Henry V

Charles Kingsford

• Publisher: Serapis Classics
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9783962555061
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: History of Architecture

This was the threefold task of the House of Lancaster: to recover prestige abroad, to restore peace at home, to re-establish order in the Church. For Henry of Bolingbroke the crown was to prove a thankless burden; but his labors were not in vain, and his son succeeded to the throne under happier auspices. Henry of Monmouth, deriving his inspiration from the past, was the champion of unity against the forces of disintegration. His aims were to govern England on the principles of the old constitutional monarchy as the chosen representative of his people's will; to maintain his country's place as a part in the whole society of the Western world; and for himself, as became a Christian King, to be the head and leader of a united Christendom.

THE PERCIES AND OWEN GLENDOWER 1403-1408

ON 7th March, 1403, by the recommendation of the Council, Henry of Monmouth was appointed to be his father's Lieutenant on the Marches of Wales. On the same day the Earl of Worcester resigned his command as Lieutenant of South Wales, whilst retaining his position as the Prince's governor. It is not, however, clear that Worcester accompanied the Prince to Wales, and we are justified in assuming that the Welsh command was henceforth Henry's in fact as well as in name.

Henry was to enter on his duties from the 1st of April. His orders were to prosecute the war with vigor; and he had authority both to punish those who abetted the rebellion and to pardon those who made their submission. On reaching his headquarters at Shrewsbury the Prince at once prepared to take the field. Owen was rumored to be mustering his forces for a raid, and the English garrisons at Harlech and Aberystwith were known to be hard pressed.

About the end of April Henry left Shrewsbury, and marching through Denbighshire and the valley of the Dee, returned to his headquarters by way of Montgomery on 15th May, when he reported his progress to the Council. The letter which he wrote on this occasion may fairly be regarded as the first document of importance for which Henry was personally responsible.

To the Council: --

"From the Prince. Very dear and entirely well-beloved, we greet you well and from the bottom of our heart, thanking you very dearly for the good consideration that you have for the needs that touch us in our absence; and we pray you effectually for your good and long continuance as our trust is in you. And in the matter of news from these parts, if you would know it, amongst other things we were lately informed that Oweyn de Glyndourdy had assembled his power with other rebels of his adherents in great number, purposing to raid and eke to fight, if the English folk should resist his purpose; for so he boasted himself amongst his own people. Whereupon we took our men and marched to a well-built place of the said Oweyn called Sycharth, that was late his chief mansion, where we thought to have found him if he wished to fight in such manner as he said. But on our coming thither we found not a soul, so we burnt all the place, and several other dwellings of his tenants thereabout. And next we marched straight to his other place of Glyndourdy for to seek him; and there we burnt a fair lodge in his park and all the country roundabout. And we ourselves lodged therein all that night, and certain of our men went out thence into the country, and took prisoner a great gentleman of the country, that was late one of the chieftains of the said Oweyn. This gentleman offered £500 for his ransom to have his life, and swore to pay the said sum within two weeks. Howbeit this was not accepted, but he had the death, as did divers others of his companions that were taken on the same day. And after that we marched on to the cymmwd of Edeyrnion in [the county] of Merioheth, and there we wasted a fair land and one well-inhabited. And thence we marched on into Powys and [by reason of the scarcity] of fodder for horses in Wales we made our people carry oats with them. Our hosting lasted [ . . ] days. And to inform you more fully of this march and of all other news from this quarter we are sending to you our trusty squire, John de Waterton, in whom you may put firm faith and credence in all that he shall report on our behalf touching the news aforesaid. And may Our Lord have you always in His holy keeping.

"Given under our signet at Shrewsbury the 15th day of May."

The expedition had been so far successful that it had checked the threatened counter-raid of Owen. But the castles of Harlech and Aberystwith (or Llampadarn) were still hard pressed. Moreover, if the rebellion was to be crushed, it was useless for the English to confine their efforts to one or two isolated raids in the course of each summer as had been the case so far. If their warfare was to be successful, it must be continuous and systematic. Henry recognized to the full the requirements of the situation; but he was hampered by lack of means, and such allowances as had been made to him were in arrear. Without money he could make no head against the rebellion, and his private resources were quite inadequate to supplement the deficiency of public funds. Thus he was compelled to remain inactive at Shrewsbury, whence on 30th May he wrote again to the Council representing in strong terms the dangers of his position.

