Appendix 2: Accounts of Richard's 1377 Coronation Entry

by: Richard Maidstone (Author) , A. G. Rigg (Translator) , David R. Carlson (Editor)

from: Concordia (The Reconciliation of Richard II with London)  2003

2.1 Chronicon Angliae, ab anno domini 1328 usque ad annum 1388, auctore monacho quodam Sancti Albani, ed. Edward Maunde Thompson, Rolls Series 64 (London: Longman, and Co., 1874), pp. 153-56.

   Die præcedente diem coronationis regiæ, magnates et plebs numerosa regni Londoniis confluxerant, ut supra taxavimus; et post horam nonam, proceres regni, cum Londoniensibus aliisque multis quos amor regis attraxerat, equis vecti sublimibus, ad Turrim, ubi pro tunc rex fuerat, properarunt. Dispositisque tunc ibidem qui præcederent et qui sequerentur, equitare cœperunt versus Westmonasterium per frequentissimos vicos civitatis. Quæ nimirum civitas tot pannis aureis et argenteis, tot holosericis, aliisque adinventionibus, quæ animos intuentium oblectarent, ornata fuerat, ut putares te ibidem vel Cæsarianos triumphos cernere, vel Romam, ut quondam fuerat, in præcellenti decore. Tantus itaque populus adventaverat, ut eos vici celeberrimi capere non valerent, sed, ut ita dicam,

-- "Gradibus evectis ad culmina crucis
"Quamplures, avidique suum cognoscere regem,
"Edita murorum longa statione coronant."

   Igitur in tanta equitatione præcessere cives Baiocenses, antecedentibus in una secta tibiis et tubis, et tympanis, aliisque exquisitis generibus musicorum. Hos sequebatur una de custodiis civitatis, quas wardas appellant, et ipsi in secta sua et maxima melodia. Quos sequebantur Alemanni regis stipendiarii, et ipsi aliis dissimiles in vestitu. Deinde secuta est et alia custodia civitatis, priori similis in apparatu; quam sequebantur Vasconenses, et ipsi vario superioribus habituum colore fulgentes. Mox etiam cives Londonienses, qui residui fuerant, secuti sunt Vasconenses equitatione longissima, ita ut numerarentur ex eis in una secta ad tria millia et septingentos. Hos sequebantur comites et barones regni, cum suis militibus et armigeris, in amictu similes regi suo. Nam indumenta omnium erant alba; qui color profecto regis innocentiam figurabat. Capitaneus de la Bewche, cum suis, inter regem et dominos in secta sua nobiliter equitabat. Tunc Angliæ marescallus, qui pro tunc fuerat dominus Henricus Percy, et senescallus regni, videlicet dux Lancastriæ, cum militibus eisdem adjunctis, inequitantes equos nobiles et prægrandes, ut viam inter turbas regi facerent inoffensam, incedebant. De quibus mirum contigit, in hac equitatione adeo modeste se habuerunt, turbas tam modeste, tam facete, ut viæ cederent, monuerunt, ut nullum e tanta turba illo die, nec in crastino, verbo vel facto læderent quovismodo; unde contigit, ut pene totius vulgi favorem, quibus ante suspecti fuerant et odibiles, lucrarentur.

   Rex autem, insidens magnum dextrarium, tantæ personæ aptum, stratumque regaliter, sequebatur illos. Cujus gladium, manibus elevatum, portabat ante eum dominus Symon Burle. Dominus quoque Nicholaus Bonde ejus frenum duxit, incedendo pedes. Regem vero sequebantur milites et coætanei sui, atque domus regiæ familiares. Nec defuit tantæ turbæ magna vis lituum et tubarum; nam turba seorsum suos tubicines præcedentes habebat, statutique fuerant per Londonienses super aquæductum, et super turrim in eodem foro, quæ in honorem regis facta fuerat, tubicines qui clangerent in adventu regis. Qui omnes simul juncti clangentes, sonum mirabilem audientibus reddiderunt. Fuit igitur dies ille dies jocunditatis et lætitiæ, dies, ut ita dicam, clangoris et buccinæ, dies diu exspectatus renovationis pacis et legum patriæ, quæ jam diu exsulaverant desidia regis senis et avaritia obsecundantium sibi servorum ejus.

