Original: Look, what I speak, my life shall prove it true;
Modern: Listen, I’ll stake my life that what I’m saying is true;

Original: That Mowbray hath received eight thousand nobles
Modern: That Mowbray has received eight thousand gold coins

Original: In name of lendings for your highness’ soldiers,
Modern: As loans supposedly meant for your majesty’s soldiers,

Original: The which he hath detain’d for lewd employments,
Modern: Which he has kept for his own corrupt purposes,

Original: Like a false traitor and injurious villain.
Modern: Acting like a lying traitor and harmful criminal.

Original: Besides I say and will in battle prove,
Modern: Furthermore, I declare and will prove in combat,

Original: Or here or elsewhere to the furthest verge
Modern: Whether here or anywhere else to the farthest edge

Original: That ever was survey’d by English eye,
Modern: That has ever been seen by an English person,

Original: That all the treasons for these eighteen years
Modern: That all the acts of treason over these past eighteen years

Original: Complotted and contrived in this land
Modern: Plotted and schemed in this country

Original: Fetch from false Mowbray their first head and spring.
Modern: Originate from the lying Mowbray as their source and beginning.

Original: Further I say and further will maintain
Modern: I also declare and will continue to insist

Original: Upon his bad life to make all this good,
Modern: By risking his evil life to prove all of this true,

Original: That he did plot the Duke of Gloucester’s death,
Modern: That he planned the murder of the Duke of Gloucester,

Original: Suggest his soon-believing adversaries,
Modern: Persuaded his easily-convinced accomplices,

Original: And consequently, like a traitor coward,
Modern: And then, like a traitorous coward,

Original: Sluiced out his innocent soul through streams of blood:
Modern: Drained out his innocent life through rivers of blood:

Original: Which blood, like sacrificing Abel’s, cries,
Modern: This blood, like murdered Abel’s, cries out,

Original: Even from the tongueless caverns of the earth,
Modern: Even from the silent depths of the grave,

Original: To me for justice and rough chastisement;
Modern: To me demanding justice and harsh punishment;

Original: And, by the glorious worth of my descent,
Modern: And, by the honorable reputation of my family name,

Original: This arm shall do it, or this life be spent.
Modern: My sword will accomplish this, or I will die trying.

Act I, Scene i of Richard II opens in the court of King Richard II, where the king presides over a formal hearing between two of his nobles: Henry Bolingbroke, the Duke of Hereford, and Thomas Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk. Bolingbroke brings serious accusations against Mowbray, charging him with treason, misappropriating funds meant for the king’s soldiers, and most gravely, being responsible for the murder of the Duke of Gloucester, Thomas of Woodstock. Mowbray firmly denies all of the charges against him, and the two men exchange heated words, each calling the other a liar and a traitor. Both nobles throw down their gages — a glove or hood — as a challenge to trial by combat, demanding satisfaction through single battle rather than further argument.

King Richard II attempts to intervene and persuade the two men to settle their dispute peaceably, asking them to withdraw their challenges out of respect for him and for the good of the kingdom. He first appeals to Bolingbroke, his cousin, and then to Mowbray, but neither man is willing to back down or withdraw his gage. Bolingbroke insists that his honor demands he pursue the matter to its conclusion, and Mowbray equally refuses to yield, declaring that surrendering his gage without satisfaction would be a permanent stain upon his reputation. Unable to resolve the dispute through negotiation, Richard is left with no choice but to allow the matter to proceed, and he sets a date for the trial by combat to take place at Coventry.

Richard II opens with King Richard presiding over a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke (John of Gaunt’s son) and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Both men accuse each other of treason, and when Richard cannot reconcile them, he arranges a trial by combat. However, just as the combat is about to begin, Richard stops the fight and banishes both men from England - Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for six years, later reduced to four.

When John of Gaunt falls ill and dies, Richard seizes his lands and wealth to fund his wars in Ireland, effectively disinheriting Bolingbroke. This act alienates the nobility, who fear their own inheritances are now at risk. While Richard departs for his Irish campaign, Bolingbroke returns from exile with an army, ostensibly to reclaim his rightful inheritance. He quickly gains support from discontented nobles, including the Duke of York, who was left as regent in Richard’s absence.

Richard returns from Ireland to find his support has collapsed and his army has dispersed. After a series of encounters, including a pivotal scene at Flint Castle where Richard realizes his situation is hopeless, he agrees to abdicate. In a formal ceremony at Westminster, Richard hands over his crown to Bolingbroke, who becomes King Henry IV. Richard is imprisoned in Pomfret Castle, where he is eventually murdered by Sir Pierce Exton, who believes he is carrying out Henry’s wishes. The play ends with Henry expressing regret over Richard’s death and vowing to journey to the Holy Land to atone for his indirect role in the former king’s murder.