Notes and Queries

old. The sister island was in its customary con-
dition of lawlessness and turmoil. The Irish
annals tell us that "Thomas, the son of the
King of the Saxons, came to Erin; that he
took the Earl of Kildare prisoner, and that
Hitsin Tuite with great loss was slain." It is
difficult to see why the "loyal Earl of Kildare"
was arrested; he had been fighting against the
rebellious Irish, and was on his way to con-
gratulate the new viceroy at Carlingford when
he was seized and taken prisoner. The annals
further tell us that in 1409 "the King of the
Saxons was seized with leprosy, and that Thomas
of Lancaster left Ireland in consequence, having
liberated the Earl of Kildare." While in Ireland

he is said to have encountered a riot or rebel-
lion, and to have been seriously wounded. In
1411 we meet with him in London in a less
dignified position :-

"Upon the Eve of S. John the Baptist Thomas and
John, the King's sons, being at Eastchepe in London, at
their men and the men of the Court, lasting an hour, till
supper, after midnight, a great debate happened between
the mayor and the sheriffs with other citizens, ceased
the same."-Stow, Annales,' 1411.
There are other references to his gay and riotous
Harris Nicolas in 1827. Yet this was probably
living in the 'London Chronicle,' edited by Sir

exceptional; he could not have been altogether

ill-disposed and unruly, or he would not have

been made President of the Council by his father

in the room of the Prince of Wales when the latter

was so disrespectful to Judge Gascoigne. To this

Shakespeare makes allusion in '1 Henry IV.,

III.

ii.:-

Thy place in council thou hast rudely

Which by thy younger brother is sped.

He presided at the Council held at Southampton
in 1415 when the Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scrope
of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey were condemned
to death for high treason. He was created Duke
of Clarence, Earl of Albemarle, and K.G. July 9,
1412, at a Council held at Rotherhithe, at which
his elder brother, Henry, Prince of Wales, was
not present. Most of the chroniclers hint at a
suspicion of rivalry between the brothers, in con-
sequence of the preferment of the younger, and to
this Shakespeare seems to allude in '2 Henry IV.,'
IV. iv. The King addresses his son thus:-
How chance thou art not with the prince, thy brother?
He loves thee, and thou dost neglect him, Thomas;
Than all thy brothers; cherish it my boy,
Thou hast a better place in his affections
And noble offices thou mayest effect
Of mediation, after I am dead,
Between his greatness and thy other brethren.
No necessity for such mediation seems to have
arisen. Clarence, Bedford, and Gloucester are
always found acting in concert with Henry, both
while Prince of Wales and after his accession. To
Clarence were pawned the King's jewels when he
invaded France :-

"To Thomas, Duke of Clarence, 12 July, 1415, as

security for what might be due to him and to his

retinue, according to certain indentures, the Crown

Henry.'

In 1412 the duke was sent by his father into

France to help the Duke of Burgundy; sailing from
Southampton with fourteen ships he landed at "St.
Fasters, in Normandy." The expedition came to
nothing, but not until the English had committed
many depredations, as if in an enemy's country.
Indeed, Clarence boasted that he had come for the
very purpose of winning back Aquitaine for the
English crown; he laid waste Maine and Tou-
raine, and attempted further conquests. Eventu-

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