On 30 June 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke stepped ashore at Ravenspur on the Humber, ostensibly to recover his inheritance. It was a daring move, for just nine months earlier, Henry had been banished from England by his cousin King Richard II. Then, in March 1399, Richard had seized the great Lancastrian duchy from under Henry’s nose following the death of the latter’s father, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. When Richard unwisely sailed to Ireland in May, Henry seized his chance with characteristic boldness.

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No army of invasion accompanied him, just a handful of servants and fellow exiles. Barely had Henry landed, however, when Lancastrian retainers and disaffected nobles, chafing under Richard’s predatory rule, flocked to his banner, while support for the king evaporated. Returning from Ireland, Richard was cornered at Flint Castle in north Wales, where on 16 August the cousins met. Jean Creton, a valet, in Richard’s service, recorded their conversation: “My lord,” said Henry, “I have come sooner than you sent for me, and I shall tell you why: it is commonly said among your people that you have, for the last 22 years, governed them very badly and far too harshly. If it please Our Lord, however, I shall now help you to govern them better.”

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