   Ad honorem insuper regium, cives ordinaverant ut per fistulæ aquæductus efflueret abundans vinum, et per totum tempus equitationis, id est, per tres et amplius horas, jugiter emanaret. Factum etiam fuerat quoddam castrum habens turres quatuor, in superiori parte fori venalium, quod Chepe nuncupatur; de quo etiam per duas partes vinum defluxit abundanter. In turribus autem ejus quatuor virgines speciosissimæ collocatæ fuerant, staturæ et ætatis regiæ, vestibus albis indutæ, in qualibet turri una; quæ adventanti regi procul aurea folia in ejus faciem efflaverunt, et propius accedenti, florenos aureos et sophisticos super eum et ejus dextrarium projecerunt. Cum autem ante castellum venisset, ciphos aureos acceperunt, et implentes eos vino ad fistulas dicti castelli, regi atque dominis obtulerunt. In summitate castelli, quæ ad modum tholi inter quatuor turres elevata fuerat, positus erat angelus aureus, tenens auream coronam in manibus, qui tali ingenio factus fuerat, ut adventanti regi coronam porrigeret inclinando. Adinventa sunt illo die in civitate et alia multa in honorem regis, quæ numerare per singula longum foret. Nam singuli per vicos et plateas decertarunt, quis ei propensiorem reverentiam exhiberet. Igitur cum tanto plebis civiumque tripudio, cum tanto dominorum procerumque favore perductus est ad palatium regium prope Monasterium Occidentale, ubi illa nocte quievit.

[The day before the day of the king's coronation, magnates and numerous commoners of the kingdom assembled at London, as was judged above; and after Nones (approximately 3 p.m.), the nobles of the realm, borne on lofty steeds, along with the Londoners and the many others whom love for the king drew to the place, thronged to the Tower, where the king stayed at that time. Having arranged who would lead and who would follow, they then began their ride thence towards Westminster, through the thronging streets of the city. The city proper was decked out with such a quantity of cloth of gold and of silver, such a quantity of silken banners and other devices, to fire the imaginations of onlookers, that you would have thought you saw there some Caesar's triumph, or even Rome itself, as it was of old, in all its exceeding glory. Such a gathering of people made its way there that even those great streets were not able to contain them all; instead, so to speak,

"Thronging afoot to the hill of the cross,
   So many longing to recognize
Their king, they crown the walls in ranks."

   In this great riding forth, the citizenry of Bayeux went in front, led by trumpets, horns, drums, and select other musicians, all in distinctive livery. After these there followed representatives from one of the administrative units of the city, which are called "wards," they too in distinctive livery and with much music. After them there followed the king's German mercenaries, these too vested differently from the rest. Next followed representatives from the rest of the wards of the city, like the earlier ones in their array, and Gascons followed them, resplendently dressed in colors different from the aforegoing. Next, following the Gascons, came what freemen of the city of London still remained, making a procession so sizable that, in a single liveried company among them, thirty-seven hundred could be counted. Then followed the counts and barons of the realm, with their knights and squires, in raiment like that of their king: the vestment of all of them was white, a color with which to represent the king's innocence. The captain of Calais and his retainers, in livery, rode nobly between king and lords. Then came on the marshall of England, being at that time the Lord Henry Percy, and the king's chamberlain, namely, the duke of Lancaster, with knights accompanying the same, riding tremendous great horses, in order to make way for the king safely to pass through the crowd. The wonder of it was that, throughout the procession, these two conducted themselves so gently, prayed the crowd to make way so gently and so kindly that, in the whole crowd, they affronted not a one, in any wise, by word or by deed, neither that day nor the next, the consequence being that they were rewarded with the good will of almost the whole of the populace, amongst whom they had been distrusted and hated before.

   Then, astride a great charger, regally trapped, as befit so grand a personage, the king himself came on after them. Afore him, the Lord Simon Burley bore up his sword, holding it on high; likewise, the Lord Nicholas Bonde, going afoot, held his bridle; and there followed after the king peers of his own age, as well as the members of the royal household. Nor did a throng of such dimension want great might of trumpets and wind instruments, for the throng had with it its own horn-players going in front, and the Londoners had stationed bands of musicians -- atop the conduits, and atop the towers that had been erected in the marketplace to honor the king -- to herald the advent of the king. The lot of them together, all roaring at once, produced a sound that struck those hearing it with wonder. It was a day, that day, of merriment and of rejoicing, a day, so to speak, of fanfares and of trumpetry, a long-anticipated day, moreover, of the rebirth of peace and of the rule of law at home, a day which the old king's indolence and the rapacity of the servile types whom he had manipulating him had long put off.

