards married the Duke of Orleans (whose poetry claims a place among the classics of France), and died in her 22nd year, Sept. 13, 1410.

Note return to page 137 34800038[C] (C) The usurped throne.] Northumberland was slain in 1408, at the battle of Bramham Moor, Yorkshire, in rebellion against Henry IV.

Note return to page 138 34800039[D] (D) Pomfret Castle.] Pomfret Castle was situated in the county of York. It was built by Hildebert de Lacy, a Norman, in the time of King William the Conqueror. Richard II. was murdered in this castle. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was beheaded here by order of Edward II., his kinsman, being the first nobleman who was tried and executed since the Conquest. Anthony, Earl of Rivers, and Sir Richard Grey were also put to death here in the reign of Richard III. This castle was demolished in the civil wars in the time of Charles I.

Note return to page 139 34800040[E] (E) Of thy stable, king.] Richard was extremely fond of fine horses. The nobility and clergy of this period took especial pains to encourage the breed of good horses.

Note return to page 140 34800041[F] (F) Rode on roan Barbary.] The following anecdote, related by Froissart, may have suggested to Shakespeare the idea of roan Barbary:— “I heard of a singular circumstance that happened just then, which I must mention. King Richard had a greyhound, named Math, beautiful beyond description, who would not notice or follow any one but the king. Whenever Richard rode abroad, the greyhound was loosed by the person who had the care of him, and that instant he ran to caress the king, by placing his two fore feet on his shoulders. It fell out that as the king, and his cousin of Lancaster were conversing in the court-yard of Flint Castle, their horses being preparing for them to mount, the greyhound, Math, was untied, when, instead of running as usual to King Richard, he passed him, and leaped to the Duke of Lancaster's shoulders, paying him every court, the same as he used to his master, the king. The duke, not acquainted with this greyhound, asked the king the meaning of his fondness. “‘Cousin,’ replied the king, ‘it means a great deal for you, and very little for me.’ “‘How?’ said the duke; ‘pray explain it. “‘I understand by it,’ said the unfortunate king, ‘that this my favourite greyhound, Math, fondles and pays his court to you this day as King of England, which you will be, and I shall be deposed, for that the natural instinct of the creature perceives. Keep him, therefore, by your side; for lo, he leaveth me, and will ever follow you!’ “The Duke of Lancaster treasured up what King Richard had said, and paid attention to the greyhound, Math, who would no more follow Richard of Bourdeaux, but kept by the side of the Duke of Lancaster, as was witnessed by thirty thousand men.”

