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 TIME

M A N AG E M E N T
Other titles in the Brian Tracy Success Library published by Manjul

1. Business Strategy

2. Creativity & Problem Solving

3. Delegation & Supervision

4. Hiring & Firing

5. Leadership

6. Management

7. Marketing

8. Meetings that Get Results

9. Motivation

10. Negotiation

11. Personal Success

12. Sales Management

13. Sales Success

 TIME

M A N AG E M E N T

B R I A N T R AC Y

Manjul Publishing House

 First published in India by

Manjul Publishing House

• 7/32, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002

Website: www.manjulindia.com

Registered Office:

10, Nishat Colony, Bhopal 462 003 – India

Time Management.

Copyright © 2013 Brian Tracy

Originally published by AMACOM, a division of the American

Management Association, International, New York. All rights reserved.

This edition first published in India in 2018

ISBN 978-93-87383-00-5

This edition is authorised for sale only in the Indian Subcontinent.

This publication is designed to provide accurate information in regards to the subject matter

covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering

legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or any other expert

assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced

into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of

the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may

be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

 C O N T E N T S

Introduction

1 The Psychology of Time Management

2 Determine Your Values

3 Think About Your Vision and Mission

4 Project Forward, Look Backward

5 Make Written Plans

6 Chart Your Projects

7 Create Your Daily “To-Do” List

8 Set Clear Priorities

9 Stay on Track

10 Determine Your Key Result Areas

11 Delegate to Others

12 Concentrate Single-Mindedly

13 Overcome Procrastination

14 Create Blocks of Time

15 Control Interruptions

16 Batch Your Tasks

17 Manage the Telephone

18 Conduct Effective Meetings

19 Read Faster, Remember More

20 Invest in Personal Development

21 Organize Your Work Space

Conclusion

About the Author

Introduction

YOUR ABILITY TO manage your time, as much as any other practice in your

career as an executive, will determine your success or failure. Time is the

one indispensable and irreplaceable resource of accomplishment. It is your

most precious asset. It cannot be saved, nor can it be recovered once lost.

Everything you have to do requires time, and the better you use your time,

the more you will accomplish, and the greater will be your rewards.

Time management is essential for maximum health and personal

effectiveness. The degree to which you feel in control of your time and your

life is a major determinant of your level of inner peace, harmony, and mental

well-being. A feeling of being “out of control” of your time is the major

source of stress, anxiety, and depression. The better you can organize and

control the critical events of your life, the better you will feel, moment to

moment, the more energy you will have, the better you will sleep, and the

more you will get done.

It is possible for you to gain two productive hours each working day, or

even double your output and your productivity, by using the ideas and

methods taught in this book. These techniques have proven successful for

many thousands of executives in every field of endeavor, and they will prove

successful for you, too, as long as you have what I call the four Ds.
The Four Ds of Effectiveness

The first D is desire: You must have an intense, burning desire to get your

time under control and to achieve maximum effectiveness.

The second D is decisiveness: You must make a clear decision that you

are going to practice good time management techniques until they become a

habit.

The third D stands for determination: You must be willing to persist in

the face of all temptations to the contrary until you have become an effective

time manager. Your desire will reinforce your determination.

And finally, the most important key to success in life, the fourth D, is

discipline: You must discipline yourself to make time management a

lifelong practice. Effective discipline is the willingness to force yourself to

pay the price, and to do what you know you should do, when you should do

it, whether you feel like it or not. This is critical for success.

The payoff for becoming an excellent time manager is huge. It is the

outwardly identifiable quality of a high performer vs. a low performer. All

winners in life use their time well. All poor performers in life use their time

poorly. One of the most important rules for success is simply to “form good

habits and make them your masters.” In this book, you will learn how to

form good habits and then let them form you.

What you will learn in this book are the twenty-one most important

solutions to effective time management that almost all highly productive

people have discovered and incorporated into their lives.

Remember that time management is really life management. Good time

management and personal productivity begins by valuing your life, and

every minute of that life.

Do What You Can, with What You Have, Right Where

You Are

You should say to yourself, “My life is precious and important, and I value

every single minute and hour of it. I am going to use those hours properly so

that I accomplish the most I can, in the time that I have.”

The good news is that time management is a business skill, and all

business skills are learnable. Time management is like riding a bicycle,

typing on a keyboard, or playing a sport. It is made up of a series of

methods, strategies, and techniques. It is a skill set that you can learn,

practice, and master with determination and repetition.

Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
It must be owned that there has been a persistent tradition of a
stormy time in youth, but it seems as if the popular imagination had
confused Henry with Edward II. Holinshed, for instance, quotes one:

Ille inter juvenes paulo lascivior ante, Defuncto genitore,

gravis constansque repente Moribus ablegat corruptis regis ab
aula Assuetos socios, et nugatoribus acrem Poenam (si
quisquam sua tecta reviserit) addit, Atque ita mutatus facit
omnia principe digna, Ingenio magno post consultoribus usus,
etc. (Vol. iii.)

However this may be, Henry was always open to the influences of
religion. He was crowned on 9th April, Passion Sunday. The
coronation was marred by a heavy thunderstorm with torrents of
rain, so that men’s hearts failed them for fear, thinking of what evil
things this portent might mean. In the end it was recognised as
foreshadowing trouble for the French.
His first act was the removal of King Richard’s body to
Westminster with great pomp and state. He was probably induced to
perform this pious act by the desire to dissociate himself and his
father from any connection with the deposed King’s death. He then,
being urged thereto by Archbishop Arundel, arrested Sir John
Oldcastle, but first sent for him and caused him to explain his faith
and teaching. This Sir John did, declaring the King, and not the
Archbishop at all, to be his supreme judge, and offering to purge
himself in battle or to bring a hundred knights or esquires for his
purgation. The King, however, being advised by his Council, handed
him over to be tried by the Spiritual Courts. The trial was held first in
St. Paul’s Cathedral, and next in the Hall of the Dominicans. The
verdict of the Archbishop was, of course, that Oldcastle was a
heretic. He was sent back to the Tower, whence he managed to
escape. And then occurred the mysterious plot, which one cannot
avoid concluding was no more a plot than any fabricated by Titus
Oates. What really happened was this. Sir Roger Acton, a knight “of
great wit and possessions,” one John Browne, an esquire, and one
John Beverley, Priest, and some others were reported to the King to
be gathered together in armour near St. Giles Church. It was also
said that they expected reinforcements in large numbers from the
City: Holinshed says 50,000 were expected; Walsingham puts the
number at 5000. The time of year was soon after Christmas. The
King caused the City gates to be closed, then he repaired to
Westminster and there getting together a sufficient force, rode out
to St. Giles where he found the people assembling at midnight, and
falling upon them, either killed or took them all prisoners. Possibly
the leaders proposed a Lollard demonstration, armed, no doubt,
because every one carried arms for every occasion; certainly, next
day the arrest of suspected persons began: in a short time the City
prisons were full: those who appeared to be the leaders were tried,
some for heresy by the clergy, and some for high treason at the
Guildhall. In the end twenty-nine were either hanged or burned, the
latter, for the greater terror, gallows and all.
This so-called rising gave an occasion for a more severe statute
against the Lollards by which the secular power, no longer contented
with carrying out the sentences of the ecclesiastical courts,
undertook the initiative against heretics. This points to some kind of
panic. Perhaps the clergy had realised the full danger of the Lollard
movement. Early in 1415 Henry sent an offer of pardon to Oldcastle
if he would make submission. He refused, perhaps distrusting the
promise, and, according to Walsingham, prepared for an insurrection
as soon as the King should have gone to France. But the King went
to France not troubling about Oldcastle: and there was no rising.
Probably, therefore, Walsingham imagined or invented this motive.
The fires of martyrdom were lit again that same day. Witness the
letter written by the Mayor or Aldermen to the King, touching the
trial and execution of John Cleydon. The man was a currier by trade:
he had in his possession a number of heretical books, for which he
was tried by Archbishop Chichele in St. Paul’s on 17th August 1415.
The king being then in France, the Mayor himself gave evidence
against the prisoner, who was sentenced to be burned with all his
books. The case was deemed of sufficient importance to demand a
special letter to the King, of which the following is the important
part:—

