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- [00:00]
Dan Jones
Hello, dear listeners. Now, before we head to a diabolical duel, I want to remind you about the fun our royal favourites are having over on Patreon. It's where you get all bonus episodes, plus access to the Royal court, a place where you weigh in on future episodes, enthuse about past ones and chat to me directly. I've been loving the book recommendations thread. There's something for everyone there. Tomes on medieval mysticism and the plague. Perfect for summer. But I digress. Let's get to the duel. Trumpets blast and a huge crowd pressing against the wooden rails of the tournament field falls quiet. A royal herald strides out into the middle of the fighting ground to announce the start of the contest. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife or a sword. A duel is about to begin. There's another trumpet fanfare and all eyes turn to the stands. Richard ii, Plantagenet, King of England, is in pride of place. Dressed up to the nines as usual, he's surrounded by a bodyguard of his vicious militia of Cheshire archers. Everyone knows, the herald says, why they've gathered today, September 16, 1398, at this field near Coventry. They're here to witness a trial by combat. Inside these rails, known as the Lists. Two pavilions have been pitched, one at either end of the field. The combatants are inside them, making their final preparations. When the call comes, they'll emerge and fight with lance, sword, axe, shield and then finally, fists, until one of them has surrendered or been killed. There's a hubbub of anticipation from the crowd. The Herald raises his voice above it in warning. King Richard has said that no one but the fighters may enter the Lists. Anyone from the crowd who even touches the wooden rail will have their hand chopped off. The crowd retreats a little. The way Richard's been acting recently, that's all too credible a threat. Once they've settled again, the herald says it's time to meet the fighters. A final blast of the trumpet gives the signal for the two men to come out from their pavilions. The familiar faces emerge. They are Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, and the King's cousin, Henry Bolingbroke. Former allies, now deadly enemies. It's time for them to fight on the King's orders, until one of them is disgraced or dead. I'm Dan Jones and from from Sony Music Entertainment. This is history, season seven of A Dynasty to Die For. Episode 10 Deathmatch Foreign.
- [03:43]
Courtney Act
I'm Courtney Act. Many of you may know me from RuPaul's Drag Race celebrity Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars or probably my hit album, Kaleidoscope. Well, guess what? I have got a brand new show called RR with Courtney act and I want you to check it out. You know I hate small talk. I want to go deep and I want to go quickly. And on my show we do just that. In today's world, it feels really polarised and we're more connected than ever, but really we can feel isolated and I don't like that. I want the story shared here on RR to make us realize that our similarities are greater than our differences. So join me and my fabulous guests like Nicole Byer, Tom Daly, Margaret Cho, Katia Adore Delano, Jackie Beat, and many more. If you're looking for some rest and relaxation, you've come to the wrong place because we are peeling back the layers of superficiality and we're getting down to the real stuff. Follow R and R with Courtney act on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening now.
- [04:46]
Dan Jones
If you're a fan of Hollywood action blockbusters, and I know I am, you'll agree that there's nothing more satisfying than their climax. The fight scene. I'm thinking Arnie versus the T1000 in the steel mill in Terminator 2, the Bride giving Bill the five point palm exploding heart technique in Kill Bill Vol. 2. Or Aliens when Ripley takes on the queen alien in the mechanical loader and blows her out of the goddamn airlock. I'm sure you have your own favourite. In fact, if you're one of our royal favourites, then you can let me know yours over on our Patreon. It's not very often that history truly imitates Cinema, but in September 1398, Richard II tries his best to see that it does. For a year, he's been on a rampage of revenge against the five appellant lords who reigned on his parade in 1387-88. As we heard last time, he did away with the three senior lords in the Revenge Parliament of 1397. One murdered, one beheaded, and one stripped of his titles and lands and packed off to obscurity on the Isle of Man. Now it seems like Richard's trying to finish this slasher movie with a flourish by setting the last two of the ops against each other in a fight to the death. This will have the double benefit