THE CAREER OF SIR THOMAS TRIVET (1330-88)

King and council in the next parliament to answer touching whatsoever shall be laid against him‘.¹⁰ The matter of his arrest had still not been resolved since no direct charges could be brought against him. In fact, according to the Westminster Chronicler, on the day that he died (6th October 1388) a somewhat vague proclamation was made in the Cambridge Parliament that; ‘anybody who wished to accuse him of treason or of at any other outstanding crime that would properly be visited with the death penalty, was to appear and put his case on the following day when the accused would be subjected to a judicial decision in accordance with what was alleged and proved'.¹¹ Since his timely death prevented such a confrontation in parliament, it is difficult to speculate whether he would have actually been charged or not. Perhaps the only matter which could have been brought against him was the fact that he had remained at court when he, along with other 'less desirables', were ordered to leave in the previous parliament. But he was not the only knight to disregard the parliament's orders. As Tout states; 'in spite of the overhauling of 1388, the King still kept

He died on his way to rejoin the King's household at Barnwell priory, near Cambridge.¹³ Westnmster gives a detailed account of his death stating that his horse fell while he was galloping towards Barnwell, 'crushing him so badly that he lived barely nine hours or more‘.¹⁴ He must have died in debt to the King for little time was wasted before his goods and chattels were ordered into the King's hands." The day before parliament came to a close (i.e. 16th October 1388), two sergeants-at-arms and an escheator were appointed to seize Trivet's possessions in Lincolnshire, stating that Trivet had 'not accounted for divers

large sums of money by him received at the Exchequer'.¹⁶ According to Kingsford,'many people rejoiced at his death by reason of his overweening bearing, as well as on account of his treachery in the crusade of I383 and the evil advice which he had given to the King’.¹⁷ Again, the notion of Trivet's unpopularity, even in death, comes solely from the Westminster Chronicler's viewpoint. He was, the Chronicler writes, due to be judged in parliament on the 7th October, but as a result of his death 'God forstalled any such

10 Ibid

11 Hectot and Harvey, Westminster Chronicle, p.369

12 Tout, Chapters, vol III, p, 149

13 Ibid. p.309n

14 Hector and Harvey, Westminster Chronicle, p.369

15 On the 8th Octobcr 1388 an order was made to seize his lands (CPR 1383-91 p291). His possessions in Iklingion, Cambridge, were specifically ordered to be seized on the 10th October 1388 (CCR—1385-9 p. 533)

16 CPR 1385-9 p.550

17 Kingsford, DNB, vol. XIX, p.1164

18 Hector and Harvey, Westminster Chronicle, p.369