couertlie attempted, and so they adorned Maudelen, a man most resembling king Richard, in Magdalen counterfeited to be king Richard. roiall and princelie vesture, and named him to be king Richard, affirming that by fauour of his kéepers he was escaped out of prison, and so they came forwards in order of warre, to the intent to destroie king Henrie. Whilest the confederators with their new published idoll, accompanied with a strong armie of men, tooke the direct waie The K. cometh to the tower of London. towards Windsore, king Henrie admonished thereof, with a few horssemen in the night came to the Tower of London about twelue of the clocke, where in the morning he caused the maior of the citie to apparell in armour the best and most couragious persons of the citie, which brought to him thrée thousand archers, and three thousand bill-men, besides them that were appointed to kéepe and defend the citie.

The lords come to Windesore. The conspirators comming to Windsore, entered the castell, and vnderstanding that the king was gon from thence to London, determined with all spéed to make towards the citie: but changing that determination as they were on their waie, they turned to Colbroke, and there staied. King Henrie issuing out of London with The king goeth foorth against them.

They retire. twentie thousand men, came streight to Hunslo heath, and there pitched his campe to abide the comming of his enimies: but when they were aduertised of the kings puissance, amazed with feare, and forthinking their begun enterprise, as men mistrusting their owne companie, departed from thence to Berkhamstéed, and so to Circester, They come to Circester.


The bailiffe of Circester setteth vpon them on their lodgings. & there the lords tooke their lodging. The earle of Kent, and the earle of Salisburie in one Inne, and the earle of Huntington and lord Spenser in an other, and all the host laie in the fields, wherevpon in the night season, the bailiffe of the towne with fourescore archers set on the house, where the erle of Kent and the other laie, which house was manfullie assaulted and stronglie defended a great space. The earle The lords set fire on their lodgings. of Huntington being in an other Inne with the lord Spenser, set fire on diuerse houses in the towne, thinking that the assailants would leaue the assault and rescue their goods, which thing they nothing regarded. The host lieng without, hearing noise, and seeing this fire in the towne, thought verelie that king Henrie had béene come Hall. Froissard. thither with his puissance, and therevpon fled without measure, euerie man making shift to saue himselfe, and so that which the lords deuised for their helpe, wrought their destruction; for if the armie that laie without the towne had not mistaken the matter, when they saw the houses on fire, they might easilie haue succoured their chéefeteins in the towne, that were assailed but with a few of the townesmen, in comparison of the great multitude that laie abroad in the fields. But such was the ordinance of the mightie Lord of hostes, who disposeth althings at his pleasure.

The earle of Huntington and his companie seeing the force of the townesmen to increase, fled out on the backside, intending to repaire to the armie which they found dispersed and gone. Then the earle seeing no hope of comfort, fled into Essex. The other lords which were left fighting in the towne of Circester, were wounded to death and taken, and their heads stricken off and sent to London. Thus writeth Hall Thom. Wals. of this conspiracie, in following what author I know not. But Thomas Walsingham and diuerse other séeme somewhat to dissent from him in relation of this matter; for they write that the conspiratours ment vpon the sudden to haue set vpon the king in A maske. the castell of Windsore, vnder colour of a maske or mummerie, and so to have dispatched him; and restoring king Richard vnto the kingdome, to haue recouered their former titles of honour, with the possessions which they had lost by iudgement of the last parlement. But the king getting knowledge of their pretensed treasons, got him with all spéed vnto London.

The conspirators, to wit, the earles of Kent and Salisburie, sir Rafe Lumlie, and others, supposing that the king had not vnderstood their malicious purpose, the first sundaie   1400.
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Harding. of the new yeare, which fell in the octaues of the Innocents, came in the twilight of the euening into Windsore with foure hundred armed men, where vnderstanding that the king was withdrawne upon warning had of their purposed intention, they forthwith returned backe, and came first vnto Sunnings, a manor place not farre from Reading, where the quéene wife to king Richard then laie. Here setting The words of the earle of Kent. a good countenance of the matter, the earle of Kent declared in presence of the queenes servants that the lord Henrie of Lancaster was fled from his presence with his children and fréends, and had shut up himselfe & them in the Tower of London, as one afraid to come abroad, for all the brags made heretofore of his manhood: and therefore (saith he) my intention is (my lords) to go to Richard that was, is, and shall be our king, who being alreadie escaped foorth of prison, lieth now at Pomfret, with an hundred thousand men. And to cause his spéech the better to be beléeued, he tooke awaie the kings cognisances from them that ware the same, as the collars from their necks, and the badges of cressants from the sleeues of the seruants of houshold, and throwing them awaie, said that such cognisances were no longer to be borne.

Thus hauing put the quéene in a vaine hope of that which was nothing so, they departed from thence vnto Wallingford, and after to Abington, intising the people by all meanes possible vnto rebellion, all the waie as they went, and sending their agents abroad for the same purpose: at length they came to Circester in the darke of the night, and tooke vp their lodgings. The inhabitants of that towne suspecting the matter, and iudging (as the truth was) these rumors which the lords spred abroad to be but dreams, they tooke therevpon counsell togither, got them to armor, and stopped all the entries and outgates of the Innes where these new ghestes were lodged, insomuch that when they about midnight secretlie attempted to haue come foorth, and gone their waies, the townesmen with bow and arrowes were readie to slaie them, and keepe them in. The lords perceiuing the danger, got them to their armor and weapons, and did their best by force to breake through and repell the townesmen. But after they had fought from midnight till three of the clocke in the afternoone of the next daie, and perceiued they could not preuaile, they yeelded themselues to the The lords yéeld themselues. townesmen, beseeching them to haue their liues saued, till they might come to the kings presence.

A priest set fire on the houses of Circester. This request they had obteined, if a préest that was chapleine to one of them, had not in the meane time set fire vpon certeine houses in the towne, to the end that whiles the townesmen should busie themselues to quench the fire, the lords might find meanes to escape. But it came nothing to passe as he imagined, for the townesmen leauing all care to saue their houses from the rage of the fire, were kindled more in furie towards the lords, and so to reuenge themselves of them, they brought them foorth of the abbei where they had them in their hands, and in the twilight of the Abr. Fl. out of