record that his death took place by no official sentence, but at the
hands of the mob; and this is confirmed by his Inquisition, which states
the day of death, not that of forfeiture--contrary to the custom with
respect to any person judicially condemned. In fact, Le Despenser never
was attainted. He died January 13th, 1400 (_Inq. Post Mortem_ 1 H.
IV, i. 2, _Tho. Le Despenser_), aged 27. The particulars of his burial
are given in the text.

HENRY THE FOURTH, KING OF ENGLAND.

Fourth and youngest son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his
first wife Blanche of Lancaster; born at Bolingbroke Castle (not, as
usually stated, in 1366, but) April 3rd, 1367, the day of the battle of
Navareta, in which his father was engaged. (_Compotus Hugonis de
Waterton_, Duchy of Lancaster Documents, folio 4,) In 1377 he was
attached to the suite of the young Prince of Wales, afterwards Richard
the Second. (_Comp. Will'i de Bughbrigg, Ibidem_.) His tutors were
Thomas de Burton and William Montendre. (_Ibidem_.) In 1380 he was
married to Mary de Bohun, youngest daughter and co-heir of Humphrey,
last Earl of Hereford, and his wife Joan de Arundel. The ages of bride
and bridegroom were ten and thirteen. A gold ring with a ruby was
bought for the bridal, at a cost of eight marks; and for the making of
this and another ring with a diamond, 28 shillings 8 pence was paid.
The offering at mass was 13 shillings 4 pence, and 40 shillings were put
on the book, to be appropriated by the little bride at the words, "With
all my worldly goods I thee endow." (_Register of John of Gaunt, II,
folio 48, b_.) The allowance made to Henry by his father was 250 marks
per annum--equivalent in modern times to about 850. He was not yet
twenty when he became one of the five "Lords Appellants," who renounced
their homage at Huntingdon, December 10th, 1386. Having succeeded in
compelling King Richard to swear that for twelve months he would not
oppose them, towards the end of that time they assumed an openly hostile
attitude. At the head of 40,000 men, they reached Hornsey Park,
November 11th, 1387; but it was not till the 14th that Henry and his
friend Nottingham joined the rest. On the 20th of December was the
encounter between the Dukes of Gloucester and Ireland at Radcote Bridge.
The Lords Appellants appeared before the City on the 26th, and encamped
at Clerkenwell on the 27th. They next granted themselves 20,000 pounds.
(_Rot. Pari_,