‘How sweet it is! Oh how sweet it is!

With Paris as his next target, Henry would ask:

‘Who could possibly deny me the throne of France? The old French king has lost his marbles and is now a gibbering idiot whilst his son, the wretched Dauphin is in deep disgrace. Everyone blames him for the death of the Duke of Burgundy and it is hard not to see his hand in it. As for the new Duke of Burgundy, dear Philip? Well a lovely chap, but Philip lacks the experience to rule France as a king.

Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

The obvious candidate for the throne of France is me!’

Henry had the support of John the Good, but he needed the approval of the French Queen Isabeau, mother of the Dauphin. But why would the Queen support Henry thereby disinheriting her son? The Dauphin, Charles, had treated Isabeau shabbily and as a result she harboured an intense hatred for him. As the French king was insane, he took no part in the matter. Queen Isabeau decided to accept Henry as the heir to her husband, Charles VI.

‘Henry in his quest for the French throne received the support of Queen Isabeau!

she was her own son, the Dauphin’s most implacable foe!’

The best days of his life.

It was agreed by the Treaty of Troyes, May 1420 that Henry was the heir to the French throne and that he would marry King Charles’ daughter, the nineteen year old Princess Catherine. In the meantime, Henry would act as regent for the incapable King Charles VI. The French nobles were required to swear an oath to accept the treaty.

Princess Catherine.

This was the zenith of his career. Henry was now the undisputed heir to the throne of France. He was quite literally on top of the world. Henry and Catherine were married on June 2nd 1420. A son, Henry was born eighteen months later. In February 142o, the royal couple travelled to England and Catherine was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Chichele.

Archbishop Chichele.

 

Henry might have exclaimed:

‘Oh, how could one man be blessed with so much!

Clearly, I have been endowed with the golden touch!’

Henry and his queen then went on a grand tour of England, visiting the most important towns. The king took great pleasure in showing off his new bride to the English people. It was a heady time and Henry had never been happier.

The best days of his life! However, nothing lasts forever.

Whilst he was in England, Henry had left his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence in charge of affairs in France. However, Thomas was killed whilst engaging the Dauphin’s forces on March 22nd 1421. Upon hearing this most unwelcome news, Henry decided to return to France. Henry was well aware that his enemies would have been greatly heartened by defeating and killing Thomas, and he was determined to puncture their inflated morale.

The death of a king.

Henry was laying siege to the town of Meaux which lay east of Paris. The siege was a long one, beginning on October 6th and lasted until March. Henry fell ill with dysentery which was afflicting a good many of his men. Undoubtedly his discomfort was greatly intensified by the enemy’s habit of forcing a donkey to bray from the battlements and gleefully shouting that it was Henry giving a speech. The garrison were severely punished for both their stubbornness and also, for their gross impertinence.

Although he had attained a victory at Meaux, Henry’s condition worsened. By August, he was so weak that he had to be transported by litter, but appeared to be lucid in his thinking. As the end drew near, he announced that he intended to go on crusade to reconquer Jerusalem for Christianity.

On August 31st Henry died at Vincenness at the age of thirty five.

On July 31st, 1418, Henry arrived at Rouen, the capital of Normandy and besieged the city. It was to be a long and bitter siege, causing immense hardship to its citizens.

The siege of Rouen, 1418 – 1419.

The siege was to last six months and when the food supply began to run low in October, the citizens appealed to the king for help. They also requested aid from Duke John ‘The Fearless’  of Burgundy.

John, Duke of Burgundy.

However, their pleas fell on deaf ears and no help would ever come to the besieged of Rouen. Food shortages became chronic and soon starvation stalked the streets of Rouen:

‘They ate dogs, they ate cats,

They ate mice, horses and rats,

For thirty pence, went a rat.’

The poor people of Rouen. Henry V at his most ruthless.

‘Rouen cast out its weakest of the weak!

If they want help, then the English king they must seek!’

