Chapter III: Part 3

WILLIAM BRENCHESLEY was lord of the manor of Benenden, near Dartford, and a justice of the Common Pleas (in Henry IV's time). [Footnote: Kent Arch. V, 27.] THE CUSTOMS [Footnote: Atton & Holland: the King's Customs.]

The duties of the collectors of customs were to ensure payment on all wools and leather shipped from their port, to have the wool or leather weighed at the wool-beam and each bale tested and sealed with the Government stamp or "coket" seal. The collectors, of whom there were two in every important port, were clerical officers rather than coast guards--their most arduous duty the preparing and balancing of the accounts which had to be written by their own hands. Their salary was twenty pounds a year each. The controller, who was intended as a check on the collectors, prepared and presented an independent account to the Exchequer. He seems to have had no fixed salary, but the collectors were empowered to pay the controller's salary out of the takings. [Footnote: Summarized from Hubert Hall: History of the Customs Revenue.] The sums thus paid, were however, mostly nominal, (in Chaucer's case ten pounds a year) and it is evident that both collectors and controllers were allowed to levy fees.

The collectors of the Port of London during Chaucer's service as controller were:

1374 John de Bernes and Nicholas Brembre. 1375 Brembre and William de Walworth. 1376 John Warde and Robert Girdelere. 1377 Warde and Richard Northbury. 1378-1384 Brembre and John Philipot. 1384-1386 Brembre and John Organ.

These were in every case prominent citizens and merchants of London, and after 1377, they were members of a clique especially friendly to the King, and inimical to John of Gaunt. To gain the right conception of their relations, one must learn something about London politics. I shall follow Trevelyan's account [Footnote: Age of Wyclif, pp. 278 ff.] of the factional struggles in the city, which from the documents which he has published and from such evidence as that afforded by the Rolls of Parliament, is unquestionably the correct one. The aldermen of London were the representatives of the companies (the associations of merchants of different sorts), each company choosing a given number according to its influence and wealth. Further in 1376 a method of electing the mayor and the sheriffs, was introduced, which consisted in a vote by companies. Now the most powerful of these companies was the Grocers' which at this time had sixteen aldermen--many more than its nearest competitor. Allied with this company were the other companies of merchants dealing in provisions, especially the Fishmongers. The chief opponents of this group were the companies of clothing merchants, the mercers, drapers, cordwainers, etc. The Grocers' Company and its allies stood for the established order of things because they were faring well under it. The Mercers and Drapers were rebellious and ready to take any opportunity to eject their rivals from power.

At this time (1376) John of Gaunt's clique in the court, especially Lord Latimer and Richard Lyons, had aroused the enmity of the Londoners because of their irregular and "grafting" financial operations. [Footnote: Trevelyan, p. 10.] The Londoners paraded the streets in demonstration against John of Gaunt. The latter demanded revenge and gained the deposition of the mayor, Adam Staple. The Londoners rallied and elected Nicholas Brembre mayor. [Footnote: idem, p. 49.] Brembre and his allies defended the Londoners vigorously before Parliament. Naturally then John of Gaunt felt a still greater hatred of Brembre and his party and was willing to act as patron to their opponents. The latter in turn, eager to gain any aid they could in their struggles, willingly accepted John of Gaunt as a friend. This, as clearly as I can make out, is the train of circumstances which brought about an unquestioned condition: John of Gaunt's hatred of London and especially of Brembre and his party, and his patronage of John of Northampton, the chief representative of the clothiers. Brembre's chief political allies were Sir William Walworth, Sir John Philipot and Nicholas Exton. These men were very definitely patronised by Richard II in opposition to John Northampton, Richard Northbury and John More.

During Chaucer's tenure of the office of controller only one certain adherent of the Northampton faction acted as collector--Richard Northbury, who was dropped from the office almost as soon as Richard II came to the throne. The other men with whom Chaucer had to deal were the very leaders of the royal faction. Further they were the most eminent merchants of their time. In the [Footnote: (3) See Robert Girdelere, p. 46.] first half of the fourteenth century the king had been forced to rely upon foreign, especially Italian, merchants for financial aids, loans, etc., since no group of Englishmen could control sufficient money to aid him in an emergency. [Footnote: W. D. Chester, Chronicles of the Customs Department, pp. 13 ff.] But in the second half he had at his hand a group of London merchants, powerful enough to meet the sudden financial needs of government. Moreover they were picturesque figures-Sir William Walworth striking down Wat Tyler in the presence of the peasant-host, Sir John Philipot fitting out a fleet at his own expense, scouring the channel and finally bringing the dreaded pirate Mercer in triumph to London.

JOHN DE BERNES, Collector in 1374, was, in 1360, Sheriff, in 1363 and 1370 Alderman, of London, and in 45, 46, Edward III, Mayor.' In 1370 he lent the King L100, in 1363 he was apparently employed in buying for the king's household. [Footnote: Devon's Issues, p. 170. Rymer III, 696.] He was dead by 1378, and I have not found out anything more about him.