of doing away with at least one more appellant, while at the same time reminding the rest of England that he, Richard, is the sole arbiter of life and death, fame and ignominy that anyone who should dare flash so much as a defiant eye in his direction is liable to have it plucked out. Before we get onto the action of the duel, however, let's just roll back to explain how we got here to the tournament field outside Coventry in 1398. Last episode we heard how just before Christmas 1397, there's a chance meeting on the road to London between Bolingbroke and Mowbray. During this meeting, Mowbray says to Bolingbroke that the King is planning to do away with them. Both Bolingbroke and his dad, the aging John of Gaunt, are top of the King kill list. Mowbray is close behind. Mowbray tells Bolingbroke this all goes back to what happened at Radcot Bridge, the Battle in the Fog, where Richard's best chum, Robert de Vere, was run out of the country, never to return. Bolingbroke, suspecting with good reason that Mowbray is a snake and not to be trusted, refuses to be drawn in. He says he can't believe for a second that a sweet chap like our dear cousin Richard could ever think of doing anything so horrid. Once Mowbray's gone, Bolingbroke frantically starts figuring out what his best move is. What he comes up with is high risk, but it's really the only option that gives him a chance of staying alive. And in the political game, Bolingbroke goes to his dad and spills the whole story, and Gaunt tells Bolingbroke that they need to go and talk to Richard like yesterday, which is a sensible strategy. If the King isn't planning to kill them and steal all their stuff, then going to him might just keep things that way. Yes, it means snitching on Mowbray, but honestly, like, screw that guy. He murdered Thomas of Woodstock in cold blood to save his own skin. He's not exactly a loyal bff. On the other hand, if Richard is planning to kill them both and steal all their stuff, then Bolingbroke and Gaunt need to let him know that they know, which sounds like sticking their heads in the bear's mouth. But don't forget, this wouldn't be the first time that Richard has literally planned to have Gaunt whacked. Long experience has shown Gaunt that when King Nutso gets a Nutso idea in his nut, you gain nothing from trying to play him at his own game. Gaunt is still alive because every time there's been an issue between himself and his dipshit little nephew, he's had it out with him, talked him down. That's what they have to do now. So before the revenge Parliament reopens in January 1398, Gaunt and Bolingbroke go to Richard and lay out all the accusations they've heard from Mowbray. Richard doesn't seem exactly shocked, but neither does he admit to being caught red handed. Is that because he isn't planning to move on the Lancastrians? Or because he was, but now he's pretending not to have been? I mean, who even knows with this maniac at this stage? Either way, Richard orders Mowbray to be arrested. Then, when Parliament reopens, he has Bolingbroke repeat the accusations in front of all the Lords and Commons, so the whole realm can hear this. A special parliamentary committee is assembled to dig into the details and hear both sides of the story. When it convenes, Bolingbroke chucks some new evidence into the pot, trying to bury Mowbray under the sheer weight of his own iniquity, as well as accusing him of stirring up shit against the King. Bolingbroke says he knows Mowbray offed Woodstock. He says he's been embezzling money from the defence budget in Calais. And for good measure, he accuses him of being at the bottom of all the treasons committed in the kingdom in the last 18 years. The trouble is, this is kind of overkill. Accusing Mowbray of talking anti Richard smack is one thing. Blaming him for every leaking hot water pipe and pothole in the road since the days of the Peasants Revolt is a bit of a stretch. Mentioning Thomas of Woodstock as a murder victim in Richard's earshot, that's an out and out blunder. So the committee members decide that this is a case of he said, he said. Bolingbroke is going to have to prove his accusations, which means turning the case over to some conclusive method of arbitration. The cute phrase used in the records describing the case. It was assented and agreed by our said Lord, the King and the lords and knights aforesaid, that the process and the determination of the aforesaid matters should follow the course of the law of chivalry. I can translate that into contemporary English, if you like. It means we got ourselves a celebrity death match. On September 16, Bolingbroke and Mowbray are ordered to show up in Coventry, ready to rumble. Whoever wins will be judged to have told the truth. Whoever loses will be the traitor.