“Forasmuch as the King of all might and the Lord of Heaven,

who of late graciously taught your hands to fight, and has
guided your feet to battle, has now, during your absence,
placed in our hands certain persons who not only were enemies
of Him and of your dignity, but also, in so far as they might be,
were subverters of the whole of your realm: men commonly
known as “Lollards” who for long time have laboured for the
subversion of the whole Catholic Faith and of Holy Church, the
lessening of public worship, and the destruction of your realm,
as also the perpetration of very many other enormities horrible
to hear: the same persons, in accordance with the requirements
of law, we have unto the Reverend Commissaries of Reverend
Father in Christ, and Lord, Richard, by Divine permission, the
Lord Bishop of London, by indenture caused to be delivered.
Whereupon one John Cleydone, by name, the arch parent of
this heretical depravity, was by the most reverend Father in
Christ, and Lord, Henry, by Divine permission, the Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all your realm and other
Bishops, his brethren, as well as very many Professors of Holy
Scripture and Doctors of Laws, in accordance with the canonical
sanctions, by sentence in this behalf lawfully pronounced, as
being a person relapsed into heresy, which before had been by
him abjured, left in the hands of the secular Court: for the
execution of whose body, and the entire destruction of all such
enemies, with all diligence, to the utmost of our power we shall
be assisting.” (Riley’s Memorials, p. 617.)

We may perhaps see in this letter the desire of the City Fathers to
clear themselves from any suspicion of Lollardy. The worthy citizens
did not desire a reform in church doctrine so much as a return to
simple measures and holy living.
 SHIPS AT LA ROCHELLE, 1372
From Froissart’s Chronicles.

For two years Oldcastle led a wandering life with a few

companions. He was once nearly taken at St. Albans, where the
Abbot’s servants heard of him and went out to arrest him. He got
away, but some of his servants were caught: and they found books
of devotion upon them in which the painted heads of the Saints had
been scraped off: the names of the Virgin and of the saints had been
blotted: and divers writings had been made up and down the page
in derogation of honour paid to the Virgin and to the Saints. These
books were displayed at Paul’s Cross to illustrate the extreme
wickedness of Lollardy. At length Sir John Oldcastle was taken by Sir
Edward Charlton, Lord of Powis. So much importance was attached
to the capture that Charlton received a reward of 1000 marks. There
does not appear to have been the slightest grounds for representing
this great and noble man, a hundred and fifty years in advance of
his age, as a traitor, a conspirator, or in any sense hostile to the
King. He was free for two years to work his conspiracies and he
refrained. But he was always active in disseminating Lollard
teaching. In 1417 he was hung on a gallows by chains, and was, it is
said, slowly burned to death, at St. Giles, close to the south end of
the present Tottenham Court Road. Like so many martyrs, like
Latimer, like Cranmer, like Ridley, he was sustained through the fiery
torment by the steadfast faith which burned in his soul more fiercely
than the crackling flame without. Before he suffered he prayed
forgiveness for his enemies: he exhorted the people to obey the
Scripture in all things: he refused the ministrations of a priest. “To
God only, now as ever present, he would confess.”
It seems afterwards, amid the wars and strifes and bloodshed of
the century, as if Lollardy was dead. It was not. The memory of Sir
John survived; the teaching of the simple life, the pure life, the
chaste life, remained in men’s hearts and bore fruit when they found
time and opportunity to compare once more the Church of the
present with the Church of the past.
Henry, for the purpose of strengthening his doubtful seat on the
throne by the prestige of victories, resolved upon continuing the
foreign policy of Edward III. On 10th March 1415 he informed the
Mayor of his intention. A great meeting, with the King’s brothers and
some of the Bishops, was held at the Guildhall to consider the
question of finance. This meeting is important because the
precedence of the Mayor in the City was there decided. He was
considered as the King’s representative in the City, and therefore
took the highest place with the Bishops on his right and the King’s
brothers on his left. The King pledged his jewels and the security of
his customs for the sum of 20,000 marks. Later on, the City
advanced the sum of 5000 marks and a further sum of £2000 on the
security of a valuable sword set in gold and precious stones.
The conspiracy of the Earl of Cambridge and Lord Scrope,
discovered on the eve of sailing from Southampton, proves that the
crown of the Lancastrian was still insecure. But Henry was going to
show himself in the light of a great captain against whom
conspiracies were useless and futile.

MARRIAGE OF HENRY V. AND KATHERINE OF FRANCE

From MS. in British Museum. Roy. 20 E vi.

There was no doubt as to the loyalty of the City under Harry of

Monmouth. When the forces in France were suffering from scarcity
of victuals, the citizens sent off to Rouen thirty butts of sweet wine,
1000 pipes of ale and beer, and 25,000 cups for the men’s use. And
they scoured the City for any vagrant soldiers, whom they shipped
off as they were pressed, to join the army. The news of Agincourt
(Oct. 25, 1415) reached London on 28th October when the new Lord
Mayor, Nicholas Wotton, was sworn into office at the Guildhall. He
conveyed the news to the Lord High Chancellor, and they celebrated
the event with a Te Deum at St. Paul’s. On the following day the
Mayor, accompanied by the Aldermen, the companies, and as many
of the nobility as had houses in the City, walked in procession to
Westminster, where they made oblations at the shrine of St. Edward.
They were careful to record that this walking on foot was not to be
taken as a precedent or to supplant their riding. When the King
himself returned he was received with the greatest rejoicings,
rejoicings unlike those which greeted many of his predecessors, for
they were real. A victorious Prince, young, gallant, successful, wins
all hearts. He brought to England with him all his prisoners, a goodly
company. He was met on Blackheath by the Mayor, Aldermen, and
Sheriffs dressed in scarlet gowns, with three hundred of the principal
citizens all richly accoutred. At St. Thomas Watering the London
clergy met him with their most gorgeous robes; the City was
decorated with carpets and tapestry, and there were pageants with
children representing angels and singing praises and psalms, while
the conduits ran wine. This is William Gregory’s account of the
Riding:—

“And the xxiij day of November the kyng came unto London
whythe alle hys prisoners above sayd. And there he was
resseyvyd worthily and royally by the mayre with all the
aldermen whythe hym there. And whythe a royalle processyon
he was broughte home: and there was made stondyng upon the
brydge Syn George royally armyd, and at the Crosse in Cheppe
was made a castelle and there with was moche solemnyte of
angelys and virgenys syngyng. And soo he roode untylle that he
came to Powbys and there mette whithe hym xvi byschoppys
and abbatys whithe processyon and seizyd him and broughte
 hym uppe into thw quere whythe devoute songe, and there he
offered and the Fraunsythe lordys alle so. And thaunce he roode
forthe unto Westmynster: and the mayre and hys brethren
broughte hym there.”