   Additionally to honor the king, the citizens had ordained that the spouts of the conduit should flow freely with wine, and that throughout the whole of the procession -- for three hours or longer -- it should pour forth constantly. There had been built a kind of castle, with four turrets, in the upper part of the public market, called the Cheap, from which wine flowed freely at two places. On its turrets were set four lovely maidens, clothed in white vestments, of the same size and age as the king, one on each turret. Upon the king's coming forth in the distance, they poured out gilt leaves at his appearance, and, when he drew nearer, they scattered likenesses of gilt florins over him and his mount. When he had come up to the castle, they took down golden cups, and, filling them with wine from the spouts of the said castle, they offered them to the king and the lords to drink. Upon the castle's pinnacle, which had been erected between the four turrets, in the manner of a belfry, had been set a golden angel, bearing a golden crown in its hands, which was constructed with such ingenuity that, upon the king's coming forth, bending down, it reached out the crown towards him. There were discovered that day in the city moreover numerous other devices, in honor of the king, which would take too long to enumerate singly here. For in every street and street corner, all strove to do him the more profound reverence. In such manner, with great rejoicing of the commons and freemen, and great favor of the lords and nobles, he was conveyed to the royal palace at Westminster, where he rested that night.]


2.2 The Anonimalle Chronicle 1333 to 1381, ed. V. H. Galbraith (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1927; rpt. 1970), pp. 107-08.

   A comensement le mequerdy avaunt la coronacione, apres la houre de noune, toutz les graundes seignurs queux furount presentz en la cite et le meir et les aldermen et les communes de Loundres chivacherent a le toure de Loundres ou le prince fuit et illeoqes attenderent avaunt le toure le avenw del prince. Et au darrein le dit prince veint de la toure en vesture de blaunk drape bien et honurablement arraye come affert a teil seignur et toutz ses chivalers en mesme la suyt et chivacherount devers Loundres. Et a comensement de lour chivache, chivacherent les communes de Loundres en vesture de blaunk et puis les esquiers des seignours et chivalers et puys chivalers et apres eux les aldermen et apres eux le meir et les deus viscountz toutez en vesture de blaunk et apres, le duk de Loncastre et les countz de Caumbrigge et de Herforth et adonqes le prince par luy mesmes par graunde espace et apres le prince les countz et barones et autres seignurs, et chivacherent parmy Loundres et parmy Chepe devers le palays de Wymoustre et en my lieu de Chepe une toure de canvays depaynte fuist, sutilment fait par suppowelle de merisme, en quel tour furount faitz quater torettes, en queux furount quater damosels tresbelles et bien arraies, et les ditez damosels getterent besauntz dore devers le prince; et enmy la dite toure fuist fait une petit clocher et amount le clocher fuist esteaunt une aungelle portaunt une corone dore et moustraunt al dit prince pur luy comforter. Mesme celle te[m]ps le cunditz en Chepe fuit depaynte de diverses colours et currust a ceste foitz de vine vermaille et blaunk, qe chescune qe vodroit, purroit en la chaloure boyr a volunte; et le dit vine fuist sawe par graundes cuves saunz perde en queux le vine decurrast. Et le dit prince chivacha par Fletstrett tanqe le palays de Wymoustre pur reposer et prendre sa ease et les autres seignurs retournerent a Loundres et aliours a lour hostelles.

[First of all, the Wednesday before the coronation, after Nones, all the great lords who were about the city, the mayor, aldermen, and commons of London, all rode out to the Tower of London, where the prince was staying, there before the Tower to attend upon the prince's entry. Thereafter, the said prince came out from the Tower, vested in white cloth, honorably well arrayed, as was fitting for a lord of such stature, as did all his knights, in the same array, and together they rode on towards London. At the head of the procession, there rode the London commons, vested in white, then the squires of the lords and knights, then the knights, and after them the aldermen, then after them the mayor and the two viscounts, all vested in white, and thereafter the duke of Lancaster and the earls of Cambridge and Hereford; then came the prince himself, considerably set apart; after the prince came the earls and barons and other lords; and they rode through London and through the Cheap towards the palace at Westminster. Set up in the middle of the Cheap stood a tower of painted canvas, curiously constructed, over timber support-beams; about the tower were four turrets, in which stood four damsels, exceedingly lovely and beautifully arrayed, and these said damsels threw gold coins in the direction of the prince's coming. Within the said tower had also been built a small belfry, and on the belfry stood an angel, bearing a golden crown, holding it out towards the said prince, to do him comfort. For the occasion, the conduits of the Cheap were painted in various colors and ran with red and white wine the whole time, so that anyone who wished could have to drink from them at any time. The said wine was transported by great pipes through which the wine moved without any being spilled. The said prince rode on through Fleetstreet, all the way to the palace at Westminster, there to repose himself and take rest, and the other lords went back into London, and thence about their hostelries.]




Go to Appendix 3: Dymmok on the Ricardian Extravagance