Appendix C6: The composition of the Parliament of 1411
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The composition of the Parliament of 1411
The domination of the government by Henry of Monmouth and his allies in the Council nominated at the close of the Parliament of 1410, came to an end during its successor, summoned on 21 Sept. to meet on 3 Nov. 1411. Shortly before, the prince had decided to intervene in the French civil war on the side of the duke of Burgundy against the Orléanists and had sent an army to France under the earl of Arundel, his fellow councillor. To all appearances the King disapproved of this pro-Burgundian policy; in any case, he had good reason to resent the prince’s independence and ascendancy, especially as rumours were circulating that Bishop Beaufort and some of the prince’s other personal advisors wanted him to abdicate. When Parliament met he made every effort to redress the political balance in his favour. As with the previous Parliament, by no means all of the Members can now be identified: the names of only 147 have been preserved on the surviving returns, leaving a deficit of nearly half. Whether or not any attempt was made at electoral management (and there is no explicit evidence that this happened), 18 of the men taking their seats in the Lower House were closely associated with the prince and his allies the Beauforts, or else with his friends the earls of Arundel and Warwick; and his adherent, Thomas Chaucer, was re-elected Speaker for the third time running. The beginning of the session proved inauspicious, however, for when, on 5 Nov., Chaucer made the normal request that he might speak in the Upper House ‘under protestation’, the King, having allowed what was customary, spiritedly asserted that he would not countenance any ‘novelties’ in this Parliament, and insisted to the full on his own historic prerogatives. Throughout the rest of the month an obscure struggle was played out in which the Commons urged the need for good governance and commended the Council under the leadership of the prince of Wales, while the latter in a veiled reproach to the Lower House for its parsimony, declared that he could have done more had the representatives been more liberal in the previous Parliament. But the Council had lost the King’s confidence, and on 30 Nov. it was dismissed. The Commons, acknowledging that the King bore a heavy heart towards some of those who had attended the assembly of 1410, as well as those now present, sought an assurance that he held them loyal and faithful subjects.1 At the same time they purchased his forgiveness with the grant of a novel tax on all net income from lands and rents held by the laity worth over £20 p.a. A change of ministry followed immediately after the dissolution, with Archbishop Arundel returning to the chancellorship and (Sir) John Pelham*, the King’s friend, being promoted treasurer of the Exchequer. The new Council, unlike the old, was not nominated in Parliament, nor made to take an oath before the assembled Lords and Commons. It may be assumed that the Members of the Lower House who were appointed sheriffs and escheators a few days later (seven, all told), or customs officials (five), j.p.s (four) and royal commissioners (11) shortly afterwards, had done nothing there deemed disloyal to the King.
RETAINERS OF HENRY IV
Assheton, Sir John II | £40 | household knight to Joan of Navarre |
Bagot, Sir John | 40 marks | |
Barre, Sir Thomas de la | 80 marks | |
Berkeley, Sir John II | ‘knight bachelor’ to the King | |
Booth, John | £23 6s.8d. | |
Etton, Sir John | £40 | |
Francis, Sir Robert | £40 | |
Frye, Robert II | £10 | |
Hobildod, John | £20 | |
Lucy, (Sir) Thomas | member of the Household | |
Montgomery, Sir Nicholas I | £26 13s.4d. | |
Newport, Sir William | £53 6s.8d. | |
Rigmaiden, William | 20 marks | |
St. John, Sir John | 100 marks | |
Spencer, John | £30 6s.8d. | |
Whittington, Robert | £12 |
OFFICE-HOLDERS
1. Central government | |
Chaucer, Thomas | chief butler |
Frye, Robert II | clerk of the King’s Council |
Mosdale, John | serjeant-at-arms |
Pole, Sir Walter de la | constable of Ireland |
2. Constables etc. of royal castles | |
Chaucer, Thomas | Wallingford |
Francis, Sir Robert | Castle Donington |
Godstone, Thomas | high bailiff and victualler of the castle, Guînes |
Hungerford, Sir Walter | Marlborough |
Mosdale, John | Scarborough and Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
3. Officials on crown estates | |
Booth, John | duchy of Lancaster receiver, Cheshire and Bowland |
