Gillespie, James L., 'Thomas Mortimer and Thomas Molineux: Radcot Bridge and the Appeal of 1397', Albion 7 (1975), 161-173

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Quick Summary

The case of Sir Thomas Mortimer helps to explain the motivations behind Richard II’s decision in 1397 to arrest those who had rebelled against him ten years earlier

  • Sir Thomas Mortimer was brought before parliament in 1397 to answer for his participation in the rebellion of the Lords Appellant
  • At the battle of Radcot bridge in 1387 Mortimer killed one of Richard’s leading supporters
  • Richard II’s arrest of the former Lords Appellant in 1397 was partly motivated by revenge
Key Conclusion

Gillespie explores an appeal (legal process) brought against Sir Thomas Mortimer in the parliament of 1397 for his role in the Radcot Bridge campaign (December 1387), wherein he fought on the side of the Lords Appellant who rebelled against the king. This case helps to shed light on Richard II’s motivation for taking action against the former rebels in 1397. Historians have debated whether the king was motivated by a desire to take revenge on those who had opposed him in the mid-1380s, or whether he was motivated by fears about a new plot against him by the former Lords Appellants. The article concludes that Richard’s action against Thomas Mortimer provides evidence that he was partly, if not primarily, motivated by a desire for revenge.

Content Overview

Thomas Mortimer was related to the earl of March who had close ties to the Lords Appellant. Mortimer was actively engaged in the appellant campaign at Radcot Bridge, and personally responsible for the death of Thomas Molineaux, one of the leaders of the forces loyal to Richard II. Molineux’s death at the hands of Mortimer is documented by several chroniclers, with Thomas Walsingham providing the most detailed account (p. 163). Thomas Molineux appears to have been Richard II’s leading supporter in Lancashire and Cheshire. In 1397, an investigation was ordered to identify those responsible for Molineaux’s death, lending further evidence to the notion that Richard was motivated by a desire for revenge in this year (p. 171).

Further Findings

Gillespie remarks that historians have paid ‘scant attention to Thomas Molineaux’, who is often cited as the ‘one important casualty of Radcot Bridge and then forgotten’ (p. 165). Yet, Gillespie’s research shows that in 1387, Sir Thomas Mortimer killed one of Richard’s ‘most valuable supporters’ for which he would pay the price a decade later (p. 170). Thus, Gillespie sheds light on Richard II’s action during a crucial period of his reign. The appeal against Thomas Mortimer in the parliament of 1397 can be traced back to events ten years earlier at Radcot Bridge, demonstrating that the king’s action in 1397 against the former Lords Appellant was at least partly motivated by a desire for revenge.

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