The day after this triumph the Mayor and Aldermen presented the
King with the sum of £1000 in gold and deposited it in two golden
basins worth half as much.
There was another grand procession of 14th June 1420, when the
news arrived of the Treaty of Troyes which made Henry heir to the
French crown. In February 1421 the King with his newly-married
Queen, Katherine, arrived at London and lay at the Tower. Another
grand procession escorted them to Westminster where Katherine
was crowned. On this occasion, as on the return from Agincourt, the
City assumed every appearance of joy.
As regards internal affairs during this reign, the Mayor in 1415
ordered the citizens to hang out lanthorns for the lighting of the City
by night. Leadenhall Market was built at the expense of Sir Simon
Eyre, sometime Mayor. He designed it as a public granary in time of
scarcity, but it never appears to have been used as such. On one
side was a chapel with a college endowed as a Fraternity of the
Trinity, consisting of sixty priests, by whom mass was sung on
market day. In the Hall was kept the common Beam for weighing
wool, and a public market was held. The Hall was afterwards used
as an Armoury for the City, and lastly turned into a Meat Market.
And then, alas! this gallant Prince died, being then no more than
thirty-two years of age. This lamentable event, which prepared the
way for all the miseries of foreign humiliation and civil war,
happened at Bois de Vincennes on the 31st August 1422. The body
of the King was brought over from France, and received a funeral
worthy of his kingly virtues. In an open chariot it lay coffined; and
above the coffin was the effigy of the King in royal robes, a crown
upon his head, a sceptre in one hand and the orb in the other. The
figure lay upon a rich cloth and the canopy was borne by nobles.
The obsequies were performed at St. Paul’s, and the body was then
taken to Westminster.
And so ended prematurely the life of the best-beloved King that
ever England saw, and they were no feigned or perfunctory tears
that flowed abundantly at his obsequies. Let me transcribe the
words of John Hardyng in his Chronicle:—
“O good Lord God that art omnipotent,
Why streched not thy power and thy might
To kepe this prince, that sette was and consent
With th’ emperour, to conquere cirry right,
And with Christen inhabite, it had hight
Why favoured so thyne high omnipotence
Miscreaunce more then his benevolence.

Above all thyng he keped the lawe and peace

Through all England, that none insurrection
Ne no riotes were then withouten lese,
Nor neighbour werre in faute of correccion:
But peasebly under his proteccion,
Compleyntes all, of wronges in generall,
Refourmed were well under his yerd egall.

When he in Fraunce was dayly conversant

His shadow so obumbred all England,
That peace and lawe kepte continuant
In his absence throughout all this land,
And else, as I conceyve and understand,
His power had been lite to conquere Fraunce
Nor other realmes that well were lesse perchaunce.

The peace at home and lawe so well conserved,

Were croppe and rote of all his hie conquest
Through whiche the love of God he well deserved
And of his people by North, South, Est, and West,
Who might have slain that prince or downe him cast
That stode so sure in rightfull governaunce
For common weale, to God his hie pleasaunce.”
 CHAPTER XI
HENRY VI

HENRY VI. AS AN INFANT

From Strutt’s Manners and Customs.

The disastrous and miserable reign of Henry of Windsor began

when the King, an infant less than a year old, was carried through
London in the lap of his mother. He was placed under the
guardianship of the late King’s brothers, the Duke of Bedford and the
Duke of Gloucester. The former being the elder claimed to be
Protector of the Realm, which was granted him, his Protectorate to
begin on his return from France. The glories and victories of the late
reign, the personal popularity of Henry V., and his constant support
of the Church seemed to have removed for the time all fears of
further risings against the Lancastrian House. But the materials for
rebellion always remain where there is a rightful heir standing apart,
and not contented with the simple rank of noble. The reign, indeed,
began with the conviction of Sir John Mortimer for treasonable
designs in favour of the Earl of March. In addition to this danger, the
great nobles were always ready to take offence and to join any
insurrection that might offer; while, as regards the City, though it
was true and loyal to all appearance, its loyalty, as had been already
proved on many occasions, would not stand the strain of bad trade,
increased taxation, or invasion of the City liberties. Above all, the
young King had a very long period of tutelage before him, and the
country had to expect during that period the uncertainties and the
dangers of a Protectorate. The first sign of approaching disturbance
was the quarrel between the Duke of Gloucester and Henry
Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester. It is a very singular story as told by
Gregory. The Bishop was going to seize the City by armed force.
Why? with what object? Perhaps he proposed to depose the Duke of
Gloucester, but then he would have had to reckon with the Duke of
Bedford.
“And that same yere that the mayre rode to Westmynster on the
same daye for to take hys othe, that ys, was the xxix daye of
Septembyr, whenne that he come home to hys mete with hys
aldyrmen and with hys goode comyners, or that they hadde fully,
etc., the Duke of Glouceter sende for the mayre and hys aldermen
that they shulde come speke with hym: and whenne they come he
cargyd the mayre that he shuld kepe welle the cytte that nyght for
my Lorde of Glouceter and the Byschoppe of Wynchester were not
goode frendys as in that tyme. And on the morowe certayne men
kepte the gatys of the brygge of London by the commaundement of
the Lorde of Glouceter and of the mayre. And by-twyne ix and x of
the belle ther come certayne men of the Byschoppys of Wynchester
and drewe the chaynys of the stulpys at the brygge ende in
Southework ys syde, the whiche were both knyghtys and squyers,
with a great mayny of archerys, and they enbaytaylyd them, and
made defens of wyndowys and pypys as hyt hadde bene in the
londe of warre, as thowe they wolde have fought agayne the kyngys
pepylle and brekyng of the pes. And thenne the pepylle of the cytte
hyrde thereof, and they in haste schytte in ther shoppys and come
downe to the gatys of the brygge in kepyng of the cytte ande
savacyon of the cytte a-gayns the kyngys enmys, for alle the
shoppys in London were schytte in one howr. And thenne come my
Lorde of Cauntyrbury ande the Prynce of Portynggale, and tretyd by
twyne my Lorde of Glouceter and the Byschoppe of Wynchester for
they rode viij tymes by twyne the duke and the byschoppe that day.
And thonkyd be God, thoroughe goode governaunce of the mayre
and hys aldyrmen, alle the pepylle was sessyde and wentte home
ayenne every mann, and none harme done thorough ealle the cytte,
thonkyd be God.” (W. Gregory’s “Chronicle” in Collections of a
London Citizen.)
The same story is told more briefly in the Chronicle of London
(Nicolas). The Duke of Bedford came over and acted as arbitrator.
The citizens made him a present of a thousand marks in gold with
two golden basins; but he received them coldly, one cannot tell why.
However, he patched up a peace between the Bishop and his brother
and took the Bishop to France with him, perhaps to get him out of
the way. When, five years later, Beaufort was made Cardinal and
Papal Legate he returned, and was honourably received by the
citizens, “and he was resiayvd there worthily and ryally of the mayre
and alle hys brethreyn.”
The following letters between the King, i.e. the Protector in the
King’s name, and the Mayor are quoted by Maitland to show certain
claims and alleged immunities made by the Corporation at this time.

“Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England and France, and

Lord of Ireland, to the Mayor and aldermen of the City of
London, greeting. Willing for certain Causes, to be certified
upon the Tenors of divers Liberties and Customs of the aforesaid
City, and concerning the Records and Memoranda of Servants
and Natives coming to the aforesaid City, and tarrying there for
a Year and a Day, without complaint of their Lords or Masters
before you had, and inrolled in our Court of our Chamber of
Guildhall of the aforesaid City as is said: We command you the
Mayor, distinctly and openly to send the Tenor of the Liberties,
Customs, Records, and Memoranda beforesaid, to us in our
Chancery, under your Seal and this our Brief. Witness myself at
Westminster the twentieth of January, in the seventh year of our
Reign.”
To which the Mayor and Aldermen returned the following
answer:—
“Be it remembered that in the Time of Holy King Edward,
heretofore King of England, and before from all time no Memory
of Man, then was extant such dignity, liberty, and Royal Custom,
among others was had, used, and approved in the City of
London, which is, and from all time hath been called The free
Chamber of the King of England, as from ancient Time it was
used, and had in the great city of Troy: to wit, That every
Servant whosoever he were, that came to the City of London,
and tarried in it for a Year and a Day, without Reclamation of his
Lord there, afterwards he may, ought, and hath accustomed
through his whole Life so freely and securely to tarry there, as it
were in the House or Chamber of the King: And thence it is,
that the same holy King Edward, amongst other things, by his
Laws remaining of Record in the Treasury of Guyhald of the said
City, and reciting the City itself to be the head of his Kingdom,
and that it was founded like and after the manner of old Troy;
and that it containeth in it the Laws, Liberties, Dignities, and
royal Customs of great Troy: He appointed and ordained, that
the said city of London may have and keep everywhere, by one
Inviolability always, all her old Usages and Customs,
wheresoever the King himself shall be, whether in an Expedition
or otherwise.
And afterwards King William the Conqueror, King of England,
by his charter, which remaineth of the Record in the same
Treasury, granted to the Men of London, that they be worthy of
all that both Law and Right, as they were in the days of the
aforesaid Edward. And moreover, the said William the King,
among other laws at the said City made, with the consent of
noble and wise men of the whole Kingdom, and remaining in
the said Treasury, likewise remaining of record, appointed and
ordained, that if Servants remain, without Complaint, by a Year
and a Day in a Burgh compassed with a Wall, or in Castles, or in
the cities of the said King; whence the said City of London, to
that Time, and from all Time before, was one, and the more
principal of the whole Kingdom, as is said before; from that Day
let them become Freemen, and let them be for ever free and
quit from the Yoke of their Servitude. And the Record continues,
viz., It is to be noted, that the Laws, Recitements, and Statutes
of holy King Edward, of which Mention is made above, are
contained in Folio 34 of this Book, in the Title De Heretochiis
and Libertatibus, London; and in Folio 113 of the Book of
Customs of the said City: and in Folio 36 of the Book called
Recordatorium London, etc. It is also had in folio 162 of the Red
Book of the Exchequer, called the True Charter; by which the
foresaid lord the Conqueror hath confirmed to the citizens of
London all Rights and Laws which they had in the time of holy
King Edward, together with certain other charters, by which the
said Lord, immediately after the Conquest, gave the whole Hyde
and land of the City of London, whereof he had then been
possessed in his Demesne, to the Men of the said City, patent
and remanent under the Seal of the said King, in the Custody of
the Chamberlain, in the Treasury of the said City; which
Charters are contained and incorporated in the Great Charter of
the Liberties and Customs of the City of London, and are
confirmed by the Lord the King (Henry the Sixth) and his
 progenitors. But the Tenors of the said Charters are patent in
the Latin Tongue, in Folio 238 of the Book of Ordinations of the
said City.” (Maitland, vol. i. p. 188.)

The fifteenth century is full of the disasters and violent deaths of

great nobles. The history of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother
to Henry V., belongs especially to London. On the death of his
brother, being then about twenty-seven years of age, he was, as we
have seen, named joint-guardian of the infant King, and was to rule
England by consent of Parliament, until his elder brother returned
from France. The wars and the threatening aspect of things kept the
Duke of Bedford abroad except for occasional visits to England until
his death. Gloucester is spoken of as a man of profligate habits and
great ambition. These general adjectives are convenient for the
historian; they sum up a man, and present him in bold outline. Now
in nature there is no outline, only gradual shadings. He was, it is
said, ambitious. The Court of the young, weak-minded King was full
of intrigue and plottings and conspiracies for power and place. The
courtiers were all ambitious. What any one wanted, if not power, it is
not possible to arrive at with certainty. They all wanted power and
place, nor is it easy to see that any one of the ambitious lords was in
that respect worse than any other. And as regards Gloucester it must
be remembered that if Henry died without heirs he stood next to
Bedford in the succession, and that Bedford had no children. As for
Gloucester’s morals, we have seen that London at this time, thanks
to the Lollard movement, was exacting in the point of morals: yet
Gloucester remained popular with the citizens: they made him
presents—500 marks on one occasion and 1000 on another—though
the latter gift was for the Duchess Jacqueline. It is said that Eleanor
Cobham was his mistress before he married her. Perhaps he had the
sense not to parade the liaison, in which case the good citizens
would not be scandalised. But the morals of kings and princes have
never been very jealously watched by their subjects. Charles II. and
George IV. are by no means alone in immorality: and the world has
forgiven or forgotten most of the others. In other words, there is
nothing to show that Gloucester was specially blameworthy on the
score of morals. It is, however, quite certain that he was a splendid
and lordly Prince, a patron and a lover of the fine arts.

