Froissart. Before 19 Oct 1398. Not long after this, the king of England (age 31) summoned a large council of the great nobles and prelates at Eltham [Map]. On their arrival, he placed his two uncles of Lancaster (age 58) and York (age 57) beside him, with the earls of Northumberland (age 56), Salisbury (age 48) and Huntingdon (age 46). The earl of Derby (age 31) and the earl marshal (age 30) were sent for, and put into separate chambers, for it had been ordered they were not to meet. The king (age 31) showed he wished to mediate between them, notwithstanding their words had been very displeasing to him, and ought not to be lightly pardoned. He required therefore that they should submit themselves to his decision; and to this end sent the constable of England, with four great barons, to oblige them to promise punctually to obey it. The constable and the lords waited on the two earls, and explained the king's intentions They both bound themselves, in their presence, to abide by whatever sentence the king should give. They having reported this, the king said,- "Well then, I order that the earl marshal (age 30), for having caused trouble in this kingdom, by uttering words which he could not prove otherwise than by common report, be banished the realm: he may seek any other land he pleases to dwell in, but he must give over all hope of returning hither, as I banish him for life. I also order, that the earl of Derby (age 31), our cousin, for having angered us, and because he has been, in some measure, the cause of the earl marshal's (age 30) crime and punishment, prepare to leave the kingdom within fifteen days, and be banished hence for the term of ten years, without daring to return unless recalled by us; but we shall reserve to ourself the power of abridging this term in part or altogether." The sentence was satisfactory to the lords present, who said: "The earl of Derby (age 31) may readily go two or three years and amuse himself in foreign parts, for he is young enough; and, although he has already travelled to Prussia, the Holy Sepulchre, Cairo and Saint Catherine's¹, he will find other places to visit. He has two sisters, queens of Castillo (age 25) and of Portugal (age 38), and may cheerfully pass his time with them. The lords, knights and squires of those countries, will make him welcome, for at this moment all warfare is at an end. On his arrival in Castille, as he is very active, he may put them in motion, and lead them against the infidels of Granada, which will employ his time better than remaining idle in England. Or he may go to Hainault, where his cousin, and brother in arms, the count d'Ostrevant, will be happily to see him, and gladly entertain him, that he may assist him in his war against the Frieslanders. If he go to Hainault, lie can have frequent intelligence from his own country and children. He therefore cannot fail of doing well, whithersoever he goes; and the king (age 31) may speedily recall him, through means of the good friends he will leave behind, for he is the finest feather in his cap; and he must not therefore suffer him to be too long absent, if he wish to gain the love of his subjects. The earl marshal (age 30) has had hard treatment, for he is banished without hope of ever being recalled; but, to say the truth, he has deserved it, for all this mischief has been caused by him and his foolish talking: he must therefore pay for it." Thus conversed many English knights with each other, the day the king passed sentence on the earl of Derby (age 31) and the earl marshal (age 30).

Note 1. The monastery on Mount Sinai. - Ed.

Froissart. Before 19 Oct 1398. The two earls, in the mean time, were making every preparation for their combat. The duke of Lancaster (age 58) never went near the king, and as seldom saw his son (age 31), acting throughout with great good sense. He knew the earl of Derby (age 31) was very popular with all ranks in England, but more particularly with the Londoners, who waited on him, and addressed him, - "Earl of Derby (age 31), make your mind easy: whatever may be the event of this combat it will turn out to your honour, in spite of the king and all his minions. We know well how things are managed, and what will be the result of them: this accusation has been invented by envy, to cause your banishment out of the kingdom, where they are aware you are so greatly beloved by all ranks and sexes; and should you be forced to quit us in sorrow, you shall return in joy, for you are more worthy to rule than Richard of Bordeaux (age 31). Whoever may choose to search the matter to the bottom, to discover the real origin of you both, will soon see that you have a greater right to the crown of England than he who wears it, although we have paid him homage, and acknowledged him for king these twenty years; but that was obtained by the entreaties of your grandfather, king Edward of happy memory, who was suspicious of what we hint, and feared the consequences. There was once a serious dispute on this subject between king Edward and your grandfather by your mother's side, duke Henry of Lancaster, but the great lords interfered and made up matters between them. King Edward was valiant and successful in all his enterprises, and had gained the love of his subjects high and low. Your grandfather of Lancaster only required from the king what was just, and served him and his kingdom so loyally, that his conduct deserved the commendation of all. Every one who knew him called him their old father. These things are worthy of king Richard's consideration, and may make him repent, if anything can, at his leisure, that he has not more prudently governed." Such conversations did many of the nobles and citizens of London hold with the earl of Derby, who was pleased with their affection, and received them kindly. He did not, however, neglect any preparations for his combat, but sent to every one of his friends throughout England, to entreat their company at the appointed day and place.

