Richard II of England

: There is also a play entitled Richard II by Shakespeare.

First crisis of 1387-88

As Richard began to take over the business of government himself, he sidelined many of the established nobles, such as Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick , Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel and Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester. Instead he turned to his inner circle of favourites for his council, men such as his beloved Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford and Michael de la Pole whom Richard created Earl of Suffolk and made chancellor of England. The nobles he had snubbed formed the head of a group of the disaffected who called themselves the Lords Appellant. It should be made clear that the central tenet of their appeal was continued war with France against Richards policy of peace, an aim that many of them pursued in the interests of personal gain rather than the interests of the nation.

Related Topics:
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick - Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel - Thomas of Woodstock - Duke of Gloucester - Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford - Michael de la Pole - Earl of Suffolk - Lords Appellant - France

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1387, the English Parliament under pressure from the Lords Appellant demanded that Richard remove his unpopular councillors. When he refused, he was told that since he was still a minor, a Council of Government would rule in his place. Richard had the Earl of Arundel, leader of the Lords Appellant, arrested, but Richard's small army led by de Vere was overpowered by the forces of the Lords Appellant outside Oxford, and Richard was apprehended in the Tower of London. Richard?s unpopular councillors were thus disposed of (eight were executed for treason in 1388 and others exiled), and he was forced to accept new ones. Richard was stripped of almost all his authority.

Related Topics:
1387 - English Parliament - Lords Appellant - Earl of Arundel - Tower of London - 1388

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~