Historical
and Commemorative Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
RICHARD II DASSIER, Jean: England, 1731, Bronze, 41 mm Richard II (1367-1400), King of England (1377-1399), was
the son of Edward the Black Prince. Richard succeeded his grandfather,
Edward III, at the age of 10. His minority was dominated by his uncle, John
of Gaunt. Gaunt’s misrule exacerbated the economic decline caused by the
Black Death and England’s prolonged involvement in the Hundred Years’ War
(1337-1453), and precipitated the Peasant’s Revolt (1381). In 1382 Richard
was married to Princess Anne of Bohemia, the daughter of Emperor Charles IV.
Upon the death of John of Gaunt, Richard confiscated the vast Lancastrian
estates which had passed to Henry of Bolingbroke (later made Duke of
Herford). In 1399 he made the disastrous mistake of leaving for Ireland, for
in his absence Bolingbroke invaded England and rallied the nobility around
himself. On his return from Ireland, Richard surrendered to Bolingbroke
without a fight. He abdicated in 1399 in favor of Bolingbroke, who ascended
the throne as King Henry IV. Later that year Richard was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where he died within a few months, likely from the rigors
of his imprisonment, rather than by murder as alleged in the story adopted
by Shakespeare. (Taken, in part, from Thompson)
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