BUTLER

Despite a royal prohibition on disorder during the preparations for the invasion of France, Lords Herbert and Po·wys fall out over their religious differences, and brawl with their followers in the streets of Hereford;Herbert is wounded, and Powys flees, with orders given for his arrest. The Bishop of Rochester does his best to associate dissent and conspiracy with Sir John Oldcastle, but the King is not convinced. Powys takes refuge in Oldcastle's house, just before two orders arrive: one to attend at court, the other to answer charges before Rochester's ecclesiastical court; Oldcastle's servant Harpoole forces Rochester's summoner to eat his own summons, wax and all. The King advises Oldcastle to keep his religious views private: he can believe what he likes so long as he does not antagonize the bishops or encourage Protestant rebellion. In turn. Oldcastle intercedes for Powys, and the King signs his pardon. Rebellion is brewing in England. On the basis of a superior dynastic claim, the Earl of Cambridge intends to seize the throne with French support. Oldcastle is invited to join the plot, but he procures an incriminating document and takes it to court. Meanwhile, Protestant rebels muster their forces in London. The King plans to spy on them in disguise, but is robbed by the renegade priest Sir John; the priest gets him to promise to secure the King's pardon for robbery, and gives him half a coin as a token by which they can know one another again. On the night before the battle, the King. in his own person, plays dice with Sir John and wins back his stolen money, including the broken coin; as promised, he agrees to spare Sir John's life ifhe gives up his life of crime. The rebels are routed, but the prisoners falsely implicate Oldcastle. The charges collapse when it becomes clear that the rebels don't recognize him, and Oldcastle further demonstrates his loyalty with his evidence of the Cambridge conspiracy. The rebel leaders are executed, Cambridge exposed and arrested, and the King's faith in Oldcastle is restored. In the King's absence, Rochester has Oldcastle's property seized, and Oldcastle himself arrested for treason when he arrives home; his books are burnt when they are found to be in English. Rochester visits Oldcastle in prison in the hope that he may recant, but Oldcastle overpowers him and escapes in his clothes. On the run, he arrives with his wife in St Albans, but is forced to escape arrest by another illicit exchange of clothes.…