Hello and welcome to the history of England, Episode 116, a good parliament and a bad death.

Last week with left Alice Perez and a group of unusually corrupt officials in control,

Chamberlain, Lions, the Master of the Royal Mint in Bitticchina.

Now the other player, and really the king for all intents and purposes with Edward

sliding into senility and the black prince too ill to take part, was of course John of Gaunt.

And hate him all over him, at least whatever happened Gaunt was a man to be reckoned with.

The curious thing about Alice and her period of nest feathering was where was Gaunt.

Why wasn't he objecting to all of this?

The truth is that Gaunt and the other senior elves were busy.

Gaunt's organisation of a truce with France, it has to be said, was something of a triumph,

given the military situation. Then Latimer and his partners in crime were clever.

They made sure Grant kept coming Gaunt's way and things were cooked up behind closed doors.

There was nothing specific for the magnates to latch onto.

How long that could have gone on for is anyone's guess.

But there's no reason to suppose that Gaunt saw anything exceptional on its way

when Parliament was called in 1376.

Parliament had to be called because the war was due to resume in a year,

and taxation was needed to raise an army, or the English were set fair to be pushed into the sea.

So out from the Palace of Westminster, the summons went out for the nights of the Shire and the

Burgesses of the Towns to be elected, and personal summons sent to the ever smaller number of

elves and barons. On April 28th 1376, Parliament assembled for the opening.

Now we had a review of how to hold a Parliament about 100 years ago,

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