King Richard II of
England
Richard was the surviving son of Edward, the Black Prince, who was the eldest son of King Edward III. When Prince Edward predeceased his father, the crown passed from Edward III to Richard. Only 10 years old when he succeeded to the throne, Richard survived a minority that was dominated by his uncle, John of Gaunt, and England's involvement in the Hundred Years' War. Richard also played an impressive role in the Peasants' Revolt.
As an adult, Richard's reign failed to fulfill the promise he had displayed as an adolescent. He was eventually maneuvered into abdicating by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, who succeeded him as King Henry IV. Richard died in captivity of "unknown causes" sometime in February, 1400.
Richard would later become the subject of a play by William Shakespeare.
Important Dates
Born: Jan. 6, 1367
Crowned: July 16, 1377
Abdicated: Sept. 29, 1399
Dynastic Table
Medieval & Renaissance Monarchs of England
Use this table to see the progression of Kings and Queens from Egbert of Wessex in the ninth century to Elizabeth I in the sixteenth. Hyperlinks lead to entries in Who's Who.
From Your Guide
Conflagration: The Peasants' Revolt
A four-part examination of the circumstances that led to the revolt, the actions of the participants, the revolt's aftermath, and the ultimate fate of the rebels.
On the Web
Biographical
Richard II (AD 1377-1399)
Concise bio at Britannia Internet Magazine.Richard II of England
Brief but heavily-hyperlinked overview of Richard's reign at Wikipedia.
Images
Illuminations at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Eight images from a fifteenth-century manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles depict various events in Richard's life and reign.
Primary Sources
The Deposition and Death of Richard II (1399)
An excerpt from the chronicle of British history, The Brut, at Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer website.
In Print
The links below will take you to mySimon, where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the book's page at one of the online merchants.
Biographical
Richard II
by Nigel SaulRichard II: The Art of Kingship
by James L. Gillespie
General History
The Age of Richard II
by James L. GillespieLoyal Conspiracy: The Lords Appellant under Richard II
by Anthony Goodman
Primary Sources
Chronicles of the Revolution 1397-1400: The Reign of Richard II
translated by Chris Given-Wilson
Related Resources
Medieval Britain
Sites that focus on general British medieval history, people, places, events, documents, the Norman Conquest, the Wars of the Roses, and the search for a historical King Arthur.The Hundred Years' War
An index of sites that focus on the war that dominated Richard's reign.The Wars of the Roses
An index of sites that focus on the complex dynastic war in 15th-century Britain.
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