Jean Creton

1386–1420) was a medieval French historian and poet[1] who served as valet de chambre[2] (or squire)[3] to King Charles VI of France in the late fourteenth century.

He is most notable, however, for his chronicle[note 1] (written in verse) that he wrote of his travels to England in 1399,[2] where he was an eyewitness to the deposition of King Richard II.

[5] Although he seems to have visited for the purposes of "amusement and to see the country,"[6] with a now unknown companion,[2] he witnessed at first hand[3] the events leading up to the deposition of King Richard II of England by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke.

[8] The following month, August, saw the hurried return of the King from Ireland, alarmed at the news of Bolingbroke's landing at Ravenspur, Yorkshire, when he should have been in exile.

Following Bolingbroke's capture of the King, Creton secured an interview with him, at which, explaining their position as foreign visitors, he and his associate "pleaded for their lives."

[8] It was doubtless only the fact that Creton had returned to France prior to setting down his thoughts on paper- and thus "beyond the reach of Henry's heavy hand"- that he was able to do so unmolested.

[23][note 4] Creton himself reports that after the Epiphany Rising, the deposed king was "so vexed at heart by this evil news that from that time onwards he neither ate nor drank and thus, so they say, it came to pass that he died.