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RICHARD SCROPE.
without a saddle, upon the back of a worn-out
wretched horse, and led to the place of execution,
which was a field not far from Bishopthorpe.^ He
was not allowed to wear his rochet, which was then
the distinguishnig attire of a bishop whenever he
appeared in public, but was clothed simply in a long
cassock or tunic of blue or violet colour, with a hood
attached. When he arrived at the place of execution he
knelt down, besought God's pardon for all his sins of
omission or commission, and forgave his executioner,
whom he requested to strike him with five blows of
his sword, in memory of the five wounds of his Lord
and Saviour Christ. This was done. At the fifth stroke
his head was severed from his body, and a deep thrill
of horror agonized every heart in the crowd which
witnessed the piteous scene. It was a rude and cruel
shock to all the better feelings of their nature. He
was a bishop of the church of God, and their religious
instincts were utterly revolted by such an act of highhanded
tyranny. He was, likewise, their own bishop,
endeared to them by his many virtues, his devout and
exemplary life, his unfailing kindness. He was a
member, moreover, of a great Yorkshire house, and
in those days, when the old feudal feelings were still
strong and deep, this added yet another element to
the bitterness of feeling with which they beheld the
bloody tragedy which was enacted in the fields of
chapel was afterwards erected in the field where the
execution took place. This field is at the junction of Bishopthorpe
and Nunthorpe roads, a little below Nun Hill. It is
.still called " Chapel Field." Cf. "Walks through the City of
York," by the late Robert Davies, F.S.A., p. 114.
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