Þat Ʒet þe wynd & þe weder & þe worlde stynkes: The Sins of Richard II and the Corruption of the Crown

Many writings from late fourteenth century England reflect a popular conception that English society had deteriorated into serious dysfunction. Four literati who discussed this problem are Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, William Langland, and the Gawain Poet. All four agreed that somehow King Richard II bore responsibility for the kingdom’s travails. The writers disagreed vis-à-vis which exact sins the king had committed to cause society to degrade, but all did concur that whatever exact sins the king had engaged in, those sins had damaged the construct of the Crown of England, and thereby the realm.