Thomas Usk Translation

Text 76- From Thomas Usk’s Appeal, 1384(i)

I, Thomas Usk acknowledge these words and wrote them with my own hands. The day that Sir Nichol Brembre was chosen mayor, John Northampton came to John More’s house immediately after lunch, and there came Richard Norbury and William Essex. It was decided that Mayor, John Northampton, should send for the people who at that time, were in the common council of crafts and after the warden of crafts, so that they should come to the Goldsmith Hall the following day, and there the Mayor would speak with them to see and to ordain how the election of Sir Nichol Brembre might be avoided and had it, not being for the dread of our Lord the King. I really think that every man would have been in conflict with each other. And then he sent Richard Norbury, Robert Rysby and me, Thomas Usk, to the Neyte, to the Duke of Lancaster, to inform him this way:” Sir, we have gone today to the election of the Mayor in God’s peace and the King’s, then there came a horrible mob of people shouting, using nothing but strength and chose Sir Nichol Brembre as Mayor, against our way of having elections previously. Therefore, we pray you if we might have the King’s writ to hold a new election”. And the Duke said: “Nay, you shall not have such a writ, bear it in mind”. And then, I appealed to John Northampton, John Mores, Richard Norbury and William Essex.

Text 77- From Thomas Usk’s Appeal, 1384 (ii)

Also, at Goldsmith’s Hall, when everybody was assembled, the Mayor, John Northampton, spoke as evilly as he could about the elections on the previous day and said this truly: “Sirs, thus you are likely to be overrun, and that,” said he, “I will not suffer it; let us rather die than suffer such a villainy”. Then the common people were moved into action by these words and said truly that they would have another election and they would not suffer this if they all die for it together there and then. The Mayor, John Northampton, told every men to go home and come quickly again in strength with all their crafts. I think there were about thirty crafts and they would have assembled in Cheapside to go to a new election if the aldermen had not come to entreat them and made John Northampton asked the people to go home, they would have had a new election, and in the heat of the moment, they would have slain anyone who would have prevented it, if they had had the power, and then I appeal John Northampton.

A translation made by José Manuel Martín Corvillo, José Monfort Vidrier and Clive Pertegàs Alexander.