John Prophet (MP died c. 1399) John Prophet (MP died c. 1399) John Prophet (died c. 1399), of Hereford, was a medieval merchant and mayor, whose real identity is uncertain. John Prophet was a clothier in Hereford. Circa 1377 he was one of twenty-five citizens appointed by Richard II as Custodians of the city with full powers as Commissioners of Array to marshall the town's defences. From 1385 onwards he was regularly employed to witness deeds. He was entitled to amortize messuages by royal licence to sponsor a chapel chantry for the Holy Rood in All Saints Church in the centre of the city to pray
John of Gaunt of political strife. He mediated between the king and a group of rebellious nobles, which included Gaunt's own son and heir, Henry Bolingbroke. Following Gaunt's death in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to the crown, and his son, now disinherited, was branded a traitor and exiled. Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile shortly after to reclaim his inheritance, and deposed Richard. He reigned as King Henry IV of England (1399–1413), the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the English throne. The House of Lancaster would rule England from 1399 until the time of the