THE DUKE OF BEDFORD

The stormy career of Jacqueline de Brabant, his first wife, belongs

to the history of her time rather than that of London. Yet because
her misfortunes first awakened the voice of the women of London
her life may be briefly noted in this place. She was the only daughter
and the heiress of William, Count of Hainault and of Margaret of
Burgundy his wife. No one, to outward seeming, could be more
strongly protected or in safer hands than this girl. She was married
at five years of age to John, second son of Charles VI. of France, the
young prince being like herself, a child. On the death of the Dauphin
John took the title of the Dauphin du Viennois. He was killed by
poison immediately upon arriving in France. Jacqueline was thus a
widow at sixteen. They married her immediately to John, Duke of
Brabant, her cousin german, by dispensation of the Pope. The Duke
was an imbecile, with whom his wife refused to continue. In 1420
she left him and came to England. Here Duke Humphrey proposed
to consider the marriage null and void. On the death of Henry V. a
bull was obtained to that effect from the anti-Pope Benedict XIII.,
and she and Gloucester were married. Gloucester then demanded of
the Duke of Brabant the restitution of his wife’s estates. On his
refusal he entered the country with 5000 English troops prepared to
encounter the allied forces of Brabant and Burgundy. But the latter
withdrawing, Gloucester returned to England leaving Jacqueline in
Mons. She was taken prisoner, conducted to Holland, escaped in the
disguise of a soldier, and, then being reduced to great straits and
receiving no succour from Gloucester, who could probably get none,
she concluded peace with the Duke of Burgundy, her cousin. The
Duke of Brabant was now dead. In the treaty of peace she
acknowledged that she was not the lawful wife of Gloucester; she
named the Duke of Burgundy her heir; and she engaged not to
marry again without the Duke’s permission.
It was before this treaty, which separated Jacqueline entirely from
English sympathies, that the women of London, for the first time in
history, made their appearance in public. Filled with sympathy for
the misfortunes of this unhappy heiress, thus driven out of her
estates, a prisoner, a wanderer, deserted by her cousin and her
husband, they presented themselves before Parliament in the year
1427 and laid before the Commons at Westminster assembled, a
petition or letter complaining of the Duke’s behaviour towards his
wife. In the following year the citizens themselves begged the
consideration of Parliament for the abandonment of the Duchess.
This would lead us to believe that in the distracted condition of the
State the Duke of Gloucester simply could not get succour for his
wife. It would be interesting to know how the women were got to
act together, whether by meeting at Paul’s Cross and by female
oratory, or, which is much more likely, by house-to-house visitation.
Nothing, however, came of their interference.
Jacqueline very soon grew tired of her engagement not to marry
without her cousin’s leave. She married a knight of Flanders named
François de Borcelen, whom the Duke of Burgundy promptly
imprisoned. Jacqueline bought his liberty by the surrender of all her
estates, receiving only out of all her princely possessions a modest
annuity. Meantime, the Duke of Gloucester was already married to
Eleanor, daughter of Lord Cobham.
In the year 1441 Gloucester’s second marriage was brought to a
miserable end. The Duchess was accused, it is said by the wicked
wiles of Cardinal Beaufort, but it is quite possible that his wiles were
not in this case exercised at all. Eleanor may have been, probably
was, ambitious for her husband and for herself. Henry was by this
time nineteen years of age and unmarried. The physical weakness of
the lad was certainly known to his uncles and the Court circle.
Perhaps he would never be able to marry. Perhaps he would die. In
the latter event, which was by no means improbable, the Duke of
Gloucester would succeed, the Duke of Bedford now being dead,
and then Eleanor would be Queen. Of magic and witchcraft there
was at this time plenty, as there is still, and always has been; that is
to say, plenty to be had for those who could afford to pay for it. The
Duchess learned where there was a wise woman, she paid her
money, and she inquired and learned what she wanted, viz. how to
get rid of a person whose end was ardently desired. Nothing was
easier; one had only to make with fitting incantations and magical
formulæ, an image in wax of the person whose death was desired,
and then, simply by sticking pins into the image, or by holding it
before the fire, to make it, and at the same time her enemy, waste
away. There is nothing at all incredible in supposing that a woman in
the fifteenth century, strongly tempted by ambition, conscious that
her husband was watching every day with expectation the health of
the feeble king, would follow such a course. The persons charged
with being the Duchess’s accomplices were four—namely, Master
Thomas Southwell, a Canon of St. Stephen’s, Westminster; Master
John Hume, Chaplain of the Duchess; Master Roger Bolingbroke—his
name is also written Bulbroke—and Wyche, “a man,” says Fabyan,
“expert in negromancy”; and a woman named Margery
Jourdemayne, surnamed the witch of Eye in Suffolk, obviously a wise
woman of the time with some reputation for sorcery. The accused
persons seem to have been brought before the Lords in Council, who
also interrogated the Duchess. They are all said to have confessed.
The four confederates were tried at the Guildhall. Was the offence,
then, committed in the City of London? The three men were
sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered; the witch was
sentenced to be burned. As regards the latter, poor old Margery, the
sentence was duly carried out, for she was “brent” in Smithfield. The
Canon of St. Stephen’s died in his cell the day before that appointed
for his execution; John Hume, the chaplain, was pardoned and went
about his business; the unfortunate “negromancer” alone, Roger
Bolingbroke, paid the penalty of his crime. First he stood in pillory at
Paul’s Cross, with all his instruments, the wizard’s tools and weapons
hanging around him in the presence of the shuddering crowd; next
he was drawn to Tyburn and there hanged, with the usual
accompaniments. He protested his innocence to the last.
As for the Duchess she first took sanctuary at Westminster; then,
for some reason unknown, she left sanctuary and fled to the “Castle”
of Lesnes. Is this Lesnes Abbey near Woolwich? There she was
arrested and examined by the Lords in Council. It is said that she
confessed. The complete silence and inactivity of her husband, who
does not appear to have moved a step in the matter, seems to show
that he was convinced of her guilt, and that he was anxious not to
appear involved in an odious crime which, if Henry were to die,
would imperil his succession, or at least, blacken his name, and
strengthen his enemies. Eleanor was ordered by the Council to do
public penance. And here follows one of the most picturesque
incidents in the whole history of Mediæval London. Accompanied by
her women, the Duchess was taken on Monday, 13th November,
from Westminster (from which we gather that she was lodged in the
Palace), in a barge to the Temple Stairs. There her maids took off
her shoes and stockings and her rich gown, wrapped her in a white
sheet, took off her hood, tied a white handkerchief over her head,
and placed in her hand a wax taper weighing two pounds. In this
dismal guise, while trumpets went before, and men-at-arms
marched before her and behind her,—one hopes she was allowed
the attendance of her maids,—this great lady, the wife of the Regent
or Protector, the greatest lady in the land, stepped barefooted along
the rough road, while all the streets were crowded and every
window was filled with curious eyes, and the people each asked the
other if this pale and shrinking woman could be the wife of Duke
Humphrey, the Duke of Gloucester, brother to King Henry V.,
Protector of the Realm? Pity she received none: who could pity one
who had practised arts of devilish magic? And were not the ashes of
her confederate, the witch of Eye, still smoking on the soil of
Smithfield? At St. Paul’s she offered her taper at the high altar. Two
days afterwards, she was again taken by barge from Westminster to
the Swan Stairs, where she landed, and in the same guise as before,
walked “through Bridge Streete, Groschirche Street, to the
Ledenhalle and so to Crichurche.” And on Friday in the same way
she landed at Queenhithe and so into Chepe and to St. Michael’s,
Cornhill. It is a curious illustration of the time and of the respect due
to rank that though this public and infamous penance was inflicted
upon the lady, the Mayor, the Sheriffs, and the Crafts of London met
her every day at her landing. It is not stated whether they
accompanied her in her dolorous walk afoot. The Duchess was taken
to Chester, where she lived in retirement for the rest of her life.
Six years later, the King being now in the hands of William de la
Pole, Earl of Suffolk, the Duke of Gloucester met his end. He was
arrested at St. Edmundsbury on a charge of treason, and on the
morrow was found dead in his bed. People were frequently found
dead in their beds in these circumstances. To give some colour to
the charge of treason five of his people were accused of complicity,
and condemned to the usual mode of death. They were drawn to
Tyburn, hanged for a few moments, cut down alive, stripped naked
and “marked with a knife in order to be quartered.” That is to say,
slight incisions were made all about the body in order to guide the
executioner’s hand. They were then, having experienced nearly all
the agonies of death by violence and torture, unexpectedly pardoned
by the Earl of Suffolk. Did the conductor of the proceedings keep the
pardon in his pocket and produce it just at the critical moment when
the knife had drawn those diagrams in lines of blood round the
victims’ naked bodies? or did the Earl send off the pardon by special
messenger who arrived just in time to save them? If so, then the
situation is one of the most dramatic in all the annals of Tyburn. It is
said that their clothes were kept by the hangman, and that they all
had to return, naked and bleeding as they were, to the City, where
they were received with great joy.
 HENRY VI. (1421-1461)
From a portrait in Eton College.

