[Rienzi temporarily established a commonwealth at Rome, 1347. Great insurrection of the peasantry in France, 1358.]

Death.-Edward died at Sheen (now Richmond), June 21,

1377.

The furthest in his parish, much and lite, (great and small)

Upon his feet, and in his hand a staff.

This noble ensample unto his sheep he gave,

That first he wrought, and after that he taught;
Out of the gospel he the words caught.
And this figure he added thereunto,
That if gold rust, what should iron do?
For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust,
No wonder 'tis that a layman should rust.
And shame it is, if that a priest take keep,
To see a foul shepherd and a clean sheep.
Well ought a priest, ensample for to give
By his cleanness how a sheep should live.
He set not his benefice to hire,

And left his sheep encumbered in the mire,
And ran to London, unto St. Paul's,
To seek himself a chantry for souls,
Or with a brotherhood to be withhold ;
But dwelt at home, and kept well his fold.
So that the wolf made them not miscarry,
He was a shepherd, and not a mercenary.
And though he holy were, and virtuous,
He was to sinful men not dispiteous,

Nor of his speech dangerous or dign, (disdainful)
But in his teaching discreet and benign.

To draw folks to heaven with fairness,
By good ensample was his business.
But if were any person obstinate,
Whether he were of high or low estate,

Him would he snubb (reprove) sharply for the nonce.
A better priest I trow no where there is.
He waited after no pomp or reverence,
He made himself no spiced conscience,
But Christ's lore, and his apostles twelve,
He taught, but first he followed it himself."

RICHARD II.

Reigned from 1377 to 1399.

Birth.-Richard was born at Bordeaux, in February, 1366. Descent. He was the only son of Edward the Black Prince, and, therefore, grandson of his predecessor.

Marriage. He espoused first Anne of Bohemia, and, secondly, Isabella of France. He had no issue.

Important Events.— Early in the reign the French renewed hostilities; and they were seconded by the Scots, who ravaged the northern borders. To meet the expenses incurred in opposing them, as well as the exorbitant charges of the king's household, a fairly graduated capitation tax was imposed in 1379. In the succeeding year a new tax was demanded, at a uniform rate of 12d. for every person of fifteen years or upwards, which caused intense dissatisfaction; and one of the collectors at Dartford, having offered an intolerable insult to the daughter of Wat the Tyler, was killed by the father, who roused the people to rebel against the government. In Essex an outbreak had already commenced under Jack Straw; and the united band encamped on Blackheath, where John Ball, an excommunicated priest, preached to them on the proverbial rhyme :

When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then the gentleman?

On reaching London they committed many outrages, but were at last dispersed by the singular tact and courage of the young sovereign. Tyler was struck down by William Walworth, the mayor of the city, and immediately slain by one of Richard's attendants (1381).

In 1386 the parliament, instigated by the Duke of Gloucester, the king's uncle, demanded the dismissal of the Earl of Suffolk, the chancellor and a royal favourite; and Richard, after an ineffectual resistance, complied with their demand. Gloucester

further compelled him to assent to a council of regency, of which he (Gloucester) became the head. The following year (1387), Richard made a futile attempt to recover his power; and one of his favourites, the Duke of Ireland, who had raised some troops in his behalf, was vanquished at RADCOT BRIDGE (Oxfordshire) by the Duke of Gloucester, and escaped thence to Ireland.

The Scots invaded England in 1388, and ravaged Northumberland and Durham; but as they were returning homewards they were attacked at OTTERBURN by Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur) and his brother. The Scots were victorious, and the Percies were made prisoners; but Douglas, the Scotch commander, fell mortally wounded. This battle is celebrated in song under the name of Chevy Chase.

