had been
formally recognized in parliament. All waited in anxious suspense till
the Duke, rising from his seat, and forming with great solemnity the
sign of the cross on his forehead and breast, pronounced the following
words: "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I, Henry of
Lancaster, challenge this realm of England, and the crown, with all the
members and appurtenances, as that I am descended by right line of
blood, coming from the good lord King Henry III, and through that right
that God, of his grace, hath sent me with help of my kin and of my
friends to recover it; the which realm was in point to be undone for
default of governance and undoing of good laws."

In these extraordinary terms did Lancaster advance his pretensions,
artfully intermixing an undefined claim of inheritance[73] with those of
conquest and expediency, and rather hinting at each than insisting on
either. But, however difficult it might be to understand the ground, the
object of his challenge was perfectly intelligible. Both houses admitted
it unanimously; and, as a confirmation, Henry produced the ring and seal
which Richard had previously delivered to him. The Archbishop of
Canterbury now took him by the hand, and led him to the throne. He knelt
for a few minutes in prayer on the steps, arose, and was seated in it by
the two archbishops. As soon as the acclamations had subsided, the
Primate, stepping forward, made a short harangue, in which he undertook
to prove that a monarch in the vigor of manhood was a blessing, a young
and inexperienced prince was a curse to a people. At the conclusion the
King rose. "Sirs," said he, "I thank God, and you, spiritual and
temporal, and all estates of the land; and do you to wit, it is not my
will that no man think that by way of conquest I would disinherit any
man of his heritage, franchises, or other rights that him ought to have,
nor put him out of that that he has and has had by the good laws and
customs of the realm; except those persons that have been against the
good purpose and the common profit of the realm."

With the authority of Richard had expired that of the parliament and of
the royal officers. Henry immediately summoned the same parliament to
meet again in six days, appointed new officers of the crown, and as soon
as he had received their oaths retired in state to the royal apartments.
Thus ended this eventful day, with the deposition of Richard of
Bordeaux, and the succession of