Sir John Bussy (also Bushy; died 29 July 1399) of Hougham in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

was a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

representing

or Rutland eleven times from 1383 to 1398 as a Knight of the Shire. He was also

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

at the three Parliaments between 1393 and 1398, during which he supported the policies of king Richard II. He was most famous for orchestrating the abdication of parliament's power to an eighteen-man subcommittee in order to concentrate power in the hands of the king's supporters.Speakers of the House of Commons from the Earliest Times to the Present Day Bussy's pre-eminence at court and execution after Richard's abdication were dramatised by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

in '' Richard II'', where he appears as one of three councillors (Bushy, Bagot and Greene) who are accused by

Henry Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...

(later Henry IV) of misleading the king. He also appears as a character in ''

Thomas of Woodstock Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock ...

''.

Early career

He was the son of Sir William Bussy and Isabel Paynell, the daughter of John Paynell. He married twice; firstly in 1382 to Maud, daughter of Sir Philip de Neville and secondly in 1386 to Mary, widow of Ralph Daubeney. He owned lands in Lincolnshire. In 1378 he secured a position with John of Gaunt, the

Duke of Lancaster The Dukedom of Lancaster is an English peerage merged into the crown. It was created three times in the Middle Ages, but finally merged in the Crown when Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413. Despite the extinction of the dukedom the title ...

, as the Steward of all his lands north of the Trent. He worked for the Duke until 1397 but had by then (1391) entered the service of Richard II. He was

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

in 1383, 1385 and 1390.

Consolidation of power

He became a close confidant and advisor of Richard and together with Sir

Henry Green Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels '' Party Going'', ''Living'' and ''Loving''. He published a total of nine novels between 1926 and 1952 ...

and Sir William Bagot became a "continual councillor". The three continual councillors went on to acquire an unsavoury reputation. Bussy became notorious for his gross flattery of the king. He was elected speaker of Parliament three (or possibly four) times, first in 1394, probably in 1395 and later by the two parliaments convened in 1397. It was in the latter of the two that Bussy became most notorious. He forced the parliament to delegate all its authority to a committee of which he was a member. The committee comprised eighteen members (12 Lords, 6 Commons). Each was carefully chosen as a strong supporter of Richard. By this means Bussy secured a monopoly on power by the king's supporters.

Fall and death

When Henry Bolingbroke ( King Henry IV) returned in 1399 from exile to forcibly claim his inheritance, Bussy was captured on 28 July at

Bristol Castle Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, and later owned by Ro ...

, together with

William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire William le Scrope, Earl of Wiltshire, King of Mann (c. 1350 – 29 July 1399) was a close supporter of King Richard II of England. He was a second son of Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton. Life He was a soldier-adventurer in Lithuan ...

and Sir Henry Green, and the next day tried and beheaded for crimes of treason against the Kingdom.*Chris Given-Wilson, 'Chronicles of the revolution, 1397-1400:The Reign of King Richard II' (Barnes & Noble, 1997), , pg 128

In English drama

* In Shakespeare's ''Richard II'' he is one of three councillors (Bushy, Bagot and Greene) accused by Bolingbroke of misleading the king. * Bussy also appears in ''

'' as "William Bushy", again portrayed as one of the king's favourites.Shakespeare and History website
Accessed 15 October 2014.

References

*Chris Give-Wilson, ''Chronicles of the revolution, 1397-1400: The Reign of Richard II'' (Barnes & Noble, 1997), pg 128 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bussy, John Year of birth missing 1399 deaths English MPs October 1383 English MPs September 1388 English MPs January 1390 English MPs November 1390 English MPs 1391 English MPs 1393 English MPs 1394 English MPs 1395 English MPs January 1397 English MPs September 1397 Speakers of the House of Commons of England Executed people from Lincolnshire High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire 14th-century English politicians Male Shakespearean characters People executed under the Plantagenets by decapitation People from South Kesteven District Executed English people English politicians convicted of crimes