Thomas Mowbray, Bolingbroke's adversary
By Mercedes Rochelle
By Mercedes Rochelle
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Richard II makes
Thomas Mowbray the Earl Marshal, BL Cotton MS Nero D VI, f.85r.
Considering
that Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham (and later 1st Duke of Norfolk)
participated in almost every major event of Richard II's reign, it's surprising
that he's been given so little attention by historians. It is evident that
Thomas had a checkered career, in favor then out of favor then back again until
his final outlawry. He is often depicted as a slippery character, though it's
not clear whether he was motivated by ambition, jealousy, or was he driven by
circumstances? It's hard to say, considering how difficult it was to maintain
one's equilibrium during Richard II's tempestuous reign.
Orphaned
at age two, Thomas and his elder brother John were brought up in the
royal court alongside future rival Robert de Vere (another ward). All became
close friends with Prince—soon to become King—Richard. John died in 1383,
passing on the title Earl of Nottingham to Thomas, who was elected knight of
the Garter in the same year. Two years later he was granted the title of Earl
Marshal for life. Not bad for a nineteen year-old. He even had an apartment all
his own at Eltham, the royal palace—reserved, naturally, for high-ranking
nobles.
Nonetheless,
trouble was brewing. Robert de Vere had managed to capture Richard's affection
and Thomas was increasingly left out. Rather than fight a losing battle he went
over to the opposite court faction and married Elizabeth, the daughter of
Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel. I would assume he couldn't have found a wife
more calculated to alienate the king, though Richard did "distribute
liveries of cloth to the earl's wedding guests in 1384" (1). Nonetheless,
Mowbray's association with Arundel put him squarely in the Lords
Appellant camp, just in time to march against Robert de Vere who was attempting
to bring a force from Cheshire to protect the king against his rebellious
nobles. Alas, de Vere was no general and his army made a pitiful showing at
Radcot Bridge, eventually surrendering with very little loss of life. Robert
fled to the Continent; that thorn in Mowbray's side was removed forever.
Robert de Vere
fleeing Radcot Bridge, from Gruthuse Froissart, BN FR 2645, fol.245V
By
then, Henry of Bolingbroke (future King Henry IV) had joined forces with the
Lords Appellant, making their number five. After Radcot Bridge the victors
confronted King Richard in the Tower, forcing their agenda down his throat and
threatening to depose him. Cowed after three days' isolation in the Tower, the
king agreed to call parliament. It met in January of 1388, ushering in the
worst year of Richard's life.
Bolingbroke
and Mowbray, the junior Appellants, mainly kept quiet during the Merciless
Parliament, only asserting themselves against their elders when it came time to
condemn Richard's beloved vice-chamberlain, Sir Simon Burley. By now, the
Merciless Parliament had become a bloodbath and the senior Appellants knew that
unless their purge was total, the survivors would demand retribution. Too bad
for them that the king himself would take on the mantle of avenger ten years
later.
But
Richard had noted Mowbray's reticence and decided to bring him back into the
fold. In 1389 he made Mowbray Warden of the East March toward Scotland; later
Thomas became Captain of Calais and royal lieutenant in the north-east of
France. He accompanied the king to Ireland in 1394 and was credited with
many successful assignments; he even came within a hair's breadth of
capturing Art MacMurchadha abed with his wife. Shortly thereafter, Mowbray went
to France to negotiate a truce and Richard's marriage to Princess Isabella.
But
Mowbray's uneasy favor with Richard was sorely tested in 1397 when the king
launched his tardy retribution against the senior Lords Appellant. Conniving
with his new affinity of noble supporters (including Mowbray), Richard
initiated a new Appeal against Gloucester, Warwick, and Arundel. Capturing
Warwick was easy; the king invited all three to a formal dinner and Warwick was
the only one who showed up. A polite, entertaining evening ensued, at the end
of which the king ordered the unwary Warwick's arrest. Immediately afterwards,
Arundel was persuaded to give himself up. Richard dealt with Gloucester in
person. Collecting a large retinue including Mowbray, the king rode all night
to Gloucester's Pleshy residence, dragging the sick duke out of bed and
arresting him as well. Gloucester was placed into Mowbray's charge and taken to
Calais where he was imprisoned in the castle.
