XVIII. holy prophete Jeremy saide to the false prophete Anany, CHAP. 'Whan the worde that is the prophecye of a prophete is knowen or fulfilled, than it shall be knowen that the Lorde sente the prophete in treuth !'- And the archebishoppe as, if he hadde not been pleased with my sayinge, turned him awaye ward hyther and thyther, and sayde, By God, I shall sette upon thy shynnes a pair of perlis, that thou shalt be gladde to chaunge thy voice.'"* This keen encounter ended in Thorpe being "led forth and brought into a foul unhonest prison," where he is supposed to have died; for he was no more heard of.t March 10. The Chancellor now remained in high favour with the King for three years. On one occasion during this period, 1409. His Majesty bestowed his bounty upon him in a manner that at first caused him much alarm. The Great Seal was abruptly demanded from him; the King kept it only a few hours, while he caused a charter to be sealed granting the lordship of Queenbury to the Chancellor for life, and immediately after the Seal was restored to him.‡ dismissed. However, it was taken from him in good earnest on the Chancellor 21st of December, 1409 §, when he must have had some serious difference with the King about the business to be brought forward at the parliament then about to assemble. Henry kept it in his own hands till the 19th of January following, during which time several charters, letters patent, and writs were sealed by himself. It was then delivered to John Wakering, Master of the Rolls, as Keeper, for the despatch of judicial business. || In the mean time the parliament met, and, there being no Chancellor, the session was opened by a speech from Exchancellor Henry Beaufort, the King's brother, from the text "Decet nos implere omnem justitiam," in which he reminded the parliament of Aristotle's answer to Alexander when asked It appears also by the report of Lord Cobham's trial, that his Grace was much given to swearing, even when acting judicially in a capital case. His favourite oath on that occasion was " By our Lady." 2 St. Tr. 219. Rot. Cl. 10 Hen. 4. m. 18. Rot. Cl. 11 Hen. 4. m. 8. † 2 St. Tr. 175. $ Rot. Cl. 11 Hen. 4. m. 8. Great Seal in custody of Master of Rolls. Ex-chancellor Beaufort addresses the two Houses. CHAP. Church in danger. Sir THOMAS afterwards Duke of the best mode of defending a city—"that the strongest walls were the hearty goodwill of his subjects;" but gave them a strong hint that a supply was expected, by reminding them that benevolence was due from subjects to a Sovereign as well as reverence.* The Commons now eagerly pressed their expedient of seizing the property of the church, which they estimated at 485,000 marks a year, and which they proposed to divide among 15 earls, 1500 knights, 6000 esquires, and 100 hospitals, besides 20,000l. a year which the King might take for his own use; and they insisted that the clerical functions would be better performed than at present by 15,000 parish priests paid at the rate of 7 marks a piece of yearly stipend. The King was violently suspected of secretly favouring this project; but finding that it could not be carried, he threw all the blame upon the poor Lollards, and, to satisfy the church, ordered a Lollard to be burnt while the parliament was still sitting.† We have now a lay Chancellor, but not a lawyer, -another BEAUFORT, half-brother of the King, Sir THOMAS BEAUFORT, who could not have been very fit for the office, but who reached the highest dignity in the peerage of any man who ever held the Great Seal. He was bred a soldier, and in the reign of Richard II. had gained considerable credit by opposing his bad councils. He was created successively Earl of Somerset, Marquis of Dorset, and Duke of Exeter. His history and con duct as He continued Chancellor two years, during which time he must often have sat in the marble chair on the marble table; Chancellor. but he seems to have been much engaged in political business, and he occasionally had the assistance of Sir John Wakering, the Master of the Rolls. His subsequent After his removal from the office of Chancellor, he remained career and inactive for the remainder of this reign; but he afterwards made a most distinguished figure in the wars of Henry V., and upon the untimely death of that Sovereign he was con death. * 1 Parl. Hist. 312. † 1 Parl. Hist. 308. This was the beginning of burning heretics in England, a practice which became more common till after the violent struggle excited by the Reformation had subsided. XVIII, stituted guardian of the person of his infant successor, then CHAP. crowned King of France as well as of England. Although he comes in the list of Chancellors, he had little to do with the duties of the office or the profession of the law, and I should not be justified in narrating his campaigns or entering more circumstantially into his history. He died at Greenwich in 1425, without issue, leaving his immense wealth to his royal ward. Chancellor We have no certain explanation of the reason why he ceased Archbishop to be Chancellor any more than why he was first appointed. Arundel, Henry, though now only forty-five years of age, had fallen the fifth into a mortal distemper, and felt serious compunction for the time. manner in which he had acquired the Crown, as well as for some of his acts in the exercise of his royal authority. Perhaps, as his strength declined, he wished to have a spiritual "keeper of his conscience" who had been his chief councillor and accomplice, and who might be