NICHOLAS BREMBRE, Collector 1374, 1375, 1378-1386. See account in D. N. B. Brembre was mayor in 1377, 1383-4-5. He was the political leader of the group of King Richard's friends in London. Of his public career I shall not treat since that is sufficiently covered elsewhere. To illustrate his financial dealings, the following abstracts of documents are important. In September 1377, the King borrowed L10,000 of Brembre, Wallworth, Philipot and John Haddele (grocer, later Mayor of London), and certain other merchants, for whom these were attorneys, pledging the crown jewels. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 25.] In May 1378 this sum was repaid. In 1378, Hugh de Calvylegh, captain of Calais, Nicholas Brembre and John Philipot, in the service of the war, agreed to pay to William von de Voorde of Bruges, the sum of L2,166, 13s. 4d. as directed by the council, delivered their bond to the King's clerk, and a tally of that amount was placed in the hands of William de Wallworth. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 280.] In 1382 the King granted Brembre in discharge of 2,000 m. lent by him to the King to discharge a debt to Sir Bretrucat de Lebret, half a mark from the subsidy of each sack of wool and wool-fells passing out of the ports of London and Boston, with custody of one part of the coket seal of the latter port, until the loan should be fully paid [Footnote: idem, p. 164.]. In 1380 Brembre, Philipot and Walworth were appointed [Footnote: 2 Riley Memorials, pp. 305, 313, 345. Gregory's Chronicle (Camden Soc. p. 88.) on a commission to investigate the finances of the realm--together with the Archbishop of York, Earl of Arundel, etc. This group of men is, indeed, constantly mentioned together; throughout such documents as the Patent Rolls, where matters of national finance are under consideration, Brembre, Philipot and Walworth, or perhaps two of them, are sure to be mentioned [Footnote: It is noticeable that from 1377 on John of Northampton is never mentioned in the Patent Rolls in connection with financial operations, loans to the King, etc.].

In the latter part of his career complaints were sent to Parliament against him and Exton, by the Mereers, Cordwainers, Pounders, Sadlers, Painters, Armourers, Pinners, Embroiderers, Spurriors and Blacksmiths--obviously the trades belonging to the then defunct party of John Northampton. [Footnote: Rot. Parl. in, 141 ff. 225.]

He was accused in 1388 together with de la Pole, Robert Tresilian and other friends of the King of the following: having prevented access by others to the King, misled the King, caused the King to give manors, lands, and other offices to persons of their party and to persons from whom they received gifts or whom they wished to use (such as Usk), having caused the King to grant them money, etc. [Footnote: Rot. Parl. III, 230.] As is well known Brembre was condemned and executed.

At his death Brembre left extensive estates (entered in the Inquisitions) in London and Kent.

WILLIAM DE WALWOKTH was born about 1320. He was apprenticed to John Lovekin, Stockfishmonger, Mayor of London, 1348, 1358, 1365, 1366. [Footnote: Woodcock, Lives of Lord Mayors, Surrey Arch. Coll. VIII, 277 ff.] He was executor of Lovekin's will and seems to have retained a special feeling of loyalty for him, because in 1381 he founded a college of a master and nine chaplains to celebrate divine service for the good estate of the King, himself, and Margaret his wife, for their souls after death and for that of John Lovekin, formerly his master. [Footnote: Cal. Pst. Roll, p. 99.] He was elected Mayor of London in 1374 and again in 1380. In 1370 he and Simon de Morden lent the king L300. On the day of Edward Ill's death he and John Philipot went to the young King, implored his favour for the city of London, and asked him to put a stop to John of Gaunt's persecutions. When the Commons voted a subsidy to the King for carrying on the war, they expressed distrust of the management of it, and demanded that the funds be intrusted to Walworth and Philipot, treasurers for the war. In 1381 Walworth accompanied the boy King at his meeting with the Peasant leaders, and he, Brembre and Philipot were knighted by the King for their bravery on this occasion. He died in 1381. Walworth was appointed on many commissions of various sorts and dealt extensively in land.

JOHN WARDE did not bulk so large in London affairs as did the others and consequently I have been able to learn but little about him. He belonged to the Grocers' Company and consequently without doubt to Brembre's faction. [Footnote: Orridge, Citizens of London.] He had been sheriff in 1366 and was elected Mayor of London in 1375. [Footnote: Coll. of London Cit. (Camden Soc.) pp. 88, 89.]

ROBERT GIRDELERE is even more difficult to trace than Warde. He was sheriff of London 1368-9. [Footnote: Coll. of London Cit. (Camden Soc,) p. 88.] I have found reference to a transaction in which Robert Girdler agreed to buy certain cables and cords [Footnote: Cal. of Letters, City of London, p. 144.]. Consequently he may not have been a dealer in provisions and was perhaps a member of John Northampton's party. The last reference that I have found to him is the date of his collectorship, 1376.

RICHARD NORTHBURY was a leader of John Northampton's party. He was a member of the Mercer's Company. [Footnote: Cal. Rot. Pat. Turr. Lon., p. 223.] In 1384 he was found guilty with John of Northampton of sedition, and imprisoned. Certain tenements which he held in London were forfeited to the King [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 481.]. In 1385 the King granted him 10m. a year for clothing and 26m. a year for victuals, while he was a prisoner in Corfe Castle [Footnote: idem, p. 548.]. In 1391 the Commons petitioned the King to annul the decision against him and to restore him his lands, at the same time making similar petitions for John Northampton and John More. All three were granted [Footnote: Rot. Parl., p. 292.].

JOHN PHILIPOT is treated in D. N. B. He was apparently a ship owner, and certainly a member of the Grocers' Company. In 1363 he was appointed on a commission to seize forfeited goods for the King. In 1364 he was granted license to buy victuals and take them to Calais. In 1378 he was elected Mayor. In 1379 Sir Roger Beauchamp, lord chamberlain to the King's household, bequeathed him "my great cup gilt, which the King of Navarre gave me," and made him one of the executors of his will. In the same year he contributed largely to fitting out a fleet against the French, hiring a number of ships at his own expense and redeeming a thousand sets of armour and arms which had been pawned. In 1383 he was appointed on a commission to treat of peace with the Duke of Flanders. He died in 1384.

