The composition of the Parliament of 1399

Of the 255 Members whose names are recorded, 110 (as much as 43% of the total) were apparently newcomers to the House of Commons, and only 27 (11%) had sat in the Parliament immediately preceding. It is perhaps not surprising that so few of those who had been party to the Acts of Richard II’s last Parliament had secured re-election, given that by September 1399 the news of the King’s imprisonment and imminent deposition by Henry of Bolingbroke must have reached even the most distant parts of the realm. The Commons were overwhelmingly predisposed to support Henry’s usurpation, not only because at least 23 of their number had been retained by him or his father and looked to the duchy of Lancaster to supplement their incomes and provide employment, but also because no fewer than 18 more had been closely attached to the leading Lords Appellant of 1387-8. The latter group was no doubt only too eager to witness the end of the old regime, the restoration to their birthright of the heirs of Gloucester and Arundel, and the rehabilitation of Warwick. In this context it may be of relevance to note that as many as 34 of the Members now entering the House (13% of the total) had sat in the Merciless Parliament of February 1388, when the Appellants had been triumphant. (No doubt they were behind the Commons’ petitions for the Merciless Parliament to be once more considered valid, and its acts enforced, while all that had been done in the Parliament of 1397-8 should be rescinded.)1 Only one Member of the Parliament of 1399 may be said to have ever been particularly close to Richard II: John Colshull I, a ‘King’s esquire’ and purveyor for the Household right up to the preceding midsummer. Otherwise, the local communities had unanimously withheld their votes from anyone associated with the Ricardian court party.

Naturally enough, Henry IV hastened to distribute largesse to his loyal supporters, and as the lists below make clear he was quick to issue letters patent in favour of Members of the Commons who showed by their acclamation where their allegiance lay. Even before he dissolved Parliament on 19 Nov. he handed out to them new, often very substantial, annuities, made grants in their names of land and wardships, confirmed awards authorized by previous kings and by his father and himself under seal of the duchy of Lancaster, and profferred a number of other concessions in response to their petitions. Altogether, 37 Members were thus favourably singled out and their continued support for the house of Lancaster encouraged. Furthermore, ten of this privileged group, along with 20 others, were given royal offices by the new King’s appointment, or else were permitted by virtue of formal letters of confirmation to stay on in posts they already occupied. Seven parliamentary representatives (including the Speaker, John Doreward) made such a commendable impression in the first few weeks of the new reign as to be considered worthy to be members of Henry’s Council, with salaries of up to 100 marks a year. When all these tangible perquisites are taken into account, it transpires that 22% of the Members benefited directly from Henry’s imperative need to be accepted as King. It was, therefore, somewhat hypocritical of the Commons to profess dismay at ‘les outrageous douns ’ made by Henry to ‘undeserving persons’.2 Twenty-one Members who were j.p.s at the time the elections were held were kept on as such when new commissions were issued just after the dissolution; while 14 more were then newly appointed to their local benches. That 43 of the Members were named on the commissions of array set up three weeks later suggests that there were no doubts of their reliability as upholders of the new regime, although only time would tell whether or not this trust was misplaced.

MEMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH JOHN OF GAUNT AND HENRY OF BOLINGBROKE BEFORE PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED

* Connected with Guant or employed in the duchy of Lancaster administration

Certain of the above-named were to receive payments from Bolingbroke in December 1399 specifically for having brought forces to him at Ravenspur or on his journey south, and for having provided him with a bodyguard at the time of the Parliament:

The following were associates of Bolingbroke’s friend and companion-in-exile, Sir Thomas Erpingham:

FORMER ADHERENTS OF THE PRINCIPAL APPELLANTS OF 1387-8

The following had received pardons from Richard II specifically for adhering to the Appellants in 1387-8. The Commons now successfully petitioned (RP, iii. 432) that the charters of pardon should remain valid.

GRANTS MADE TO MEMBERS BY HENRY IV DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION

MEMBERS OCCUPYING OFFICES IN THE CROWN’s APPOINTMENT AT THE TIME OF ELECTION

APPOINTMENTS MADE DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER THE PARLIAMENT

Ref Volumes: 1386-1421

Author: J. S. Roskell

End Notes

• 1. RP, iii. 425.
• 2. Ibid. iii. 433.