Richard took the government into his own hands in the spring of 1389, and for some years there was tolerable tranquillity. He had not, however, forgotten the conduct of the Duke of Gloucester, whom he arrested, together with the Earls of Arundel and Warwick, in 1397, on a new charge of plotting against him. Gloucester was imprisoned at Calais, and probably murdered, as his decease was announced shortly after. A quarrel between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk (who had both supported. Gloucester's proceedings in the early part of the reign) enabled the king to rid himself of these formidable rivals: for, as they were about to settle the matter by wager of battle at Coventry, according to the royal command, Richard interposed, and exiled Norfolk for life, and Hereford for ten years (1398).

The king's government now become particularly tyrannical; but in the next year, while he was in Ireland, the Duke of Hereford, whose father (John of Gaunt) had recently died, came over to England professedly to recover the paternal estates. As soon, however, as sufficient forces had joined him, he threw off the mask, and having seized Richard on his return from Ireland, he claimed the crown, which was bestowed on him.

The first Navigation Act was passed in 1381; and in the same year we find the earliest mention of the use of bills of exchange. Westminster Hall, as it now stands, was rebuilt.

Peers were first created by patent by Richard II. In his reign we have the earliest act making a provision for "impotent beggars" (1388). The statute of præmunire was passed, which made it penal to purchase bulls or other instruments from Rome, and in other ways checked the pontifical authority (1392).

Wickliffe died in 1384 at his church of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, and his followers were much persecuted in this reign. About thirty years after his death, his body, by order of the council of Constance, was disinterred as that of a heretic, and burned; and his ashes were cast into the Swift, a small stream in the neighbourhood. "This brook," says Fuller, "hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean; and thus the ashes of Wickliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is dispersed all the world over."

[The great schism in the papacy commenced shortly after the king's accession, and lasted for forty years (1378—1417). In this noted conflict the vices of the rival popes were mutually exposed; and their precarious situation diminished their authority, relaxed their discipline, and increased their wants and exactions.]

Death.-Richard, after his capture, was imprisoned in the Tower, and subsequently in Pontefract Castle, where, according to the received account, he was murdered in 1400.

Notes on the Plantagenet Period.

THE Condition of the people at the close of this period presents a singular contrast to that of the people of France, who were harassed by bodies of military adventurers recognising no law, as well as by the exactions of the aristocracy and the arbitrary

taxes of the government. In England the serfs were rapidly rising into the class of free labourers, and were thus acquiring the rights of freemen, though their freedom was checked and restrained in ways which would now be deemed intolerable. On the whole the poorer classes were sufficiently, though coarsely fed their diet consisted of fish, particularly herrings, and bread composed of rye, barley, peas, and beans.

Various changes took place in costume: that of Richard's reign was very extravagant. An anonymous writer of the time says that the commons were besotted in excess of apparel, 66 some in wide surcoats reaching to their loins, some in a garment reaching to their heels, close before, and strutting out on the sides, so that at the back they make men seem like women, and this they call by a ridiculous name-gowne. Their hoods are little, tied under the chin, and buttoned like the women's; but set with gold, silver, and precious stones. Their tippets pass round the neck, and hanging down before, reach to the heels, all jagged. Their hose are of two colours, or pied with more. Their shoes are piked, more than a finger long, crooking upwards, and fastened to the knees with chains of gold and silver."

"A list of the various trades and handicrafts of the time will afford as good an idea of the general state of the useful arts as more detailed notices of each. Before the 50th Edward III (1376) the 'mysteries,' or trades of London, who elected the common council of the city, were thirty-two in number, but they were increased by an ordinance of the above year to forty-five, which were as follows:-Grocers, masons, ironmongers, mercers, brewers, leather-dressers, drapers, fletchers, armourers, fishmongers, bakers, butchers, goldsmiths, skinners, cutlers, vintners, girdlers, spurriers, tailors, stainers, plumbers, saddlers, cloth-measurers, wax-chandlers, webbers, haberdashers, barbers, tapestry-weavers, braziers, painters, leather-sellers, salters, tanners, joiners, cappers, pouch-makers,