Gillespie, James L., 'Richard II’s Archers of the Crown', Journal of British Studies, 18 (1979), 14-29

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Quick Summary

Richard II tarnished the regality of the English crown by recruiting a private retinue of archers in 1397

  • Richard II’s bodyguard of archers far exceeded the size of his predecessors
  • This bodyguard was a distinct force from a much larger force of archers recruited in 1397
  • Richard’s recruitment of archers in 1397 seemed tyrannical to his contemporaries
Key Conclusion

Gillespie explores Richard II’s recruitment of a personal bodyguard known as the ‘archers of the crown’. By the end of his reign Richard II secured the services of approximately sixty-seven yeoman archers. This far exceeded the level of recruitment witnessed under his predecessors – 24 archers was the normal complement under Edward III. However, Gillespie notes that the ‘archers of the crown’ were a distinct and separate force from the archers Richard recruited during his so-called ‘tyranny’. In 1397 Richard recruited several hundred archers from his palatinate earldom of Cheshire – a force known as ‘archers of the livery of the crown’. The original force of archers provided Richard II with a model for the creation of this large, personal retinue.

Content Overview

In preparation for the meeting of parliament in the autumn of 1397, Richard gathered a force of over two thousand men from his earldom of Cheshire. Richard used this force to intimidate parliament. Although he also deployed his smaller bodyguard of yeoman archers to the same end, Gillespie argues that unlike this larger retinue Richard’s ‘archers of the crown’ retained a tradition of service to the crown that superseded loyalty to the king himself. The great majority of Richard’s ‘archers of the crown’ presented their patents (contracts of service) to Henry IV following Richard’s deposition, and proceeded to serve the Lancastrians as they had served Richard II.

Further Findings

Richard’s expansion of his personal bodyguard is comparable to the action taken by one of his predecessors, Henry III, when confronted with threats to the royal prerogative (i.e. the authority of the crown). The only real difference was that whereas Henry III sought to‘employ the military means available to a thirteenth-century monarch’, Richard II ‘chose the system of liveried retainers which had become the primary military vehicle of the fourteenth century’ (p. 14). Richard’s recruitment of a large retinue of Cheshire archers in 1397 seemed tyrannical to some contemporary writers. Gillespie observes: ‘In attempting to develop military capacity as a private individual, he [Richard II] tarnished the regality he was trying to defend.’ (p. 29).

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