In December, the city expelled a large number of people, women with children and the elderly, but Henry would not let them pass. They were consigned to a ditch at the base of the city walls. There, stuck between two armies, they dwelt in inconceivable  misery. When some of the English soldiers took pity on the people and gave them food, they were ordered to stop. However, Henry did grant one concession to these abandoned folk. On Christmas Day, he allowed food to be sent to the people in the ditch, but it was for one day only. Cold and hunger would soon take the lives of these, the most unfortunate of the unfortunate.

On January 19th 1419 , Rouen surrendered to Henry V.

Onwards to Paris.

The whole of Normandy was soon under his control and now Henry made his way to Paris. By August, English forces were camped outside the city gates. Meanwhile, the Duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin (the heir to the French throne) had agreed to meet to discuss how best to defeat Henry V.

A most convenient murder.

Then a very strange thing happened which worked to Henry’s advantage. On September 10th, Duke John of Burgundy met with the Dauphin at Montereau to discuss tactics in their endeavour to rid France of the English presence. However, the unfortunate Duke was hacked to death on the bridge at Montereau in circumstances which remain obscure. He appears to have met the Dauphin on bended knee when he was attacked.

‘Duke John knelt in homage to the Dauphin, but he never arose! 

As he knelt, he was struck by multiple deadly sword blows!’

The murder of John, Duke of Burgundy in September 1419.

Although the Dauphin was said to have been visibly disturbed by the murder, it is difficult to believe that he was not involved. The murder caused outrage across France. Many in France viewed Henry in a more favourable light than the Dauphin. The new Duke of Burgundy John the Good, determined to avenge his father, immediately allied himself with Henry. Henry was now approaching the pinnacle of his success.

 

 

After Agincourt, Henry sallied forth to Calais without fear of apprehension, and from there sailed to England.

 The conquering Hero, King Hal!

Henry V.

The king’s entry into London that November was a rapturous affair. The citizenry turned out in their thousands to welcome the conquering hero. As Henry rode through the streets, the Londoners shouted:

‘Hail to King Henry V of England ! To you, sovereign lord and your army! We all do hail!

The French thought that against you, they would surely win, only to miserably fail!’

Henry basked in the adulation of the populace. The victory at Agincourt conferred on him the ultimate legitimacy that he had always craved. His father’s right to rule had often been viewed in some quarters as illegitimate. Henry IV had deposed and murdered Richard II, and therefore many had refused to acknowledge him as the rightful king. The dark shadow of his father’s actions had served to cast a pall over Henry’s reign.

‘But after Agincourt, any hint of darkness hanging over Henry’s right

to reign over England grew into bright light!

Due to the great victory, England’s morale was now raised to an unprecedented height!’

The French, hellbent on revenge, blockaded Harfleur in the summer of 1416.

‘Their defeat at Agincourt had left the French feeling humiliated and dour!

They responded by attempting to recapture their port at Harfleur!’

King Henry sent his brother John, Duke of Bedford, to relieve Harfleur and in this endeavour he was successful.

John Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford.

(Note the striking resemblance to his older brother, Henry)

Question: Which of the two brothers has the most handsome profile?

Henry and sea power.

Henry had a sound understanding of the importance of military mastery of the sea. The king initiated a policy of naval expansion. In this respect, he was a true disciple of King Alfred the Great of England, who had built a navy to combat his enemy the Vikings, in the ninth century.

A later depiction of Alfred the Great.

The navy was comprised of many different types of vessels including great warships weighing some thirty tons, and barges for transporting troops. Certainly, many a young fellow of a seafaring inclination found gainful employment in Henry’s new navy.

‘Oh for the salty sea air! The salty sea air! We are all in the navy now boys!

Welcome to life on the ocean wave and its many accompanying trials and joys!

Henry’s second crusade to gain the French throne.

In February 1417, Henry put his navy to good use by launching an invasion of France. He decided to conquer Normandy through a sequence of sieges. His first target was Caen, Normandy’s second largest town. Caen had been besieged and pillaged by Henry’s great-grandfather, Edward III in 1346.

Edward III attacking Caen in 1346.

However, the town had erected new and formidable defences and with plentiful supplies, so the garrison commander was confident about withstanding a siege. King Henry was equally sure that Caen would indeed fall. He might have remarked:

‘In the end, the town of Caen’s great defences will come to nought!

