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Source: CHAPTER XIV. CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL FROM THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR ROBERT BOURCHIER TILL THE APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM DE WICKHAM.

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Titre	CHAPTER XIV. CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL FROM THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR ROBERT BOURCHIER TILL THE APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM DE WICKHAM.

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ROBERT Bourchier 1st Baron Bourchier

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CHAPTER XIV. CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL FROM THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR ROBERT BOURCHIER TILL THE APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM DE WICKHAM. THE first lay Lord Chancellor appointed by an English King was Sir Robert Bourchier, Knight" — a distinguished soldier. He was the eldest son of Sir John Bourchier, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,—the representative of a family long seated at Halstead, in Essex. His education was very slender, being engaged in military adventures from early youth; but he showed great capacity as well as courage in the field, and was a particular favorite of King Edward III., whom he accompanied in all his campaigns. In 1337 he was at the battle of Cadsant, and had lately before Tournay witnessed the discomfiture of all Edward's mighty preparations for the conquest of France. He joined in the loud complaints against the ministers who had been appointed to superintend the supplies and levies at home, and in the advice that the Stratfords should be punished for their supposed misconduct. The resolution being taken to put down the ascendency of ecclesiastics,—from the shrewdness and energy of this stout knight, he was thought a fit instrument to carry it into effect, and not only was the Great Seal delivered to him, but he was regarded as the King's chief councillor. After Robert de Stratford, the late Chancellor, had been released from prison, he made submission, and it was agreed to take no farther steps against him. He appears now to have retired from politics, and we read no more of him except that he acquired great applause for the prudence with which he suppressed a mighty sedition in the University of Oxford, arising from the opposite fac- tions of the northern and southern scholars,—the former, by reason of the many grievances they complained of, having retired for a time to Stamford in Lincolnshire. He afterwards resided entirely in his diocese. His life was prolonged to the 9th of April, 1392. But it was determined to take ample vengeance on ExChancellor John de Stratford, to whose mismanagement was imputed the bad success of the war, and who continued to defy the power of the Crown. First came a proclamation under the Great Seal, framed by Lord Chancellor Bourchier, and ordered to be read in all churches and chapels,—charging the Ex-Chancellor with having intercepted the supplies granted to the King, and either with having appropriated them to himself, or having diverted them from their legitimate objects. To his Stratford opposed a pastoral letter, victoriously refuting the accusation. But parliament was always considered the ready engine of vengeance in the hands of the dominant party, and one was summoned to meet at Westminster, in April, 1341. Still some apprehensions were entertained from the sacred character of the party to be accused, and from his eloquence and influence if he were regularly heard in his own defense. The King and his military Chancellor therefore resorted to the unconstitutional step of withholding from him a writ of summons, thinking that he might thus be prevented from appearing in the Upper House. The Ex-Chancellor, nothing appalled, sent a re- monstrance to the King, stating (among other things), "that there' were two powers by which the world was governed, the holy, pontifical, apostolic dignity, and the royal subordinate authority; that of these two powers the clerical was evidently the supreme, since priests were to answer at the tribunal of the Divine judgment for the conduct of Kings themselves; that the clergy were the spiritual fathers of all the faithful, and therefore of Kings and Princes, and were entitled by a heavenly charter to direct their wills and actions, and to censure their transgressions; and that Prelates had heretofore cited Emperors before their tribunal, had sat in judgment on their life and behavior, and had anathematized them for their obstinate offenses." On the day when parliament met, the Archbishop showed himself before the gates of Westminster Hall, —arrayed in his pontifical robes,—holding the crosier in his hand, and attended by a pompous train of priests. This ceremony being finished, he was proceeding to the chamber where the Peqrs were assembled, but he was forbid by the captain of the guard to enter. While demanding admittance, he was seized by officers and carried to the bar of the Court of Exchequer, where he was called upon to plead to an information which had been filed against him by the Attorney General, and which treated him as a great pecuniary defaulter to the Crown. He then stationed