"With mine own tears I wash away my balm,[2] With mine own hand I give away my crown." [2] "Richard II," Act IV, scene i. The balm was the sacred oil used in anointing the King at his coronation. After his deposition Richard was confined in Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire, where he found, like his unfortunate ancestory, Edward II (S233), "that in the cases of princes there is but a step from the prison to the grave." His death did not take place, however, until after Henry's accession.[1] Most historians condemn Richard as an unscrupulous tyrant. Froissart, who wrote in his time, says that he ruled "fiercely," and that no one in England dared "speak against anything the King did." A recent writer thinks he may have been insane, and declares that whether he "was mad or not, he, at all events acted like a madman." But another authority defends him, saying that Richard was not a despot at heart, but used despotic means hoping to effect much-needed reforms.[2] [1] Henry of Lancaster was the son of John of Gaunt, who was the fourth son of Edward III; but there were descendents of that King's THIRD son (Lionel, Duke of Clarence) living, who, of course, had a prior claim, as the following table shows: Edward III [Direct descendant of Henry III] 1 2 3 | 4 5 --------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | Edward, the William, d. Lionel, Duke John of Gaunt, Edmund Black Prince in childhood. of Clarence Duke of Lancaster Duke of | | | York Richard II Philippa, m. Henry Bollinger Edmund Mortimer Duke of Lancaster, | afterward Roger Mortimer Henry IV d. 1398-1399 | Edmund Mortimer (heir presumptive to the crown after Richard II) [2] See Gardiner, Stubbs, and the "Dictionary of English History." 258. Summary. Richard II's reign comprised: 1. The peasant revolt under Wat Tyler, whic hled eventually to the emancipation of the villeins, or farm laborers. 2. Wycliffe's reformation movement and his complete translation of the Latin Bible, with the rise of the Lollards. 3. The publication of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," the first great English poem. 4. The deposition of the King, and the transfer of the crown by Parliament to Henry, Duke of Lancaster. General Reference Summary of the Angevin, or Plantegenet, Period (1154-1399) I. Government. II. Religion. III. Military Affairs. IV. Literature, Learning, and Art. V. General Industry and Commerce. VI. Mode of Life, Manners, and Customs. I. Government