The Death of Richard II
By the end of his reign, King Richard II had succeeded in upsetting almost everyone, from noblemen to peasants alike. People everywhere disliked the King, including Thomas Neville, Robin’s overlord. The Neville family had always supported the Plantagenet kings, but now Thomas Neville voted against Richard in parliament. Incarcerated in the Tower, Richard abdicated the throne, leaving Sir Thomas de Neville to escort him to Pontefract Castle. The castle’s constable, Sir Thomas Swynford, was another who voted in favour of Bolingbrook. Within a few weeks, Bolingbrook, a Lancastrian, ascended to the throne as King Henry IV on October 13th, 1399.
John Holland, the new Earl of Huntingdon and the king’s half-brother, remained loyal to Richard. He and others plotted to restore Richard to the throne in the Epiphany Rising. They failed, and King Richard died in Pontefract Castle, as did John Holland for his part in the plot. No one knows how Richard died, but Robin had a motive, and his overlord, Thomas de Nevil, the treasurer of England, wanted to see the end of Richard. Doubtless, he paid Richard’s assassin well. After Richard’s death, Robin, feeling unwell, gave his cousin the Prioress gold coins and even promised more if she needed them. If only we knew where Robin got his money.
Bolingbroke became King Henry IV in 1399. Richard died on February 14th, 1400, and Thomas Neville died in 1406. Robin’s cousin, Alice de Mounteney of Loxley, became the Prioress of Kirklees in 1402. “Robin spent twenty-two years in his greenwood home until his wicked kinswoman, the Prioress, betrayed him for the love of her special lover.” Twenty-two years after the Peasants’ Revolt brings us to 1403. This is three years after Richard’s death and one year after Robin’s cousin became the prioress of Kirklees. Robin, born c. 1339, would be about sixty-four years old when he perished at the hands of his cousin.
Pontefract Castle:
Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster in 1362, and Pontefract was his favourite castle. Gaunt imprisoned the impoverished knight’s son, a member of the Vernon family, for killing two of his best knights “at the joust.” Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, lost his head at Pontefract after the Battle of Burrowbridge. King Richard died there, as we know. Also beheaded at Pontefract were Anthony Woodville and Sir Richard Grey on June 25th, 1483. Mary, Queen of Scots, lodged there on her journey to Sheffield, where she remained a prisoner for 14 years. Shakespeare wrote about the death of Richard II: “O Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison! Fatal and ominous to noble peers! Within the guilty closure of thy walls, Richard II was hacked to death, and for more slander on your dismal seat, we gave thee up our guiltless blood to drink.”
Copyright © 2020, Graham Kirkby All rights reserved NEXT PAGE
John Holland, the new Earl of Huntingdon and the king’s half-brother, remained loyal to Richard. He and others plotted to restore Richard to the throne in the Epiphany Rising. They failed, and King Richard died in Pontefract Castle, as did John Holland for his part in the plot. No one knows how Richard died, but Robin had a motive, and his overlord, Thomas de Nevil, the treasurer of England, wanted to see the end of Richard. Doubtless, he paid Richard’s assassin well. After Richard’s death, Robin, feeling unwell, gave his cousin the Prioress gold coins and even promised more if she needed them. If only we knew where Robin got his money.
Bolingbroke became King Henry IV in 1399. Richard died on February 14th, 1400, and Thomas Neville died in 1406. Robin’s cousin, Alice de Mounteney of Loxley, became the Prioress of Kirklees in 1402. “Robin spent twenty-two years in his greenwood home until his wicked kinswoman, the Prioress, betrayed him for the love of her special lover.” Twenty-two years after the Peasants’ Revolt brings us to 1403. This is three years after Richard’s death and one year after Robin’s cousin became the prioress of Kirklees. Robin, born c. 1339, would be about sixty-four years old when he perished at the hands of his cousin.
Pontefract Castle:
Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster in 1362, and Pontefract was his favourite castle. Gaunt imprisoned the impoverished knight’s son, a member of the Vernon family, for killing two of his best knights “at the joust.” Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, lost his head at Pontefract after the Battle of Burrowbridge. King Richard died there, as we know. Also beheaded at Pontefract were Anthony Woodville and Sir Richard Grey on June 25th, 1483. Mary, Queen of Scots, lodged there on her journey to Sheffield, where she remained a prisoner for 14 years. Shakespeare wrote about the death of Richard II: “O Pomfret, Pomfret! O thou bloody prison! Fatal and ominous to noble peers! Within the guilty closure of thy walls, Richard II was hacked to death, and for more slander on your dismal seat, we gave thee up our guiltless blood to drink.”
Copyright © 2020, Graham Kirkby All rights reserved NEXT PAGE