himself in Palace Yard, and solemnly protested that he would not stir from that place till the King gavehim leave to come into parliament, or a sufficient reason why he should not. Standing there in this manner, with the emblems of his holy office, some that were by began to revile him, saying to him, "Thou art a traitor: thou hast deceived the King and betrayed the realm." He answered them, "The curse of the Almighty God and of his blessed Mother, and of St. Thomas, and mine also, be upon the heads of them that inform the King so. Amen, amen." During two days the King rejected his application; but he petitioned the Peers against the injury thus offered to the first Peer in the realm, and the House took it up as a matter of privilege. The King agreed to a personal conference with him in the Painted Chamber, and after some discussion, consented to his taking his seat in the House; but his Majesty then abruptly withdrew, and employed Sir John Darcy and Sir William Killesby to accuse him before the citizens of London and the House of Commons. The Lords, alarmed for the rights and honor of their body, prayed the King to acknowledge, that when a Peer was impeached by the Crown for high crimes and misdemeanors, he could not be compelled to plead before any other tribunal than the House of Peers; and when Edward objected that such an acknowledgment would be prejudicial to the public interests, and derogatory to the royal prerogatives, they requested his permission to refer the matter to a committee of four prelates, four earls, and four barons. The committee reported, as an undeniable principle, " that no Peer could be arraigned or brought to judgment, except in parliament and by his peers." This was unanimously approved of by the House, and embodied in an address to the King.' The apprehension of serious consequences from this rupture, and the necessity of securing a supply, induced Edward to declare that he was willing that the charge should drop. The triumph of the Primate was complete, for he now desired that, "whereas he had been publicly defamed through the realm, he might be arraigned in open parliament before his peers; "but the King adjourned the matter to the next parliament, and then he ordered all the proceedings against him to be annulled artd vacated. In truth, theEx-Chancellor's crime consisted in expostulating with the King about his profuseness, and in persuading him to make peace with France. He lived seven years afterwards, universally honored and beloved; and at his death, after founding and endowing a college at his native place, he left all his estate to his servants and domestics. He is said to have been "a man of a mild and gentle nature, more inclinable to pardon the guilty than to punish them with severity, and very charitable to the poor." Bourchier, during his short Chancellorship, was entirely occupied with the King's political business, particularly in the management of his diplomacy,—the duties of foreign secretary of state, which were transacted by the Chancellor, being at this time very onerous. He trans- ferred the Great Seal almost always into the custody of the Master of the Rolls or the King's Chamberlain, who sealed writs, and ordinarily sat in the Court of Chancery, —although, on great occasions, the Lord Chancellor himself, notwithstanding his inexperience, attended in person, and decided according to his own notions of law and equity. The King sometimes took the Seal into his own keeping, without meaning to make any change in the office of Chancellor. On the 7th of August in this year, Bourchier having experienced no loss of favor, and not meaning to resign his office, under an order he received to that effect, sent the seal to the palace by Ralph Lord Stafford and Philip de Weston. The King kept it in his own possession till the next day, and having sealed some grants with it, he returned it to the Chancellor. If there had been complaints of ecclesiastical Chancellors, this experiment of conferring the office on an illiterate layman, who neglected its duties, caused unprecedented dissatisfaction; and there was an agitation in favor of the plan for restraining the prerogative of the Crown in the appointment of its officers, which had dis- tracted the weak reigns of Henry III. and Edward II. The matter was taken up by the legislature, and the Commons, by petition to the King, prayed (tantamount to passing a bill) " that the Chancellor, together with the other great officers, might be chosen in open parliament, and that, at the same time, theyshould be openly swornto obey the laws of the land and Magna Charta." The ferment in the public mind..was so great, and such was the necessity for soothing the Commons with a view to a supply, that the King did not venture to put a direct veto upon this proposal, and he yielded this much, "that if any such office, by the death or other failure of the in- cumbent, become void, the choice to remain solely with the King, he taking therein the assent of his Council, but that every such officer shall be sworn at the next parliament, according to the petition; and that every parliament following, the King shall resume into his hands all such offices, so as the said officers shall be left liable to answer all objections." The Commons expressed themselves satisfied with this concession, and the Prelates and Barons approving of the arran..

