The Commons accused several of the king's advisers of misusing public money for their own gain and lending money to the king at a hgh level of interest. The motions were supported by the Black Prince who was ill at this time. The king's mistress Alice Perrers was banished from Court.

Pope Gregory XI excommunicates the leaders of Florence and places the city under an interdict. He called for all Florentines to be captured and enslaved.

Heir to the English throne, the Black Prince died. His son Richard would become the next king of England as Richard II.

Work on Perpendicular style choir and cloisters was begun at Gloucester Cathedral.

The French landed on the Isle of Wight and attacked Carisbrooke castle. The castle did not fall to the French.

Sir Thomas Hungerford began the construction of a castle at Farleigh. ¹

Several attacks on the south coast of England tool place in this year. The village of Rye was sacked and left burning. ¹

John Wycliffe was tried for heresy at the court of the bishop of London at St. Paul's. Wycliffe was supported by John of Gaunt but the trial failed to convict the religious reformer when it ended in riots and chaos.

King Edward III of England died in June 1377. One year earlier Edward's eldest son and heir to the throne, Edward the Black Prince died. Richard, the son of the Black Prince, was proclaimed heir to the throne. King Edward was ill for some time before his death, and John of Gaunt, another of Edward's sons, took the affairs of the nation under his control. Edward was buried in Westminster Abbey in a tomb designed by Henry Yevele. ¹

Richard, the son of Edward the Black Prince, and grandson of King Edward III, became king.

The ten-year old Richard II was crowned king of England. Ceremonies were overseen by his uncle John of Gaunt. Henry Percy was created Earl of Northumberland at the ceremony in recognition for his services as a soldier leading troops against the French.

Work on rebuilding the nave and transepts of Canterbury Cathedral was started. The designer was Henry Yeveley one of the greatest architects in the late medieval period.

With just forty men, Alexander Ramsay approached Berwick Castle and finding no guards on the walls raised ladders and gained entry to the keep. There they killed the castle's commander and took control, The residents of Berwick reacted by destoying the drawbridge to the castle to prevent the Scots from leaving. A larger Scottish army was north of Berwick and Ramsay decided to wait for their arrival, but the Earl of Northumberland with 10,000 men arrived first. They laid siege to the castle and quickly recaptured it, killing all the Scots apart from Ramsay who surrendered.

Westminster Abbey was closed for several months after a murder took place in the Choir. The Abbey was not reopened for services until it was reconsecrated. Two knights called Schakell and Hawle had taken a Spanish Count prisoner whilst fighting with the Black Prince. As usual a ransom was required for the release of the Count. The Count was allowed to return to Spain to organise the ransom leaving his son as a hostage to ensure the ransom was paid. At this time John of Gaunt was in the process of acquiring the crown of Castile and the saga with the Count's son was an embarrassment. When the two knights refused to release their prisoner they were arrested and sent to the Tower of London. They managed to escape from the Tower and fled to Westminster Abbey and sanctuary, but this was ignored by a group of soldiers led by the Constable of the Tower, Alan Boxhall. Schakell was captured but Hawle and a monk were murdered in the Choir. Several of those involved were excommunicated meaning that they could not be buried after their deaths. ¹

Again John Wycliffe was tried for heresy but this time he was supported by Joan of Kent the widow of Edward, the Black Prince. The trial ended when the citizens entered the courtroom to save him.

Pope Gregory XI had been the head of the Catholic Church since December 1370.

Held at the Vatican in Rome, the conclave lasted only two or three days and its result was the cause of the Western Schism of the catholic Church. The vote was not seen as fair as a crowd of Romans were demanding a Roman pope and the Cardinals were unable to choose freely. In the end they chose Prignano from Naples.

The coronation of Bartolomeo Prignano took place where he chose the name Urban VI.

King Richard II held a parliament at Gloucester Abbey from October to December. It put a large strain on the abbey due to the size of the crowds.  ¹

Return of the comet now named after Edmond Halley who died in 1742 that returns approximately every 75 years.

William of Wykeham founded his college, New College, Oxford. The foundations being laid in 1380.

Canterbury Nave and South Transept built by Henry Yevele. ¹

Canterbury Cloisters built by Henry Yevele. ¹

Since coming to the throne in 1377, Richard II had been too young to rule. This ended when the last of the 'continual councils' was dismissed. ¹

Sir Thomas Percy built Wressle Castle. ¹

Charles V, King of France, died and was succeeded by his son Charles as King Charles VI, of France.

The village of Hastings on the south coast of England was attacked by the French. ¹

John Neville, the 6th Lord of Raby, began the building of Raby Castle. ¹

Henry Bolingbroke married Mary Bohun.

Essex villagers resisted tax collection; beginning of the Peasant's Revolt in England. ¹

The Kentish section of the Revolt reached Maidstone where they were joined by Wat Tyler who became their leader. They released John Ball from the church prison. ¹

William Courtenay became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

William Courtenay was elected the new archbishop of Canterbury by the Kentish rebels who crowded into the church. The previous archbishop was in London with the king and was to be beheaded by the rebels. The Essex section of the revolt burnt and sacked a Hospitaller commandery that had previously belonged to the Templars called Cressing Temple. ¹

Both the Kentish and the Essex rebels move towards London.

The Essex rebels reach Mile End near Aldgate and the Kentish rebels reach Southwark. ¹

The English rebels entered London and joined the local poor in attacking the Savoy Palace and other property; a general insurrection began in Cambridgeshire. ¹

King Richard II negotiated with the rebel peasants at Mile End, London. At the same time a group of rebels entered the Tower of London and Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, Sir Robert Hales and other officials were killed. Disturbances also started in St.Albans. ¹

Richard II again met the rebels, at Smithfield; they demanded the confiscation of church land; Watt Tyler was killed and the rebels dispersed; the Prior of Bury St.Edmunds was executed by the townspeople; University property was attacked in Cambridge. ¹

The English rebellion spread to Norfolk and on the 19th to Somerset. Sir John Cavendish was murdered by rebels. ¹

Norfolk rebels entered Norwich but were repelled by local landowners, led by Henry le Despenser, bishop of Norwich; the bishop met the rebels on the 26th at North Walsham and captured their stronghold. Rebel attacks occurred at Peterborough Abbey and Dunstable Priory, and in Buckinghamshire and Leicestershire. ¹

William of Wykeham founded Winchester College so that prayers could be said for his soul for all time. It also provided training for boys that were to enter his other college, New College Oxford. ¹

Building work on a new castle started under the direction of John Neville. ¹

Richard II married Anne, the sister of Wenceslas of Bohemia. This was a diplomatic move over the French as the king of France Charles V wanted Anne his marry his own son. The marriage was not popular as a large loan had to be paid to Wenceslas for the privilege. The coronation of Queen Anne took place a few days later at Westminster Abbey.

An earthquake occurred somewhere in the Straits of Dover and was felt in southern England and in the Low Countries across the North Sea. The event happened during a meeting to condem the works of John Wycliffe.

A chapel dedicated to St. Thomas was constructed on London Bridge. The architect was Henry Yevele. ¹

King Richard II granted a licence to crenellate to Sir John Cobham. Sir John may have remodelled the appartments, strengthened the outer walls and added gun-loops in keeping with military advancements of the time.

At a session of Parliament held this year both John of Gaunt and Thomas of Woodstock argued with Richard about the way in which the country was being run, his finances and the influences of his advisors.

John Wyciffe died.

Threats of invasion prompted Richard to allow the creation of fortified manor houses. Donnington is one example. ¹

Differences between Richard and his uncles were temporarily suspended when an army from France landed in Scotland to help the Scots attack the North of England. Richard took an army to deal with the threat. No battles took place and the English spent most of their time burning the area in front of the Scots to prevent them advancing. In the destruction Melrose and Dryburgh abbeys were damaged. Holyrood Abbey was also burnt down.

Richard gave his uncles Edmund of Langley and Thomas of Woodstock new titles. He made Edmund the Duke of York and made Thomas the Duke of Gloucester.

All through the summer months, the French prepared men and supplies in the Norman ports. ¹

The king granted Sir Edward Dalyngrigge a licence to crenellate his mansion in Sussex due to threats of invasion. But Dalyngrigge decided to build a completely new structure instead.

King Richard II gave the title of Marquis of Dublin to his favourite, Robert de Vere. This gave de Vere power over all royal lands in Ireland, and made him almost as powerful as Richard's uncles.

With the defeat of the Castilians by John of Aviz, the king of Portugal, John of Gaunt saw his chance of taking the Castilian throne by right of his wife. He asked King Richard for a loan to be repaid once he had the throne. Richard was pleased to pay the loan and get rid of Gaunt, as Gaunt was criticising Richard's handling of finances and his choice of advisors. ¹

An invasion from France seemed to be imminent as the French fleet mass at Sluys.  ¹

With the French threatening to invade, Richard's continued disregard of his uncles' requests to remove his Chancellor and Treasurer from office, a delegation met Richard at Eltham. His uncle, Duke of Gloucester acted as spokesman for Parliament. He reminded Richard of his duties and demanded that his advisors be removed. He reminded Richard that if he didn't comply he could be removed from his position as King. Richard had little choice and a commission was set up to oversee the king's affairs.

King Richard II did not always agree with the council that was running England on his behalf and his uncle John of Gaunt was one his main opponants. The potential conflict between them came to an end when John set sail from Plymouth to take the Castilian throne. But his departure led to a greater conflict between the king and Thomas Woodstock, the Duke of Gloucester. ¹

John of Gaunt landed at Corunna on the northen tip of Spain.

Parliament, led by the Duke of Gloucester, demanded that King Richard II cease the wasteful manner in which he and his supporters were spending funds that country did not have. Parliament wanted to raise money to protect the south coast of England from attack by the French who were threatening to invade. A request was made to provide Parliament with all of Richard's financial records. This conflict between the King and Gloucester would escalate in the following year.

Geoffrey Chaucer begins the Canterbury Tales.

It is believed that Henry, the future king of England Henry V, was born at the gatehouse tower of Monmouth Castle. His father was Henry Bolingbroke the future Henry IV king of England and his mother was Mary de Bohun. Mary was seventeen when Henry was born. ¹

Fear of an invasion from France led Henry Bolingbroke to prepare defences along the south coast during the winter months of 1387 and spring months of 1388,  ¹

Forces belonging to the Lords Appellant defeated forces led by Robert de Vere, the favourite of Richard II. The battle took place at Radcot Bridge, a bridge over the River Thames at Oxfordshire. Robert de Vere managed to escape by swimming across the Thames and then fleeing over seas. This led to King Richard temporarily being deposed.

Possibly in an attempt to get help from the French against the rebels, King Richard planned to sell Calais, Guines and Cherbourg. ¹

The Battle of Otterburn took place some thirty miles north west of Newcastle upon Tyne where the tributary called the Otter Burn joins the River Rede. The Scots led by the Earl of Douglas had sent two armies into northern England and had agreed to meet near Newcastle.The Earl of Northumberland, now too old to take part in any fighting, sent his sons Henry Percy, known as Harry Hotspur, and Ralph Percy to deal with the invasion. When the armies met, Douglas and Hotspur agreed to single hand-to-hand combat, Hotspur lost this fight and attacked the Scots at their encampment. Although the Scots were initially surprised by the attack the English were defeated and both of the Percy brothers were captured. The Earl of Douglas was killed in the battle.

Richard announced that he intended to rule unaided. ¹

Lumley Castle at Chester-le-Street was built by Ralph, Lord Lumley. ¹

Robert II, King of the Scots died at the age of seventy-four and was succeeded by Robert III who ruled from 1390 to 1406. Robert II was buried at Scone Abbey. ¹

A matter of honour between the English Ambassador to Scotland, Lord Wells, and Sir David de Lindsay, a Scottish knight was settled by the two men taking part in a joust on London Bridge. As relations with Scotland were not good, a safe-conduct order was given so that the knight could travel down to London. The joust took part in front of Richard II himself. After the first two runs neither man had the advantage, but in the third Lord Wells fell from his horse and was injured. The Scottish knight jumped from his horse and tended to Wells much to the delight of the crowd. ¹

After the city of London refused to give King Richard a loan of 1,000 pounds its Charter was removed and given to York. Removal of the Charter was a serious punishment as the king's court would spend money providing much needed jobs.

The work on Wardour Castle (now Old Wardour Castle) was begun in this year. The architect in charge may have been William Wynford who was responsible for the changes made to Winchester Cathedral around about the same time. The castle is very unusual in that is hexagonal and aligned to the north-east.

Work began on converting the Norman front and nave of Winchester Cathedral to the Perpendicular style by the Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham.

Richard II's first wife Anne of Bohemia died. ¹

William of Wykeham founded Winchester College in 1382 and building work had been progressing since then. The college opened in this year for its first students. ¹

The rivals Henry Bolingbroke and King Richard both lost their wives in his month. Mary Bohun died in childbirth while Anne of Bohemia died from the plague.

In response to conflicts between the Irish chieftains the English King landed on Irish shores with a large army. Richard was able to get the submission of all of the Irish princes including Art MacMurrough, the king of Leinster who was the most feared prince of them all.

The construction of the huge circular tower called Guy's Tower at Warwick Castle was completed.

Henry Yevele designed a tomb for King Richard II and his first wife Anne of Bohemia at Westminster Abbey, ¹

After receiving the submission of the Irish princes, King Richard departed from Ireland. He left Roger Mortimer, his nephew, as Viceroy in control of the country. The peace that been obtained during Richard's visit would quickly break down.

King Richard II had a palace built at Portchester Castle. This included the improvement to two ranges of buildings within the inner bailey of the castle. Kitchens, a large hall and private appartments were added to the castle to provide royal accommodation for when the King stayed at the castle.

Catherine Swynford was the mistress of John of Gaunt. She may have been the governess of of John's daughters by his first wife. After the death of his first two wives, Blanche of Lancaster and Constance of Castile, John married Catherine. They were married at Lincoln Cathedral.

The marriage of King Richard II and the seven or eight year-old Isabella of Valois took place at Calais. Isabella was the daughter of Charles VI, King of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. Richard was near thirty years old but the marriage went ahead because it was part of a peace treaty between the English and French Kings. ¹

A series of miniature images painted on the side of the Black Prince's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.

Shortly after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Arundel was exiled by Richard II because of his support for the lords appellant who had opposed the King's misrule of the country.

This treaty was signed by Denmark, Sweden and Norway at Kalmar in Sweden. It agreed that the three nations should be ruled by a single ruler and combine their forces to defend each other from attack. Although there were disagreements, the Union managed to last for over a hundred years only falling apart in 1523.

The children of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford born before their marriage were legitimated by an Act of Parliament put forward by King Richard II.

An act of Parliament is passed which brings the ownership of Urquhart Castle into the hands of the English King. ¹

Henry Beaufort was consecrated biishop of Lincoln in this year.

Thomas de Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk, made a remark about King Richard II which Henry Bolingbroke took as treasonable. Henry informed the King and Mowbray was arrested. Richard had executed or exiled other members of the Lords Appellant the previous year and now Henry and Thomas were concerned that their turn was next. Mowbray had confided these concerns with Bolingbroke. Mowbray denied the accusations and that he ever talked to Bolingbroke. To bring the dispute to an end, a duel between the two was arranged. But before the duel took place Richard changed his mind and banished Bolingbroke for ten years and Mowbray for life. ¹

In this year Beeson Castle, which had belonged to Richard II, was handed over to Henry IV. In the castle a hoard of Richard's treasure was found.

.

Bolingbroke should have inherited the lands from his father, John of Gaunt, but Richard had other ideas. The king confiscated Bolingbroke's inheritance and increased his term of exile to life. ¹

Richard sailed to Ireland to suppress a rebellion. He took almost all of his closest supporters with him, leaving an inexperienced Edmund of York in command. ¹

Landing at Ravenspur in Yorkshire, Bolingbroke returned to England intent to taking the throne from Richard. He marched south to Bristol taking control of Lancastrian castles on route, all of which welcomed his return. ¹

Richard returned to England landing in Wales where he became a fugitive. He was captured at Conwy Castle and at a meeting with Bolingbroke at Flint Castle agreed to surrender himself and the throne of England. Richard was transferred to Pontefract Castle where he was imprisoned. ¹

Parliament accepted Bolingbroke's claim to the throne. He was to become Henry IV, king of England. ¹

Henry IV was crowned King of England after the abdication of King Richard II. Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Bolingbroke's son Henry, Prince of Monmouth, was made Prince of Wales. The Prince was not the true heir to the English throne as this honour fell to the young Earl of March, but Henry would become Henry V, king of England. ¹

Henry Yeveley, one of the greatest late medieval architects died in 1400. His work on Canterbury Cathedral was continued by his pupil Stephen Lote.

Chapter House at Canterbury building work by Stephen Lote. ¹

Building work on the East Window of York Minster took place until 1405. ¹

Construction of the tower and north transept at Carlisle Cathedral was begun in 1400 and completed in 1419. ¹

Supporters of Richard II planned to attack King Henry IV during a tournament held over Christmas at Windsor Castle. The plot was betrayed by Edward, Earl of Rutland, son of the Duke of York. Henry and his family escaped to London, and by the time the King returned to Windsor with an army, the rebels had been dealt with by local people. ¹

King Richard II died some time between the 9th and 17th of February 1400 while being imprisoned at Pontefract Castle. The cause of his death is not known. He died at the age of 33. ¹

To stop the Scots raiding the northern borders of England, Henry took an army into Scotland. The Scottish king Robert III did not concede defeat and Henry had to resort to minor raids of his own without any real outcome for either side. ¹

What started as a land dispute between Owain Glyndwr, a wealthy land owner in Wales and his rival Lord Grey of Rutin quickly escalated into a revolt when the English King Henry IV sided with Rutin and awarded him the land. ¹

Owain Glyndwr's revolt spread and he proclaimed himself the Prince of Wales. He was joined by the Tudor brothers from Anglesey and began guerrilla warfare against the English in the North of Wales and the Marcher Lords in the centre. ¹

King Henry IV moved into North Wales to try and stop the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, but he was not able to deal with the Welsh rebels, who were more skilled at fighting in the terrain. ¹

Geoffrey Chaucer died. ¹