"Very dear and entirely well-beloved, we greet you well. Forasmuch as our soldiers desire to know of us whether they will be paid for the third month of the present quarter, and tell us that they will not wait here without they be paid shortly their wages according to their agreement, we pray you very effectually that you will ordain our payment for the said month, or otherwise furnish us and make ordinance in time for the safekeeping of these Marches. For the rebels hear each day whether we shall be paid, and they know well that without payment we cannot abide. They are laboring to raise all the power of North Wales and of South Wales to raid and destroy the March and the adjoining counties. There will be no resisting them here, if only they can accomplish their malice. And when our men be withdrawn from us, we must ourselves withdraw into England, or else be put to shame for ever; since any man hath wit enough to know that without power of men we could do no more than could another man of less estate. And at present we have great charges, and have made all the provision for them that we can from our small jewels. For our castles of Harlech and Llampadarn have been besieged this long time, and we must relieve and revictual them within ten days; besides which we have to guard this March about us with a third of our power against the rebels. Nevertheless if the war could but be continued, the rebels were never so like to be destroyed as they are at this present. And now that we have shown you fully the state of these parts, may you ordain in such manner as seemeth you best for the safe-keeping of the same, and of this part of the Kingdom, which God preserve, and grant you grace to ordain as is best for the time. Our Lord have you in His keeping. Given under our signet at Shrewsbury this 30th day of May.

"And be you well-advised that we have shown you fully the peril that may befall these parts hereafter, if no remedy be taken in time."

The Council reported the difficulty to the King, who on 10th July wrote from Higham Ferrers directing that payment of £1000 should be made to his son: "So that he may continue the work he has so well begun, the which he cannot do if he have not the wherewithal."

Meantime the danger had been growing more acute. After the English success in North Wales Owen had turned south. At the end of June, Brecon was in jeopardy and a victory won by the men of Hereford on Sunday, 1st July, gave only temporary relief. On the following day the Welsh of Carmarthenshire rose in force. Llandovery was surprised on the Tuesday by Owen, who that same day marched on to Llandeilofawr, intending as it was supposed to attack Brecon and raid the English March. But instead he turned west to Dryslwyn, and on the 5th July appeared before Carmarthen. Next day the town was taken and burnt, and this success was followed by the surrender of the castles of Llanstephan and Emlyn. Many of the chief men of the district joined the rebellion, and Owen felt certain that he would take all the castles and towns in Kidwelly, Gower, and Glamorgan.

For the moment the Welsh swept all before them and the English officials on the Marches were in consternation. The news of the fall of Carmarthen reached Hereford on the following Sunday. Richard Kyngeston, one of the royal chaplains, who was archdeacon there, wrote that same night to his master bidding him to come in haste. Kyngeston had finished his letter in French, when, as it would seem, fresh news arrived and he added an English postcript of graphic but informal brevity:

"For God's love, my liege Lord, think on yourself, and your estate, or by my troth all is lost else; but and ye come yourself with haste, all other will follow after. On Friday last Carmarthen town is taken and burnt, and the castle yolden by Ro. Wygmor and the castle Emlyn is yolden, and slain of the town of Carmarthen more than fifty persons. Written in right great haste on Sunday; and I cry you mercy and put me in your high grace that I write so shortly; for by my troth that I owe to you, it is needful."