JOHN OEGSN was alderman of London and sheriff in 1385. [Footnote: Oal. Pat. Roll, p. 90.] I have not been able to discover what company he belonged to. In 1378 he was appointed one of the collectors of the tax of two-fifteenths. [Footnote: Rymer IV, 34.] In 1383 he was appointed one of the collectors of the subsidy of 2s. from each tun of wine and 6d. in the pound from the merchandise in the port of London. [Footnote: Oal. Pat. Roll, p. 128.] From these appointments it seems likely that he was friendly to the Brembre faction--note also that he succeeded Philipot at the latter's death.

JOHN DE BURLEY

John de Burley, with whom Chaucer in 1376 went on a diplomatic mission, was a brother of Simon de Burley. [Footnote: R. 242 mem, 17.] He was certainly attached personally to the Black Prince, for in 1378 Richard II confirmed to him a grant made by himself, when prince (51 Ed. III) confirming a grant of his father the prince of Wales (41 Ed. III) of L40 yearly for de Burley's services, especially at the battle of Nazare where he was the prince's bodyguard. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 19*7.] In 1373 he was appointed Captain of Calais and commissioned to supervise the fortifications of Oderwyk and other places besides Calais. [Footnote: Rymer III, 989, 992.] In 1375 he was on a commission to treat for peace with France. [Footnote: Rymer III, 1021.] In 1377 he was a witness of Edward III's will, [Footnote: Test. Vet. p. 11.] and stepped out of the position of Captain of Calais. [Footnote: Rymer IV, 2.] In 1377 he was granted the constableship of Nottingham Castle for life. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 34.] (He gave it up in 1381). [Footnote: idem, p. 60.] In 1378 Richard II confirmed to him a grant (47,50 Edward III) of 40m. yearly in addition to the L40 already granted. [Footnote: idem, p. 108.] In 1378, L40 yearly were granted at his supplication, to his son W. de Burley, esquire, "retained to stay with the King." [Footnote: idem, p, 283.] In 1377 John de Burley, Knight of the King's Chamber, [Footnote: He was also so mentioned in 1370.] was given the custody of Sherwood Forest. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 88.] In 1378 he had the King change his grants of L40 and 40m. to one of 100 m. and give the latter to his son, John de Burley, Kt. [Footnote: idem, p. 281.] In 1378 he was on a commission to treat for the marriage of Richard II with a daughter of the Duke of Milan. [Footnote: Rymer old ed. VII, 213.] Later he was engaged in negotiations for Richard's marriage with Anne of Bohemia. While so employed, he and Michael de la Pole and Gerard del Isle were taken prisoners and held for ransom. On this occasion the King sent money for the ransom of the three. [Footnote: Devon's Issues III, 224-5.] On another occasion he was taken prisoner in Germany after having been sent as messenger to the King of Bohemia, and the King contributed 500m. to his ransom. [Footnote: Issue Roll (Devon) 7 Rich. II, p. 225. ] In 1381 he gave up the custody of Sherwood forest, and also that of Nottingham Castle. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, pp. 54, 60.] In that year and the following he and Simon de Burley are mentioned in connection with transfers of land. [Footnote: idem, p. 160.] In 1382 he was a Justice of the Peace in Hereford. In 1385 he was granted for life the custody of the alien priory of Wotton Waweyn, provided that its value should not exceed L45, 13s. 4d. yearly, the rent which he was wont to pay for it. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p, 45.] I find no later mention of him, except the rather doubtful one of his inheriting land from Simon de Burley (in 1388).

SIR EDWARD DE BERKELEY

Sir Edward de Berkeley was a Knight of the chamber to Richard II. [Footnote: Rymer IV, 53.] In 1376 he was appointed on a commission to treat for peace with France. [Footnote: idem III, 1067, 9.] In 1378, Richard II confirmed a grant made by himself when Prince (50 Edward III) confirming letters patent of his father (45 Edward III)--of fifty pounds yearly. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 232.] In 1378 he is mentioned as going on an expedition with John of Gaunt, [Footnote: Rymer IV, 45.] and is again appointed on a commission to treat for peace with Flanders. [Footnote: Rymer IV, 53] He died 4 Richard II, leaving a manor and some lands in Suffolk. [Footnote: Cal. Inq. P. M. III, 28.] His will, which is extant, [Footnote: Test Vet., p. 113.] directs that his body be buried in the church of St. Mary Carmelites in Calais; and bequeathes his "dominion and monastery at Hikeling" to "Sir John Clanbrow" (probably Sir John Clanvowe),

SIR THOMAS DE PERCY

Sir Thomas de Percy, with whom Chaucer was sent to Flanders in 1377, was brother of Henry de Percy, count of Northumberland. [Footnote: Rymer IV, 51.] He was with the Black Prince at Bergerath, 44 Edward III. [Footnote: Dugdale 1, 285.] In 1378 a grant by Edward III to Thomas de Percy, "whom the King has retained to stay with him," of 100m. yearly was confirmed. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll,.108.] In that year and at many times subsequent he was admiral of the north. [Footnote: idem, p. 327.] In 1378 he was appointed with others to treat with the King of Scotland, [Footnote: Rymer IV, 51.] in 1379 to treat with the Duke of Brittany. [Footnote: Rymer old. ed. VII, 223.] From 1381 on many pardons were granted at his request. In 1381 he was appointed custodian of the Castle of Brest. In 1383 he was on a commission to treat with Flanders and France. [Footnote: idem, 412.] In 1386 he was sub-chamberlain in the King's household (literally "south chamberlain"). [Footnote: idem, 675] By 1392 he was chamberlain of the household. [Footnote: idem, 721.] In 1398 he was made Earl of Worcester [Footnote: Dugdale I, 285.] and appointed with John of Gaunt on a commission for redressing violations of the truce. In 1399 he was appointed executor of the Duchess of Gloucester's will. He was beheaded in 1403 because of his connexion with the rising of Hotspur. He was a Knight of the Garter.

