Merciless Parliament

Timeline

1. 1387Tower of London · LondonRichard tried to escape the constraints of the 1386 Parliament with Cheshire forces and a peace with France. In December de Vere was defeated by the Appellant lords at Radcot Bridge. On the 27th the five Appellant lords marched on the Tower of London, forcing Richard to summon Parliament to try his advisers. The king himself at one point faced the threat of deposition, but was ultimately left on the throne to undergo parliamentary procedure.
2. 1388Westminster · LondonParliament opened at Westminster on 3 February. The Appellant lords brought appeals of treason against the royalists. Common law and civil law experts held the procedure incompatible with both laws, whereupon the lords declared such 'felonies' could only be tried by the lords under acts of Parliament and parliamentary custom. The parliamentary rolls held by the National Archives of England emphasize Parliament's status as the supreme court.
3. 1388Tyburn · LondonFormer Chief Justice Robert Tresilian was dragged from the sanctuary at Westminster to be tried, and was executed along with former London mayor Nicholas Bremble. After Easter further trials followed; Simon Burley, knight of the royal household and Richard's childhood tutor, and John Beauchamp were executed, with others exiled. The queen and Richard pleaded in vain for Burley. About eight leading government officials were killed.
4. 1388–1389Westminster · LondonParliament was dissolved on 4 June. The Appellant lords effectively governed until Richard declared his majority in 1389. The royalist core was destroyed, and the precedent of Parliament as a political court was set. Richard bided his time for several years, taking revenge on Gloucester, Arundel, and others in 1397, entering the so-called 'tyranny' period, and finally being deposed by Bolingbroke in 1399.