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WALWORTH.
179
they surged onwards towards London, the Essex men gathering on this
side of the river, the remainder at Blackheath.
Richard, with his hereditary courage, would have at once proceeded
from the Tower to meet them and hear their complaint, but being dissuaded
by his
chancellor and treasurer from what they deemed an act of folly, he
departed to Windsor. On hearing
London.
this the vast multitude marched on
Sir William Walworth, fearing for the safety of the city, proceeded at
once to London " Bridge, fortified the place, caused the bridge to be drawn
" up, and fastened a great chain of iron across, to restrain their entry."
In retaliation they destroyed certain houses in Southwark which were
the property of Walworth, " brake down the houses of the Marchelsea and
" loosed the prisoners while the men of Essex
;
went to Lambeth, a manor
" of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and spoiled and burned all the goods."
On this the bridge-keepers "were constrained for fear to let it down
" and give them entry." Over the bridge they passed peaceably enough,
not interfering with religious persons who were earnest in procession and
prayer for peace but, calling upon the citizens to join them, they proceeded
to the Savoy, the palace of the then unpopular John of Gaunt,
;
Duke of Lancaster (" the which," says Stowe, " there was none in the
" realme to be compared in beauty and stateliness and "), setting fire to
it, burned it to the ground. The King seems to have returned to the
Tower, and seeing the conflagration spreading on all sides, he "demanded
" of his council what was best to do in that extremity, but none of them
" could counsel in that case."
The garrison, too, of six hundred warlike men, furnished with armour
and weapons, expert men in arms, and six hundred archers, seemed stricken
with panic, as well as the council with perplexity, for Stowe quaintly
remarks
" all which did quaile in stomache."
Indeed, they set open the gates and allowed the multitude to enter,
who defiled the King's apartments, and, proceeding to the chapel, found
Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England,
kneeling before the altar. He rose to meet them. " Welcome, my children,"
he said ;
" I am he that you seek, though no traitor and no oppressor."
They rushed upon him. His chaplain held up the Corpus Dominicum.
They flung him aside and dragged their prisoner, unresisting, across the
court, and through the Tower gates to Tower Hill. As he appeared, there
rose a yell from the crowd not like any human shout, but like a " scream
" from Satan's peacocks," vocibiis pavonum diabolicis, swords flashed over
his venerable head. "What means this?" he said: "What have I done?
" If you kill me, the Pope will lay you under an interdict." " Pope and
"interdict, go to their own place!" was the answer. "Thou art a false