SIR WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP

That Sir William de Beauchamp was a friend to Chaucer has been recognized for some time. In May 1888 Mr. W. D. Selby called attention to this connection with Chaucer in a short article in The Athenaeum. In this article Mr. Selby gave a few facts about him, gathered professedly from Dugdale, but omitted all mention of the curious connection Sir William de Beauchamp had with the property of the Earl of Pembroke, for his custodianship of which Chaucer was one of the sureties.

William de Beauchamp was a younger son of Thomas, Earl of Warwick. [Footnote: Cf. Dugdale's Baronage I, 238 ff, Dugdale Antiquities of Warwickshire II, 1029 ff.] In 40 Edward III he attended John of Gaunt in his expedition into Spain. In 44 Edward III he served as a Knight in France, in the retinue of John of Gaunt, and again in 47 Edward III. In 47 Edward III de Beauchamp signed an indenture to serve John of Gaunt in peace and in war during his life in consideration of one hundred marks yearly and wages for six horses and four boys. [Footnote: Register of John, duke of Lancaster, vol. 13. Misc. Books-Rec. Off.] He had been connected with John of Gaunt's household even earlier, in 1340 and 1346. [Footnote: Same book.] In 1 Richard II he served with Edmund de Langley, Earl of Cambridge, in Spain with 200 men-at-arms and 200 archers, and in the King's navy at sea under John of Gaunt. In 13 Richard II he served again in France.

In 1377 he was granted for life the custody of Feckanham forest and park at a farm of L37, 14s. 4-1/2d. From the beginning of his reign, Richard II granted many pardons at the supplication of William de Beauchamp. In 1379 he was chamberlain of the King's household; in 1380 he was granted an annuity of 200m. [Footnote: Not L200 as Mr. Selby says. See Pat. Roll 1380, pp. 561, 600.] He was regularly on commissions of the peace in Warwick, in company with his brother, the Earl of Warwick. In 1379 he and Lewis de Clifford aided Robert de Ferrers in acquiring the manor of Wemme in fee. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p, 332.] In 1383 he was appointed on a commission to treat with Flanders. In 1384 he was appointed Captain of Calais--a position he held until 1392.

To return now to one matter in which Chaucer is closely connected with William de Beauchamp. In 1378 the King granted William de Beauchamp the custody of the Castle and estates of Pembroke, in his hands by reason of the minority of the Earl of Pembroke. The father of the last Earl of Pembroke, John de Hastings, had, by license from the crown, settled all his possessions, in the event of failure of his own issue, except the Castle and town of Pembroke, upon his cousin William de Beauchamp (his mother's sister's son) [Footnote: Surrey Arch. Coll. XVH, 29, 30.] These lands were in the hands of the King in 1378 because John de Hastings had died and his son was still a minor; naturally he appointed the next heir custodian of them. But William de Beauchamp's management of the estates was certainly not satisfactory and, if the suretyship of Chaucer was anything but a form, the poet stood a good chance of losing by it. The first notice we find of Beauchamp's unsatisfactory management is in 1386, when a commission was appointed to enquire touching the waste in the possessions of John de Hastyngs by William de Beauchamp, to whom the King had committed the custody of the land. In the same year we find record of an indenture made between Margaret Mareschall, countess of Norfolk, guardian of John de Hastyngs, and the said John, on the one side, and William de Beauchamp on the other, whereby the latter agreed to surrender his custody of the estates, and the former in return to free him of liability for the "waste." [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 257.] In 1389 the King appointed a commission to enquire touching the waste in the lands of the alien priory of Kirkeby Monachorum, county Warwick, in the time of William de Beauchamp, Knight, farmer thereof. [Footnote: idem, p. 350. i idem, p. 208.]

In 1390 we find a "Revocation for reasons declared before the King and council in the present parliament, with the assent of the nobles, magnates, etc., of recent letters granting during pleasure to William de Beauchamp the custody of the lands, tenements, etc. of John de Hastyngs." [Footnote: Whether these were part of the Pembroke holdings or not, I do not know.] In the same year the custody was regranted to John Golafre, Knight of the King's chamber, at a farm of L600 (Beauchamp had paid L500). [Footnote: Gal. Pat. Roll, p. 180.] In 1390, however, the young Earl of Pembroke was killed in a tournament, and according to the provisions made by his father, the estates devolved upon William de Beauchamp. Other heirs contested his rights to them, but he won. A curious story told about his claim, is as follows: "Beauchamp invited his learned counsel to his house in Paternoster Row in the city of London; amongst whom were Robert Charlton (then a judge), William Pinchbek, William Brenchesley, and John Catesby (all learned lawyers); and after dinner, coming out of his chapel in an angry mood, threw to each of them a piece of gold and said: 'Sirs, I desire you forthwith to tell me, whether I have any right and title to Hasting's lordships and lands!' Whereupon Pinchbek stood up (the rest being silent, fearing that he suspected them) and said: 'No man here, nor in England, dare say that you have any right in them, except Hastings [Footnote: Evidently Edward Hastings, a contesting heir.] quit his claim therein; and should he do it 'being now under age, it would be of no validity.'" (Dugdale).

In 1387 [Footnote: According to Beltz, p. 229]when Richard II was preparing for his assault upon the Gloucester faction with which William de Beauchamp was evidently, as his brother the Earl of Warwick was certainly, connected, he tried to remove Beauchamp from the office of Captain of Calais, by messenger. Beauchamp refused to leave the office, "saying that he received that charge and trust publicly from the King, in the presence of his nobles, and therefore would not quit it in a private manner" (Dugdale). When his successor arrived, Beauchamp arrested him, and took him to England. There Beauchamp himself was arrested but was soon released. In 1393 he was summoned to Parliament as Baron Bergavenny (a title received in connection with the Pembroke estates). From 1390-96 I find reference to grants of land made by him to religious bodies. He seems to have been rather in disfavour in these closing years of Richard II's reign, but under Henry IV he received new grants, of the manor of Feckenham, rent-free, and of the custody of the Castle and county of Pembroke. He died 12 Henry IV and was buried in Black Friars, Hereford.

