Historic%20Yorkshire

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80 THE FALL AND DEATH OF RICHARD II. which was only exposed from the eyebrows to the chin. The corpse was conveyed to King's Langley,in Hertfordshire, and there buried; butit was afterwards, by the order of Henry V., removed to WestminsterAbbey. The mystery which shrouds the end of Richard II. has never yet been fully clearedup, and the immediate cause ofhis death at Pontefract Castle, oreven whether he died there at all,has yet to be determined. Those wholooked upon the emaciatedface in St. Paul's and believed*it to be that of their late king, spoke below their breath of starvation,and it was reported by those that such was the vitality of Richard, and such the robust nature of his constitution, that he defied the pangs of absolute starvation for fourteen days after his cruel gaolers had ceased to supply him with food, and only at the expirationof that protracted period of torment did he die. Others, also, believingthat he came to his deathbystarvation,affirmed that he, in the extreme melancholy and dejection of his mind, utterly refused to take food, and so voluntarily starved himselfto death. Yet another account is that recorded in the text of Shakespeare,who derivedit from the writings of Fabyan, by whom it was adoptedfrom a manuscript in the Royal Library at Paris. It runs as follows: — As soon as the Council had advised the safe custody of the already imprisonedking,and the production of his bodyif already dead, Sir Piers, of Exton,was deputed by King Henry to leave no doubt as to the matter of his death in fact, to murder him. Sir Piers, with seven armedattendants, set out for Pontefract, and on arriving there entered the cell of the condemnedking. He at once read his fate in the meaning glances of the ruffianly soldiers, and, with resistless impetuosity,snatching a battle-axe from the hand of one of his assailants, slew him, and was likely to have defeated the whole party by the courage and address of his attack, when Sir Piers, stepping behind him, smote him down with a cowardlyblow that decided the assassination; and the wretched king was finally
THE FALL AND DEATH OF RICHARD II. 81 despatchedas he lay in agony on the ground. Theprobabilityof this account seems to receive confirmation from the fact we have mentioned as to the carefully covered form of the displayedcorpse, leavingonly the face visible andnot that entirely. That the unhappy Richard met his deathat Pontefract there seems on first consideration to be littlereal doubt. The question as to whether it was hunger or the sword which was the immediate cause of his end is of little moment, one being as foul a deed as the other. The fact thatit was really the body of Richard has, however, been doubted, and improbable as the story of Richard's escape is, we cannot regard it altogether as a fable, and the recorded fact an impossibility, while so far as mere accounts are concerned one is as likely to be correct as another. The chronicler, Andrew Winton, relates that the persons to whose care the captiveking was entrusted were two gentlemen of position, named Waterton and Swinburn, who,beingofhonorable andloyaldispositions, connived at the escape of their prisoner, and for their own safety and that of all concerned, spread abroad the report that he was dead. In the meantimeit is said that Richard passed through numerousadventures, coming at last to the Court of Robert III. of Scotland, where he was hospitably received and afterwards maintained in a manner suited to his high degree. The story is brought to a close by a record in the history by Bower, the Scottish chronicler. In narrating the events of 1419, he includes a statement to the effect that in that year died Richard, King of England, on the feast of St. Luke, in the Castle of Stirling, and that the Royal visitor was buried in the Church of the Preaching Friars, with the specific place of interment, namely, on the north side of the altar. Insupport of theaccount of the escape beingpermitted by the individuals already named, it may be stated that the Waterton family has a tradition that Sir Robert Waterton,Masterofthe Horseto KingHenryIV., wasone 6
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Historic Yorkshire.
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PRINTEDBY TRED. R. SPARK, "EX,RF.SS
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CONTENTS. Chapter. I. Alfred, King
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2 ALFRED, KING OF NORTHUMBRIA. nort
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4 ALFRED, KING OF NORTHUMBRIA. his
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6 ALFRED,KING OF NORTHUMBRIA. fosse
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CHAPTER II. THE STORY OF ST. JOHN O
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10 ST. JOHN OF BEVERLEY. up the exc
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12 ST. JOHN OF BEVERLEY. milefrom t
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14 ST. JOHN OF BEVERLEY. discrete m
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16 ST. JOHN OF BEVERLEY. beneath th
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18 LEEDS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. There
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20 LEEDS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. North
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22 LEEDS BEFORE THE CONQUEST. Steph
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24 LEEDS UNDER THE NORMANS. This ch
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26 LEEDS UNDER THE NORMANS. compani
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28 LEEDS UNDER THE NORMANS. accompa
Page 44 and 45: Chapter V, THE JEWISH MASSACRE AT Y
Page 46 and 47: 32 JEWISH MASSACRE AT YORK can enab
Page 48 and 49: 34 JEWISH MASSACRE AT YORK. the lik
Page 50 and 51: Chapter VI. MYSTERY PLAYS IN YORKSH
Page 52 and 53: 38 MYSTERY PLAYSIN YORKSHIRE. was t
Page 54 and 55: 40 MYSTERY PLAYSIN YORKSHIRE. Ah, g
Page 56 and 57: 42 MYSTERY PLAYSIN YORKSHIRE. To wh
Page 58 and 59: 44 MYSTERY PLAYS IN YORKSHIRE. of w
Page 60 and 61: 46 BOLTON ABBEY. The original situa
Page 62 and 63: 48 BOLTON ABBEY. Alice gave the Can
Page 64 and 65: 50 BOLTON ABBEY. Nor did she fear i
Page 66 and 67: Chapter VIII. BLACK-EACED CLIFFORD.
