een made, yet practically poor Richard's income
was reduced to 40 pounds per annum. (_Rot. Pat_. 1 H. IV, Part 3;
_Rot. Ex, Pose_, 3 H. V.) He was probably created, or allowed to
assume the title of, Earl of Cambridge, which really appertained to his
brother, only a short time before his death; for up to December 5th,
1414, he is styled in the state papers Richard of York. The accusations
brought against him, by which he was done to death, were so absurdly
improbable as to be incredible. It was asserted that Charles the Sixth
of France had sent over "a hundred thousand in gold," (which probably
means crowns) to Richard Earl of Cambridge, Henry Lord Scrope of Upsal,
and Sir Thomas Grey de Wark, urging them to betray Henry the Fifth into
his hands, or murder him before he should arrive in Normandy; that
thereupon the trio conspired to lead March into Wales (a simple
repetition of Constance's defeated attempt), and to proclaim him King,
if King Richard were dead--which Henry the Fifth perfectly well knew he
was, and so did the accused trio; that they carried into Wales the
banner and crown of Spain, for the purpose of crowning March, the said
articles being pawned to the Earl of Cambridge--which crown had in
reality been bequeathed by the Infanta Isabel to her son Edward, and in
default of his issue to Richard, and had never been in possession of the
House of Lancaster at all; that they had sent to Scotland for two
personators of King Richard, Trumpington and another (probably John
Maudeleyn) whom they intended to pass off to the people as King
Richard--which is in itself a contradiction to the charge of setting up
March as King. Cambridge and Scrope pleaded their peerage. A
commission was issued, August 5th, 1415, by which their judges were
appointed--Thomas Duke of Clarence, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester
(brothers of the King), Thomas Earl of Dorset (the King's half-brother),
who sat as proxy of Edward Duke of York; Edmund Earl of March, the very
man whom they were accused of making King; and fourteen other peers.
Neither Cambridge nor Scrope was allowed to speak in his own defence.
Sentence was passed at once, and they were beheaded the day following on
Southampton Green. There is no evidence that Richard had conspired for
any purpose; the whole affair was apparently a mere pretext to be rid of
him. In character, Richard seems to have been noble and honourable,
with a slight taint of his father's indecision: the