Etton, Sir John | steward, Galtres forest, Yorks. |
Oldhall, Edmund | duchy of Lancaster receiver, Cambs., Norf., Suff. |
Wynter, John | duchy of Lancaster steward, Norf., Suff. |
4. Customs officials | |
Faire, Mark le | alnager, Hants |
Landford, Roger | tronager and pesager, Sandwich; alnager, Kent |
Thornton, Roger | collector of customs, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
5. Sheriffs | |
Montgomery, Sir Nicholas I | Notts. and Derbys. |
6. Justices of the peace | |
Arundell, (Sir) John I | Cornw. |
Barre, Sir Thomas de la | Herts. |
Berkeley, Sir John II | Leics. |
Burley, John I | Salop |
Carter, John II | Scarborough |
Cary, Robert | Devon |
Chaucer, Thomas | Oxon. |
Francis, Sir Adam | Mdx. |
Hungerford, Sir Walter | Som. |
Maureward, Sir Thomas | Leics. |
Mille, Thomas | Glos., Herefs. |
Newport, Robert | Herts. |
Nutbeam, William | Kent |
Oldhall, Edmund | Norf. |
Rigmaiden, William | Notts. |
Scott, Robert | Hunts. |
Thorpe, Henry | Wilts. |
Weston, John | Warws. |
Whittington, Robert | Glos. |
Wynter, John | Norf. |
ASSOCIATES OF HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES
Arundell, (Sir) John I | steward of the duchy of Cornw. |
Chaucer, Thomas | steward of his honours of Walingford and St. Valery |
Corp, John | water bailiff, Dartmouth, by his appointment |
Hawley, John II | feodary and escheator, duchy of Cornw.; dep. sheriff, Cornw. |
Jayet, Thomas | controller, coinage of tin, duchy of Cornw. |
Newport, Sir William | campaigns in Wales; granted by him the manor of Aber, worth 40 marks p.a. |
Paderda, Thomas | former dep. sheriff, Cornw. |
Pellour, Thomas | former under sheriff, Cornw. |
St. John, Sir John | annuity of £40; campaigns in Wales; dep. justiciar, S. Wales; dep. chamberlain S. Wales |
Spencer, John | controller of the prince’s household; annuity of £20; campaigns in Wales |
Staunton, Thomas | campaigns in Wales; poss. already master forester, Dartmoor, by his appointment |
Wonston, Alfred | former bailiff, stannary of Chagford, Devon; later forester, Dartmoor |
Wynter, John | receiver-general of the prince’s estates with £50 p.a. fee; councillor; campaigns in Wales |
ASSOCIATES OF BISHOP BEAUFORT
Chaucer, Thomas | constable of Taunton castle by Beaufort’s appointment |
Fauconer, William | Beaufort’s bailiff of Highclere, Hants |
Plumpton, Sir Robert | granted in 1412 an annual rent of £20 for good service to Beaufort in the past |
ASSOCIATES OF THOMAS CHAUCER, THE SPEAKER
Corp, John | dep. butler, Dartmouth, by his nomination |
Wynter, John | dep. butler, Gt. Yarmouth and Cromer, by his nomination |
ASSOCIATES OF THOMAS FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL
Burley, John I | F, M, O, R; campaigns in Wales |
ASSOCIATES OF RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK
Lucy, (Sir) Thomas | £20 annuity |
Weston, John | legal advisor |
APPPOINTMENTS MADE DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER THE PARLIAMENT
1. Sheriffs (appointed on 10 Dec.) | |
Coggeshall, Sir William | Essex and Herts. |
Nutbeam, William | Kent |
Scott, Robert | Cambs. and Hunts. |
2. Escheators (appointed on 10 Dec.) | |
Broomford, Nicholas | Devon and Cornw. |
Oldhall, Edmund | Norf. and Suff. |
Pympe, Reynold | Kent and Mdx. |
Styuecle, Nicholas | Cambs. and Hunts. |
3. Customs officials | |
Corp, John | controller, Exeter and Dartmouth 3 Feb. 1412 |
Fauconer, Thomas | collector, wool custom London 13 Feb. 1412 |
Fenn, Peter | searcher, Gt. Yarmouth 17 Dec. 1411 |
Shipton, John | collector, Melcombe Regis 21 Jan. 1412 |
Urban, John | collector, Exeter and Dartmouth 23 Jan. 1412 |
4. Justices of the peace | |
Assheton, Sir John II | Lancs. 17 Dec. 1411 |
Booth, John | Lancs. 17 Dec. 1411 |
Hungerford, Sir Walter | Wilts. 14 Feb. 1412 |
Willoughby, Sir Thomas | Lincs. 14 Feb. 1412 |
5 Commissions | |
Burley, John I | inquiry Feb. 1412 |
Cary, Robert | oyer and terminer July 1412 |
Etton, Sir John | oyer and terminer Dec. 1411 |
Maureward, Sir Thomas | raise royal loans Jan. 1412 |
Mille, Thomas | sewers Apr. 1412 |
Newport, Sir William | arrest Dec. 1411 |
Oldhall, Edmund | oyer and terminer Dec. 1411; inquiry June 1412 |
Peshale, Sir Adam | arrest Dec. 1411 |
Plumpton, Sir Robert | oyer and terminer Dec. 1411 |
Weston, John | assessment and collection of the novel income tax Jan. 1412 |
Willoughby, Sir Thomas | sewers Feb. 1412 |
GRANT MADE DURING THE PARLIAMENT
Etton, Sir John | pardoned outlawry in a suit for debt |
Ref Volumes: 1386-1421
Author: J. S. Roskell
End Notes
- 1. RP, iii. 647-8, 658.