John of Gaunt protects Wycliffe from prosecution

1377

When London bishops summoned John Wycliffe to answer charges at St Paul's, John of Gaunt arrived with armed retainers and broke the proceedings up. The duke's political protection bought Wycliffe years in which to write his most radical theological works. London's mob, however, hated Gaunt and sacked the Savoy in 1381 partly for it.