Effigy of Henry IV and his Queen Joan of Navarre. THESE effigies are both on one altar-tomb in the cathedral at Canterbury [Map]. Henry the Fourth, surnamed of Bolingbroke, from the castle in Lincolnshire [Map] where he was born, about the year 1366, was the son of John of Gaunt by his first wife, Blanche, daughter of Henry Duke of Lancaster. Thus in blood he was truly royal; for Edward the Third was his paternal grandfather, and he descended directly, by his mother's side, from Edmund Crouchback, first Earl of Lancaster, the second son of Henry the Third. His first wife, and the mother of all his issue, was Mary, second daughter and coheiress of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, in whose right he was created Duke of Hereford by King Richard the Second, and bore also, after his father's death, the title of Duke of Lancaster, and Earl of Derby. Having taken occasion one day, in conversation with Thomas Mowbray, first Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of England, to animadvert somewhat freely on his cousin King Richard's misgovernment, Norfolk denounced him to the King as a traitor. Bolingbroke recriminated on him as a malignant forger of seditious tales, and requested the King to allow him to clear himself by the trial of battle, "by the stroke of a spere and the dent of a sword^a." They both in the royal presence interchangeably threw down their gages, and the King appointed a day at Coventry for the adjustment of this quarrel by legal duel. In a work of this character, it may be peculiarly allowable to follow the old chronicles in the description of so chivalrous a ceremony. On the appointed day the Dukes came to Coventry, accompanied by the noblemen and gentlemen of their lineage, who encouraged them to the fight. The Duke of Albemarle, or Aumarle, and the Duke of Surrey^b,- the one High Constable and the other High Marshal of England for the day, entered the lists with a numerous body of attendants, each of whom was attired in silke cendal, having a "tipped staff" in his hand to keep the held in order. About the hour of prime (six o'clock in the forenoon) Bolingbroke came to the lists armed at all points, mounted on a white courser, barded with blue and green velvet, embroidered sumptuously with swans and antelopes of goldsmiths' work. The Constable and Marshal demanded of him at the barriers who he was ? "I am," replied the noble appellant, "Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, who am come hither to do my devoir against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, as a traitor untrue to God, the King, his Realm, and me!" Then he was immediately sworn upon the Gospels that his quarrel was true and just, and therefore he desired to enter the lists. He then returned his sword to the scabbard, put back his vizor, crossed his forehead, entered within the barriers, alighted from his horse, and sat down in a chair of green velvet, which was placed under a canopy, also of velvet, at one end of the lists. Soon after, King Richard entered the held, in great state, accompanied by the Peers of the Realm, and the Earl of St. Paul, who had journeyed post from France expressly to see this challenge. The King had above ten thousand men in harness with him as a guard. He ascended a stage, royally decorated, and seated himself. A herald forbade, in the Constable's and Marshal's names, ail persons, on pain of death, from touching the lists, except the officers for marshalling the held. Another herald then proclaimed aloud these words: "Behold, Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, Appellant, is entered the Lists Royal to do his devoir against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, Defendant, on pain of being proved false and recreant." During this time the Duke of Norfolk, completely armed, was wheeling about before the entrance to the lists on his destrier, barded with crimson velvet embroidered with silver lions (the bearing of his house) intermixed with mulberry-trees. When he had taken the oath that his quarrel was just and true, he rode within the barrier into the held, exclaiming aloud, "God defend the right!" and sat him down in a chair of crimson velvet canopied with white and red damask. The Marshal then measured the spears, to see they were of equal length. He himself delivered one to the Appellant, and sent the other to the Defendant by a knight. At the King's command, the seats of the champions were now removed, they mounted their coursers, closed the beavers of their helms, threw their lances into rest, the trumpets sounded, and the hery steed of Bolingbroke rushed forward to the course. The Duke of Norfolk's horse was not yet at his full pace, when the King cast down his warder. The heralds called "Ho! ho!"— the signal for arresting the combat. The King's Secretary, Sir John Borcy, then read from a roll the decision of the King and Council, publicly declaring that Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, Appellant, and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, Defendant, had entered the Royal Lists to "darrain" battle like two valiant knights, but that, because the point in dispute between them was great and weighty, and as Henry Duke of Hereford had displeased the King, he was, within fifteen days, to depart the Realm, not to return for ten years, on pain of death. That Thomas Mowbray, having sown sedition of which he could make no proof, was also to avoid the Realm, never to approach it or its confines again, on pain of death^c. A summary sentence, more intended to adect the revenues of these noblemen than to answer the ends of justice, and of which Bolingbroke gave Richard in a short time ample reason to repent. Bolingbroke retired to France; and Richard, on the death of his father, John of Gaunt, seized his estates into his own hands.

Note a. Hall, reprint, p. 3.

Note b. Edward Plantagenet, son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, was created Duke of Albemarle, and Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, Duke of Surrey, by Richard the Second; both were deprived of these dignities by King Henry the Fourth.

Note c. With what a faithful adherence to Hall's Narrative, and with what spirit has Shakspeare dramatised this scene! Richard thus pronounces sentence on Norfolk in the play.

"Norfolk, for thee remains a heavier doom,

Which I with some unwillingness pronounce.

The fly-slow hours shall not determinate

The hateless limit of thy dear exile;

The hopeless word of Never to return,

Breathe 1 against thee, upon pain of life!"

Richard 11. act i. scene 3.