E N G L A N D. 
60<2 
of his fubjedts, and the interefts'of his country. And 
nothing could have induced or enabled his people to 
bear the load of taxes with which they were encumbered 
in his reign, but the love and admiration of his perfon, 
the fame of his victories, and the excellent laws and re¬ 
gulations which the parliament enacted with his advice 
and concurrence. 
It was in this reign, A. D. 134.9, that the order of the 
Garter was inftituted ; the number received into which 
was to confift of twenty-four perfons, befide the king. 
The countefs of Salifbury, at a ball, happening to drop 
her garter, the king took it up, and prefented it to her 
with thefe words : “ Honi foit qui mal y penfe Evil to 
him that evil thinks —which accident, it is faid, gave rife 
both to the order and the motto. 
Edward had a numerous poflerity by his queen, Phi¬ 
lippa of Hainault. His elded fon, the heroic Edward 
prince of Wales, efpoufed his coufln Joan, commonly 
called the Fair Maid of Kent, daughter and heir of his 
uncle the earl of Kent, who was beheaded in the begin¬ 
ning of this reign. By her the prince had a fon named 
Richard, who fucceeded to the crown of his grandfather. 
The fecond fon of king Edward was Lionel duke of Cla¬ 
rence, who, dying while young, left only one daughter, 
married to Edmund Mortimer earl of Marche. Of all 
the family, he refembled mod his father and elder bro¬ 
ther in his noble qualities. Edward’s third fon was John 
of Gaunt, fo called from the place of his birth : he was 
created duke of Lancader ; and from him fprang that 
branch which afterwards poflefled the crown. The fourth 
fon of this royal houfe was Edmund, created duke- of 
York ; and the fifth was Thomas, who received the title 
of duke of Glouceder. By his queen, Edward had alfo 
four daughters, who arrived at maturity, and who all 
married. 
Richard II. the only furviving fon of Edward the Black 
Prince, came to the throne of his grandfather when but 
eleven years old. As the king was a minor, the govern¬ 
ment was veded in the hands of his three uncles, the 
dukes of Lancader, York, and Gloticefter ; the difference 
of whofe difpofitions, it was imagined, would ferve to 
check the defedts of each other. Lancader, though ex¬ 
perienced in the affairs of government, w ; as neither popu¬ 
lar nor enterprifing; York was indolent and weak; Glou¬ 
ceder turbulent, popular, and ambitious. Under the 
fecrct influence of thefe, without any fettled regency, 
the whole fyflem of government was kept together for 
fome years, though not without many dangerous commo.- 
tions. As Edward had left the kingdom involved in fe- 
veral expenfive wars, and as thefe demanded large and 
condant fupplies to carry on, the murmurs of the people 
increafed in proportion as the operations were languid 
and unfuccefsful. The duke of Lancader laid claim to 
the crown of Caflile, and made a fruitlefs expedition for 
its recovery ; the war with France produced no enter- 
prife of lu Are; and that with Scotland was far from fuccelf- 
ful. The expences, however, of the armaments to face 
the enemy on every lide, and a want of economy in the 
adminifiration, entirely exhauded the treafury ; fo that a 
new tax of three groats, on every perfon above fifteen, 
was granted by parliament as a fupply. The indignation 
of the people had been for fome time increafing ; but a 
tax fo unequal, in which the rich paid no more than the 
poor, kindled their refentment into flame. 
The minds of the peafants being thus ripened for 5 n- 
furredtion, the manner of colledting this poll-tax foon 
furnifhed them with a pretext for beginning the revolt. 
