The Battle of Radcot Bridge was fought on 19 December 1387 in medieval

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

between troops loyal to Richard II, led by court

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Robert de Vere,

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...

, and an army captained by Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Northampton. It took place at Radcot Bridge, a bridge over the

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, now in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, but then the boundary between Oxfordshire and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Background

The previous year had seen increasing hostility between the young

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

and his magnates. This crisis reached a head in November 1386, when the Wonderful Parliament compelled King Richard to remove his

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, Michael de la Pole. According to the 16th-century chronicler

Raphael Holinshed Raphael Holinshed (; before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete printed h ...

: In the words of a modern English historian: On Saturday 22 September 1397 Sir Thomas Mortimer was summoned to stand trial as a traitor. Mortimer's alleged crime was the slaying of Thomas Molineux, constable of Chester Castle, at the skirmish at Radcot Bridge in 1387. Molineux had been one of the most important Royal agents in the Chester Palinate, and had been responsible for the daily exercise of de Vere's power in the region. In spite of Richard II's enduring resentment against the killer of his trusted servant, there were deeper political considerations behind the proceedings against a man who had been merely one of many gentry supporters of the Appellants. In August 1387 King Richard retaliated; he assembled a Council of magistrates at

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and attempted to redefine the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

so as to render the Wonderful Parliament

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

ous. The leaders of the Parliament, including Richard's uncle Thomas of Woodstock,

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, hit back during the Miraculous or Merciless Parliament of November 1387. During this session, Woodstock and the

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

s of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and Arundel submitted an appeal which accused several of Richard's closest friends of routinely deceiving the King for their own profit.

Preparatory events

Richard responded by summoning Woodstock and the other

Lords Appellant The Lords Appellant were a group of nobles in the reign of Richard II of England, King Richard II, who, in 1388, sought to impeach five of the King's favourites in order to restrain what was seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. The word ''appel ...

to the

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; all three refused. This was open dissent, and both Richard and the Appellants knew the implications of such defiance. According to the author of the ''Eulogium historiarum'', Richard asked Woodstock whether his companions were willing to take arms against him, to which the Duke replied: "we do not rebel or arm ourselves against the King except in order to instruct him". Pushed further by Richard, who protested that Parliament did not have the right to command a King even in the case of "the meanest kitchen boy", the Duke darkly reminded his nephew of his own standing: "But I am the son of a king".''Eulogium (historiarum sive temporis): Chronicon ab orbe condito usque ad annum Domini MCCCLXVI, a monacho quodam Malmesburiensi exaratum''
ed. by Frank Scott Haydon, Rolls series, 3 vols. (London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1858–63), III (1863), pp. 363–5. Fearing deposition, King Richard ordered that the citizens of London should take up arms. De Vere was despatched to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, where King Richard had assembled an army of five thousand retainers, under the direct command of Sir Thomas Molineux. De Vere now took these southwards towards London.

Battle

The most direct routes to the capital were blocked by Arundel's men, so de Vere decided to cross the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

at Radcot, near Faringdon. However, the bridge itself was under the guard of Derby's troops; they had also partly dismantled its structure. Undeterred, de Vere gave the command to storm the crossing. At this point, a larger force of Derby's men arrived from the north, effectively surrounding the Cheshiremen. De Vere managed to escape the field, eventually making his way to France; once it was known that he had fled, his army promptly surrendered. Among the handful of casualties was Molyneux himself, who was killed during the abortive attempt to cross the Thames.

Aftermath

After the battle, Woodstock and the other Appellants held a council with Richard at the Tower. Richard had no means of resisting their demands, and it was agreed that a further Parliament should be called in February 1388. The resulting Merciless Parliament saw a full-scale purge of Richard's household.

Notes

External links

Royal Berkshire History: The Battle of Radcot Bridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Radcot Bridge 1387 in Europe 1387 in England Radcot Bridge Radcot Bridge 1387 Military history of Oxfordshire Military history of Berkshire Medieval Berkshire