But the Crown had been bought by pledges less noble than this.
Arundel was not only the representative of constitutional rule; he was also the representative of religious persecution.

No prelate had been so bitter a foe of the Lollards, and the support which the Church had given to the recent revolution had no doubt sprung from its belief that a sovereign whom Arundel placed on the throne would deal pitilessly with the growing heresy.

The expectations of the clergy were soon realized.

In the first Convocation of his reign Henry declared himself the protector of the Church and ordered the prelates to take measures for the suppression of heresy and of the wandering preachers.

His declaration was but a prelude to the Statute of Heresy which was passed at the opening of 1401.