CHAPTER XIV.
CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL FROM
THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR ROBERT BOURCHIER
TILL THE APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM
DE WICKHAM.
THE first lay Lord Chancellor appointed by an English King was Sir Robert Bourchier, Knight"
—
a distinguished soldier. He was the eldest son of Sir John Bourchier, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,—the representative of a family long seated at Halstead, in Essex. His education was very slender, being engaged in military adventures from early youth; but he showed great capacity as well as courage in the field, and was a particular favorite of King Edward III., whom he accompanied in all his campaigns. In 1337 he was at the battle of Cadsant, and had lately before Tournay witnessed the discomfiture of all Edward's mighty preparations for the conquest of France. He joined in the loud complaints against the ministers who had been appointed to superintend the supplies and levies at home, and in the advice that the Stratfords
should be punished for their supposed misconduct.

The resolution being taken to put down the ascendency of ecclesiastics,—from the shrewdness and energy of this stout knight, he was thought a fit instrument to carry it into effect, and not only was the Great Seal delivered to him, but he was regarded as the King's chief councillor.

After Robert de Stratford, the late Chancellor, had been released from prison, he made submission, and it was agreed to take no farther steps against him. He appears now to have retired from politics, and we read no more of him except that he acquired great applause for the prudence with which he suppressed a mighty sedition in the University of Oxford, arising from the opposite fac- tions of the northern and southern scholars,—the former, by reason of the many grievances they complained of, having retired for a time to Stamford in Lincolnshire. He afterwards resided entirely in his diocese. His life was prolonged to the 9th of April, 1392.

But it was determined to take ample vengeance on ExChancellor John de Stratford, to whose mismanagement was imputed the bad success of the war, and who continued to defy the power of the Crown.

First came a proclamation under the Great Seal, framed by Lord Chancellor Bourchier, and ordered to be read in all churches and chapels,—charging the Ex-Chancellor with having intercepted the supplies granted to the King, and either with having appropriated them to himself, or having diverted them from their legitimate objects. To his Stratford opposed a pastoral letter, victoriously refuting the accusation.

But parliament was always considered the ready engine of vengeance in the hands of the dominant party, and one was summoned to meet at Westminster, in April, 1341. Still some apprehensions were entertained from the sacred character of the party to be accused, and from his eloquence and influence if he were regularly heard in his own defense. The King and his military Chancellor therefore resorted to the unconstitutional step of withholding from him a writ of summons, thinking that he might thus be prevented from appearing in the Upper
House. The Ex-Chancellor, nothing appalled, sent a re- monstrance to the King, stating (among other things), "that there' were two powers by which the world was governed, the holy, pontifical, apostolic dignity, and the royal subordinate authority; that of these two powers the clerical was evidently the supreme, since priests were to answer at the tribunal of the Divine judgment for the conduct of Kings themselves; that the clergy were the spiritual fathers of all the faithful, and therefore of Kings and Princes, and were entitled by a heavenly charter to
direct their wills and actions, and to censure their transgressions; and that Prelates had heretofore cited Emperors before their tribunal, had sat in judgment on their life and behavior, and had anathematized them for their obstinate offenses."

On the day when parliament met, the Archbishop showed himself before the gates of Westminster Hall, —arrayed in his pontifical robes,—holding the crosier in his hand, and attended by a pompous train of priests. This ceremony being finished, he was proceeding to the chamber where the Peqrs were assembled, but he was forbid by the captain of the guard to enter. While demanding admittance, he was seized by officers and carried to the bar of the Court of Exchequer, where he was called upon to plead to an information which had been filed against him by the Attorney General, and which treated him as a great pecuniary defaulter to the Crown. He then stationed himself in Palace Yard, and solemnly protested that he would not stir from that place till the King gavehim leave to come into parliament, or a sufficient reason why he should not. Standing there in this manner, with the emblems of his holy office, some that were by began to revile him, saying to him, "Thou art a traitor: thou hast deceived the King and betrayed the realm." He answered them, "The curse of the Almighty God and of his blessed Mother, and of St. Thomas, and mine also, be upon the heads of them that inform the King so. Amen, amen."

