König Richard II

Volume 10. historical drama. Before King Richard II, the king's cousin Bolingbroke and the Duke of Norfolk accuse each other of high treason. Before a duel can take place between them, the king banishes them from England, Norfolk for life and Bolingbroke - at the request of his father, old Gaunt - for six years. Soon afterwards, old Gaunt dies, having warned his royal nephew urgently against extravagance and the flatterers surrounding him, and Richard confiscates his estates. While Richard puts down a rebellion in Ireland, the ambitious Bolingbroke returns to England. The Earl of Northumberland and other nobles, outraged by the king's hedonism, vanity and weakness, join him. When Richard II returns from Ireland, he hardly finds any supporters. However, he does not muster any resistance, but instead indulges in self-pity, authorises the lifting of Bolingbroke's banishment and returns Gaunt's goods. In the end, he even abdicates the throne and offers no resistance to his capture. In prison, Bolingbroke has him murdered by Sir Exton. Resistance to the unworthy deposition of the king rises within the aristocratic circles, but Bolingbroke is able to put it down. He ascends the royal throne as Henry IV and vows to travel to the Holy Land to atone for his bloodguilt. Bilingual edition with translator's notes, report from the translator's workshop and an introductory essay by Joachim Frenk.