Note return to page 141 34800042[G] (G) Here to die.] And immediately after, King Henry, to rid himself of any such like danger to be attempted against him, thereafter caused King Richard to die of a violent death, that no man should afterward fain himself to represent his person, though some have said he was not privy to that wicked offence. The common fame is, that he was every day served at table with costly meat, like a king, to the intent that no creature should suspect anything done contrary to the order taken in the parliament; and when the meat was set before him, he was forbidden once to touch it; yea, he was not permitted so much as to smell it; and so he died of forced famine. But Thomas Walsingham is so far from imputing his death to compulsory famine, that he referreth it altogether to voluntary pining of himself. For when he heard that the complots and attempts of such his favorers as sought his restitution and their own advancement annihilated, and the chief agents shamefully executed, he took such a conceit at these misfortunes (for so Thomas Walsingham termed them), and was so beaten out of heart, that wilfully he starved himself, and so died in Pomfret Castle on St. Valentine's day, a happy day to him, for it was the beginning of his ease, and the ending of his pain; so that death was to him dainty and sweet, as the poet saith, and that very well, in brief— Dulce mori miseris Neque est melius morte in malis rebus. One writer, which seemeth to have great knowledge of King Richard's doings, saith that King Henry, sitting on a day at his table, sore sighing, said—“Have I no faithful friend which will deliver me of him whose life will be my death, and whose death will be the preservation of my life?” This saying was much noted of them which were present, and especially of one called Sir Piers of Exton. This knight incontinently departed from the court, with eight strong persons in his company, and came to Pomfret, commanding the Esquire that was accustomed to serve and take the assaie before King Richard, to do so no more, saying —“Let him eat now, for he shall not long eat.” King Richard sat down to dinner, and was served without courtesy or assaie, whereupon, much marvelling at the sudden change, he demanded of the Esquire why he did not his duty: Sir (said he) I am otherwise commanded by Sir Piers Exton, which is newly come from King Henry. When King Richard heard that word, he took the carving knife in his hand, and struck the Esquire on the head, saying, the Devil take Henry of Lancaster and thee together; and with that word Sir Piers entered the chamber, well armed, with eight tall men, likewise armed, every one of them having a bill in his hand. King Richard perceiving this, put the table from him, and stepping to the foremost man, wrung the bill out of his hands, and so valiantly defended himself, that he slew four of those that thus came to assail him. Sir Piers being half dismayed, herewith leaped into the chair where King Richard was wont to sit, while the other four persons fought with him, and chased him about the chamber. And, in conclusion, as King Richard traversed his ground from one side of the chamber to another, and coming by the chair where Sir Piers stood, he was felled by the stroke of a poleaxe which Sir Piers gave him upon the head, and therewith rid him out of life, without giving him respite once to call to God for mercy of his past offences. It is said that Sir Piers of Exton, after he had thus slain him, wept bitterly, as one stricken with the prick of a guilty conscience, for murdering him whom he had so long time obeyed as king. After he was thus dead, his body was embalmed and seared, and covered with lead all save the face, to the intent that all men might see him, and perceive that he was departed this life; for as the corps was conveyed from Pomfret to London, all the towns and places where those that had the conveyance of it did stay with it all night, they caused dirge to be sung in the evening, and mass of requiem in the morning; and as well after the one service as the other, his face discovered, was showed to all that courted to behold it. Thus was the corps first brought to the tower, and after, through the city to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, barefaced, where it lay three days together, that all men might behold it. There was a solemn obsequie done for him, both at St Pauls and after at Westminister; at which time, both at dirge over night, and in the morning at the mass of requiem, the king and the citizens of London were present. When the same was ended, the corps was commanded to be had unto Langley, there to be buried in the church of the friars preachers. The Bishop of Chester, the Abbots of St. Albans and Waltham, celebrated the exequies for the burial, none of the nobles, nor any of the commons (to account of) being present; neither was there any to bid them to dinner, after they had laid him in the ground, and finished the funeral service. He was after, by King Henry the Fifth, removed to Westminister, and there honourably entombed with Queen Ann his wife, although the Scots untruly write, that he escaped out of prison, and led a virtuous and solitary life in Scotland, and there died, and is buried (as they hold) in the Black Friars of Stirling. But Fabian and others do as it were point out the place of his interment, saying that he lieth entombed on the south side of St. Edward's Shrine, with an epitaph expressing partly his proportion of body, and partly his properties of mind, as after followeth in a rimed hexastichon:— Prudens and mundus Richardus iure secundus Perfatum victus, iacet hic sub marmore pictus, Verax sermone, fuit and plenus ratione, Corpore procerus, animo prudens et Homerus, Ecclesiæ fauit, elatus suppeditauit, Quemuis prostrauit, regalia qui violauit. Holinshed's Chronicles.

Note return to page 142 34800043[H] (H) Thy dire overthrow] The Earls of Rutland, Kent, and Huntingdon, and Lord Spenser, who were now degraded from the respective titles of Albemarle, Surrey, Exeter, and Gloucester, conferred on them by Richard, entered into a conspiracy, together with the Earl of Salisbury and Lord Lumley, for raising an insurrection, and for seizing the king's person at Windsor; but the treachery of Rutland gave him warning of the danger. He suddenly withdrew to London, and the conspirators, who came to Windsor with a body of five hundred horse, found that they had missed this blow, on which all the success of their enterprise depended. Henry appeared next day at Kingston-upon-Thames, at the head of twenty thousand men, mostly drawn from the city; and his enemies, unable to resist his power, dispersed themselves, with a view of raising their followers in the several counties which were the seat of their interest. But the adherents of the King were hot in the pursuit, and everywhere opposed themselves to their progress. The Earls of Kent and Salisbury were seized at Cirencester, by the citizens; and were next day beheaded without farther ceremony, according to the custom of the times. The citizens of Bristol treated Spenser and Lumley in the same manner. The Earl of Huntingdon, Sir Thomas Blount, and Sir Benedict Sely, who were also taken prisoners, suffered death, with many other of the conspirators, by orders from Henry. Hume's “History of England.”

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