When attacked and battered by the force of my army’s terrible onslaught!’

Henry deployed his artillery skilfully and eventually English forces entered the town on September 4th, 1417. Nevertheless, they were met by fierce resistance from the French soldiers who fought the invaders every inch of the way. The French soldiers are sure to have said:

‘We will fight you in hand to hand combat, through our city of Caen, street by street!

Then, only time can tell which side can crow in victory, and  who will languish in defeat!’

The defenders were slowly beaten back and took refuge in the city’s castle. The French had hoped for a substantial army to come to their aid, but no such prospect was forthcoming. On September 20th, the castle surrendered  on very generous terms from King Henry. In quick succession, many of the towns of Normandy had opened their gates to Henry and acknowledged him as their overlord. Henry’s aim of becoming King of France was beginning to look more and more likely.

 

‘King Henry marched his men from Harfleur towards Calais!

But, it was at tiny Agincourt village where he had his most victorious day!’

The march to Calais.

On October 6th Henry left Harfleur with an army of around 7,000 men to travel to Calais. There he would formulate plans for the recovery of the French lands that he considered to be rightfully his. One problem was that the French would find it quite easy to intercept Henry as he travelled. Another, was that he would have to find a way to transport his army across the great river Somme.

The French had rather un- sportingly destroyed all of the bridges, which created something of an inconvenience. The journey to Calais was meant to take eight days, but it was two weeks before he was able to cross the river. Henry must have been tempted to chant:

‘Good Lord, I want to get across to the other side! Yes, Lord, across to the other side!

Gracious Lord, please be my guide! To the other side, good Lord, be my guide!’

The other side.

Eventually, the English managed to navigate the river by wading across it. The army had packed only eight days of rations, and the soldiers were now desperately hungry and growing weaker by the day. Many of the soldiers were severely weakened by the terrible effects of dysentery. Foul weather added to their misery, constant heavy rain left them cold and sodden.

‘The rain! The rain! Oh, it is our most bitter foe!

It has drenched our bodies and rendered our spirits low!

The battle of Agincourt.

On October 24th, a huge French army of some 36,000 men strong, approached the English army that numbered less than a quarter of its size. However, there was no chance of the English avoiding battle with the French. There was no alternative, but for Henry to prepare his men for battle on the morrow. Henry ordered his men to remain silent and spend the night resting. This was in contrast with the noise of nocturnal merrymaking coming from the French lines.

‘As the French army is many times greater in size!

Surely it is they, who this day will seize the prize!’

The battle itself.

Henry took the view that his best hope lay in conducting a defensive contest in a location that was most inconvenient for an attacking force. On October 25th, the feast of St Crispin, he placed his men in a large field which was flanked by woodland on both sides. The king had attended three masses that morning, before mounting his horse and exhorting his men to fight bravely for a just cause. Henry then had his men perform a rather unusual ritual. A surviving English veteran might have recalled:

‘Imploring the aid of Almighty God and St George, the king called for us to prostrate ourselves upon the earth. He then ordered us to place some soil in our mouths to remind ourselves that we were mortal, and that our bodies would one day be but dust!’

The English defensive position was reminiscent of the Anglo-Saxon shield wall of old. The French were commanded by Charles d’Albret, Constable of France. The French were reportedly in high spirits, after all, the English were few in number and were weakened with hunger and dysentery. Some of the French soldiers were enjoying a leisurely breakfast, whilst others made a point of reconciling with those whom they had once quarrelled.

Charles d’Albret, Constable of France.

The two armies met in the morning, but did not engage each other until close to midday. At this point, Henry ordered his archers forward to within range of the French lines. They hammered sharpened stakes into the ground to protect themselves against the coming cavalry charge. The English archers then released a volley of arrows into the French ranks. The French cavalry then charged, but their horses…….

The two armies meet: the French on the left and the English to the right.

…….began to flounder in the wet soil. This slowed their advance, making them easy targets for the English bowmen. The deadly aim of the archers caused a great slaughter amongst the French.

