The Reign of Henry IV (1399-1413)

Summary

Overview

Henry IV seized the throne from Richard II on 30 September 1399, and within days Thomas Arundel was reclaiming his rights as archbishop of Canterbury. He managed to convene a convocation the following week, which was notable for being described by that word when it was not called by a royal writ, nor was there any form of subsidy. ArundePs position as an essential prop of Henry IV's dubiously legitimate regime gave him unusual leverage in ecclesiastical affairs, which he exploited to the full. After parliament passed a statute against heretics (De haeretico comburendo) in 1401, the convocation received a new lease of life, becoming a court to determine both what heresy was and who was guilty of it. Given the prominence of Lollardy at this time, it was kept busy, and the very full records which have survived give us a good picture of its activities during this reign. On the other side, the traditional business of granting the king a subsidy, while it continued as before, became much less important in the overall picture. Henry IV was less rapacious than his predecessor, and the church came closer to controlling its own affairs than it had ever done before. In Richard IPs reign, there was a convocation held virtually every year, and all but three of the twenty-one held in Canterbury between 1377 and 1399 were summoned by a royal writ. By contrast, only five of the thirteen convened under Henry IV were summoned in that way, and the rest were called by the archbishop's authority alone.

The northern province presents a very different picture. Archbishop Richard Le Scrope (1398-1405) was out of favour with Henry IV, who eventually had him executed, and it was not until Henry Bowet (1407-23) assumed control that York returned to normality. Largely unaffected by Lollardy at this stage, the northern convocation shows none of the theological animation which gripped Canterbury, and its records are little more than a catalogue of subsidies, more fully recorded than before, but essentially the same as they had been under Richard II.

The convocation of 1399

Canterbury

The convocation which met on 6 October 1399 had actually been called by the prior of Canterbury, acting on instructions from Roger Walden, the intruded archbishop, on 3 September.