Merciless Parliament

The Merciless Parliament was an English parliamentary session lasting from 3 February to 4 June 1388, at which many members of King Richard II's court were convicted of treason. The session was preceded by a period in which Richard's power was revoked and the kingdom placed under the regency of the Lords Appellant. Richard had launched an abortive military attempt to overthrow the Lords Appellant and negotiate peace with the kingdom of France so he could focus all his resources against his domestic enemies. The Lords Appellant counteracted the attempt and called the Parliamentary session to expose his attempts to make peace. Parliament reacted with hostility and convicted almost all of Richard's advisers of treason. Most were executed and a few exiled. Parliament was dissolved after violence broke out in Kent and the Duke of York and his allies began objecting to some executions. The term "merciless" was coined by Augustinian chronicler Henry Knighton.

Background

The kingdom of England was in the midst of the Hundred Years' War with the kingdom of France, and the English had been consistently losing territory to the French since 1369. The losses were a politically sensitive topic and led to a shift in the English position after the death of Edward III, with his successor Richard II favoring peace while many of the landed nobility wanted to continue the war. The Wonderful Parliament in 1386 blamed the young King Richard's advisers for the military failures and accused them of misappropriating funds intended for the war. They authorized a commission of nobles known as the Lords Appellant to effectively take over management of the kingdom and act as Richard's regents. Richard refused to acknowledge the authority of the commission but lacked the power to challenge them. He began to devise a plan to secure his authority over the kingdom by raising an army among his allies and negotiating a secret peace with France so he could focus all his military forces against his domestic enemies.

Richard began negotiations with the French in June 1387 using his agents in Hainault as intermediaries. He agreed to surrender all of England's possessions in northern France, including Calais, and make peace. In exchange, the French agreed to restore most of the Duchy of Aquitaine to Richard, provided he would pay homage to the king of France for it. Richard agreed to seal the treaty at a personal meeting with Charles V of France. Richard's enemies soon learned of the attempt and decided to move against him to prevent the peace treaty from being formalised.

In August 1387, to establish a legal basis for overthrowing the appellants, Richard called seven judges of the superior courts to answer a series of questions regarding their legitimacy. Under significant duress, each of the judges agreed that the appellants had no authority and were guilty of treason and signed a statement authorizing their arrest. Armed with the legal ruling, Richard called the sheriffs of several counties to inform them they were no longer to answer to the Lords Appellant. Working with his ally Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland and Earl of Oxford, an army was raised in Chester and reinforced with royal retainers from East Anglia, the Midlands and eastern Wales. Although rumored to his enemies to be an army of 20,000, it contained no more than 4,000 men. De Vere was put in command.

The Lords Appellant became aware of Richard's dealings with the French, and later of his attempt to raise an army. Rumours began to circulate that Richard had agreed to accept military support from France, and that he would place England under French military occupation. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and several lesser nobles mobilized an army of their retainers numbering 4,500 and marched on de Vere's army.

In December 1387, the two armies met at Radcot-on-Thames where the Lords Appellant's army won the Battle of Radcot Bridge against the forces of Robert de Vere. The victory placed the anti-Ricardian Lords Appellant in a position of incontestable strength. Richard fled Westminster for London and barricaded himself in the Tower of London. On 27 December the Appellant's army reached the tower in full battle array and forced Richard to surrender. When the leading Appellants, the Duke of Gloucester (Thomas of Woodstock) and the Earls of Arundel, Warwick, Derby (Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV) and Nottingham, met with Richard on an improvised throne, they seized him and threatened to execute him for his dealings with France. Ultimately they decided against it, instead forcing him to call a session of Parliament.

Session

The Parliamentary session began on 3 February 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 levelled 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.Sumption, p. 643

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 a 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

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