He married Joan, second sister and coheir of Thomas Fitz Alen, Earl of Arundel. He was a Knight of the Garter. Dugdale prints (in his Warwickshire) the wills of William de Beauchamp and his wife, remarkable medieval documents.

RICHARD FORESTER

The name of Richard Forester is connected with Chaucer's first in 1378, when Chaucer, about to go abroad on a mission for the King, had letters of attorney under the names of John Cower and Richard Forester, [Footnote: Life Records, No. 120, p. 216.] and again in 1386, when a lease for the house over Aldgate which Chaucer had occupied during his years as controller of the customs in London was made out by the Mayor and Aldermen to Richard Forester, citizen of London. [Footnote: Life Records, No. 192, p. 264.] Various entries with regard to Richard Forester occur in the public records. Whether all of them refer to one man or not, and whether any concerns Chaucer's friend, I cannot say. I shall merely present them in order of their occurrence.

In 37 Edward III Richard Forester was appointed custodian and supervisor of the river bank called "la Ree de Ettemore." [Footnote: Pat. Roll 267, mem. 6.] In 1369 he is on the list of esquires of less degree. [Footnote: L. R., p. 174.] In 1370 ten pounds were paid out of the Exchequer to Richard Forester, of Stanton, who had been sent with six archers to Shropshire to carry a certain sum of money from thence to London. [Footnote: Devon's Issues, p. 170.] Later in the same year he received ninety-one pounds, two shillings, seven pence half penny for the expenses of himself, his men at arms and archers in the war. [Footnote: idem, p. 461.] In 44 Edward III our beloved armiger Richard Forester of Stanton was granted custody of the manor of Stokelaty in Hereford which had belonged to Richard Rissholm, deceased. [Footnote: Pat. Roll 281, mem. 36.] In 47 Edward III, Richard la Forester de Beckele had a grant of ten pounds and one robe per annum as a "vallettus" of the royal chamber. [Footnote: Pat. Roll 289, mem. 21.] In 50 Edward III Richard Forester was granted custody of the manor of Waterpyrye and one messuage in Thomele in Oxfordshire, and the manor of Wormenhale in Buckinghamshire, during the minority of the heir. [Footnote: idem 293, mem. 8.]

In 1378 Richard II confirmed to Richard le Forester of Beckele, "whom the King has retained to stay with him," his annuity of ten pounds. [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 126.] In 5 Richard II the King granted to Richard Forester and his son Lambert custody of the royal manor of Bekkele with the hamlet of Horton for ten years at a rent of fifty marks per annum. [Footnote: Fine Roll 184, mem. 14.] In 7 Richard II Forester is referred to as an inhabitant of Oxfordshire. [Footnote: idem 187, mem. 25.] In 12 Richard II Richard Forester of Stanton paid two marks for a confirmation of a grant of Edward III of certain lands in Oxfordshire. [Footnote: idem 192, mem. 3.] In 16 Richard II Richard Forester, citizen of London, with a group of London mercers acquired some land. [Footnote: C. R. 234, mem. 20 dorm.] Again in 21 Richard II he acquired more land, but later assigned it to his associates. [Footnote: C. R. 241, mem. 14 dorm, mem. 12 dorm.]

HENRY SCOGAN

With regard to Henry Scogan I have but few facts which do not appear in Professor Kittredge's article. [Footnote: Harvard Studies and Notes I.] In 9 and 10 Richard II he was a vallettus of Simon de Burley's. Many entries in the Issue Roll of those years indicate that he was employed to carry money from the exchequer to de Burley, and to arrange for the fortification of Dover. [Footnote: Issues, P. 313, mem. 12, 13, 19, 21 (2 entries) P. 314, mem. 1, 4, 7, 12, 13. P. 315, mem. 15, 18. P. 316, mem. 1, 2, 16.] In 15 Richard II ten pounds were given to Henry Scoggan, scutifer, at Nottingham. [Footnote: Issues, P. 325, mem. 8.] In 20 Richard II Henry Sooggan of Reynham granted to Thomas Wery and others three pieces of land in Tostes, for which they were to pay him a penny yearly. [Footnote: C. R. 238, mem. 32 dorso.] In the same year he and John Hollech, chivaler, went on a bond for Henry Recheford, under penalty of two hundred pounds each, that the latter should do no harm to the Gedneys. [Footnote: C. R. 238, mem. 12 dorm.] In 21 Richard II he conveyed a hundred shillings from the Exchequer into the King's chamber [Footnote: Issues, P. 343, mem. 12.]--an action which suggests that he was probably connected with the King's court at this time.

OTO DE GRAUNSON

The only important fact which I have found with regard to de Graunson--aside from those mentioned in Romania XIX--is an indenture made apparently in 48 Edward III, between Otz de Granson chivaler, and John of Lancaster. [Footnote: Duchy of Lancaster Registers, No. 13 f, 134 dorm. On de Graunson, see note in Earl of Derby's Expeditions (Camden Soc.) p. 309.] According to this document de Granson agrees to serve the Duke in time of peace as well as of war in return for a fee of a hundred marks a year.

