Rycharde the seconde.
[ B] RIcharde the seconde of that name / & son to prince Edwarde eldyst son to kynge Edwarde the .iii. beynge of .xi. yere of age / was crowned kynge of Englande the .xv. day of Iuly / the yere of Chryst .M.CCC.lxxvii. In the .ii. yere of this kynges reyne / certayne galeys and other shippes / were sent by Charles kynge of Fraunce with a great companye / whiche came into dyuers hauyns in Englande and dyd moche hurte / and at the last came into Thames / and so to Grauysende and brent parte of that towne / and returned into Fraunce agayne. And in the same yere / the erle of Cambrydge the kynges vncle went into Fraunce with .viii.M. men / and passed the water of Sōme / and so forthe to Troys and wan it / and so passed to the contrey of Gascoyne / and so into Brytteyn / where syr Iohn̄ of Mounforde duke of Brytteyn gladly receyued them.* 1.1 Anone after this the cōmons of Englande arose / and specially in Essex and Kent / and made them Capteyns / of whome the chefe they called Iacke Strawe / another wyll wawe / another wat Tyler / and another Iacke Sheparde / whiche came into the Towre of London where the kynge was / and there they toke the Archebysshoppe of Caunterbury / the lorde of saynt Iohans / and a frere the kynges Confessour / and at the Towre hyll smote of theyr hedes / and slewe and robbed all the straungers in Sothewarke / & toke with them all the Sentwary men in westmyster / and saynt Martyns / and brent the Sauey the duke of Lancasters place / and spoyled saynt Iohans and the Innes of court / and brent theyr bokes / and slewe as many men of lawe and questmongers as they coude fynde / & toke out all the pri∣soners in all the prisons about London / and after brought the kynge out of the Toure / & caused hym to ryde thorowe parte of the citye. And in Smythfilde made a proclamacyon in the kynges presence with smal reuerence. And thus they contynued seterday and sonday / & vpon the mōday one willyam walworthe Mayre of London disdaynynge Iacke strawe his pryde & his tyrranye / * 1.2 amonge the multytude and prese of the people in the strete (aswell of the cōmons of the citye as of other) came boldely vnto Iacke strawe and wonded hym to dethe / and shortely smote of his hede / and set it vpon a speres ende and cryde kynge Rycharde kynge Rycharde / and when the re¦belles behylde theyr captayns hede / they fled as shepe / and many of them were slayne and taken. wherfore the kynge afterwarde made the sayd Mayre syr willyam walworthe and .v. other of the Aldermen knyghtes. Also in the same tyme the cōmons of Northfolke came to the Abbey of Burye / and there slewe one of the kynges Iustyce Iohn̄ Candysshe and the prior of the place / but after the rebelles wexe taken and put to dethe.
¶Also in the .v. yere of this kynge / there was a great erthe quake in Englande / wherof the lyke was neuer sene before. Also about the same tyme ye bysshoppe of Norwyche went into Flaūders by the popes lycence / with a great power and wanne Dunkyrke and Grauelyn / & brent .xl. shypp{is} and moche goodes beynge within them / but after there fell a syckenesse of the flyckes and other diseases amonge his soudears / that he was fayne to returne into Englande.