Before these evil tidings could reach the King the imminence of the danger was past. Owen had thought to conquer Pembroke, but on entering that county found himself withstood by Thomas "the worthy baron of Carew." Owen's muster was "eight thousand and twelve score spears such as they were." Still he dared not meet a strong force of English in the open field. After three days of vain negotiation he sent out seven hundred men to seek a way for escape. But the Baron's men fell upon them and slew them every one (Thursday, 12th July). The English thought this victory had alone prevented Owen from an invasion of the Marches. If this was Owen's intention, Henry of Monmouth's successful raid in the North and Carew's happy victory in the South had in Deed averted a serious disaster. At the very moment of Owen's defeat Hotspur was on his way to join him, and had the allies united their forces before Shrewsbury the King and Prince could hardly have escaped destruction.

The negotiations that led to the alliance of the Percies with Owen Glendower remain a mystery. We can surmise only that Mortimer had supplied the connecting link. To the King himself the defection of Northumberland and his son and brother came as a surprise. Henry had left London on the 4th July, professedly to assist the Percies in their warfare with the Scots. When writing to the Council from Higham Ferrers on 10th July he announced that after matters in the North were settled he should proceed to Wales. Within less than a week he learnt that Northumberland was assembling his forces, and that Hotspur and the Scottish Earl of Douglas were marching to join Glendower.

Henry reported the news to the Council from Burton on 16th July. At the same time he sent orders to the sheriffs of the Midland counties to come to him with all available men as soon as possible. He marched with his own retinue in hot haste through Lichfield to join his son at Shrewsbury. Thus the straits which had kept the Prince inactive proved a happy accident; for the troops who were at Shrewsbury under command of the young Henry, must have formed the main body of such forces as the King could muster in this supreme crisis of his affairs.

Hotspur reached Chester on 9th July, and a few days later was joined by his uncle the Earl of Worcester. Worcester had up to this time been steward of the young Prince's household, and the defection at such a moment of a man whose word had always been accounted as good as his bond, caused universal surprise. The Percies and their allies thought to crush the Prince at Shrewsbury and effect a junction with Owen before the King could come to the rescue. It was therefore with no little dismay that the rebels, when they appeared before Shrewsbury on the morning of the 21st July, beheld the royal banner flying above the walls. Recognizing that a serious engagement was inevitable Hotspur withdrew his forces to a convenient position about three miles north of the town. There he proposed to give battle, and calling for his favorite sword learnt that it had been left at the village of Berwick, where he lodged the previous night. On hearing the name Percy grew pale: "We have ploughed our last furrow," he said, "for a wizard in mine own country foretold that I should die at Berwick."

The royal army marched out from Shrewsbury in three divisions. The young Earl of Stafford, husband of Anne of Gloucester, led the van; the other divisions were under the King and Prince. They found the rebels drawn up in an open space on a hillside called Hayteley-field. The ground in front was covered by a thick growth of peas, and a series of small ponds along the foot of the hill made the approach more difficult.

The King, whether fearing to risk his fortunes "on the nice hazard of one doubtful hour," or anxious merely for peace, declared his readiness to treat. In reply to his invitation the Earl of Worcester came to the royal lines, where, "after a long trete," some sort of terms were agreed upon. But through the bad faith of one side or the other the arrangement was at once broken. According to the narrative followed by Shakespeare, Worcester would not let his nephew know "the liberal kind offer of the King," lest, whilst Hotspur's trespass might be forgotten, he himself "as the spring of all should pay for all." Perhaps, however, the precipitation of the battle was due rather to Henry's military adviser, the Scottish Earl of March, who pressed him to crush his enemies before they could gather head.

It was long past midday when the King gave the order, "Advance Banner." But the Prince's men on the left had already begun to move, and being favored by the ground came first into action. The battle opened with a skirmish between the archers, in which the rebels, who had with them "the best bowmen in Cheshire," held the advantage. The young Henry himself was wounded in the face by an arrow, but refused to yield to the wishes of his tutors and leave the field. If we may accept the speech put into his mouth by the chronicler he declared that he would rather die than stain his soldierly reputation by flight. The lad's spirit inspired his followers, who charged up the hill so hotly that they rolled back the right wing of the rebel army, and enclosed it between their own and the King's division. Hotspur fought with desperate courage till he was cut down by an unknown hand. A late tradition adopted by Shakespeare made Henry of Monmouth Percy's conqueror; but the statement is not supported by contemporary writers. It is in Deed unlikely that so doughty a warrior should have met his death at the hand of a stripling of scarcely sixteen. Till Hotspur fell the battle was contested stubbornly; but when the King raised the cry, "Harry Percy is dead," the rebels began to waver. Some, however, held their ground, till the fall of night put an end to this "sorry bataill of Shrewsbury, one of the wyrste that ever came to England, and unkyndyst."