The popularity of the Duke in the City is attested by the memory

of his name which long survived in a proverb, “to dine with Duke
Humphrey,” i.e. to have no dinner at all. The name of the “Good
Duke,” who was buried at St. Albans, was given to a certain tomb in
St. Paul’s, that of Sir John Beauchamp, warden of the Cinque Ports,
who died in 1358. It became a custom for certain citizens—probably
they were a club or association of some kind—to meet at this tomb
on St. Andrew’s Day in the morning, and there, under pretence of
holding offices under Duke Humphrey, to conclude with a feast. Also,
on Mayday, watermen, bearers of tankards, and others, came to the
tomb and strewed it with nuts and sprinkled water upon it as if they
too were the servants of Duke Humphrey. This custom perished in
the Great Fire, which burned up not only tombs and churches and
great houses but the memory of great men.
The materials for the reign of Henry VI. as regards London are
scanty. We can set forth the principal events in a short space. When
the Duke of Burgundy changed sides and joined the King of France,
the citizens first showed their detestation of perfidy by murdering a
great number of Burgundians and other foreigners resident in the
City, and also provided a large body of troops maintained at their
own expense for the defence of Calais. There was trouble with the
Fishmongers, who were made to abate their pretensions. There was
trouble about sanctuary. A soldier named Knight was in prison at
Newgate, his friends trumped up a charge of debt against him, and
as they had expected, it was necessary for him to go to the Guildhall
for trial. His friends, to the number of five, lay in wait in Panyer Alley
and snatched him from the hands of the guard as he passed St.
Martin le Grand. They hurried him into sanctuary where they defied
the power of the City authorities. The two Sheriffs, however, forcibly
entered St. Martin’s, and dragged out the whole gang, prisoners and
rescuers. These they laid by the heels in Newgate and waited the
event. It came, after much argument before the Judges, in the
confirmation of St. Martin’s rights. The prisoners were all handed
back to the Dean of the College, and replaced in sanctuary where
they abode, probably till death.
In Gregory’s Chronicle (see p. 112) we read about a certain Sir
Richard Whyche (or Wick) who with his servant was burned on
Tower Hill for heresy, “for the whyche there was moche trobil
amonge the pepylle, in soo moche that alle the wardys in London
were assygnyd to wake there day and nyght that the pepylle myght
nought have hyr ylle purpose as at that tyme.” The reason of the
“trobil” is told by Fabyan. The people regarded this Richard Wick as
a holy and righteous man and greatly resented his martyrdom. The
Vicar of Allhallows, Barking, close by, thinking to profit in some way
by the deception—probably proposing to get a saint, or martyr, or
shrine with offerings, or pilgrimages for his own church—hit upon a
notable design for increasing the popular reverence. He mixed
fragrant powders with the ashes of the heretic as they lay on Tower
Hill: then he loudly called attention to this marvel: “Lo! the very
ashes of the martyr exhale a sweet scent.” And he sold small
portions of the ashes for large sums of money. This villainy
continued for some days until the whole town being disturbed by the
strange story, they arrested the Vicar and made him confess.
Perhaps the Vicar was himself a Lollard and endeavoured in this way
to become a popular martyr. There had been, indeed, many popular
martyrs, Sautre, Bradby, Cobham, Cleydon, and others; the people
stood round the stake in tears, but no one ever dared to move.
Lollardy was dying out save for the hatred entertained by the people
against the wealthy Religious Houses.
In 1429 the King, being then eight years of age, was crowned at
Westminster before being taken over to France to be crowned there.
The ceremony and order of the coronation service are fully set forth
by Gregory:—
“Nowe of the solempnyte of the coronacyon. Alle the prelatys
wente on processyon beryng eche of hem a certayne relyke: and the
Pryor of Westemyster bare a rodde callyde Virga regia, ande the
Abbot of Westemyster bare the kyngys ceptoure. And my Lorde of
Warwyke bare the kynge to chyrche in a clothe of scharlet furryd,
evyn as the newe knyghtys of the Bathe wente whythe furryde
hoodys with menyver. And then he was led up in to the hyghe
schaffold, whyche schaffold was coveryd alle with saye by twyne the
hyghe auter and the quere. And there the kyng was sette in hys sete
in the myddys of the schaffold there, beholdynge the pepylle alle
aboute saddely and wysely. Thenne the Arche-byschoppe of
Cantyrbury made a proclamacyon at the iiij quartyrs of schaffolde,
sayynge in thys wyse: ‘Syrys, here comythe Harry, Kyng Harry the v
ys sone, humylyche to God and Hooly Chyrche, askynge the crowne
of thy(s) realme by ryght and dyscent of herytage. Yf ye holde you
welle plesyd with alle and wylle be plesyd with hym, say you nowe,
ye! and holde uppe youre hondys.’ And thenne alle the pepylle cryde
with oo voyce, ‘Ye! ye!’ Thenne the kynge went unto the hyghe
auter, and humely layde hym downe prostrate, hys hedde to the
auter warde, longe tyme lyyng stylle. Thenne the arche-byschoppys
and byschoppys stode rounde a-boute hym, and radde exercysyons
ovyr hym, and many antemys i-song by note. And thenne the arche-
byschoppes wente to hym and strypte hym owte of hys clothys in to
hys schyrte. And there was yn hys schyrte a thynge lyke grene
taffata, whyche was i-lasyd at iiij placys of hym. Thenne was he
layde a downe a yenne, and helyd hym with hys owne clothys yn the
same maner a-fore sayde. And thenne the Byschoppe of Chester and
of Rouchester songe a letany ovyr hym. And the Arche-byschoppe of
Cantyrbury radde demany colettys ovyr him. Thenne the arche-
byschoppys toke hym uppe a gayne and unlasyd hym, and a-
noynted hym. Fyrste hys bryste and hys ij tetys, and the myddys of
hys backe, and hys hedde, alle a-crosse hys ij schylderys, hys ij
elbowys, his pamys of hys hondys: and thenne they layde a certayne
softe thynge as cotton to alle the placys a-noyntyd: and on hys
hedde they putt on a whyte coyffe of sylke. And so he wentte viij
days: and at the viij dayes the byschoppys dyde wasche hit a-waye
with whyte wyne i-warmyd leuke warme. And the knyghtys of the
Garter helde a clothe of a-state ovyr hym alle the whyle of his
waschynge. To the fyrste processe, aftyr the oyntynge he layde hym
doune prostrate a-gayne. Thenne the arche-byschoppys raddyn
solempne colettys with a solempne prefas. And thenne they toke
hym up a-gayne and putte a-pon hym a goune of scharlette whythe
a pane of ermyn, and Synt Edwarde ys sporys, and toke hym hys
cepter in hys honde, and the kyngys yerde i-callyd Virga regia in hys
othyr honde, sayyng there-with, Reges eos in virga ferrea, etc., he
syttyng thenne in a chayre by fore the hyghe auter. And thenne alle
the byschoppys seseden with a swerde, they alle syttynge there
hondys thereon, ande alle they saynge thes wordys thys to hym,
Accingere gladio tuo super femur tuum, potentissime. And at every
tyme the kyng answeryd and sayde, Observabo. Thenne toke they
the swerde a-gayne fro hym, and layde the swerde on the hyghe
auter. Thenne bought the kyng hys swerde a-gayne of Hooly
Chyrche for an C s. in signe and in tokyn that the vertu and power
sholde come fyrste fro Hooly Chyrche. Thenne sette they on hys
hedde Synt Edwarde ys crowne. Thenne rose he owte of hys chayre
and layde hym downe prostrate a-gayne. And there the byschoppys
sayde ovyr hym many hooly colettys. And thenne they toke hym up
and dyspoylyd hym of hys gere a-yen, and thenne a-rayde hym as a
byschoppe that sholde sing a masse, with a dalmadyke lyke unto a
tunycule with a stole a-bowte hys necke, not crossyd, and a-pon hys
fete a payre of sandellys as a byschoppe, and a cope and glovys lyke
a byschoppe: and thenne sette a-yen on hys hedde Synt Edward ys
crowne, and layde hym a-pon the schaffold and sette hym a sete of
hys astate, and ij byschoppys stondyng on every syde of hym,
helpyng hym to bere the crowne, for hyt was ovyr hevy for hym, for
he was of a tendyr age. And then they be-ganne the masse, and the
Arche-byschoppe of Cauntyrbury songe the masse. And a nothyr
byschop radde the pystylle. And the Byschoppe of Worsethyr radde
the gospelle at the auter. And at the offretory come the kyng downe
and made the oblacyon of brede and wyne, there whythe offerynge
a pounde weyght of golde, the whiche contaynyd xvj marke of
nobbelys. And thenne wente he uppe a-gayne in to the schaffold
and satte there in hys sete tylle the iij Agnus Dei, and thenne he
come downe a-gayne and layde hym prostrate saying there hys
Confyteor and alle the prelatys sayde Misereator. And thenne he
sate uppe, knelynge with humylyte and grete devocyon, ressavyng
the iij parte of the holy sacrament apon the paten of the chalys of
the Arch-byschoppe handys. Thenne there come the Byschoppe of
London with the grete solempne chalys by Synt Edwarde and servyd
hym whythe wyne: the whyche chalis by Synt Edwarde ys dayes was
praysyd at xxx M marke: and the Cardenalle of Wynchester and a
othyr byschoppe helde to hym the towelle of sylke: and so he knelyd
stylle tylle mas was i-doo. Thenne rosse he up a-gayne and yede a-
fore the schryne, and there was he dyspoylyde of all the ornamentys
that he weryde, lyke the ornamentys of a byschoppe, as hyt was
sayde by-fore: and thenne he was a-rayde lyke a kynge in a ryche
clothe of golde, with a crowne sette on hys hedde, whyche crowne
Kynge Rycharde hadde made for hym selfe. And so the kynge was
ladde thoroughe the palys yn to the halle, and alle the newe
knyghtys be-fore hym in hyr a-raye of scharlette: and thenne all the
othyr lordys comynge aftyr hym: thenne come the othyr lordys
comynge aftyr hem. Thenne come the chaunceler with hys crosse
bare heddyd: and aftyr hym come cardenelle with hys crosse in hys
abyte lyke a chanon yn a garment of rede chamelett, furryd whythe
whyte menyver. And thenne folowyde the Kynge, and he was ladde
by-twyne the Byschoppe of Dyrham and the Byschoppe of Bathe;
and my goode Lorde of Warwyke bare uppe hys trayne. And byfore
hym rode my Lorde of Saulysbury as Constabylle of Ingelonde in my
Lorde of Bedforde hys stede, and thenne my Lorde of Glouceter as
Stywarde of Ingelonde. And aftyr hym rode the Duke of Northefolke
as Marchalle of Ingelonde. And before the kynge iiij lordys bare iiij
swerdys, ij in there schaberdys and ij nakyde. And one wa[s]
poynteles of the iiij swerdys above sayde. And as they [were]
syttyng at mete the kyng kepte hys astate: and on the ryght honde
sate the Cardynalle whythe a lower astate: and on the lyfte syde
sate the chaunceler and a byschoppe of Fraunce, and noo moo at
that tabylle. And on the ryght honde of the halle at that borde kepte
the baronys of the Fyffe portys, and soo forthe, clerkes of the
Chaunsery: and on the lefte honde sate the Mayre of London and
hys aldyrmen, and othyr worthy comynerys of the cytte of London.
And in the myddys of the halle sate the byschoppys, and justysys,
and worthy knyghtys, and squyers, and soo fyllyde bothe the
myddylle tabyllys of the halle. And at the ryght honde of the halle
uppon a schaffolde, stode the kyngys of harowdys alle the mete
tyme in hyr cote armorys and hyr crownys in hyr heddys. Ande at
the fyrste course they come downe and wente by fore the kyngys
champyon, Syr Phylyppe Dymmoke, that rode in the halle i-armyde
clene as Syn Jorge. And he proclaymyd in the iiij quarterys of the
halle that the kynge was ryghtefulle ayre to the crowne of
Ingelonde, and what maner man that wolde nay hyt, he was redy for
to defende hyt as hys knyghte and hys champyon. Ande by that
offyce he holdythe hys londys, etc.” (“Chronicle” in Collection of a
London Citizen.) William Gregory as a good citizen cannot refrain
from giving the menu of the Coronation banquet. One pities the poor
child having to go through the long ceremony of the Abbey first and
having to sit out this long banquet afterwards.

