contaminated the blood of Plantagenet. To the parliament summoned in the
20th of Richard, one object of which was to legitimate the duke of
Lancaster's antenuptial children by this lady, neither Gloucester nor
Arundel would repair. There passed in this assembly something
remarkable, as it exhibits not only the arbitrary temper of the king, a
point by no means doubtful, but the inefficiency of the commons to
resist it without support from political confederacies of the nobility.
The circumstances are thus related in the record.

[Sidenote: Richard's prosecution of Haxey.]

During the session the king sent for the lords into parliament one
afternoon, and told them how he had heard of certain articles of
complaint made by the commons in conference with them a few days before,
some of which appeared to the king against his royalty, estate, and
liberty, and commanded the chancellor to inform him fully as to this.
The chancellor accordingly related the whole matter, which consisted of
four alleged grievances; namely, that sheriffs and escheators,
notwithstanding a statute, are continued in their offices beyond a
year;[167] that the Scottish marches were not well kept; that the
statute against wearing great men's liveries was disregarded; and,
lastly, that the excessive charges of the king's household ought to be
diminished, arising from the multitude of bishops and of ladies who are
there maintained at his cost.

Upon this information the king declared to the lords that through God's
gift he is by lineal right of inheritance king of England, and will have
the royalty and freedom of his crown, from which some of these articles
derogate. The first petition, that sheriffs should never remain in
office beyond a year, he rejected; but, passing lightly over the rest,
took most offence that the commons, who are his lieges, should take on
themselves to make any ordinance respecting his royal person or
household, or those whom he might please to have about him. He enjoined
therefore the lords to declare plainly to the commons his pleasure in
this matter; and especially directed the duke of Lancaster to make the
speaker give up the name of the person who presented a bill for this
last article in the lower house.

The commons were in no state to resist this unexpected promptitude of
action in the king. They surrendered the obnoxious bill, with its
proposer, one Thomas Haxey, and with great humility made excuse that
they never desig