- [12:12]
Happy Mammoth
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- [15:12]
Dan Jones
As Henry Bolingbroke hears the trumpet's blast to summon him from his pavilion on the tournament field at Coventry, a whole flood of emotions must be sweeping through him. The crowd is at fever pitch. As soon as he trots out to take their greeting. His servants begin removing his pavilion from behind him, just as Mowbrays are doing at the other end of the field. His horse stamps and snorts as a squire hands him up a lance. On many levels, Bolingbroke must be confident. After all, this isn't his first rodeo. In the months since the date for this duel was fixed, he's been preparing himself meticulously. He's had his armour specially made in Milan, the European hotspot of armor making, so he looks a million gross. He's been on a tour of his estates, checking in with all his supporters and reminding himself of the fact that he's the popular favourite to win this match. He has a wealth of experience to draw on. It's not so very long ago since he ran 10 tilts in the jousting lists against the French war hero Boucicault. And he really stuck it to those Prussian pagans on crusade back in the day. But of course, there must be some nerves jangling as well. The point of a duel is to let God decide who's right. And while Bolingbroke is pretty sure God's on his side, the big man does have his moments. Then there's his family to think of. Today, September 16th is his eldest son Henry's 12th birthday. The poor lad spent his last birthday watching King Richard torment party guests before the revenge parliament opened. Now young Henry has got to worry about whether his dad is going to finish the day as a packet of finely ground mincemeat, leaving him and his five siblings as orphans. What hope is there for this poor lad? So there's a lot for Bolingbroke to turn over in his mind. But there's no more time. The signal goes up for the combat to begin and Bolingbroke makes the first move in the direction of his opponent. His only thoughts now can be to get the job done. Kill or be killed. Then, just as he's about to charge at Mowbray, something bizarre happens. There's a cry from the crowd. Hold. Bolingbroke turns to see Richard himself standing up. Just as they were about to go at it, King Nutso is pulling them both out. Combat is halted. The pavilions are brought back. Bolingbroke and Mowbray are ordered to go inside them and not come out until they're given further instructions. It's yet another twist in the long and increasingly tiresome story of all about Richard. Bolingbroke does as he's told and he sits inside his tent embroidered all over with red roses, waiting for the next bit of instruction for two whole hours. Eventually, a herald comes back onto the field and introduces one of Richard's cronies, a knight called Sir John Bushy. Bushy drops a bombshell. The King has reconsidered things, says Bushy. And he has a new idea, as the record later puts it, to avoid entirely dishonour to one of the said Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, so close to our said Lord the King. Our same Lord. The King, as rightful, natural and sovereign Lord of his special grace, took the battle into his own hand. In other words, rather than letting God take the wheel, Richard is going to have a bash at it himself. And rather than declare a winner and a loser, Richard has decided that both men are going to serve a sentence. Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, is to be banished from England for the rest of his life. Bolingbroke is to be banished for 10 years. They're not to have anything to do with each other during their exile, nor is anyone to be allowed to talk to the King about them and try to have their sentence altered. Richard can't exactly say that this is a punishment deserved in law. Bolingbroke hasn't done anything except for grassing up Mowbray. And since Mowbray has been denied the chance to defend the accusations against him, he can't be considered guilty under the rules of chivalry. Richard does have the right to arbitrate between his nobles if they fall out and to intervene to prevent bloodshed. But given that he set up this whole performance, it's a bit much for him to now act like it's all been some regrettable mistake. Richard claims that he's taking this drastic step for the peace and tranquility of himself, his kingdom and his subjects, and to avoid disputes and troubles between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, their friends and well wishers. All of that sounds like the ripest bag of hot garbage ever to spill from the mouth of a king. But Richard doesn't really care. Once again, he's told the whole kingdom that he's the head honcho and that the merest, fleetingest, stupidest Thor fart to gust from his various orifices carries the full and dreadful weight of the law. If Richard says he wants Bolingbroke and Mowbray gone from England, then that's all there is to it. And so the crowd and combatants leave Coventry with no fighting done and two of the leading English nobles sentenced to a decade and more away from their homeland, they have just six weeks to pack their bags and get out.
- [21:24]
Unknown
When we first launched my podcast, this is history. Back in what now actually feels like the Middle Ages. Naturally, all my accounts were worked out on an abacus. My scripts were written with quill on parchment, and I sent them over to my producer on a raven. It was a slow, overwhelming and lonely process with so many different hats to wear and so much to do with so little time. If only I'd had Shopify as my business partner to get me started and help me keep up with the pace. Finding the right tool that not only helps you out, but simplifies everything can be such a game changer for millions of businesses. That tool is Shopify. Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.co.uk sell 2,3 try go to shopify.co.uk sell two,3 try.
