REBELLION, EXECUTION (1405), AND POSTMORTEM VENERATION OF ARCHBISHOP RICHARD SCROPE

Abstract

The article examines a unique case in the history of the Catholic Church: the execution of Archbishop of York Richard Scrope for his participation in a rebellion against the king in 1405. Conflicts between monarchs and prelates were common in medieval Europe. Occasionally, sovereigns imprisoned recalcitrant hierarchs and might even have physically eliminated them, but never by public execution. The author discusses the possible reasons that led Richard Scrope, who supported Henry Bolingbroke’s ascent to the English throne in 1399, to raise an army against his king. Should the Archbishop’s rebellion be seen in the context of the July 1403 mutiny of Henry and Thomas Percy with whom Scrope was related or should we look for an imitation of Thomas Becket, who openly opposed Henry II to protect the liberties of the English Church? In addition to attempting to find answers to these questions, the article examines the public outcry caused by the execution of the archbishop. First, it deals with the reaction of the papacy and the measures taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Arundel to conceal from the people information about the excommunication of those involved in the execution, including the king himself. Second, it deals with the rumors that circulated in English society about the nature of the illness that afflicted Henry immediately after Scrope’s execution. The rumor referred to the king’s illness as leprosy, believing it to be a punishment for shedding the blood of a servant of God. Finally, special attention is given to the cult of the executed Scrope, who was revered as saint and martyr in York. Despite royal prohibitions and even attempts to block access to Scrope’s tomb in York Cathedral, the flow of pilgrims to his burial site continued unabated. The veneration of Richard Scrope was unexpectedly supported by the crown during the reign of the York kings, who saw the executed archbishop as an opponent of the House of Lancaster.