HENRY VI. AT THE SHRINE OF ST. EDMUND

From MS. in British Museum. Harl. 2278.

Next year Henry was taken over to Paris, and there also solemnly
crowned, with no doubt another Coronation banquet. In the same
year there was a small and unimportant tumult which shows the
lingering of Lollardy. The leader who called himself Jack Sharpe
wanted to have a rising in London in order to take away the
temporalities of the Church. The Chronicle of London says that his
name was William Maundeville, some time a weaver of Abingdon. He
chose his time when the King and most of the lords were away in
France, when, with his friends, he spread abroad bills and placards
in every town. Nothing came of it except to himself and his party, for
he and some of his friends were hanged, drawn, and quartered, and
their heads set upon London Bridge. And, the same year, there was
one Russell, a craftsman of free and independent thought, who
purposed to create an entirely new House of Lords after his own
ideas. He, a Reformer before his age, was hanged, drawn, and
quartered. In the same year it is casually mentioned “that Pucylle
was brent at Rone and that was upon Corpus Christi Even.”
In January 1432 the King returned to England, and on St.
Valentine’s Day (Sharpe says 20th February: Gregory says Valentine’s
Day) he was received by the City, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs,
with an immense following of citizens, who rode out as far as
Blackheath to meet him. They presented him with the following
address:—

“Sovereign Lord as welcome be ye to your Roiaulme of

Englond, and in especial to your notable Cite London, otherwise
called your Chambre, as ever was Christen Prince to place or
people, and of the good and gracioux achevying of your
Coronne of Fraunce, we thank hertlich our Lord Almighty which
of His endless mercy sende you grace in joye and prosperite on
us and all your other people long for to regnew.”

