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The Episcopate and the Political Crisis in England of 1386-1388

THE political crisis of the middle years of the reign of Richard II has always attracted the interest of historians, and, indeed, in very recent years this interest has, if anything, increased. Each succeeding study has demonstrated yet further how complex and diverse were the implieations of the actions largely unprecedented and very uncertain -of those magnates who were most fervently opposed at that time to Richard II, his court and his ministers. One aspect, however, which has not attracted very much specific attention is that of the attitude of the episcopate, both as a whole and as individuals, towards the crisis, and their involvement in it.' Yet even a cursory glance at the crisis suggests that it might constitute an important moment in the story of relations between church and state in England. Several bishops were involved as partisans of one or another faction: two lost their bishoprics in consequence, at least one more was apparently demoted, and others were translated at the behest of the opponents of the Crown. The lords spiritual as a whole, bishops and abbots, withdrew from judicial proceedings in parliament despite pleas to them to remain. And the pope acquiesced in all that the prevalent political faction asked of him. How came this involvement? And what were its effects? The English church, as represented by the episcopate and the convocations of the clergy, did not like to become involved in secular politics in the later medieval period. Experience suggested that such involvement did the church little practical good, and, besides, whatever its later reputation, it did in fact, through its leaders, retain to a high degree such spiritual and moral convictions as moved it to try to remain free from factional identification and to lend its weight to the maintenance of legitimate, responsible authority, the mainspring of good order and social morality within the realm. But in practice such a course was very difficult to maintain. The church's own status vis-'a-vis the realm and its considerable wealth were often themselves causes of grave debate and secular, especially royal, ingression. On such occasions