- [22:29]
Dan Jones
Around the time that Bolingbroke and Mowbray are preparing to duel or not at Coventry, English messengers arrive at the court of the Christian Emperor of Constantinople. That's modern day Istanbul. They've come to see the Emperor, Manuel II Palaiologos. They're bringing him a letter responding to one he's sent to England, asking for a bit of ready cash to help defend Christendom's frontiers from the Turks. This reply they've carried for hundreds of miles across Europe was written around the time Richard was ordering the Bolingbroke Mowbray duel. It's in Richard's voice, possibly dictated by Richard, and so it's an amazing insight into the King's mind. In the letter, Richard tells Manuel that he's sorry not to be able to send any cash for Christendom, but that he has a good excuse. As for sending money, you know what I believe is notorious throughout all parts of the world? How some of our subject magnates and nobles, while we were of tender years and afterwards, have made many attempts on the prerogative and royal right of our regal state and have wickedly directed their malevolence even against our person. Wherefore, when we could no longer endure their rebellion and insolence, we gathered the might of our power and stretched forth our arm against these our enemies, and at length, by the aid of God's grace, we have by our own valour trodden on the necks of the proud and haughty, and with a strong hand have ground them down. When Richard looks in the mirror, what he sees is not confused bully, but avenging angel. And this letter isn't a one off. Around the same time he writes, apparently apropos of nothing but his own need to boast to the Duke of Bavaria. It's another deranged riff on the same theme. The nobles of England have, for a long time, since we were of tender years, traitorously conspired to disinherit our crown and usurp our royal power, publicly condemning our faithful servants to death and doing whatever they pleased at their own will. And though our royal clemency indulged these traitors with time enough to change their hearts and show the fruits of repentance, so deeply rooted in evil seemed their obstinacy, that by the just judgment of God, our avenging severity has been meted out to the destruction and ruin of their persons. Finally, and again, right around the time that Richard is busy appellant hunting, he's putting the finishing touches to his own tomb in Westminster Abbey in which Anne of Bohemia lies awaiting him. There's an inscription on it which reads, a friend of the church, he subdued the mighty and cut down anyone who violated the rights of the crown. Richard also compares his own mind to the genius brain of Homer. Yes, I mean Homer, the acknowledged father of all Western literature. A humble brag this is not. I'm telling you all this because if you're tempted to think that Richard is a hard done by misunderstood soul who really wasn't as nasty as I'm making out, I'm going to need you to tell me how to square away these three separate, truly unhinged, megalomaniacal boasts directed to people who literally did not ask. If you have a theory, hit us up over on our Patreon, where the royal favourites love to share their most elaborate and ingenious historical ideas. In 1398, Richard is stepping up a gear, taking his revenge against everyone who whom he blames for getting in his way 10 years earlier, and in the process feeding his own woefully misguided notion of what kingship is all about, he swept away the old appellants. Now, in one burst of theatrical tyranny, he's got the younger appellants out of the way too. Chroniclers complain that his actions are contrary to justice, the laws of knighthood and the customs of the kingdom. But Richard could not gaf. After so many years spent hurting and stewing on the insults he suffered at his own subjects hands, he's paying it all back with interest. And Richard isn't done there, not by a long stretch in fact, as Bolingbroke and Mowbray depart the kingdom, Richard is starting to cook up the climax of his diabolical plan. It looks at this moment like he can get away with anything. So he's going to try and his next move is going to be more outrageous than anything he has attempted yet. Find out just how outrageous next time on this is History. Folks, I do hope you enjoyed that episode. And for my Royal Favourites, head to Patreon to tell me about your favourite medieval moments on screen. As we'd love to start a Royal favourites film club. Send us your links over at patreon.com.
- [28:17]
Walden University
Thisishistory@ Walden University, we get the W. We come here for more than just a degree. We come here to make an impact. We step up when everything is on the line and we create opportunities. At Walden University, we learn the skills to get us to the next level. Plus, with flexible online learning, we can do it on our time. Now it's your time. Get the W. Walden University, set a course for change. Visit waldenu.edu to learn more. Certified to operate by Chev.