expected to be a lenient and absolving confessor. On the 5th of January, 1412, the Great Seal was trans- Illness of ferred to the aged Archbishop Arundel*, who became Chan- Henry IV. cellor for the fifth time. While Henry languished under his malady, nothing memorable occurred. He had long expected death, and in one of his fits was supposed to be dead. At last, on the 20th of March, 1413, he expired, in the Jerusalem Chamber, at Westminster, having been taught to believe that he had made a full atonement for all his transgressions, by vowing that, if he recovered, he would lead an army to the East and reconquer the Holy Land, and that his death under these circumstances was tantamount to a fulfilment of his vow. He had appointed all his Chancellors merely from political convenience, without any regard to their fitness for the judicial duties of the office, and our jurisprudence is under no obligation to them. They showed great vigour, however, in enforcing the due administration of justice. While Cardinal Beaufort was Chancellor, the Archbishop of York had been guilty of an overt act of high treason, by joining in open rebellion and levying war against the King. Being taken Character of Chan cellors of Henry IV. XVIII. and execu tion of an archbishop. CHAP. prisoner, he claimed to be set at liberty on account of his sacerdotal character, but the government ordered him to be Conviction brought to trial. Sir William Gascoigne, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, who had courage to commit the Prince of Wales to prison for a contempt, was afraid to try an archbishop. Thereupon, a commission passed the Great Seal for his trial before another judge, Sir William Falthorpe, and he was convicted and executed, to the great horror of all churchmen and many of the laity, although clerical exemptions and privileges were now regarded with much less respect than at any prior æra.* The Chancellors at this time successfully resisted an attempt by the Commons to participate in the appellate jurisdiction of parliament, and obliged them to be contented with a resolution that their consent was necessary to all legislative acts. † As civilisation advanced, it was desirable that the power and exclusive privileges of the clergy should be curtailed; but their ascendency during the darker ages had been highly beneficial to the community. Not only were they the sole depositaries of learning, but they were often the protectors of the people against the tyranny of the King and the nobles. The enlightened reformers at Runnymede therefore made it the first article of Magna Charta, "quod Ecclesia Anglicana libera sit, et habeat omnia jura sua integra, et libertates suas illesas." † See Hale's Jurisd. House of Lords. There is a curious entry in the Parliament Roll, showing the hours when the two houses now met for the despatch of business. At the parliament which assembled in 1406, after the choice of the speaker had been confirmed, "Et sur ceo le Chanceller d'Engleterre dona en charge de par le Roi as ditz Communes, q. pur l'esploit du dit parlement ils soient assemblez en lour maison accoustemez deinz l'Abbeie de Westm' chescun jour durant le parlement a sept del clocke; et semblable charge il dona as seignrs. du parlement, q'uils de lour partie pur mesme l'esploit se assemblent en lour lieu accustume a noef del clocke.". Roll. Par. iii. 568. CHAPTER XIX. CHANCELLORS DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY V. CHAP. March 21. 1413. Accession of Hen. V. Great Seal taken from Arch Arundel, and re Cardinal Beaufort. We now come to a reign for military exploits, one of the most brilliant in our annals, but by no means distinguished for juridical improvement, although during the course of it the office of Chancellor was filled by very eminent men. Henry V. being proclaimed King, to the great joy of the people, the first act of his reign was to take the Great Seal from Archbishop Arundel, and deliver it to his uncle Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, the Cardinal, who now bishop entered on his second Chancellorship. The young King was not actuated by any desire to change his father's ministers. stored to Contrary to the expectations of his dissolute companions, and of the nation generally, his plan was to continue in their offices all who had faithfully served the Crown.* Perhaps he was induced to make an exception in the case of the Archbishop, on account of the active part which this Prelate had taken in the dethronement of Richard II. Henry expressed the deepest sorrow for the fate of that unhappy Prince, did justice to his good qualities, performed his funeral obsequies with pomp and solemnity, and cherished all those who had distinguished themselves by their loyalty and attachment to him. The Archbishop, while in exile, and on his return to England, had devised and prosecuted the plans which led Richard to his grave, and he might now be an object of personal dislike to the new King, who did not go so far as to resign his Crown to the true heir, but affected much to favour the doctrine of legitimacy. career of We must now take final leave of Ex-chancellor Arundel. Subsequent Relieved from official duties, he occupied himself in carrying Ex-chanon a violent prosecution against the Lollards, whom the King cellor *Those who take their notions of English history from Shakspeare, expect to see the Great Seal now delivered to Sir John Falstaff, that he might play the part of" Chancellor," as he had done that of " King." Arundel. |