Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Makers of History Richard II. BY JACOB ABBOTT WITH ENGRAVINGS NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 1901 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. Copyright, 1886, by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT, AUSTIN ABBOTT, LYMAN ABBOTT, and EDWARD ABBOTT. [Illustration: PARLEY WITH THE INSURGENTS.] PREFACE. King Richard the Second lived in the days when the chivalry of feudal times was in all its glory. His father, the Black Prince; his uncles, the sons of Edward the Third, and his ancestors in a long line, extending back to the days of Richard the First, were among the most illustrious knights of Europe in those days, and their history abounds in the wonderful exploits, the narrow escapes, and the romantic adventures, for which the knights errant of the Middle Ages were so renowned. This volume takes up the story of English history at the death of Richard the First, and continues it to the time of the deposition and death of Richard the Second, with a view of presenting as complete a picture as is possible, within such limits, of the ideas and principles, the manners and customs, and the extraordinary military undertakings and exploits of that wonderful age. CONTENTS. Chapter Page I. RICHARD'S PREDECESSORS 13 II. QUARRELS 37 III. THE BLACK PRINCE 81 IV. THE BATTLE OF POICTIERS 103 V. CHILDHOOD OF RICHARD 140 VI. ACCESSION TO THE THRONE 166 VII. THE CORONATION 185 VIII. CHIVALRY 197 IX. WAT TYLER'S INSURRECTION 225 X. THE END OF THE INSURRECTION 255 XI. GOOD QUEEN ANNE 273 XII. INCIDENTS OF THE REIGN 290 XIII. THE LITTLE QUEEN 310 XIV. RICHARD'S DEPOSITION AND DEATH 324 ENGRAVINGS. Page PARLEY WITH THE INSURGENTS _Frontispiece._ RUINS OF AN ANCIENT CASTLE 15 MAP--SITUATION OF NORMANDY 23 KING JOHN 29 CAERNARVON CASTLE 51 PORTRAIT OF EDWARD THE SECOND 55 WARWICK CASTLE 61