But it was not till an open breach took place between the baronage and the prelates that their full weight was felt.

In the Parliament of 1371, on the resumption of the war, a noble taunted the Church as an owl protected by the feathers which other birds had contributed, and which they had a right to resume when a hawk's approach threatened them.

The worldly goods of the Church, the metaphor hinted, had been bestowed on it for the common weal, and could be taken from it on the coming of a common danger.

The threat was followed by a prayer that the chief offices of state, which had till now been held by the leading bishops, might be placed in lay hands.

The prayer was at once granted: William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, resigned the Chancellorship, another prelate the Treasury, to lay dependants of the great nobles; and the panic of the clergy was seen in large grants which were voted by both Convocations.
[Sidenote: John of Gaunt] At the moment of their triumph the assailants of the Church found a leader in John of Gaunt.