During two days the King rejected his application; but he petitioned the Peers against the injury thus offered to the first Peer in the realm, and the House took it up as a matter of privilege. The King agreed to a personal conference with him in the Painted Chamber, and after some discussion, consented to his taking his seat in the House; but his Majesty then abruptly withdrew, and employed Sir John Darcy and Sir William Killesby to accuse him before the citizens of London and the House of Commons.

The Lords, alarmed for the rights and honor of their body, prayed the King to acknowledge, that when a Peer was impeached by the Crown for high crimes and misdemeanors, he could not be compelled to plead before any other tribunal than the House of Peers; and when Edward objected that such an acknowledgment would be prejudicial to the public interests, and derogatory to the royal prerogatives, they requested his permission to refer the matter to a committee of four prelates, four earls, and four barons. The committee reported, as an
undeniable principle, " that no Peer could be arraigned or brought to judgment, except in parliament and by his peers." This was unanimously approved of by the House, and embodied in an address to the King.'

The apprehension of serious consequences from this rupture, and the necessity of securing a supply, induced Edward to declare that he was willing that the charge should drop. The triumph of the Primate was complete, for he now desired that, "whereas he had been publicly defamed through the realm, he might be arraigned in open parliament before his peers; "but the King adjourned the matter to the next parliament, and then he ordered all the proceedings against him to be annulled artd vacated. In truth, theEx-Chancellor's crime consisted in expostulating with the King about his profuseness, and in persuading him to make peace with France.

He lived seven years afterwards, universally honored and beloved; and at his death, after founding and endowing a college at his native place, he left all his estate to his servants and domestics. He is said to have been "a man of a mild and gentle nature, more inclinable to pardon the guilty than to punish them with severity, and very charitable to the poor."

Bourchier, during his short Chancellorship, was entirely occupied with the King's political business, particularly in the management of his diplomacy,—the duties of foreign secretary of state, which were transacted by the Chancellor, being at this time very onerous. He trans- ferred the Great Seal almost always into the custody of the Master of the Rolls or the King's Chamberlain, who sealed writs, and ordinarily sat in the Court of Chancery, —although, on great occasions, the Lord Chancellor himself, notwithstanding his inexperience, attended in person, and decided according to his own notions of law and equity.

The King sometimes took the Seal into his own keeping, without meaning to make any change in the office of Chancellor. On the 7th of August in this year, Bourchier having experienced no loss of favor, and not meaning to resign his office, under an order he received to that effect, sent the seal to the palace by Ralph Lord Stafford and Philip de Weston. The King kept it in his own possession till the next day, and having sealed some grants with it, he returned it to the Chancellor.

If there had been complaints of ecclesiastical Chancellors, this experiment of conferring the office on an illiterate layman, who neglected its duties, caused unprecedented dissatisfaction; and there was an agitation in favor of the plan for restraining the prerogative of the Crown in the appointment of its officers, which had dis- tracted the weak reigns of Henry III. and Edward II.

The matter was taken up by the legislature, and the Commons, by petition to the King, prayed (tantamount to passing a bill) " that the Chancellor, together with the other great officers, might be chosen in open parliament, and that, at the same time, theyshould be openly swornto obey the laws of the land and Magna Charta."

The ferment in the public mind..was so great, and such was the necessity for soothing the Commons with a view to a supply, that the King did not venture to put a direct veto upon this proposal, and he yielded this much, "that if any such office, by the death or other failure of the in- cumbent, become void, the choice to remain solely with the King, he taking therein the assent of his Council, but that every such officer shall be sworn at the next parliament, according to the petition; and that every parliament following, the King shall resume into his hands all such offices, so as the said officers shall be left liable to answer all objections."

The Commons expressed themselves satisfied with this concession, and the Prelates and Barons approving of the arran..