BUKTON

Skeat has supposed the Bukton mentioned in Chaucer's Lenvoy a Bukton, to be Sir Peter Bukton of York. There is, however, at least one other possibility. A Robert de Bukton is mentioned in 3 Richard II as armiger to Thomas de Percy, [Footnote: Issues, P. 301, mem. 21.] with whom it will be remembered Chaucer had some three years before been associated in a diplomatic mission. In 14, 15 and 16 Richard II, Robert de Bukton, scutifer of Thomas de Percy, is frequently mentioned in the Issue Roll as transmitting money from the Exchequer to de Percy, [Footnote: P. 323, mem. 11. P. 324, mem. 1, 12, 21. P. 327, mem. 17, P. 328, mem. 16. P. 330, mem. 1, 22.] and in one case to Louis Clifford. [Footnote: p. 323, mem. 8.] In 15 Richard II, the King inspected and confirmed a patent of Queen Anne dated 15 Richard II, being a grant for the term of her life to her esquire Robert Bucton, of a quantity of pasture and wood called "Gosewold" in her lordship of Eye, "by the yearly service of the rent of a rose." [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 324.] In 1399 this was confirmed, [Footnote: idem 1399, p. 16.] and in 1401 Robert de Bukton is mentioned as constable of the Castle of Eye. [Footnote: idem 1401, p. 540.] Robert de Bukton was returned to Parliament from the county of Suffolk in 17 Richard II (1393-4), 20 Richard II (1396-7), 21 Richard II ( 1397, 1397-8) and 2 Henry IV, (1400-1). On account of his constant connection with the court, Robert de Bukton would seem more probably to have been Chaucer's Bukton, than Skeat's candidate. [Footnote: On Sir Peter Bukton, see note in Scrope-Grosvenor Roll, II, 466-7, containing many facts not in Skeat.]

CHAUCER'S CAREER AND HIS RELATION TO JOHN OF GAUNT

What then is the bearing of all this upon Chaucer's career? Let us take up the matter point by point. In the first place it is clear that although in a few cases the esquires were connected with important families, in none did any come from a major branch of an important family and in most the derivation is from ordinary stock. Chaucer was then associated with a group of men who came from much the same class as himself. [Footnote: Cf., pp. 6-11 above.] Secondly it appears that the esquires were frequently the sons of men connected in some way with the court. [Footnote: p. 12.] In this respect also Chaucer, was like his associates, for his father, in 1338 at least was in the King's service. [Footnote: L. R. No. 13, p. 145 Intro. p. XI.] Further many of the esquires had served in the household of one of the King's children before becoming members of the King's household. In this respect also Chaucer with his service in the Duke of Clarence's house was like a number of his fellows.

The exact nature of Chaucer's position in the household it is difficult to discover. Dr. Furnivall supposed from an entry of May 25, 1368, the second half yearly payment of Chaucer's annuity, that he was first a "vallettus" of the King's chamber. [Footnote: L. R. No. 50, p. 161.] But it is by no means certain that this is correct. Chaucer is called "vallettus" of the King's chamber only once; in all other early references he is described, if at all, as "vallectus hospicii Regis." There is, I believe, a difference between these two. As I have already pointed out, [Footnote: p. 17 above.] a certain confusion with regard to the use of such phrases undoubtedly exists in the records. As evidence of this confusion we find men called "vallettus" after they have been called "armiger," and sometimes men who are normally called "vallettus camere Regis" named as "vallettus hospicii Regis." Yet if we look up the entries with regard to the men called "valletz de la chambre du Roi" in the list of 1368, [Footnote: L. R., p. 167. 'In many cases, of course, they are called merely "vallettus noster," "dileatus vallettus" or "dileatus servitor."] we find that in such records as the Patent Rolls where _DEFINITELY_ characterized, they are generally referred to as "vallettus camere nostre." For example, William Gambon is so titled seven times and never as "vallettus hospicii nostri." [Footnote: Pat. Roll 285, mem. 2, idem 274, mem. 37, 257, mem. 25. Cal. Pat. Roll 1377, p. 79. Issues, P. 228, mem. 17. C. R. 207, mem. 12. Pat. Roll 295, mem. 26.] Reginald Neuport is called six times "vallettus camere Regis." [Footnote: Cal. Pat. Roll 1378, p. 139. Issues, P. 237, mem. 17. P. 249, mem. 3. P. 251, mem. Pat. Roll 288, mem. 21, etc.] John Tipet is called the same at least five times, and never by any other title. [Footnote: Issues A 169, mem. 35. P. 228, mem. 17. P. 228, mem. 38. P. 235, mem. 20, etc.] Thomas Cheyne is called "vallettus camere Regis" five times. [Footnote: Pat. Roll 262, mem. 23, 254, mem. 4, 255, mem. 25. Cal. Rot. Pat. Turr. Lon. p. 174. Abb. Rot. Orig. II, 222.] Thomas Loveden alone is called "vallettus hospicii Regis" twice and "vallettus camere" once. [Footnote: Issues, P. 287, mem. 8. p. 250, mem. 1. Pat. Roll 266, mem. 5.] Under the circumstances, if Chaucer ever was a "vallettus camerae Regis," we should expect him to have been so called more than once. It seems rather more likely that his proper position was that of "vallettus hospicii Regis" [Footnote: The household books, published in the Chaucer Records, recognize no such classification as "vallettus hospicii Regis," pet the records certainly point to the existence of such a classification.] and later of course, "armiger" or "scutifer." This view is of course supported by the fact that in the household lists his name does not appear in 1368 as a "vallet de la chambre du Roi" or in 1369 even near the names of men who had been "valletti" of the King's chamber. Further that Chaucer's position by 1363 was distinctly honourable appears from the fact that his name appears as Esquier among a group of men who were not engaged in menial occupations of any kind--as distinguished from the cooks and farriers of the groups called "esquiers survenantz" and "sergeantz des offices parvantz furrures a chaperon."

