His words were received with shouts of joy. The conference then
continued, the leaders of the peasants proposing four conditions, to all
of which the king assented. These were, first, that neither they nor
their descendants should ever be enslaved; second, that the rent of land
should be paid in money at a fixed price, not in service; third, that
they should be at liberty to buy and sell in market and elsewhere, like
other free men; fourth, that they should be pardoned for past offences.
"I grant them all," said Richard. "Charters of freedom and pardon shall
be at once issued. Go home and dwell in peace, and no harm shall come to
you."
More than thirty clerks spent the rest of that day writing at all speed
the pledges of amnesty promised by the king. These satisfied the bulk of
the insurgents, who quietly left for their homes, placing all
confidence in the smooth promises of the youthful monarch.
Some interesting scenes followed their return. The gates of the Abbey of
St. Albans were forced open, and a throng of townsmen crowded in, led by
one William Grindcobbe, who compelled the abbot to deliver up the
charters which held the town in serfage to the abbey. Then they burst
into the cloister, sought the millstones which the courts had declared
should alone grind corn at St.
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