POLITICAL HISTORY 



trench. The rebels broke in disorder,^ and their ringleader Litester was 

 taken, shriven, and promptly hanged. The careful account of this rebellion 

 compiled by Mr. Powell seems to show that with a few exceptions there was 

 very little bloodshed indeed and not much plunder, but that there was great 

 and systematic destruction of the court rolls which contained the entries of 

 forced services. As to moderation and good behaviour the natives here 

 compare very favourably with the rebels in Kent. 



The rebellion was hardly over when a plot was hatched, in 1382, to 

 murder the bishop of Norwich. The idea was to rise at Horsham while 

 * St. Faith's Fair ' was being held and to go across to St. Benet's Abbey to 

 seize it and hold it as a fortress, but the scheme being betrayed the ring- 

 leaders were executed.^ 



The king and queen visited Thetford and Norwich in 1383 on one of 

 their progresses ' and made themselves unpopular by extorting gifts for the 

 benefit of the queen's Bohemian countrymen ; the bishop of Norwich, 

 Spenser, in the same year made an unsuccessful expedition to Flanders.* It 

 would seem that he prepared the expedition, but never told the king who 

 was to lead it until it was too late to stop him. It was probably in 

 relation to this expedition that William de Elmham received a pardon for 

 having misappropriated 1,400 francs of gold while beyond seas with Henry, 

 bishop of Norwich.^ 



There being danger of a French invasion in 1386 Sir Henry Percy 

 came to Yarmouth with 300 men and 600 archers to help the local defence, 

 and the king sent down a special letter to the Norwich citizens ordering 

 them to fortify the city, array their men, and look after their towers, gates, 

 and walls, adding as a postscript a request for a loan of 500 marks. The 

 citizens chose their fighting bishop as their governor, and appointed eight of 

 their number as an advisory committee.* 



In 1395 the Danes were sweeping the narrow seas and doing great 

 damage to Norfolk shipping. The coast towns combined to go out and fight 

 them, but were beaten, while a sum of ^^20,000 which had been put on board 

 some of the vessels to buy merchandise after their anticipated victory, fell into 

 the hands of the pirates.'' 



John of Gaunt, who had had much to do with Norfolk, died in 1399, 

 and his estates were at once seized by the crown. One of his chief followers 

 was Sir William de Norwich, who fought much with him abroad, and who 

 enlisted his interests greatly for the city of Norwich. The celebrated quarrel 

 and intended duel by battle between the dukes of Hereford (afterwards duke 

 of Lancaster and Henry IV) and Norfolk took place in the preceding year. 

 The local duke never returned from banishment, dying at Venice in 1399. 



The deposition of Richard II and accession of Henry IV appear to have 

 been very readily acquiesced in by the inhabitants of Norfolk, for Henry 

 seems to have been regarded as quite a local prince. The county, and 

 especially Norwich, therefore declared for him immediately, the city putting 

 all its fortifications in order and sending letters to Henry assuring him of 



' Capgrave's account suggests a rather willing surrender on the part of the people, though he mentions the 

 barricade. De lllust. Htnrkis (Rolls Ser.), i, 172. 



' Thos. Walsingham, Hiit. Angl. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 70. ' Ibid. 97. 



« Ibid. 88-103. ' Pat. 7 Rich. II, m. 2. 



' Blomeficld, op. cit. iii, 112. ' Blomefield, op. cit. iii, 114. 



485 



