Coat of arms of King Richard II on a pub sign (The White Hart) in South Kilworth.
"Heraldic badges of royalty have given rise to many of the most common pub names in the UK, The White Hart is one of them.
The White Hart was King Richard II’s heraldic badge.
When Richard II was crowned King of England in 1377, he was just 10 years old. He adopted the White Hart as his emblem. Why? Well, it is complicated. It has a lot to do with piety, alchemy, mythology and two colours – red and white.
A bit of background. Richard II’s grandfather (Edward III) was a warrior king whose overriding interest was war. In particular, war with France. His heir to the throne was his son, the Black Prince, who was a chip off the old block you might say. He too loved war. Sadly he died before his father, but not as you might think with a french sword though the belly but of amoebic dysentery, which sounds a nasty way to go! The next in line to the throne was the little boy, Richard, who was the Black Prince’s son.
Bearing in mind Richard’s warmongering family background, lets have a look at the medieval cerebal landscape back in 1377, in particular the meaning of colours, white. No surprises represents purity, innocence and virtue, Red. representing, you guessed it power and passion. This is still true today, but in the 14th century these two colours were also woven into mythology and alchemy. In Mythology one of the best examples is the Arthurian legend of Joseph d’Arimathie. Joseph brought with him to Britain vessels containing the (Red) blood and (White) sweat of Christ. The “vessels”, were the Holy Grail. Potent stuff! In Christian alchemy there are three elements, Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury, that together make up the “Holy Trinity”. Sulphor (Red) Represnts the centre of the Universe, or “our father who art in heaven”. Salt is the Earth , or ” salt of the earth”. and Mercury (White) is the messenger, or, “The Holy spirit”
The purpose of alchemy is to purify the “earth” enough to allow Mercury and Sulphor to interact correctly. (The soul is reformed and relation to God purified) Since Christian alchemy is based upon the concept that the human soul was split during the Fall, Mercury and Sulphor were seen as coming from the same original substance and so should be united again.
Still with me?
So Richard is keen to distance himself from his warmongering father, He wanted a pious ideal of kingship. What better animal to adopt as an emblem than the white hart. Why? Well for a start its white, and by the time richard had become king in 1377 Christianity had already kidnapped the white hart from earlier mythology for its own purposes: the white stag had come to symbolise Christ and his presence on earth. In 1128 the story of David I, King of Scotland and his close shave with a stag cemented this symbolism. A stag charged him, he begged god to save him, The stag vanished into thin air leaving behind a cross where it’s alters had been! This married with the alchemic observation that white (Mercury) represents the holy spirit and legends like the the one of Joseph d’Arimathie made the white hart a potent symbol of not only purity but of divinity.
So next time you are in your local White Hart pub raise a glass to King Ricard II."
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"Richard was Plantagenet king of England from 1377 to 1399 and was usurped by Henry IV.
Richard was born on 6 January 1367 in Bordeaux, the son of Edward, the Black Prince and grandson of Edward III. Richard's father died in 1376 and his grandfather the following year, making Richard king at the age of 10. The country was ruled largely by his uncle, John of Gaunt. The first crisis of Richard's reign was the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The young king bravely rode out to meet the rebels, who were led by Wat Tyler. Tyler was killed and the revolt crushed.
As Richard began to take control of government himself, he built a group of unpopular favourites. His request for money to fight in France prompted parliament to demand the dismissal of these favourites. Richard's refusal provoked parliament into impeaching his chancellor, the Earl of Suffolk, and creating a commission to oversee the king's activities. When Richard declared these measures treasonable, parliament and his opponents retaliated in 1388 by outlawing his closest friends, some of whom were executed. Richard appeared defeated and submitted to the demands of the five 'Lords Appellant'.
For eight years Richard worked in apparent harmony with Gaunt and the Lords Appellant. Yet he was waiting for revenge. He gradually formed a second, stronger royalist party. In 1397, he arrested and tried three of the appellants. Arundel was convicted of treason and executed, Warwick was banished and Gloucester imprisoned and murdered. Richard was granted revenues for life and the powers of parliament were delegated to a committee.
In September 1398, a quarrel between two former appellants, Gaunt's son Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, gave the king another opportunity for revenge and he banished them both. When Gaunt died in February 1399, Richard confiscated the vast Lancastrian estates, which would have passed to Bolingbroke. In May, Richard left to campaign in Ireland.
Bolingbroke invaded England and rallied both noble and popular support. Returning to England in August, Richard surrendered without a fight. In September, he abdicated and Bolingbroke ascended the throne as Henry IV. In October, Richard was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where he died four months later."
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