‘The rain! The rain! Once our bitter foe has now proven to be this day, our saviour!

It has turned the field into a marsh, bogging down the French cavalry and turning the tide of battle in our favour!’

 The French men-at-arms were at a disadvantage when they engaged the English, because if knocked over, the weight of their armour made it difficult for them to rise. Many of them would be crushed, drowned or suffocated on the water-logged earth as the battle continued. In fact, more French soldiers died in this way than were killed directly by the English.

King Henry fought in the thick of the battle. He made no attempt to hide his identity from the French. On the contrary, he wore a crown atop his helmet. At one point his helmet was struck by a blow. When his younger brother, Prince Humphrey was felled, the king fought over him, almost certainly saving his life.

Henry V protects his wounded brother, Humphrey from French soldiers.

After the initial stage of the battle, the bowmen joined in the hand to hand fighting. Picking up discarded weapons, they fell upon the French with the fury of a pack of wolves. The rest of the French army, having lost heart, turned tail and fled the field.

The slaughter of the French prisoners.

In medieval times, there was a thriving business in the ransoming of rich prisoners of war. So a wealthy knight, if captured, could expect to be well treated and released after a ransom was paid. This was a much sought after perk of warfare in France and many a fortune was made through such transactions. However, there was very little ransoming done at Agincourt. This was because Henry, suspecting attack from the rear, ordered the French prisoners to be killed lest they aid their compatriots. In fact this was a needless act, as the English easily fought off any French assault.

Henry had achieved an important victory. It is difficult to determine exactly the number of casualties at Agincourt, but the French came off far worse. The French losses were perhaps in the region of 12,000, whereas the English dead were numbered in the hundreds.

 

 

 

In December 1414, with the insurrection of the Lollards dealt with, Henry might have muttered:

‘Oldcastle, Oldcastle, what an irritating old rascal!

To have me captured and toppled, he made a dash!

Where is he now? Just a mere pile of smouldering ash!’

Sir John Oldcastle’s final moments.

The appalling stench of roasted human flesh, was to give way to the irresistible aroma of seasonal delicacies, as the king sat down to Christmas dinner. The chase for Oldcastle had been a long and arduous undertaking, allowing ample time to build up a substantial appetite. So a merry Twelve days of Christmas it was for king and courtiers alike.

France – The Hundred Years War.

As the new year of 1415 dawned with domestic challenges thwarted, Oldcastle now safely reduced to a pile of ashes, Henry’s attention was drawn to France. With every movement of his bodily fibre, the message was:

‘Oh France! Oh France! Oh France!

I must away to there, with my charger, shield and trusty lance!

Through Calais, Gascony, Guienne, Poitou and Ponthieu, I will lead a deadly dance!’

Henry decided that it was high time to reclaim those parts of France that he believed were rightly his. To this endeavour the king applied his qualities of granite-like self-discipline, a resolute determination to see things through and a talent for military organisation.

Preparations for war.

As soon as he became king, Henry initiated a major rearmament programme. He took steps to increase the production of bows and arrows. He already had a plentiful supply of skilled archers, as since the 13th century it had been mandatory for every male to possess a bow and to practise using it.

Soon, forges all over England were busy producing weapons such as lances, pole axes and swords. Iron workers were also working at full capacity, fashioning the relatively new invention, the cannon. This piece of modern technology was often as dangerous to its operatives as it was to those at whom it was directed.

A medieval cannon.

These early artillery soldiers were highly paid, but operating a cannon was a tricky business, particularly in the heat of battle. Many of them lost life or limbs as the cannon balls often exploded before they left the barrels. When the enemy saw this, roaring with derisive laughter, they would cry:

‘Of your own fiery medicine you are now getting a taste!

Next time, handle your cannon with more caution and rather less haste!’

To France.

With preparations complete, Henry sailed for France, landing near the port of Harfleur in Normandy on August 14th 1415. Henry, with his force of 11,000 men, immediately besieged Harfleur which lay on the north side of the Seine estuary. However, the marshy terrain was home to fever-laden insects, who gleefully attached themselves to the visitors and many men fell ill with dysentery.

