Merciless Parliament - Session

Session

The Parliamentary session began on February 3, 1388. The term "Merciless Parliament" was first employed by a local chronicler, Henry Knighton, who was referring to the ruthless manner in which many were convicted and executed. During the Parliament, the Appellants pursued their earlier accusations against Richard and his inner circle, almost wholly unopposed. They leveled a series of charges against Richard's advisers, accusing them of offering to surrender English held fortresses in France and widespread embezzlement from the treasury. Most of the charges were likely false.

This meant that a number of Richard's intimate associates, namely Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk, Nicholas Brembre, Robert de Vere, Alexander Neville, and Chief Justice Robert Tresilian, were found guilty of 'living in vice, deluding the said king...embracing the mammon of iniquity for themselves'. None were given formal trials. Neville was bishop and spared execution, but all his assets were seized and he was exiled. The rest were ordered drawn and hanged.

The purge continued deep into the administration, dozens of retainers, clerks, chaplains, and secretaries to Richard were summarily condemned and executed. The seven judges who authorized Richard's actions under duress were arrested. The judges were the only men to be given formal trials before the House of Lords, but despite their pleas for leniency, they too were convicted and executed. As the purge continued, men less obviously involved in the plot were arrested. Richard's confessor, Thomas Rushook, Bishop of Chichester, was accused of being involved in the plot, but the House of Lords refused to try him and the Parliament adjourned on March 6 and resumed on March 12.

The session continued through April and May as Richard's chamber knights were tried and executed. Richard's intermediaries who had been negotiating with France were discovered and executed. By the end of April, most of what remained of Richard's staff had fled to the countryside or left the country altogether and many were convicted in absentia. The session began to come to an end with the trial of a knight named Simon Burley, who was accused of involvement in the plot. He was a veteran of the war and had been an adviser of the Black Prince, Richard's father. He had friends among the nobility and was a close friend of the Edmund Langley, Duke of York. Langley was an influential lord who represented a significant bloc, and rose to defend Burley. The Duke of Gloucester endorsed Burley's condemnation. The two men became increasingly hostile in the first week of May. The King, who was presiding during the entire session, rose for the first time to join the Duke of York in resisting the effort. Gloucester and the King began quarreling and nearly came to blows. Before the entire council, Gloucester informed the King that if he wished to retain his crown, he should stop attempting to defend his friends. The King gave in. Burley was condemned and executed. Gloucester brought Rushook before Parliament again and he was convicted of treason and exiled to Ireland.

Among the members of King Richard's retinue to be condemned, were John Beauchamp of Holt, James Baret, and John Salisbury, who were all hanged and beheaded; Robert Bealknap (Belknap), John Beauchamp of Holt, Roger Fulthorp, William Burgh, John Locton and John Cary, who were exiled to Ireland. Thomas Usk (author of The Testament of Love) and John Blake, members of Brembre's and Tresilian's households respectively, were also put to death.

At the session's start, the Lords Appellant repudiated all of Richard's deals with France. The commanders of the English garrisons in France were replaced with men loyal to the Appellants, who began to pursue an aggressive war policy. Parliament however, was unwilling to grant a significant tax grant to pay for military operations. On February 21, the Parliament grudgingly agreed to a subsidy equal to half the normal subsidy granted, amounting to about £30,000 and authorized a fleet to be hired to patrol the English Channel for the year. Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, acting as agent for the French government, sent emissaries requesting that the English abide by Richard's agreement, but they were sent away without a reply.

The Duke of York was furious over the treatment of Burley, threatening to break the coalition of lords, leading Gloucester to support ending the Parliament. A series of peasant revolts broke out in Kent and southwest England, necessitating military action in late April. A second recess was agreed to after Easter and resumed on May 20. The remainder of the session was spent dealing with financial issues and the Parliament was finally dissolved on June 4.