John of Gaunt

its drain on England’s resources. Edward had 4 sons and knew it would be difficult to please all of them, because of course they could not all be King. His eldest son was Edward, the Black Prince, who died before his father in 1376, leaving one child, 9 year old Richard of Bordeaux, who took up the throne with many nobles watching close by for a chance to claim the crown. Edward’s second son was Lionel of Antwerp, so because of this, “[According to] the law of primogeniture, after the black prince’s line failed the Crown should have passed to the heirs of Lionel,” however, this was not the case, as Lionel’s line was skipped after Richard of Bordeaux was deposed by a descendent of Edward III’s third son (Weir, 24). This third son was John of Gaunt, first duke of Lancaster, and father of Henry IV, who deposed Richard of Bordeaux and began the rule of the House of Lancaster. The head of the Lancaster’s rival house, the Yorks, was Edward III’s fourth son, “Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, an ineffectual ditherer of little ability, whose achievements were few,” but whose descendants ended up claiming the Crown multiple times with much success at some points (Weir, 28). King Edward may have made a mistake in the amount of power he gave his sons by creating dukedoms for them, as this generated much success and wealth, and eventually, “He brought into being a race of powerful magnates related by blood to the royal line, whose descendents would ultimately challenge each other for the…

twice five summers have enrich'd our fields. (1.3.436-38). John of Gaunt speaks about Richard while on his death bed: His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last, For violent fires soon burn out themselves; Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short. (2.1.715-17). Now He that made me knows I see thee ill; Ill in myself to see, and in thee seeing ill. Thy death-bed is no lesser than thy land Wherein thou liest in…

This week’s first lecture began by us watching a short clip of Richard the II that was performed by sir john Gilbert. Richard the II was the first play in Shakespeare’s second tetralogy, Henry IV is the second play in the sequence. We talked briefly about the plot of Richard II and how Bolivar became king Henry IV. We then talked about the beginning of Henry IV in which the king is being plotted against due to his apparent forgetting of debts due, and his son whom behaves in a non-royal manner…

after Richard surrendered himself and his title. It is unclear within the confines of the play whether or not Bolingbroke would have succeeded if Richard had fought against him. The same can be said of the deposition itself. Richard gives up the crown, yet it is unclear whether or not he could have stopped Bolingbroke’s rise to power if he had chosen to fight back and not resign. Whether or not Bolingbroke would succeed in gaining the crown without Richard’s resignation is unclear; but the…

wrongfully, / Let heaven revenge, for I may never lift / An angry arm against his minister.” (1.2.38-41). This is the first concrete example of King Richard’s loss of power. John of Gaunt says to the Duchess of Gloucester that he refuses to exact revenge against Richard, even though Richard is probably behind the murder of his brother and her husband Gloucester, because Gaunt still believes that Richard was appointed to the kingship by God; in taking action against Richard, Gaunt would be…

On the surface King Richard II seems a straightforward depiction of an unfit King’s steady stream towards being deposed. Shakespeare’s lack of favoritism gives a documentary point of view, yet commotional drama of a daytime soap opera. Shakespeare’s elegant style leaves some doubt for the reader to be ‘all in’ with Bolingbroke taking over despite his heroic attributes and the follies of Richard. The play opens with King Richard’s continuing follies: covers up his Gloucester’s assassination,…

arrogant, lacking in judgment, hypocritical, wasteful and weak. His incompetence to rule is contrast with the admirable and competent Bolingbroke who is shown by the way of character foil to Richard. Richard is aware of how high a pitch Bolingbrook’s resolution soars and he knows that the only thing keeping him in power is, his divine right to rule. From the beginning of the play Richard is presented as an arrogant, imperious king who is driven by sense of self-importance rather than concern…

Before the ecclesiastical reformation, formally known as the Protestant Reformation, before the time of Martin Luther, individuals began to spark the fire of the Protestant Reformation. Namely, John Wycliffe and John Huss, also known as Jan Hus, were predominant pre-reformers of the Protestant Reformation. Through their lifestyle, writings, ideas, John Wycliffe and John Huss triggered the Protestant Reformation. These contributions of Wycliffe and Huss were controversial in their time. The…

John Wyclif, a highly controversial man, not only changed the face of English within society, but also within the well-established institution of the medieval church. By the time Wyclif was born in approximately 1330, English was gradually reemerging as the dominant language. Wyclif, however, immensely augmented the use and importance of English. He was born to Catherine and Roger Wyclif in North Riding of Yorkshire in a time of transition, John grew up in a time where change was constantly…

Chapter 20 (pgs 327-384) This chapter focuses back on the Joads and their first few days in California. Their extremely limited funds don’t allow a proper ceremony and burial, the family leave Grandma's body at the door of the coroner’s office. The family makes their way to Hooverville, a large camp full of gaunt eyes and hollow stomachs. Along the way they meet Floyd Knowles, he explained the rough life here and if you were thinking about just walking on in a getting work then you're…