To the medieval mind kings were appointed by God. Therefore, to oppose a king was to challenge God. And yet, repeatedly throughout Richard II’s reign challenges were made and opposition remained strong. What provoked such opposition – the man, or his times? What led Richard to believe that he was a God? What were the factors that led to murder and rebellion?

Richard was born in Bordeaux on the 6^th of January 1367. He was born into privilege, for his grandfather was Edward III, King of England. Edward III was a man of great military prowess with a number of victories over the Scots and the French to his credit. Richard’s father, Edward, the Black Prince, also gained immense respect through his exploits on the battlefield. Edward III and Edward, the Black Prince, set a military example that was difficult to sustain and it would have taken a warrior of exceptional standing to follow in their path. Richard was trained to be a warrior, but as the boy developed into a man it became clear that his interests lay elsewhere.

The summer of 1381 was a hot one. The war with France had rumbled on for forty-four years and money was needed to sustain the conflict. Noble heads were put together and they came up with a novel idea: every man and woman over the age of fifteen, regardless of means, had to pay the Exchequer 12d: the Poll Tax was born. Commissioners were sent out across the country. They collected the tax, but when the pennies were counted, something did not add up; it seemed as though many people had simply disappeared; they had faded into the shadows at the sight of the commissioners. The Crown’s tax gathering methods became more heavy-handed and the initial resentment against the tax spilled over into open revolt. In June, men from the east of England marched towards London, many of them ‘peasants’, some of them lords and knights. They looted abbeys and destroyed the tax records; they arrived at London and demanded to see the king. At that stage, they did not hold Richard responsible for the Poll Tax, for the tax being levied in his name. Their anger was directed at Richard’s uncle, John of Gaunt, and his advisors, but John of Gaunt was away at the time, on the Scottish border. It was left to Richard to confront the rebels, and this he did, agreeing to their demands. He agreed to end bonded labour and to allow the peasants to sell their produce at the place, and to the people, of their choice. He also agreed on a reduction in land rent, to 4d per acre and he promised that there would be no reprisals once the revolt had died down. The king signed a charter and many of the rebels went home. However, a group of rebels led by Wat Tyler demanded more; they insisted on the abolition of the aristocracy, except for the king. Also, they demanded the abolition of senior clergy, the setting up of local courts and a redistribution of wealth from the Church and the nobility to the common people. Once again, Richard agreed to their demands and a just society, pregnant in the rebels’ minds, was about to be born. Then, the Mayor of London stabbed Wat Tyler in the neck. Wat Tyler was captured and executed; the rebels surrendered. A backlash followed and the rebels were captured and executed without trial; many of the leaders were hanged, drawn and quartered.

Richard was only fourteen years old at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt. He showed a tremendous amount of courage in confronting the rebels. However, by agreeing to, and then by disavowing their demands, he also disappointed them. The rebels had organised their march upon London through a series of coded messages; no doubt messages of disappointment, hinting at betrayal, now swept across the country. The rebellion had been crushed. However, the resentment still festered; for now, the king did not need his common people, but the common people must have been left wondering if they were still in need of a king.  

In 1382 Richard moved on to more personal and pleasurable matters: he married Anne of Bohemia. Anne was the daughter of Emperor Charles IV. After their marriage Anne remained a constant companion, always at Richard’s side. The king’s court took on new fashions and manners with pointy-toed shoes, known as crackowes or poulaines, becoming popular. In addition, men started to wear built-up shoulders and collars along with tight hose and long sleeves that swept down to the floor. The court also took to using handkerchiefs and eating with forks.

During his teenage years Richard took a more active role in the governance of the country. By 1384 he felt in a position to assert his authority and he assumed personal rule. Maybe he was still too young, maybe he had been badly schooled or maybe the nobles at court resented a weakening of their powers; whatever the reason, Richard continued to make enemies, he continued to make political mistakes and he continued to set a dangerous tone.

Richard had many enemies, but he also had friends. He created a ‘duketti’ and he numbered amongst his favourites Sir Thomas Despenser, Edward of Aumerle, Michael de la Pole, the earl of Suffolk and Robert de Vere, the earl of Oxford. His courtiers were considered ‘more valiant in bed than in battle’ and they dressed ‘as if going to a party and not to war’. Despite his predilection for the company of men, ladies became more popular at Richard’s court, in particular Blanche, Lady Poynings.