The
king was adamant; he did not dare appeal Gloucester in person in front of
parliament. Politically, that was too volatile. But he needed proof of the duke's
guilt relating to the Merciless Parliament of 1388. A lot of suspicious
activities took place in Gloucester's prison under the unwilling direction of
Thomas Mowbray, Captain of Calais. Eventually a confession was extracted from
the duke, and shortly thereafter a sullen Mowbray announced before parliament
that Gloucester was dead. No further explanation was forthcoming and after the
confession was read Gloucester was condemned as a traitor in absentia. But
naturally rumors abounded and Mowbray was implicated beyond a doubt.
After
the Revenge Parliament, as it came to be called, the king created a slew of
dukes to reward his supporters—sneeringly called "the duketti" by
contemporaries. Even Mowbray was created Duke of Norfolk. But it wasn't enough
to reassure Thomas. After all, he was one of the five Appellants; now that the
king was finished with the instigators he was bound to cast his vengeful eye on
the remaining two. From then on, Thomas feared for his own life and stayed away
from court as much as he could.
 The Challenge of Mowbray and Bolingbroke from Froissart Chronicles, BnF ms. Francais 2646, fol.295
But he finally broke under the
stress. In December that same year, Mowbray caught up with Bolingbroke on the
road to London. He wasted no time in getting to the point. "Henry, we are
about to be undone!" he is said to have declared. When Henry asked him
why, he replied, "for what was done at Radcot Bridge".(2) Pretending
astonishment (or was he pretending?) Bolingbroke objected: look at the honors
Richard showered them with; they had all received pardons. But Mowbray believed
none of it. He even told Henry there were men plotting the destruction of him
and his father. He hoped Henry would help devise a plan for their mutual
defense.
But poor Mowbray had badly
miscalculated. Far from allying himself with his former Appellant, Bolingbroke
made a report to the king (or he told his father who went to the king). Then
followed a series of accusations and denials, counter-accusations and further
denials. Unable to settle this argument amicably, the court of chivalry decided
on a trial by combat. It was to be the event of the decade. Held at Coventry,
the tournament was attended by knights from as far away as France, and the two
challengers went to great lengths to acquire the very best and most expensive
armor and trappings. But all was for naught. As depicted by Shakespeare, as
soon as Mowbray and Bolingbroke started their charge, King Richard threw in his
baton and halted the fight. After discussing the matter with his council, the
king declared that Bolingbroke would be exiled for ten years and Mowbray for
life.
It was a devastating decision for
the Duke of Norfolk. He took his leave shortly thereafter with a small retinue,
forbidden to make any contact with Bolingbroke—not that he was very likely to.
One wonders if he would have been recalled to England after Henry became king,
but we'll never know. He died in Venice just a year later, somewhere around the
22nd or 27th of September in 1399—just a few days before Richard was forced to
abdicate. His young son, another Thomas, was not permitted to assume his
father's titles and soon involved himself in political turmoil, finally
joining the ill-fated revolt of Archbishop Scrope in 1405, where he was beheaded
alongside the prelate.
1.
"The
Politics of Magnate Power" by Alastair Dunn, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
2003, p. 40
2.
"Chronicles
of the Revolution 1397-1400" by Chris Given-Wilson, p.86
A King Under Siege:
Book One of The Plantagenet Legacy
By Mercedes Rochelle 
Richard II found himself under
siege not once, but twice in his minority. Crowned king at age ten, he was only
fourteen when the Peasants' Revolt terrorized London. But he proved himself
every bit the Plantagenet successor, facing Wat Tyler and the rebels when all
seemed lost. Alas, his triumph was short-lived, and for the next ten years he
struggled to assert himself against his uncles and increasingly hostile nobles.
Just like in the days of his great-grandfather Edward II, vengeful magnates
strove to separate him from his friends and advisors, and even threatened to
depose him if he refused to do their bidding. The Lords Appellant, as they came
to be known, purged the royal household with the help of the Merciless
Parliament. They murdered his closest allies, leaving the King alone and
defenseless. He would never forget his humiliation at the hands of his
subjects. Richard's inability to protect his adherents would haunt him for the
rest of his life, and he vowed that next time, retribution would be his.
Excerpt
Wiping
the sweat from his forehead, King Richard leaned against the wall in the
practice yard while his friends Thomas and Robert exchanged sword blows,
weighed down in full armor despite the summer heat.
"Keep
your arms in front you, Robert. Don't pull back." Michael de la Pole,
Richard's resident advisor and arms instructor, moved to the side so he could
see better. "Don't let him come too close," he urged.
