Historic%20Yorkshire

THE FALL AND DEA TH OF RICHARD II.
seeing here an opportunity for ridding himself of two
nobles who were so likely to disturb his peace, decided
that the impeachment should be tried by wager of battle
as demanded by Norfolk. The Parliament was now
separating, and in order that legislative authority
might be available,should the result of the duel render
its exercise desirable, the extraordinary expedient was
used of delegating the full powers of the Houses of
Parliament to a committeeof twelve lords and six commons.
The lists were fixed at Coventry, and party
enthusiasm ran high; but upon the day appointed,when
the combatants were actually face to face, the King interfered,
forbid the combat, and banished them both —
Norfolk for life, and Bolingbroke for ten years. This
was in 1398. The following year Bolingbroke's father,
John of Gaunt,Duke of Lancaster, died,and the banished
Bolingbroke, now Duke of Lancaster, applied to be put
in possession of the rights and estatesof the Duchy; but
Richard,withablindness that entirelyoverlookedthe consequences
of such arbitrary conduct, withheldthe lands,
reversing his own letters patentby which the succession
had been secured. Thus we find that while Richard was
foolishly absent in Ireland, Bolingbroke, with his feeble
retinue, landed at Ravensburg,a town on the Humber,
now washed away. He was speedilyjoinedby the Earl
of Northumberland,his son Hotspur, and many others.
In the presence of these nobles,and of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and the Earl of Arundel, that prelate's
nephew, which two latter had accompanied him from
Nantes, Bolingbroke solemnly affirmed an oath that his
object in returning to his country was simply therecovery
of the Duchy so wrongfully withheld. Thus propitiating
what few friends remained to the tyrannous Richard,he
invited all lovers of justice to aid him in recovering his
rights, and found himself speedily at the head of 60,000
men eager for revenge against the absent monarch.
Richard landed from Ireland at Milford Haven with an
army of 20,000 warriors, but of these fully two-thirds
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