Then the Archbishop asked the assembly if they would have Henry for
king, to which with one voice they answered "Ye, ye, ye," and after that
the Archbishop led Henry to the king’s throne and set him thereon with
great reverence, making to him a long "oryson" from the words, "When I
was a child, I spake as a child; but at the time when I came unto the
state of a man, I put away childish things."
"A chylde," he said, "will lyghtly promise and as lyghtly brake his
promise, doing all thinges that his fancye giveth him unto, and
forgettinge lyghtly what he hath done. By which reason it followyth
that great inconvenyence must fall to that people a chylde is ruler and
governour of. But now we ought all to rejoyse that a man and not a
chylde shall have lordeshype over us, a man that shall govern the people
by skylful doyngs, settyne apart wylfulnesse and all pleasure of
himself."
And the people answered "Amen" with great gladness; they clapped their
hands for joy and did homage to the new king, while the coronation was
fixed for the 13th of October, the Feast of St. Edward.
Froissart has left us a vivid account of that great day, which you shall
have in his words.
"On the Saturday before the coronation, the new king went from
Westminster to the Tower attended by great numbers, and those squires
who were to be knighted watched their arms that night. They amounted to
forty-six, and each squire had his chamber and his bath in which he
bathed. The ensuing day, the Duke of Lancaster, after mass, created
them knights, and presented them with long green coats with straight
sleeves. After dinner on this Sunday, the Duke left the Tower on his
return to Westminster; he was bareheaded, and there were of nobility
from eight to nine hundred horse in the procession. The Duke was
dressed in a jacket of cloth of gold, mounted on a white courser, with a
blue garter on his left leg. The same night the king bathed himself,
and on the morrow confessed himself and heard three masses. The
prelates and clergy who had assembled, then came in a large procession
from Westminster Abbey to conduct the king thither, and returned in the
same manner, the king and nobles following. The dukes, earls, and barons
wore long scarlet robes, with mantles trimmed with ermine and large
hoods of the same. The dukes and earls had three bars of ermine on the
left arm, the barons but two. On each side of the king were carried the
sword of mercy and the sword of justice, and the Marshal of England
carried the sceptre.
"The procession entered the church about nine o’clock, in the middle of
which was erected a scaffold covered with crimson cloth, and in the
centre a royal throne of cloth of gold. When the Duke entered the
church, he seated himself upon the throne, and was thus in royal state,
except having the crown on his head.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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