With regard to Chaucer's employment as an envoy abroad, it is clear that he was, when so engaged, performing a customary service, that indeed he was one of several who were constantly used in minor missions abroad and that his rank and duties were similar to those of a King's messenger today. [Footnote: Cf. pp. 19, 20 above.] Likewise the rewards which Chaucer received were not extraordinary. Practically every esquire of Chaucer's rank who remained for any considerable time in the court received an annuity; evidently such pensions were part of the perquisites of the office. A few esquires received a smaller annuity than Chaucer's, many received about the same amount, and, many received more. [Footnote: Cf. p. 21 ff.] Similarly the special offices which Chaucer held, particularly his controllerships, were not evidences of remarkable favour: other esquires received the same kind of offices and indeed they were apparently regular sinecures for the members of the King's household. [Footnote: Cf. p. 22 ff.] So also the grant of wardships and forfeited goods can be paralleled in many cases. In two respects Chaucer received rather less than the other esquires--he was given no corrody and no grant of land.

In one more respect can Chaucer's career be paralleled by that of other "esquires"--in that of his marriage. Marriages between the esquires of the King and the damsels of the queen were decidedly frequent. [Footnote: Cf. p. 25 ff.]

Indeed, it is clear from the study of the careers of the other esquires that, so far as we know, Chaucer received no exceptional favours, and that his career was in practically every respect a typical esquire's career.

In all this then there is no evidence that Chaucer enjoyed the favour of any particular patron. Aside from the fact that, like Chaucer, some of the esquires had served in the household of one of the King's children before entering the King's, I have been able in no case to find evidence of connection between them and any patron. Since Chaucer received no more favours than did the average esquire, there is no particular reason to suppose that he had any patron.

Now let us examine the evidence in favour of his close connection with John of Gaunt. We have two pieces of definite evidence of a connection between Chaucer and John of Gaunt; Chaucer's writing (probably shortly after 1369) of the Book of the Duchess, and John of Gaunt's grant of an annuity of ten pounds in June 1374. The former does not prove anything with regard to a definite relation; such complimentary poems were commonly written for nobles who were not special patrons of the poets; and Chaucer in his Parlement of Foules possibly complimented Richard II in much the same way. In regard to the latter piece of evidence--John of Gaunt's grant of an annuity--two things are to be noted, first that John of Gaunt had previously given an annuity to Philippa Chaucer (in 1372) and, second, that in the grant he gives the cause of making it to Chaucer as services rendered by Chaucer to the Duke and by Chaucer's wife to Queen Philippa and the Duke's Consort. In the grant to Philippa on the other hand no mention is made of Geoffrey. This greater particularity in the statement of Philippa's services in Geoffrey's grant, the fact that Philippa was in the duke's household (evidenced by the Christmas gifts of silver cups to her) and the fact that nothing else connects Chaucer definitely with John of Gaunt, make it seem almost certain that the grant of an annuity to Chaucer was made merely in order to increase the sum given to Philippa. Grants of this time which mention the services of both husband and wife are usually made out to both, and undoubtedly in this case the real purpose was to give it to Philippa and her husband.

On the other hand, if John of Gaunt really was "Chaucer's great patron," why did he not give the poet employment in his own household? Anyone who will run thru the Lancashire Registers of this time will be struck with the immensity of the duke's income and the regal scale of his household. [Footnote: Cf. Abstracts and Indexes I f. 13'7 dorso. Warrant to deliver to a damsel for the queen (i.e. John of Gaunt's Spanish wife) 1708 pearls of the largest, 2000 of the second sort. Warrant to bring him at the Savoy all the Rolls of Accounts of all his Recevors General and of his Treasurers of War and of the Household and other officers of the Household, there to be deposited and safely kept. Next page-long list of jewels.] Surely had he wished to patronize the poet, he could have done so most easily and most surely by giving him some honorable post in his own control. Why should he have taken the difficult method of procuring him precarious offices under the King!

Since the assertions with regard to John of Gaunt's ascendancy over Chaucer's career have been so common, however, we ought to take up the matter point by point. We have no reason to connect John of Gaunt with Chaucer's start in the world--his employment in the household of the Countess of Clarence. We know that Chaucer's father had relations with the court and, although merely a merchant, he may very likely have secured Chaucer's appointment to the place in the Countess's household, as the fathers of Simon de Burley (not a merchant, but a man of no rank), Michael de la Pole, (a merchant), John Legge, Thomas Frowyk and Thomas Hauteyn obtained appointments for their children in the households of the Prince of Wales and of the King. This was an age when the merchant class was obtaining unusual power and privileges. Richard II, it will be remembered, was called the "Londoner's King." It has been shown that John of Gaunt visited the Countess of Clarence at Christmas 1357, and it has been suggested that he may have met Chaucer then and taken a liking to him. Of actual meeting, however, we have no proof. Chaucer was in the service of the Duke of Clarence in October 1860. [Footnote: See Modern Lang. Notes March 1912 article of Dr. Samuel Moore on The New Chaucer Item.]; the Duchess of Clarence died in 1363; and we learn of him next in the King's household in 1367. The transition from the household of the wife of one of the King's sons to that of the King himself is one which can be paralleled in many cases; we have no need to suppose patronage on the part of the Duke of Lancaster to account for it. As a matter of fact we have no reason to suppose that John of Gaunt knew anything of Chaucer at this time.