It began in Elfex, where a blackfmith, well known by 
the name of Wat Tyler, was the fir It that excited them 
to arms. The tax-gatherers coming to this man’s houfe 
while he was at work, demanded payment for his daugh¬ 
ter ; which he refufed, alleging that Ihe was under the 
age mentioned in the adt. One of the brutal colledtors 
infilled on her being of the age of puberty, and immedi¬ 
ately feizing the girl, attempted to give a very indecent 
proof of his aflertion. The enraged father inflantly flruck 
him dead with a blow' of his hammer; and the ftanders- 
by applauded his fpirit ; one and all refolving to defend 
his conduct. He was conddered as a champion in the 
caufe, and appointed the leader and fpokefman of the 
people. It is eafy to imagine the diforders committed 
by this tumultuous rabble : the whole neighbourhood 
rofe in arms ; they burnt and plundered the houfes of 
thofe who had fupported the tax. As the difcontent was 
general, the infurgents increafed in proportion as they 
approached the capital. The flame foon propagated it- 
felf into Kent, Hertfordfliire, Surrey, Sulfex, Suffolk, 
Norfolk, Cambridge, and Lincoln. They were found to 
amount to above a hundred thoufund men by the time 
they were arrived at Blackheath ; from whence they lent 
a meffage to the king, who had taken fhelter in theTow-er, 
deliring a conference with him. With this melfage Rich¬ 
ard was delirous of complying, but was intimidated by 
their fierce demeanor. In the mean time they entered 
the city, broke into the Savoy palace, belonging to the 
duke of Lancader, and put feveral of his houfehola to 
death. Their animofity was particularly levelled againfl 
the lawyers, to whom they fliewed no mercy. Such was 
the vehemence of their fury, that the king began to trem¬ 
ble for his own fafety ; and, knowing that the Tower was 
not proof againfl; their aflault, he went out among them, 
and defifed to know their demands. To this they made 
a very humble remonftrance, requiring a general pardon, 
the abolition of flavery, freedom of commerce in market- 
towns, and a fixed rent inflead of thofe Cervices required 
by the tenure of villanage. As thefe requefts were rea- 
fonable, the king foon complied ; and charters were ac¬ 
cordingly made put, ratifying the grant. In the mean 
time, another body of thefe infurgents broke into the 
Tower, and murdered the chancellor, the primate, and 
the treafurer, with fome other officers of diflindlion. 
They then divided themfelves into parties, and took up 
their quarters in different diftricts of the city : at the 
head of one of thefe was Wat Tyler, who led his men 
into Smithfield, where he was met by the king, who in¬ 
vited him to a conference for the purpofe of hearing and 
redreffing his grievances. Tyler, ordering his compa¬ 
nions to retire till he fhould give them a fignal, boldly 
ventured to meet the king in the midft of his retinue; 
and accordingly began the conference. He required that 
all flaves fhould be fet free ; that all commonages fhould 
be open to the poor as well as to the rich, and that a 
general pardon fhould be palled for the late outrages. 
Whilfl he made thefe demands, he now and then lifted 
up his fword in a menacing manner ; which fo raifed the 
indignation of William Walworth, then mayor of Lon¬ 
don, attending on the king, that, without confidering the 
danger, he ftunned Tyler with a blow of his mace ; while 
one of the king’s knights, riding up, difpatched him with 
his fword. 'I he mutineers, feeing their leader fall, pre¬ 
pared to take inflant revenge ; and their bows were bent, 
for immediate execution, when Richard, though not yet 
quite fixteen years of age, rode up to the rebels, and, 
with admirable prefence of mind, cried out, “ What, 
my people, will you then kill your king t Be not con¬ 
cerned for the lofs of your leader : I myfeif will now be 
your leader; follow me into the field, and you (hall have 
whatever you delire.” The awed multitude immediately 
defifted ; they followed the king into the fields, and there 
he granted them the fame charter that he had before given 
to their former companions. 
Thefe grants, for a fliort time, gained the king great 
popularity; and it is probable it was his own delire to 
have them continued : but the nobles had long tailed the 
fweets of power, and were unwilling to admit any other 
to a participation. The parliament foon revoked tl.efe 
charters of enfranchifement and pardon ; and the cruelty 
which was exercifed againfl the popular leaders upon this 
occafion, created no fmall enmity againfl the king. He. 
had firft granted them a charter, which implied the juf- 
tice 
