In the meantime, over at John of Gaunt's house, Shakespeare lets the audience in on a little secret: Mowbray did kill the king's Uncle Gloucester, but King Richard is the one who told him to do it.
It'll go down at the big tournament arena in Coventry, which apparently was like the Las Vegas of medieval England when it came to combat fighting. Eventually Richard gives in and says fine – they can have their fight. But they're way too fired up and demand to be allowed to hack into each other with their swords. Game on.Īfter witnessing a lot of trash talk and even more gage throwing, King Richard tries to make peace between the two noblemen. Mowbray reaches down and picks up Henry Bolingbroke's gage. This is an official challenge to a "trial by combat," where two "gentlemen" go into an arena with swords until just one man is left standing. Mowbray, of course, does NOT appreciate being accused of treason.īefore Richard can make an official decision about who's telling the truth and who's a big fat liar, Bolingbroke calls for a medieval smackdown by throwing down his "gage" (a hat or a glove). Bolingbroke's got a beef with Mowbray and he's come before the king to officially accuse Mowbray of the following crimes: 1) plotting against England, 2) stealing money from the crown, and 3) murdering the king's uncle, Thomas of Woodstock (a.k.a. Read the full text of Richard II with a side-by-side translation HERE.Īt the royal pad (that would be Windsor Castle), King Richard II tries to settle a fight between two seriously ticked-off noblemen, Henry Bolingbroke (the Duke of Hereford) and Thomas Mowbray (the Duke of Norfolk).
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