Though it was an ill-omened victory the King's success was complete. The Earl of Stafford and several knights were slain on the royal side, but the rebel army was entirely dispersed. Among the prisoners were the Scottish Earl of Douglas, and the traitor Thomas of Worcester. Worcester and the other rebel leaders were brought to trial on the Monday after the battle and at once executed. Hotspur's body, which had been at first buried honorably, was after a few days dug up and exposed at Shrewsbury that all might have knowledge of his death.

The state of affairs in the North was so threatening that only four days after the battle the King left Shrewsbury to meet Northumberland in Yorkshire. The young Prince, who on account of his wound was unable to travel, was left behind with power to deal at his discretion with the rebels of Cheshire and the adjoining counties.

How weak the royal power was at this moment is shown by the little progress that was made against the Welsh. In spite of Carew's victory the peril of the Marches was still great. Throughout the early autumn, Shropshire and Hereford were raided repeatedly, and such small forces as the English officials had at their disposal could make no effective resistance.

The King, after receiving the submission of Northumberland, returned at the end of August to the Welsh March, where the old story, "lack of means," kept him paralyzed at Worcester and Here. ford till nearly a month later. Then followed a fort. night's hurried progress as far as Carmarthen. The Welsh adopted their usual tactics, and as soon as the English withdrew resumed their raids and plundering.

It is doubtful whether the Prince took part in this expedition. In November he accompanied his father to London, where the loyal citizens greeted them with shouts of: "Welcome to our noble King Henry; God bless the Lord Prince his son."

Henry of Monmouth was probably absent from Wales throughout the winter, though his name appears with that of his cousin of York in commissions to grant pardons to the Welsh rebels. The country relapsed into its usual state of disorder. Such English troops as remained behind were too weak to defend even the Marches; and the scanty garrisons in Carmarthen, Harlech, Aberystwith, and other fortresses were hard pressed to maintain themselves. Meantime the Welsh, reinforced by help from France, so ravaged Shropshire that even in the eastern counties men took alarm lest Owen and "and all his people should meet together at Northampton." Owen was now grown so bold that he styled himself, "by the grace of God, Prince of Wales," and in May, 1404, sent envoys to treat on equal terms with the French King at Paris, where a formal alliance was concluded on 14th June.

Throughout the early summer of...

Table of contents

• INTRODUCTION
• HENRY'S BOYHOOD 1387-1399
• TROUBLES OF THE NEW REIGN 1399-1402
• THE PERCIES AND OWEN GLENDOWER 1403-1408
• THE PRINCE AND THE COUNCIL 1406-1413
• HENRY OF MONMOUTH AND POPULAR TRADITION
• THE RESTORATION OF DOMESTIC PEACE 1413-1414
• THREATENINGS OF WAR 1413-1415
• THE FIRST INVASION OF FRANCE AUG.-OCT., 1415
• AGINCOURT OCT. 25, 1415
• HENRY V. AND SIGISMUND 1415-1416
• THE COMMAND OF THE SEA 1416-1417
• MILITARV PREPARATIONS 1417
• THE CONQUEST OF LOWER NORMANDY 1417-1418
• THE SIEGE OF ROUEN 1418-1419
• THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH 1414-1418
• THE BRIDGE OF MONTEREAU 1419
• THE TREATY OF TROYES 1419-1420
• THE HEIR OF FRANCE 1420-1421
• THE STATE OF ENGLAND
• HENRY IN ENGLAND 1421
• THE LAST CAMPAIGN 1421-1422
• PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
• BOIS DE VINCENNES 1422
• CONCLUSION