and as the Mortimers were deprived of their allies, the conspiracy collapsed (1403).

163. Henry Allies Himself with the Church: Persecution of the Lollards. Realizing that his title to the crown defective and that he ruled by sufferance only, Henry of Lan

was

caster sought the alliance of the two great forces in the kingdom, the house of commons and the church. It was during this Parliamentary reign that the commons were granted their claim monarchy. to originate all money bills. The Lancastrians ruled England as a constitutional monarchy in which parlia

SUMMARY: THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY

185

ment was the controlling force; but unfortunately neither the lords nor the representatives of the commons were ready for the self-government that limited monarchy implies.

Statute for

Richard II had been accused of inclinations toward Lollardy or at least indifference toward the welfare of the church, and it may be that this was one reason why the bishops and abbots acquiesced in the revolution of 1399. To the churchmen Henry IV appeared as a zealous defender of ancient rights. The king disappointed many of his supporters but not the church he placed his signature on a terrible statute that provided for the burning of heretics, which meant the followers of Wycliffe.1 There was to be no tolera- the burning tion any longer. The Lollards were to be seized, tried by the courts of the church, and if found guilty, they were to be burned by the sheriff of the county. Even before the statute was enacted, a Lollard priest, William Sawtre, was burned by order of the king. Persecution continued under the new law, and in this and the following reigns a number of Lollards were executed.

of heretics.

Accession of
Henry V.

The second half of Henry IV's reign was uneventful. A natural caution that was emphasized by the irregular mode of his accession kept the king from embarking upon any important undertakings. During the last eight years of his reign Henry was afflicted with a lingering disease; in 1413 he died and was succeeded by his oldest son, Henry V.

1413.

warfare.

164. Summary: the Fourteenth Century. The history of the fourteenth century was one of far-reaching movements and stirring events. For twenty years (1340-1360), the chief business of the nation was foreign warfare, and Foreign the popular imagination was stirred by the news of English success at Sluys, Crécy, Calais, and Poitiers. Then followed twenty years of discontent and heretical agitation which culminated in the peasants' revolt of 1381. During the following two decades the interest is chiefly political and

1 Gardiner, 293-294; Innes, I, 204-209.

centers about a running strife between a small group of nobles who wished to control the government and the young king who longed for absolute power. The strife closed with the revolution of 1399 and the election of Henry IV.

In statesmanship the period is decidedly barren. The kings and politicians of the age are more famous for errors in government than for great practical ideas. The real importance of the century lies in the movements that stirred and transformed society; for the age was one of considerable progress. The functions of parliament were becoming more clearly defined. Villeinage was disappearing and the masses were enjoying greater economic freedom. Trade and manufacture were developing. The resources of the English language were being brought to light. It was the age of John Wycliffe and Geoffrey Chaucer.

REFERENCES

ART OF WAR IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. Barnard, Companion to English History, 53-80; Edwards, Story of Wales, 236-242 (the long bow). MEDIEVAL GILDS. Barnard, 204-213; Beard, Introduction to the English Historians, 169-184 (Ashley).

170.

FOREIGN COMMERCE.

Barnard, 282-294; Innes, History of England, 166–

- Beard, 140-157 (Stubbs);

DEVELOPMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY POWERS. Fletcher, Introductory History of England, I, i, 279-283; Ransome, Advanced History of England, 267-271; Tout, Advanced History of Great Britain, 239–241. THE BLACK DEATH. — Ashley, Edward III and His Wars, 122-129; Fletcher, I, i, 264-268; Jessopp, Coming of the Friars, iv-v.

WYCLIFFE AND THE LOLLARDS. Beard, 221-230 (Trevelyan); Fletcher, I, i, 299-304; Ransome, 271-277; Sergeant, Wyclif; Trevelyan, England in the Age of Wycliffe.

A FOURTEENTH CENTURY MANOR. Beard, 158-168 (Maitland).

THE PEASANTS' REVOLT.

Fletcher, I, i, 293-299; Innes, 172-179; Oman, History of England, 202-206; Sergeant, 272-298; Tout, 229-232. TOWN LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

Beard, 185-203.

SOCIAL LIFE IN CHAUCER'S DAY.

- Bateson, Medieval England, 394-418;

- Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Prologue;

Cross, History of England, c. xiii; Gardiner, Student's History of England, 270-277; Walker, Essentials in English History, c. xiv.

CHAPTER VIII

THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY: THE RENAISSANCE

165. The Fifteenth Century. The fifteenth century is the dreariest age in the political history of England. From 1415 to 1485, the story is one of fruitless and calamitous warfare, first with France as a continuation of the Hundred Years' War, and finally among the English barons themselves. For seventy years the blood and treasure of the nation were spent to satisfy morbid ambition. Otherwise, too, the period is Character of barren of true greatness. English intellect was the period. active as in the century before, but it produced nothing of enduring qualities: no great literary genius appeared to carry on the work of William Langland and Geoffrey Chaucer. Under the surface, however, the forces of the newer civilization were at work. The process of enclosures was going steadily forward at an increasing rate with its double result of unemployment and increased production of wool and cloth. And among the scholars of the time the impulse of the Renaissance was expressing itself in various ways.1

166. The Character of Henry V. The mass of the nation had but one interest, the French war, which was renewed in 1415. Henry IV had been anxious to avoid foreign warfare, and had made no serious attempts to interfere in French affairs; but with the accession of Henry V in 1413, the quiet came to an end. Henry V was not remarkable for statesmanship, and cannot be ranked among the great rulers of England; but he

was virile and energetic, and had many personal Prince Henry. traits that endeared him to his subjects. As a

prince he had not been a model son: it seems that he was

1 Review sec. 159.

unduly anxious to succeed his invalid father, and Henry IV who had dethroned and murdered his predecessor was much shocked when his "madcap" son suggested abdication; it may be that the prince actually plotted to dethrone his father. However, when the throne was finally his, the young king, who had apparently led a wild life as prince, cast aside all the frivolities of earlier days and took up the duties of kingship with unusual energy.

in France.

167. The Situation in France. Across the. Channel the situation was one of misery and confusion. On the throne of France sat Charles VI, an insane king, and the chiefs among the nobility were striving for the power to govern in his name. Partisan strife Two contending parties stood prominently forth: the Burgundians under the lead of the dukes of Burgundy, whose strength lay in the north and east; and the Armagnacs, whose partisans were chiefly from beyond the Loire. The temptation to attack the disrupted country was too great for the young English king. With a cool assurance that is almost astonishing, he revived the ancient claim to the French throne. It will be remembered that the English claim to the rights of Edward III were at best doubtful,' and French crown that they had been wholly surrendered in the treaty of Bretigny. Moreover, if any such rights yet remained, they belonged to the Mortimers, whose rights of inheritance as descendants of Edward III's second son, were prior to those of Henry, who represented a younger line. The English attack on France in 1415 was, therefore, scarcely better than piracy. The French war, however, had always been popular; one of the reasons for the unpopularity of Richard II was that he did not push his claims against France.

renewed.

168. The Battle of Agincourt. With a large army Henry V invaded France and landed near Harfleur; but like his warlike Invasion of ancestor he found that fighting in Normandy had Normandy. its difficulties and he therefore hastened toward his own city of Calais. On the way he encountered a vast

1 Review sec. 131.