Changes

Richard’s reign is notable for the use of [[Parliament]] as a political means to an end. That Parliament was used as the instrument in the deposition of Richard, is an indication of its growing importance in the minds of the political class. There were other indications that the [[Middle Ages]] was moving towards something else. There were new fashions, new movements in art and literature, the move from the plain castle to the crenelated palace, the first stirrings of a [[protestant]] movement within the Church. It was the age of [[Wyclif’s Bible]], and [[The Canterbury Tales]].  

Richard’s reign is notable for the use of [[Parliament]] as a political means to an end. That Parliament was used as the instrument in the deposition of Richard, is an indication of its growing importance in the minds of the political class. There were other indications that the [[Middle Ages]] was moving towards something else. There were new fashions, new movements in art and literature, the move from the plain castle to the crenelated palace, the first stirrings of a [[protestant]] movement within the Church. It was the age of [[Wyclif’s Bible]], and [[The Canterbury Tales]].  

Richard's political ineptitude, his lifelong reaction to his being bullied during his early reign, and his childlessness, set the scene for future periods of dynastic disruption that were to explode into the [[Wars of the Roses]] fifty-odd years later.

Richard's political ineptitude, his lifelong reaction to his being bullied during his early reign, and his childlessness, set the scene for future periods of dynastic disruption that were to explode into the [[Wars of the Roses]] fifty-odd years later.