John_Bussy
John Bussy
14th-century English politician
Sir John Bussy (also Bushy; died 29th of July 1399) of Hougham in Lincolnshire was a member of parliament representing Lincolnshire or Rutland eleven times from 1383 to 1398 as a Knight of the Shire. He was also Speaker of the House of Commons at the three Parliaments between 1393 and 1398, during which he supported the policies of king Richard II. He was most famous for orchestrating the abdication of parliament's power to an eighteen-man subcommittee in order to concentrate power in the hands of the king's supporters.[1]
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Bussy's pre-eminence at court and execution after Richard's abdication were dramatised by Shakespeare in Richard II, where he appears as one of three councillors (Bushy, Bagot and Greene) who are accused by Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) of misleading the king. He also appears as a character in Thomas of Woodstock.