Page 68 and 69: 54 BLACK-FACED CLIFFORD. Duke of Yo
Page 70 and 71: 56 BLACK-FACED CLIFFORD. His career
Page 72 and 73: Chapter IX. THE SHEPHERD LORD. But
Page 74 and 75: 60 THE SHEPHERD LORD. the safety of
Page 76 and 77: 62 THE SHEPHERD LORD. The Shepherd
Page 78 and 79: 64 HENRY THE III.'s CHRISTMAS AT YO
Page 80 and 81: 66 HENRY THE IIL's CHRISTMAS AT YOR
Page 82 and 83: 68 HENRY THE III.'s CHRISTMAS AT YO
Page 84 and 85: 70 THE TRAGIC STORY OF THE ELLANDS.
Page 90 and 91: Chapter xii. THE FALL AND DEATH OF
Page 92 and 93: 78 THE FALL AND DEATH OF RICHARDII.
Page 96 and 97: 82 THE FALL AND DEATH OF RICHARDII.
Page 98 and 99: 84 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. took t
Page 100 and 101: 86 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. and ye
Page 102 and 103: 88 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. threat
Page 104 and 105: 90 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. distur
Page 106 and 107: 92 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. suffer
Page 108 and 109: 94 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. " had
Page 110 and 111: 96 THE STORY OF YORK CASTLE. upon w
Page 112 and 113: 98 THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. We f
Page 114 and 115: 100 THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. who
Page 116 and 117: Chapter XV. THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD
Page 118 and 119: 104 THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. the La
Page 120 and 121: 106 THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. the Ca
Page 122 and 123: Chapter XVI. THE BATTLE OF TOWTON,
Page 124 and 125: 110 THE BATTLE OF TOWTON. their qui
Page 126 and 127: 112 THE BATTLE OF TOWTON. death-blo
Page 128 and 129: 114 THE BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. The
Page 130 and 131: 116 THE BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. att
Page 132 and 133: CHAPTER XVIII. THE STORY OF A TAX O
Page 134 and 135: 120 THE STORY OF A TAX. surprising
Page 136 and 137: 122 THE STORY OF A TAX. those who s
Page 138 and 139: CHAPTER XIX. CATHOLIC PERSECUTION.
Page 140 and 141: 126 CATHOLIC PERSECUTION. At a late
Page 142 and 143: 128 CATHOLIC PERSECUTION. on his wa
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CHAPTER XX. THE STORY OF PONTEFRACT
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132 THE STORY OF PONTEFRACT CASTLE.
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140 BEVERLEY SANCTUARY. to a church
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142 BEVERLEY SANCTUARY. another tow
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144 BEVERLEY SANCTUARY. masons,2; d
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CHAPTER XXII. DEATH OF THE DUKE OF
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148 DEATH OF THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM
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CHAPTER XXIII. EUGENE ARAM, THE YOR
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156 EUGENE ARAM. who wanted them fo
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158 EUGENE ARAM. sharply, which had
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160 EUGENE ARAM. bones ? " In concl
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Chapter XXIV. HISTORY OF THE YORKSH
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164 YORKSHIRE RESURRECTION MEN. ope
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166 YORKSHIRE RESURRECTION MEN. the
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168 YORKSHIRE RESURRECTION MEN. one
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170 THE LUDDITE RIOTS. in spreading
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172 THE LUDDITE RIOTS. the mastersa
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174 THE LUDDITE RIOTS. two troops o
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Chapter XXVI. ECHOES OF OLD LEEDS.
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178 ECHOES OF OLD LEEDS. property,a
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180 ECHOES OF OLD LEEDS. greatquant
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182 ECHOES OF OLD LEEDS. Lane. In17
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CHAPTER xxvii. THE BISHOP BLAIZE FE
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186 THE BISHOP BLAIZE FESTIVAL. has
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188 THE BISHOP BLAIZE FESTIVAL. Mr.
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190 THE BISHOP BLAIZE FESTIVAL. but
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192 THE PRESS-GANG IN YORKSHIRE. Th
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194 THE PRESS-GANG IN YORKSHIRE. Mr
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196 THE PRESS-GANG IN YORKSHIRE. in
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198 PAGE. Black-faced Clifford, see
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200 PAGE. Laid on a hurdle and drag
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202 INDEX. PAGE. Nevison, highwayma
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204 PAGE. Vaughan, Sir Thomas 133 V
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