‘King Henry sayeth to the commander of Harfleur, hand over to me your gate keys!

Whilst the English soldiers were attacked by the river Seine’s diseased fleas!’

Others caught the disease from eating a surfeit of under ripe fruit!

This prevented them from entering the town to insult, revel and loot!’

The English may have lost as many as 2,000 men to the disease. The besieged citizens within Harfleur suffered every bit as badly. The garrison held out valiantly, but eventually surrendered on September 22nd. Henry then expelled a large section of the population in order to make room for English settlers. Like Calais, Henry intended Harfleur to become a small piece of England in the large land mass of France. The port would serve as a launching pad for further conquest.

King Henry V.

As the new reign of Henry V dawned, so did a serious religious problem that could not be left to fester. Some years before, John Wycliffe, a priest and scholar at Oxford university had attacked Roman Catholic beliefs. He held that the Bible should be translated from Latin into English and that the monasteries should be shut down.

‘There had in England, emerged a group with vastly differing religious views!

This gave the powers that be, a really nasty dose of the blues!’

Wycliffe also attacked the papacy, which enraged the Church, particularly the pope. Although Wycliffe died in 1384, his ideas lived on, as he had amassed a group of followers known as the Lollards. The Catholic Church denounced these people as being heretics.

John Wycliffe.

The Lollards Lullaby.

‘We call the pope, a pompous old fool!

He is not good, indeed he is the devil’s tool!

We dislike the money grabbing priest!

It is about time that his actions ceased!

We disapprove of paying money for masses for the souls of the dead!

They will not return to life, no matter what is done or said!’

The Oldcastle affair.

One of these heretics was a friend of king Henry, Sir John Oldcastle, who had fought alongside him in Wales. Discovered in possession of Lollard material, Oldcastle was dispatched to the Tower of London in September 1413. The penalty for heresy was death by burning, so Oldcastle’s fate was a foregone conclusion. The king, ever the loyal friend, ordered a stay of execution and tried to persuade Oldcastle to recant his Lollard beliefs in order to save his life.

Henry might have said:

‘Change your tune to avoid suffering a painful death at the stake!

Dear friend, do this for yourself, as well as your family’s sake!’

Oldcastle did not change his mind and rather ungallantly used the period of grace obtained for him by the king to escape from the Tower in October 1413. From his place of hiding in London, Oldcastle devised a plot to abduct the king at Eltham Palace during the Christmas festivities. The plan was for Lollards from all over the country to meet at St Giles’s Field outside London on January 9th 1414.

‘Sir John Oldcastle sent word to his fellow Lollards to gather in the field named for St Giles!

Eagerly they came, but their intentions were thwarted by royal Henry’s wiles!’

The authorities had learned of the meeting and the king’s men were waiting for them. The Lollards were easily crushed, many fled, but others were imprisoned and some of them executed for their pains. However, Oldcastle escaped and was at large for almost four years. Henry had tried to save Oldcastle from execution, and he had rewarded him with rebellion. Betrayal always hurts, and King Henry was hurting bad. Oldcastle had to be apprehended, so the hunt was on. King Henry might have said about his old friend:

‘Sir John, my very person, you did seek to betray!

Your very self, I will hunt until your dying day!’

Oldcastle was caught in November 1417 and thence conveyed to London. The Lollard enthusiast was hanged from a gibbet over a huge fire in St Giles’s Field, the very venue where in 1414, he had hoped to lead a successful Lollard rebellion against Henry V. Clearly the place of execution was deliberately selected by the king in order to rub salt into the wound of defeat.

Whether Oldcastle suffered a slow, agonizing death from burning, or expired due to the more merciful process of strangulation, was never confirmed. What is said to be certain, is that the rope and the wood from the gallows acted as his funeral pyre.

The death of Sir John Oldcastle.

 

Duty is the ultimate beauty.

‘Well, that is what he thought!

And boy, how the young king fought!’

But,  first things first.

