The Minority Government of Richard II, 1377-1380

Guthrie, Meredith and Ambler, Sophie Therese and Metcalfe, Alex (2024) The Minority Government of Richard II, 1377-1380. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

Text (2024GuthriePhD)
2024GuthriePhD.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only until 26 July 2029.
Download (4MB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the minority government of Richard II (r.1377-1399), beginning with his ascension in June 1377 and ending with the disbandment of his minority council in January 1380. During this time, Richard sat at the helm of government whilst royal business moved through the many channels of parliament, the minority council, and the great council. This mode of government stands out as distinct, with many of its features viewed by scholars as administrative innovations used to solve the thorny problems associated with child kingship. Most evident is the political community's decision to invest Richard with the full authority of his office rather than appoint a regent who could discharge royal duties in the king’s name. Yet, at the time, this arrangement for delegating royal authority was seemingly uncontentious, indicating that the solutions developed for Richard’s minority were not considered radical. This study addresses two related problems with our understanding of Richard’s minority government. It first evaluates the distribution of duties between the king—as the sole individual charged with occupying the royal office and upholding its responsibilities—and those of the political community who administered the realm on his behalf. It also asks to what extent this structure of shared power was informed by precedents that had been forged in earlier practices, scholarly beliefs, and doctrines about the nature of sovereignty and governance over the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The thesis brings together strands of political, intellectual, and ecclesiastical history to illustrate the complex and diverse means by which medieval political society could organise itself in response to a royal minority. What emerges over the course of this study is that Richard’s minority government was consistent with fundamental precedents concerning inalienable royal prerogatives and dignity. Some of these precedents were cultivated through political practice, notably during the reign of Edward III (r.1327-1377). Others represented more fundamental ideas about sacred royal duty. In addressing these two related questions, we can better understand how royal authority could or could not be manipulated under the constraints of a child king, thus illuminating emerging ideas around constitutional monarchy in late-medieval England.