The deposition of Richard II in 1399 was a central political event of late fourteenth century England, and perhaps the most significant political act in late medieval England overall. In 1993, Chris Given-Wilson described Richard’s deposition as ‘vigorously debated’ and noted that ‘that debate has never shown signs of slackening’. Yet, a leading interpretation of the deposition has tended to remain constant in fourteenth century historiography: Richard was deposed because he made himself an enemy of the house of Lancaster through his seizure of the Lancastrian estates on the death of John of Gaunt, dispossessing his exiled cousin, Henry Bolingbroke. Further, Richard extended Bolingbroke’s exile from ten years to life. These two acts impelled Bolingbroke to return to England and allowed him to appear as the champion of justice against a Ricardian regime perceived as inconstant and tyrannical. Bolingbroke’s return resulted in Richard’s deposition in September 1399 and his death in February 1400. Richard II’s actions towards the house of Lancaster, therefore, spark two questions for consideration. First, what rationale motivated Richard to commit these flagrant acts of royal will against Bolingbroke? Second, what were his ultimate intentions regarding the house of Lancaster in 1399?

Given-Wilson advanced an argument in 1994 seeking to answer these questions. He argued that Richard II’s seizure of the Lancastrian estates and his perpetual banishment of Henry Bolingbroke were an attempt to destroy the house of Lancaster so as to restore the majesty and power of the crown. Given-Wilson stressed how Richard was looking back to the reign of his great-grandfather, Edward II. Richard II cultivated an interest in Edward II’s reign early on, perhaps seeing his ancestor as a king beset by the machinations of treacherous magnates in a similar manner that he believed himself to be. Throughout the 1390s, Richard sponsored the canonization of Edward II as a martyr for the rights of the crown in a move devised to enhance his own regality as well. The king’s fascination and probable identification with Edward II can still be glimpsed at the latter’s tomb in Gloucester cathedral: Richard II ordered white harts, his personal badge, to be painted on the pillars on either side of the tomb chest in 1378.