Henry’s coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on Passion Sunday, 1413 in the midst of a snowstorm. The young king cut a distinctive figure as he strode towards the throne in his coronation robes. Standing a lofty six feet three inches in height, he towered above all of those assembled within the abbey’s hallowed walls. There was always something rather austere about Henry. At the coronation banquet it is said that he did not partake of any food or drink. He appeared not to be in a celebratory mood, but in more of a pensive frame of mind.

‘This is not an occasion to be filled with food and become sodden with a surfeit of drink!

A prudent king needs time to ponder the future, reflect and think!’

Young Hal.

Henry V had been born on September 16th, 1386 at Monmouth Castle in Wales. He was not born to be king, because although he was of royal blood, it was his father’s cousin, King Richard II who sat on the throne. By modern standards, Henry’s childhood was a rather unstable one. His mother, Mary de Bohun died in June 1394 when Henry was seven years old.

Mary de Bohun.

In 1398, King Richard sent Henry’s father, Bolingbroke into exile in France which must have been traumatic for the boy. However, the king took Henry into his care and treated him well.

King Richard II.

Clearly, Richard did not believe that the sins of the father should be paid for by the children. This probably explains why as king Henry V, he had Richard II’s body exhumed from a relatively obscure grave in Kings Langley Priory and re-interred in Westminster Abbey. This act also illustrated Henry’s strong sense of duty. It was simply the right thing to do for a king and kinsman who had met an unfortunate end.

Henry as Prince of Wales presents a book to a favoured noble.

In the summer of 1399, Bolingbroke had returned to England with an army and launched a successful coup against his cousin, King Richard. Bolingbroke forced Richard to abdicate in his favour and was crowned king as Henry IV. This meant that his eldest son, young Hal became the Prince of Wales, and therefore the heir to the throne.

Government experience.

The fact that Henry IV was in poor health meant that Prince Henry would have the opportunity to participate in government. In fact, from 1410 until late 1411, he was the de facto ruler of England.

Military prowess as Prince Henry.

Henry was first ‘blooded’ in battle in July, 1403, aged sixteen at the Battle of Shrewsbury. He was engaging rebel forces, when for some reason he raised his visor and was hit with an arrow in the face.

‘The young prince received a grievous arrow wound to his face!

But falter, he did not, moving forward he led his men with courage and grace!’

In fact, Prince Henry made a very real contribution to the royal victory that day at Shrewsbury. His facial wound could have been fatal, but the skill of the king’s personal physician, John Bradmore saved his life.

The Battle of Shrewsbury.

Prince Henry showed early promise as a military commander in Wales, dealing with the Welsh insurgent, Owen Glendower. His energetic policy of ‘search and destroy’ which included the tactic of deliberate starvation eventually forced Glendower to abandon his rebellion against the English crown.

The new king showed promise of becoming a most effective ruler of the realm.

‘No, you insolent young pup!

Don’t you tell me that my time as king is up!’

So said the old, tired hound, King Henry IV to the eldest of his litter, Prince Hal! Henry was angry beyond measure that his son would suggest that he should abdicate as king.

Teaching Prince Hal a lesson!

The king also said:

‘You know kid, I could name your younger brother, Tom as my heir as king!’

‘If I were to do that, you would not be king, but just another duke!

Doesn’t the prospect of that, cause you to go pale in the face, and want to puke!’

To young Tom you, an older brother, would spend your life playing second fiddle!

In that role, you would be no more significant than a piggy in the middle!’

However, words are one thing, but action is another.

In 1410 Prince Henry had elevated his ally, Sir Thomas Beaufort as chancellor, but the king soon replaced him with his own man, Thomas of Arundel. The former Archbishop of Canterbury was a loyal friend of the king and had previous experience as chancellor.

Thomas of Arundel.

The king also had some of the prince’s supporters arrested and incarcerated in the Tower.  Late in 1411, Henry IV convened a parliament where the possibility of abdication was debated, but thrown out; the old king still ruled. Prince Henry soon saw sense and proceeded to ingratiate himself with his father.

Reconciliation – father and son!

