The Epiphany Rising was a failed rebellion against
King Henry IV of England
Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...
in early January 1400.
Background
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
rewarded those who had supported him against Gloucester and the
Lords Appellant
The Lords Appellant were a group of nobles in the reign of King Richard II, who, in 1388, sought to impeach some five of the King's favourites in order to restrain what was seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. The word ''appellant'' — still u ...
with a plethora of new titles. Upon the usurpation and accession of
King Henry IV in 1399, many of those titles were placed under
attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...
, due to the complicity of their holders in the murder of the
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...
.
Conspiracy
The ringleaders of the conspiracy were
John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury and 5th and 2nd Baron Montagu, KG (c. 1350 – 7 January 1400) was an English nobleman, one of the few who remained loyal to Richard II after Henry IV became king.
Early life
He was the son of Sir John de M ...
,
John Holland, 1st Earl of Huntingdon (formerly
Duke of Exeter
The title Duke of Exeter was created several times in England in the later Middle Ages. Exeter is the main town of Devon. It was first created for John Holland, the half-brother of King Richard II in 1397. That title was rescinded upon Henry I ...
) and half-brother to Richard II,
Thomas Holland, 3rd Earl of Kent (formerly
Duke of Surrey
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
), and
Thomas le Despenser, 4th Baron le Despencer (formerly
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.''
Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121)
*Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100â ...
). Other members included
Edward of Norwich, 1st Earl of Rutland (formerly
Duke of Aumale
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
),
Ralph Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley
Ralph Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley (died January 1400) was an English nobleman, soldier and administrator under King Richard II, who was stripped of his lands, goods and title and executed for rebelling against King Henry IV.
Origins
Born ab ...
, Sir
Thomas Blount and Sir
Bernard Brocas. They met on 17 December 1399 at the Abbey house in Westminster and plotted to capture the new King Henry IV while he was at
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
for the feast of Epiphany.
They hoped to seize the king during a
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, kill him, and restore Richard II to the throne. However, Edward of Norwich betrayed the conspirators to King Henry, although according to Tait, contemporary English sources which describe the conspiracy make no mention of Rutland, and his role in it is open to doubt. Nevertheless, forewarned, Henry failed to appear at Windsor and began to raise an army in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Kent and Salisbury arrived at the castle with a force of about 400 men-at-arms and archers, but hearing that the king, forewarned, was no longer there, quickly left.
Aftermath
The conspirators fled to the western counties and raised the standard of rebellion. However, they obtained little support and were quickly apprehended by local authorities.
While attempting to seize
Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, Lumley was beheaded in a short but violent skirmish by the townsfolk and Salisbury and Kent were captured. Held briefly in custody, they were abruptly beheaded without trial on 7 January 1400. Le Despenser was captured at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
by a mob and was also summarily beheaded on 13 January 1400. Huntingdon was captured at
Pleshey
Pleshey is a historic village and civil parish in the Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England, north-west of Chelmsford. The Normans built a motte and bailey in the late 11th century; the motte is one of the largest of its kind in ...
and dealt with likewise on 16 January 1400. Blount escaped to Oxford, where he was
hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under Edward III of England, King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the rei ...
on 12 January 1400. Brocas was captured in Cirencester and beheaded at
Tyburn
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...
. Those executed were subsequently attainted in March; the brother of Kent and the sons of Salisbury and Huntingdon were later restored to their fathers' titles. The attainders were formally reversed in 1461 by a
Yorkist
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
parliament.
The rebellion also convinced Henry IV that a deposed, imprisoned and alive King Richard was a very dangerous liability for him. The deposed monarch would come to his death 'by means unknown' in
Pontefract Castle
Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War ...
by 17 February 1400.
Notes
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Berkshire History: Revolt of the Three Earls
1400 in England
14th century in England
14th-century rebellions
Rebellions in medieval England
History of Berkshire
Conflicts in 1400
Henry IV of England