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I’ll explore the impact that leaders like Richard II and Henry V had on the very foundation of society. Janina Ramirez, Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War II: Breaking the Bonds 1360-1415, BBC 2013
John of Gaunt would lead the country till Richard came of age. ibid.
England and France were still growing apart. ibid.
Richard’s spending made him unpopular with the people. ibid.
King Richard II wanted the crown itself to be an object of worship. His vanity and ambition created an era of magnificence. The artistic pinnacle of the Middle Ages. David Dimbleby, Seven Ages of Britain 2/7: Age of Worship 1170 to 1400, BBC 2010
The golden boy who single-handedly ended the Peasants’ Revolt. But Richard II became the most vicious Plantagenet of all. And his reign of terror brought the whole Plantagenet dynasty crashing down. Dan Jones, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty s1e4: Richard II: Tyranny, Channel 5 2014
1377: England had suffered a decade of turmoil under the ailing King Edward III. His grandson Richard II succeeds him at the age of 10. He is hailed as the country’s saviour. But just four years later thousands of impoverished peasants storm London. ibid.
Kind Richard II had ridden out to meet rebel leader Wat Tyler. Richard’s men have just murdered Tyler. ibid.
Fear and paranoia stalk the land. ibid.
Henry takes him to London and bangs him up in the Tower. ibid.
Hope for the future lay with Edward’s eldest son and heir, the Black Prince but then in 1376 disaster struck: aged 45 he died. In his place his son, the nine year old Richard, became heir to the throne … Richard aged only ten became king [Richard II]. Monarchy by David Starkey s1e6: Death of a Dynasty
In 1380 they introduced a new poll tax; not for the last time it triggered a revolt. ibid.
One by one those Lords who had rebelled against him met with his revenge. ibid.
Henry [Bolingbroke] wanted far more than the Duchy of Lancaster: he would settle for nothing less than the crown of England itself. ibid.