Richard
could see that Robert was getting tired. He was having trouble holding up the
point of his sword, and Thomas was sure to take advantage of any opening. As
soon as Richard thought it, Thomas burst upon his sparring partner with a spurt
of energy, knocking his sword aside and assailing him with a succession of
blows to the head. Overcome, Robert fell onto his backside and the bout was over.
Thomas drew off his helmet and shook his head, sending a shower of sweat over
his prone rival.
And
rivals they were, in more ways than one. Richard pursed his lips, watching as
their instructor strode forward and offered a hand to help Robert off the ground.
Thomas dismissed Robert with a jerk of his head and walked over to the King.
The three youths had spent much of their time together in Edward III's day
while Thomas Mowbray and Robert de Vere were wards of the court. Now that
Richard was king, they continued their training under the firm hand of Michael
de la Pole, an old companion-in-arms of Richard's father the Black Prince.
Windsor castle offered the best equipped and most expansive yard for jousting
exercises as well as foot training. Though Richard wasn't excited about all
this physical activity, he recognized the necessity of it. A king was expected
to wage war and that was that.
There
was no doubt that Thomas showed more aptitude for knightly skills than the
other two. That was all right with Richard, though he was slightly annoyed when
Thomas went to great lengths to humiliate Robert. De Vere, on the other hand,
secure in his friendship with the King, shrugged off any insult as beneath his
dignity. That served to aggravate Thomas even more. It was a constant cycle of
competition that Richard found tiresome, though at the same time he was
flattered. Being king did not remove the need for reassurance.
Richard
took a sip from a water bottle and handed it to Thomas. "That was a good
move. He couldn't stop you."
Thomas
poured the water on his head before drinking. "It was too easy," he
said. "Robert needs to pay more attention."
"I
will from now on," the other interjected from behind. Thomas scowled at
Robert, apparently unruffled despite his embarrassing spill. Robert was a full
head shorter than him but better looking, with a thick, curly shock of brown
hair and high cheekbones, whereas Mowbray was cursed with a hook nose and
crooked teeth. But he was the stronger of the two, which he thought was more
important. Good looks were useless in a fight.
Coughing to hide his amusement, Richard
grinned at his friend. Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, came from one of the
oldest but poorest aristocratic families in England. He was five years older
than Richard and married to the King's cousin Philippa. Richard had taken a
liking to him right away and it wasn't long before others tried to undermine
their relationship, calling Robert greedy and grasping and not terribly
stouthearted. But people were always jealous. They could complain all they
wanted; Richard wouldn't listen.
Michael
de la Pole approached, pulling on a set of gloves. "Are you ready, sire?
It's your turn, though for now I'm going to attack and you can defend."
Richard nodded reluctantly; he wasn't particularly anxious to start another
workout, but it was too early to stop for the day. Thomas tightened the King's
straps and Robert picked up his helm.
Michael
waited patiently. Richard was a competent if unenthusiastic fighter;
nonetheless, he was a clever lad and showed ingenuity. His skill with horses
was impressive, and he could already control his mount with knees and thighs
while handling a cumbersome lance and shield. He just needed some more practice
with his swordplay.
Handsome
and cultured, Michael came from a long line of successful merchants; his father
had lent King Edward money to pay for his many French campaigns. But he was
trying to rise above all that; Michael's recent appointment to Richard's
council attested to his skill at diplomacy and political maneuvering. He was
pleased that the young King showed more interest in the business of government
than the swagger of combat. He had much to teach his young charge.
"Sire!"
The single word echoed off the stone walls with such urgency that everyone
turned. The King frowned as his other advisor approached. He could never
overcome a dislike for Richard, Earl of Arundel, assigned to his council since
the day he was crowned. The man always trying to control him and tell him what
to do. Short and stocky, Arundel had a low forehead and pale blue eyes that
bulged from their sockets, reminding Richard of a dead fish.
"No
time for weapons training now," Arundel said, handing a message to
Michael. "I've called a council meeting. We've had a serious disturbance
in Essex that demands our immediate attention."
Michael
glanced up from the paper. "They've assaulted a tax collector," he
said. "They are up in arms."
"Worse
than that," Arundel growled. "They are marching on London."
The Coffee Pot Book Club
★★★★★
Highly Recommended
Read the full review HERE!
Mercedes
Rochelle
Born
in St. Louis MO with a degree from University of Missouri, Mercedes Rochelle
learned about living history as a re-enactor and has been enamored with
historical fiction ever since. A move to New York to do research and two
careers ensued, but writing fiction remains her primary vocation. She lives in
Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx