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Home / Periods / Plantagenet England / Reign of Richard II

Phase

Reign of Richard II

1377–1399 CE

Richard II became king in 1377 at the age of ten. Government during his minority was shaped by royal councils, taxation for war with France and the influence of his uncle John of Gaunt, while London’s political and commercial institutions guarded their own privileges.

The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 exposed resentment over taxation, labour controls and lordship. Later conflicts between Richard and the Lords Appellant were followed by a period of increasingly personal kingship, ending when Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile and deposed him in 1399.

Related people for Reign of Richard II

Blanche of Lancaster1342–1368 Edward, the Black Prince1330–1376 Edward III of England1312–1377 Edward II of England1284–1327 Elizabeth Mortimer1371–1417 Geoffrey Chaucer1343–1400 Henry IV of England1367–1413 Henry Percy (Hotspur)1364–1403 Isabella of France1295–1358 Joan of Kent1328–1385 John/Eleanor Rykenerfl. 1394–1395 John of Gaunt1340–1399 Katherine Swynford1350–1403 Nicolas Flamelc. 1330–1418 Owain Glyndŵrc. 1354–c. 1416 Perenelle Flamelc. 1320–1397 Philippa Roet1346–1387 Richard II1367–c. 1400

Series

Series about Reign of Richard II (3 series)

Brother Athelstan Mysteries in Order

by Paul Doherty 17 books 4.5(35,900)

The Brother Athelstan Mysteries are set in London during the minority and early reign of Richard II. Athelstan is a Dominican friar serving the poor parish of St Erconwald’s in Southwark, while Sir John Cranston is the city coroner. Their investigations move between taverns, churches, guild halls, royal…

Kate Clifford in Order

by Candace Robb 3 books 4.1(1,850)

The Kate Clifford mysteries are set in York during the crisis that ended the reign of Richard II and brought Henry Bolingbroke to the throne. Young widow Kate Clifford, trained to survive on the violent northern marches, supports herself by managing a guesthouse and discreet chambers near York…

Geoffrey Chaucer Mysteries in Order

3 books 4.1(255)

The Geoffrey Chaucer mysteries recast the fourteenth-century poet, courtier and royal administrator as an investigator during the troubled reign of Richard II. Trow draws on Chaucer’s documented work in royal service and his journeys through England while giving him fictional murder cases whose suspects range across aristocratic households,…

Books

30 Best Novels About the Reign of Richard II

Non-Fiction

4 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Reign of Richard II

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.