Richard II, furious with the citizens of London for assisting the Duke of Arundel, had taken the opportunity of a brawl in the City, to humiliate the citizens. He confiscated their charters and laid the City under a fine of £1,000,000. This was late in 1397, and the following Spring (which until March 25th was A.D. 1397, and after that date A.D. 1398, whence possibly the confusion in dates) the City, which, as we have seen, would be the Common Council, more especially as the King had imprisoned the Mayor and put in a “Custos” to govern, bought back the King’s favour, and, consequently, their own charters, by the most expensive procession and gifts. All the brethren of each Gild, in return for this forgiveness, had to put their seals to these blank charters, which were an acknowledgment of the King’s power and their willingness to do and pay what was left in blank in that charter, so that the King could insert what he chose in the blank spaces, or, as Grafton puts it, “by which he might, when he would, undo any of his subjects.” Amongst the Companies called upon to do this was certainly the Horners, who would not have been foolish enough to seal the “charters” had they not needed the support of the City in the maintaining their own prescriptive rights based on Royal grants. The term sealing is quite a natural one, inasmuch as no charters were signed until Tudor times. [Sidenote: Renewed activity.] Doubtless the troubles of the period and the expenses to which the fraternity had been put, caused the Gild to value its rights and to claim further recognition, even to the extent of promoting a special Act of Parliament. They did not seek to obtain a charter, be it noted, which rarely meant any advantage to the unfortunate persons who were practically compelled to accept such charters, but, on the contrary, in most cases proved to be an invasion by the Crown of former prescriptive privileges. The Horners were successful in obtaining a special Act of Parliament in the year 1465. The Act is worth quoting as showing to what importance the Horners’ Company must have risen by that date. IV EDWARD IV, C. 8. [Sidenote: The Horners’ Act.]