Opposition to Richard’s policies led to the impeachment of the chancellor, Michael de la Pole, in October 1386. A committee of government was set up in Westminster and Richard was reduced to travelling around England while he awaited the judges’ decision as to the legality of his position. In support of the king Robert de Vere gathered an army, but it was defeated at Radcot Bridge on the 20^th December 1387. After this defeat, Richard was compelled to yield to his opponents and the ‘Merciless Parliament’ ensued. During this parliament many of the king’s supporters were beheaded and Richard was left to ponder his mistakes.

Richard asserted his majority in May 1389. He appointed a new set of councillors and the next eight years saw a period of more conciliatory rule. Nevertheless, during this period he introduced a new badge of affinity, the white hart, worn by his supporters and, instead of ‘my lord’, the Barons were encouraged to address Richard as ‘your majesty’, ‘your highness’ or ‘most serene prince and lord’. As Richard’s enemies mounted he became more concerned about his personal security and to that end he employed a bodyguard of Cheshire archers who remained constantly at his side.

Anne of Bohemia died in 1394 and with her death Richard returned to his autocratic ways. Maybe his actions were affected by grief, or maybe Richard missed Anne’s calming influence. Whatever the reason, opposition and criticism were no longer tolerated at court and Richard even went on a rare campaign, to quell a rebellion in Ireland.

In 1396, two years after Anne of Bohemia’s death, Richard married Isabella, daughter of Charles VI, King of France; Isabella was six years old. The marriage was a political one, a bond to seal a proposed thirty year truce, agreed by the kings of England and France. Richard appears to have treated Isabella well. In the short-term the marriage was unlikely to produce any children and so Richard had no immediate prospect of siring an heir. Even so, no mistresses or bastard offspring are recorded.

The summer of 1397 saw Richard in dominant mood. He dismissed parliament and he arrested his former opponents, the duke of Gloucester, the earl of Arundel and the earl of Warwick and he charged them with treason. The earl of Arundel was later executed while the earl of Warwick was imprisoned on the Isle of Man. Meanwhile, the duke of Gloucester was murdered in Calais. For Richard, a decade of resentment had been appeased and, if needed, contemporaries were left in no doubt that the king would tolerate no form of dissent.

In 1398 a quarrel between John of Gaunt’s son, Henry Bolingbroke, the duke of Hereford, and Thomas Mowbray, the duke of Norfolk resulted in the duke of Norfolk being exiled for life while Bolingbroke was banished for ten years. Shortly after these sentences were announced John of Gaunt died and Richard took his lands into royal possession.

Meanwhile, the rebellion resurfaced in Ireland and in the summer of 1399 Richard set out to pacify the insurgents. Seizing his chance, Henry of Bolingbroke landed on the Yorkshire coast, winning the support of the earl of Northumberland. After gathering further support Bolingbroke marched across the country while Richard set sail from Ireland, landing in Wales. In his hour of need, Richard called upon his people to rally to his standard, but his words fell on deaf ears. Richard was captured by Bolingbroke and he was forced to abdicate. After his abdication, Richard was imprisoned in Pontefract castle. There, he was either murdered or starved to death in January, 1400.

As for Richard the man, he enjoyed fine clothes and fine food. He was a patron of the arts and literature. Cultivated in the extreme, he was impressed by French culture and custom. He employed French cooks in his kitchens and he followed European fashions in clothing and cooking. He had a cookbook produced in his name, The Forme of Cury. His instincts were inclined towards peace, and not war, with France. This attitude did not please his Barons because peace denied them the chance to fill their purses with ransom money, with plunder and with the spoils of war. Richard read for pleasure, not business. He enjoyed rituals, public ceremonies and pageantry; he enjoyed being the centre of attention and he expected his courtiers to kneel if his gaze fell upon them. Furthermore, he was content to sit on his throne for hours in silence and he loved having his portrait painted. He had an eye for interior design. He adored dancing and he took delight in showing off his clothes. Richard was devoted to the cult of St Edward the Confessor. A keen relic collector, in 1398 he acquired a tooth of St John the Baptist. He was fond of hunting, of hawking and of breeding horses. In addition, he took an interest in geomancy and astrology. Richard was a diligent observer of saints’ days and he took great pleasure in listening to sermons. A man of great piety, Richard identified strongly with the Almighty; to his fellow rulers he complained that his enemies were rebelling against ‘King Christ the Lord’.