The diplomatic missions, and the grants of annuities and offices were not, as I have shown, evidences of special favour; they were a regular thing in the King's court. We have no reason to suppose that John of Gaunt's influence in favour of Chaucer was a cause for any of them. Further John of Gaunt's influence would have been worthless in helping Chaucer to become Justice of the Peace in Kent in 1385. This appointment must have been made by the Chancellor--Michael de la Pole--possibly at the recommendation of the Lord Lieutenant of the County or the Custos Rotulorum. Whether there was a Lord Lieutenant of Kent or not, I do not know. At any rate the constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports (at this time Simon de Burley) held powers in Kent similar to those of a lord lieutenant, and he occupies the position of the lord lieutenant in the list of Justices of the Peace--at the top. Both de la Pole and de Burley were enemies of John of Gaunt. Even if the appointment was not due to them, we cannot ascribe it to John of Gaunt, for I have been able to find no evidence that John of Gaunt had influence in Kent, or that he controlled any of the other Justices.

Furthermore that Chaucer did not owe his place in the customs to the influence of John of Gaunt is clear from the fact that the collectorships of customs in London, at any rate, were controlled by the duke's enemies. If they had sufficient power with the king to gain control of those offices, it hardly seems likely that the King would appoint a member of the faction opposed to them to serve with them. It is to be noted also that Chaucer on account of the business connections of his family--his father was a vintner and another relative evidently a pepperer--would be more likely to sympathize with the party of Brembre than with that of Northampton.

Now we come to a point where nearly all writers on Chaucer make inferences in regard to John of Gaunt's influence--Chaucer's separation from the office of controller of the customs. Most writers have said more or less directly that Chaucer lost the office because John of Gaunt had left England earlier in the same year. The facts themselves show indubitably that Chaucer's leaving office was in no respect due to John of Gaunt's departure. Before discussing this matter, I must say a word about the political situation before 1386 and in that year. At the very end of Edward III's reign John of Gaunt, who had been the real power since the death of the Black Prince, became extremely unpopular because of his bad administration of the government and his quarrels with the Condoners. This unpopularity continued both in the court and without. Under the new King the great duke had little influence; he was not even included in the great council appointed to control the government during the King's minority. Further a group of young men, connected with the King, gradually assumed charge of affairs--Michael de la Pole, Robert de Vere and others. These men were outright enemies of John of Gaunt; according to the stories of the time they even made plots to poison and to stab him. He himself retired from active political life and, apparently, largely because he saw no chance for gaining great power in England, turned his attention to his Spanish projects; [Footnote: Trevelyan's view.] and in 1386 he left England for Spain. Others of the great lords, however, were not content to play a passive role; the brother of John of Gaunt, Gloucester, as leader, and the Earl of Arundel and Warwick, most prominent followers, were particularly violent in their attacks on the King and his friends. To revert now to Chaucer's case: these are the significant facts in their order:

End of March, 1386 [Footnote: Or July 7 according to Oman.] John of Gaunt leaves England.

October 24, 1386 Gloucester, Arundel et al. succeed in ousting Michael de la Pole and the King's other cabinet officers.

December, 1386 Adam Yardley and Henry Gisors are appointed to Chaucer's places in the customs.

These dates speak for themselves; they show indubitably that Chaucer was not removed from office shortly after John of Gaunt's departure; that he was not removed from office (if at all) until the friends of John of Gaunt, the men who represented his interests, [Footnote: In the following year his son and heir, the Earl of Derby, was one of the "lord appellants"] had in some measure at least gained the government of the Kingdom.

A similar condition of affairs appears when Chaucer was appointed to his next office in 1389.

May, 1389 The King regained power--dismissed Gloucester's
friends from office and appointed his own.

July 12, 1389 He made Chaucer clerk of his works at Westminster.

August, 1389 He seems to have asked John of Gaunt to return to
England.

November, 1389 John of Gaunt actually returned.

Richard II then appointed Chaucer to that place a little over a month after he had regained his authority, and four months before John of Gaunt appeared in England.

Finally we cannot connect John of Gaunt in any way with Chaucer's departure from the office of Clerk of the Works in June, 1391. From John of Gaunt's return to England in 1389 until 1395 he seems to have been influential with the King. In 1390 he was made Duke of Aquitaine for life. In 1392 he was ambassador to France, in 1393 he aided in putting down a revolt in Chester. He was in England, apparently, most of this time.

Certainly the analysis of Chaucer's life does not confirm the theory that John of Gaunt exercised a ruling influence over his destiny. Nor does a study of the connections of his associates indicate his dependency on John of Gaunt. His friend William de Beauchamp was at a later date certainly a member of the Gloucester--Warwick faction. But in 1378 and 1380, when Chaucer was apparently connected with him, Beauchamp was a member of the King's household (from 1379 on chamberlain of the household), evidently in favour with the King and not a partisan of the Lancaster-Gloucester faction. Further we know that Chaucer associated in a business way at least with Brembre, Philipot and Walworth, that he probably knew Thomas Usk, that the latter admired him, and that in the King's household he was connected with some men like John de Beauchamp and John de Salesbury who were not friends to John of Gaunt. Yet toward the end of Richard II's reign we find Chaucer connected in some way with John of Gaunt's son, and when a few years later that son ascended the throne as Henry IV, Chaucer received new annuities and aids. The fact then that Chaucer was friendly with prominent men in both factions makes it incredible that his fortunes were dependent on those of John of Gaunt.

One other suggestion-was John of Gaunt likely to have had enough interest in poetry to patronize a poet? I have found no evidence that he did patronize other poets or artists of any kind, and the impression of his character which a careful scholar like Mr. Trevelyan has gained from a study of his career, is not that he was such a man as would be interested in the arts.

From all these facts, I do not see how it can be maintained that John of Gaunt was Chaucer's "great patron." The evidence, so far as I can make out at present, leads one to the conclusion that Chaucer must have received his offices and royal annuities from the King rather than from John of Gaunt, at times when John of Gaunt's influence would have been harmful rather than beneficial, or when John of Gaunt was not in England to exercise it.

CHAUCER'S RELATION TO RICHARD II