The reconciliation was something of a dramatic affair, a veritable touch of the theatre was deployed by young Prince Hal. In June, 1412 Prince Henry arrived at Westminster and sent word beseeching his father to receive him.

Entering his father’s chamber, he approached the old king with head bowed, his face a mask of anguish. The king sat impassively, his fevered frame still as a statue. The son then went down on his knees and drawing his dagger, he looked up at his father’s visage and paused. Young Hal then meekly offered the dagger to his father. With tears in his eyes, the prince implored the king to slay him, if it would bring comfort and ease to his heart and mind.

‘Father, if I offended you, then the price of the offence, I must and will pay!

Then take this dagger and with it, yes, my errant self you may slay!’

The old king wept and embraced his son with great warmth, in a true spirit of reconciliation. Henry IV then stood up, the tears glistening on his cheeks, and his voice breaking with emotion said:

‘You Prince Hal! You are my first born son and to the crown of England, the heir!

A truly awesome undertaking and one that must borne with dignity and great, unrelenting care!’

This was probably the last moment of happiness that Henry IV would ever know. His mortal coil was unravelling quite swiftly as his illness intensified in the final months of 1412. The end could not be far off and indeed, it was not.

In February 1413, the king was stricken once again while praying in Westminster Abbey. Henry had sought solace at King Edward the Confessor’s shrine, but this was where his kingship was to cease.  The king had entered the abbey alive, but would not leave until his last breath had expired.

He was then taken to the Jerusalem Chamber of the abbey and remained there until he died on March 21st. He was forty-six years old.

‘To be constantly poorly and ill!

It has a terrible effect on a man’s strength of will!’

Whatever satisfaction Henry might have derived from putting down the final Percy rebellion, it was to be short-lived. Less than four months later he was stricken by a serious stroke on June 8th 1408, the third anniversary of Archbishop Scrope’s execution.

An extremely odd coincidence!

What was the cause of this ailment? Some said that it was undoubtedly divine retribution for the execution of Archbishop Scrope. Others pointed to his time on the crusades. Crusaders were known to return from their time as holy warriors in Palestine with the distinctly unholy disease of syphilis. Henry howled aloud that his skin and innards were on fire! The agony was unbearable and there seemed no end to his torment.

‘The king is afflicted with an ailment so very bizarre!

Has it anything to do with the women that he encountered in the eastern bazaar?’

‘Well of course, he approached these ladies and his bidding, they dutifully did!

But the lusty old rascal has been left with a disease of which he cannot get rid!’

Down in the castle guardroom some of the grizzled old knights winked and whispered:

‘We told him about those Turkish girls.’

Another, slyly chuckling into his ale:

The Turkish girls used to say, master crusader, you will always remember me!

One old knight, slapping his thigh, guffawed:

Well, there’s at least one girl who gave him something that he will never forget, haha!

There were occasions that the king was so grievously stricken that he needed to be carried on a litter, when he visited the holy shrines to pray for a cure.

Cash!

‘Money! Money! Money!

Life as a king is not all milk and honey!

Apart from physical illness, Henry suffered from a chronic shortage of money. There was never enough money to pay for the governance of the country. In May of 1406 a council was established to assist Henry with the government of the realm. An additional council was created to oversee royal finances, and this was to be chaired by Prince Henry.

Henry the younger – Prince Hal!

Around 1410, with the king clearly in terminal poor health, many at court were pondering a post-King Henry IV scenario. As the king’s future was expected to be of a short duration, it was hardly surprising that some were casting inquiring glances in the direction of his son, Prince Henry. The young man possessed an impressive curriculum vitae. As a youth of a mere sixteen summers, he had deported himself well at the battle of Shrewsbury in July 1403.

The Battle of Shrewsbury, 1403.

Young Hal had also gained valuable experience in campaigning against Owen Glendower in Wales and had proven himself to be a promising military commander. Prince Henry was also establishing himself as a man of government, by heading the council on royal finance.  The king, racked by pain, had left the powerhouse of Westminster and was now resident in his grandfather, Edward III’s beloved Windsor castle. This, of course, allowed greater scope for Prince Henry to expand his power.

