The period that historians refer to as the "tyranny" of Richard II began towards the end of the 1390s.

Finally able to exert autocratic authority over the kingdom, he purges all those he sees as not totally committed to him, fulfilling his own idea of becoming God’s chosen prince.

The king now destroys the Lords Appellant, in July 1397 having them arrested.

Arundel is the first of the three to be brought to trial, at the parliament of September 1397.

After a heated quarrel with the king, he is condemned and executed.

Gloucester is being held prisoner by the Earl of Nottingham at Calais while awaiting his trial.

As the time for the trial draws near, Nottingham brings news that Gloucester is dead.

It is thought likely that the king had ordered him to be killed to avoid the disgrace of executing a prince of the blood.

Warwick is also condemned to death, but his life is spared and he is sentenced to life imprisonment instead. (Imprisoned in one of the Tower of London’s thirteen towers, he will give his name to the Beauchamp Tower.)

Arundel's brother Thomas Arundel, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is exiled for life.

Richard now takes his persecution of adversaries to the localities.

While recruiting retainers for himself in various counties, he prosecutes local men who had been loyal to the appellants.

The fines levied on these men bring great revenues to the crown, although contemporary chroniclers raise questions about the legality of the proceedings.

These actions have been made possible primarily through the collusion of John of Gaunt, but also with the support of a number of men lifted to prominence by the king, disparagingly referred to as Richard's "duketti".

John and Thomas Holland, the king's half-brother and nephew, are promoted from earls of Huntingdon and Kent to dukes of Exeter and Surrey, respectively. (Thomas had been sent by Richard to arrest his own uncle, Arundel.)

Among the other loyalists are John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, Edward, Earl of Rutland, John Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and Thomas le Despenser.

With the forfeited land of the convicted appellants, the king can now reward these men with lands and incomes suited to their new ranks.

A threat to Richard's authority still exists, however, in the form of the House of Lancaster, represented by John of Gaunt and his son Henry, Earl of Derby (also known as Henry of Bolingbroke).

The house of Lancaster not only possesses greater wealth than any other family in England, they are also of royal descent and, as such, likely candidates to succeed the childless Richard.

Discord breaks out in the inner circles of court in December 1397, when Bolingbroke and Thomas de Mowbray—who have now been made Duke of Hereford and Duke of Norfolk, respectively,—become engaged in a quarrel.

According to Bolingbroke, Mowbray had claimed that the two, as former Lords Appellant, are next in line for royal retribution.

Mowbray vehemently denies these charges, as such a claim would amount to treason.