The King receiving this address rode on to Deptford, where he

was met by a whole regiment of clergy all in their robes, with monks
chanting psalms of praise. Thence into London where a noble
reception awaited him. The description which follows is also taken
from Gregory’s Chronicle.
 “At the south end of London Bridge was erected a tower: and in
the tower stood a giant holding a sword and saying solemnly
Inimicos ejus induam confusione. On each side of the giant was an
antelope, one with the arms of England and one with that of France.
At the drawbridge was another tower with three crowned empresses
namely, Nature, Grace, and Fortune who gave the young king gifts.
On the right hand of the Empresses stood seven fair maidens in
white powdered with stars of gold, who gave the king seven gifts of
the Holy Spirit in the likeness of seven white doves. On the left side
were seven maidens in white powdered with stars of gold, who gave
the king seven gifts of worship, and the maydens sang an hevynly
songe unto the kynge of praysynge and of hys victorye and welle
comynge home.”
At the Conduit of Cornhill there was a tabernacle in which sat a
King in royal apparel: with him the Lady of Mercy, the Lady of Truth,
and the Lady of Cleanness, “hem embracing with Reson.” Before the
King two Judges of great worthiness with eight serjeants-at-law with
this scripture—
“Honowre of kyngys in every mannys syght
Of comyn curtosie, lovythe, equyte, and ryghte.”
At the Great Conduit there was a royal sight like unto Paradise.
There were virgins drawing water and wine of joy and of pleasure
and comfort, the which are to every man’s comfort and health.
These maidens were named Mercy, Grace, and Pity. In this Paradise
stood two old men “like heveynly folk.” They were named Enoch and
Eli, and they saluted the King with words of grace and virtue.
“And soo rode he forthe unto the Crosse in Cheppe. There stood a
royalle castelle of jasper grene, and there yn ij grene treys stondyng
uppe ryght, showyng the ryght tytyllys of the Kyng of Inglond and of
Fraunce, convaying from Synt Edwarde and Synt Lowys be kyngys
unto the tyme of Kyng Harry the vj every kyng stondynge whythe
hys cote armowre, sum lyberdys, and sum flourdelysse; and on that
othyr syde was made the Jesse of owre Lorde ascendyng uppewards
from Davyd unto Jesu. And so rode he forthe unto the Lytylle
Condyte. And there was a ryalle mageste of the Trynyte, fulle of
angelys syngyng hevynly songys, blessynge ande halowynge the
kyngys whythe thes resonys in Latyn wrytyn; Angelis suis mandavit
de te ut custodiant te, etc. Longitudinem dierum replebo in eum et
ostendam illi salutare meum. And thenne vente he forthe unto
Poulys, and there he was ressayvyd whythe bysvhoppys and prelatys
whythe dene and the quere, and whythe devoute songe, as hyt
longythe to a kynge. Ande so he offerryd there and thankyd God of
hys goode speede and of hys welfare. And thenne he rode to
Westemyster, and there he restyd hym: and on the nexte day
followynge the mayre and the aldyrmen whythe a certayne
comeners that were worthy men, and they presentyde the kynge
whythe an hampyr of sylvyr and gylte, whythe a M l. there yn of
nobellys, etc.”
The next great Riding was the reception of Margaret of Anjou
when she came over to be married in the year 1445, when the same
“properties,” castle, tower, and other devices, were brought out to
greet her.
The disastrous wars in France, the lavish expenditure which
produced nothing but defeat, the unsettled condition of the Low
Countries with which the greatest part of the London foreign trade
had been carried on, a succession of bad harvests, with other
causes, affected the prosperity of the City as well as smaller towns
very sensibly. When the Parliament of 1433 voted a fifteenth and a
tenth it assigned £4000 to the relief of poor towns. Of this sum £76:
15: 6¼ was assigned to eighteen wards of London.
In 1447 a petition was presented to Parliament by four priests of
the City, viz. William Litchfield, Allhallows the Great: Gilbert, St.
Andrew’s Holborn; John Cote, St. Peter’s Cornhill: and John Neil, St.
Thomas Acons Hospital, and St. Peter Colechurch; praying for
permission to set up schools of grammar in their respective parishes.
They base their request on the small and insufficient number of
schools in London compared with the great number that had existed
in former days. What schools were they? FitzStephen mentions three
in the time of Henry II. What grammar schools were founded
between 1150 and 1450? Every monastery it is said had its school.
Certainly the novices and the wards of the Abbot were under
instruction: their place was assigned to them in the Cloisters and
there were rules as to their supervision. But the sons of the citizens
were not admitted to these schools. The King replied that the
schools might be established or provided, subject to the approval of
the Archbishop.
We have now arrived at a strange and not wholly intelligible event,
the rising of the Kentish men and their occupation of London.
The most important of these rebellions, known as that of Jack
Cade, was one among many which showed the temper of the
people. The reverses in France, where all that Henry V. had won was
lost, never to be recovered; the exactions and taxations; the many
cases in which persons were accused of treason and thrown into
prison in order that others might obtain their lands; created a
widespread discontent, which, in these risings, became the wrath
which seizes on the sword and demands the ordeal of civil war.
There were at least three other leaders in Kentish risings, one called
Blue Beard, another named William Parminter and a third named
John Smyth. In Wiltshire the Bishop of Salisbury was dragged from
the altar and brutally murdered; and the insurgents in that county
were reckoned at 10,000 men.
Why they rose, and what were their grievances, are shown in the
remarkable document in which they are set forth.
As for the people who took part in these risings, it is certain that
they were by no means the common labourers and villeins, such as
those who went out with Wat Tyler. It is also certain that they chose
as their leader one who had some knowledge of war. And it must be
remembered that the men who flocked to the standard of Mortimer
were as well armed, and as good soldiers, as any whom the King
could collect or could command.
 The leader called himself, or was called, Mortimer, and it is said
gave out that he was cousin to the Duke of York. His real name it is
said—but there seems some reason to doubt the story—was John
Cade; he was an Irishman by birth and he had been in the service of
Sir Thomas Dacre in Sussex, but had been compelled to abjure the
country for having killed a woman with child. He passed over to
France and served in the French army against England, but later he
returned, assumed the name of Aylmer, and married the daughter of
a Squire; at this time he called himself physician, and on the
outbreak of the rebellion assumed the name of Mortimer.3
On the 1st of June the rebels reached London and encamped at
Blackheath. The King, who was at Leicester, hastened to town with a
large army of 20,000 men and lay at St. John’s Priory, Smithfield.
Instead of marching upon the rebels at once, he waited, and sent
messengers to know what they wanted.
They replied by a long and carefully drawn up “Bill of Articles,”
which was evidently the work of some clerk or lawyer: it was a
document which proves the rising to have been no chance
effervescence, but a deliberate and intelligent attempt to set forth
and to remedy grievances. It must be noted that Jack Cade or
Mortimer kept up correspondence with the City, having appointed
one Thomas Cocke, Draper, as his agent.
The following is the “Bill of Articles”:—

1. “Imprimis, it is openly noised that Kent shoulde be

destroyed with a royall power, and made a wylde foreste for the
Deathe of the Duke of Suffolk, of which the Commons of Kent
thereof were never guilty.
2. “Item, the king is stirred to lyve only on his Commons and
other men to have ther revenues of the Crown the which hath
caused povertie in his excellencie, and great payments of the
people, now late to the king graunted in his Parliament.