The king and his disagreed over policy towards France. Prince Hal was keen to revive the ‘Hundred Years War’ back to its previous status of total war but King Henry wanted none of it. On occasions their verbal sparring became quite intense. The old king exclaimed:

‘Over war with France, m’ boy, you are a hawk!

But fighting the French requires more than mere talk!’

By 1411, young Henry, greatly encouraged by members of his household, appeared to have donned the mantle of king-in-waiting and this did not go unnoticed by his ailing father. Indeed, it is rumoured that Prince Henry had quietly mentioned to his father the possibility and benefits of his abdicating in the near future.

The old king then decided that it was time to reassert himself and put a halt to his son’s gallop.

‘Oh to gain widespread approval for my new regime!

Oh, yes that is indeed my most earnest, earthly dream!’

Henry IV.

Archbishop Scrope’s rebellion 1405

Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York.

There had been a rebellion led by the Archbishop of York, Richard Scrope in May 1405, who had denounced Henry as a usurper and a wastrel. Another complaint was unnecessarily high levels of taxation. Scrope had amassed a large force and Henry hurried north in order to deal with the emergency. In the event, Scrope was tricked into disbanding his men by the Earl of Westmoreland, a supporter of the king. Westmoreland told Scrope that his demands would be met, but first he must tell his army to disband. Scrope addressed his men and said:

‘You loyal men may take your leave, the king will grant all that we desire!

Go hither to your homes in the towns and villages of this great county of  Yorkshire!’ 

Cheering uproariously and throwing their hats in the air, Scrope’s men departed in high spirits.

‘The Earl of Westmoreland stood with the visor of his helmet down!

Was this to hide an irritated frown?

Nay, Westmoreland knew that by lying, he had committed a grievous sin!

On his face was spread  an enormous, devilish grin!

Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland.

Scrope was then promptly arrested by a grinning Westmoreland and held at Pontefract. Grabbing the stunned Archbishop by the shoulder, he said:

‘C’mon you old fool of a traitor!

It’s off with you to Pontefract in chains and the king will deal with you later!’

The Archbishop was brought before the king as soon as he had reached York, and was condemned to death. Executing an Archbishop was no casual undertaking, but Henry would brook no opposition. Indeed, Henry personally led the unfortunate prelate to his place of execution outside York on June 8th. Scrope, a man of great learning and gentle good manners was a popular figure, and many mourned his death.

‘You have executed the holy Archbishop, Richard Scrope!

For a peaceful life thereafter, you King Henry, now have no hope!’

Divine retribution?

Then on that early summer’s day in 1405, with Scrope’s corpse barely cold, a strange thing happened. Henry was struck by a sudden and extremely painful, mysterious ailment. He screamed aloud that his skin was burning and red pustules appeared on his body. The illness soon abated, but there would be regular relapses for the rest of his life. Some, including at least one chronicler thought it to be divine punishment for the execution of Archbishop Scrope.

‘Oh, dear King Henry, the execution of Archbishop Scrope was an event that put you at your ease!

Oh my goodness, how now! Yes, how now, is it that you are afflicted with a terrible skin disease!’

By 1406, Henry had passed through a number of crises and his throne was no longer in any real danger. Nevertheless, he was still a little nervous about antagonising the nobility. Henry allowed the magnates a degree of independence that they had not enjoyed under Richard II.

Percy’s last hurrah!

Would the north ever be at peace? Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, had once been a loyal supporter of King Henry IV. However, disputes over money had since soured their once cordial relationship. Percy had supported Glendower and more latterly, the rebellion of Archbishop Scrope. His support for Scrope had resulted in the confiscation of his estates and his banishment to Scotland.  In early 1408, he returned to England with a small army, hoping that he would be joined by many others. This was not to be, but even at the age of 66 years the spirit of rebellion shone bright within him. On the 19th February, the old earl’s hopes were finally dashed on a snow covered Yorkshire moor by the county sheriff, Thomas Rokeby. Percy was killed and his head was sent south to London, where it was placed to adorn the top of London bridge as a warning of what will befall traitors to the realm.