Henry IV claimed his right to rule by conquest. Others disputed his right. The photo is of Harry"Hotspur" Percy, a former ally.
This second segment on Henry IV is 1850 words, a 7-minute read.
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Power Grab
Henry of Bolingbroke’s ascension as Henry IV contrasted sharply with that of Richard II, his immediate predecessor. In 1376, the heir apparent, Edward, the Black Prince, knew his time on earth was limited. He struck a gentlemen’s agreement with Edward III, his father, and John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, and his younger brother that his young son Richard would serve in his stead when Edward III died. Gaunt agreed to oversee Richard’s minority reign. However, upon the Duke of Lancaster’s death in February 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke, Gaunt’s eldest son and an active player in the politics of the day, took matters into his hands. He forced Richard II’s abdication, imprisoned the former King, and benefited from the latter’s death a mere four months later.
Henry claimed his right to rule by conquest. However, from the moment of his coronation on 13 October 1399, Henry IV bore the stain of a usurper. Rebellious gentry sorely tested Henry’s grasp on the reins of power.
The Percys
Henry Percy, an English warlord, and statesman played an essential role during Richard II’s reign. At Richard’s coronation in 1377, Percy became vested as the 1st Earl of Northumberland. Percy and other barons like him operated autonomously as they patrolled England’s troublesome northern border with Scotland. The distance from London, autonomy, and power in a feudal baron such as Percy was a boon and a bane to the Crown.
Percy’s son, Sir Harry Percy, actively patrolled the remote border area for his father, and, indirectly for Richard II. Sir Harry earned the Hotspur sobriquet from his Scottish foes. They grudgingly admired Harry’s mad-dash willingness to engage in battle as he patrolled the English Marches. Harry, three years older than Richard of Bordeaux and Henry of Bolingbroke, became a Knight of the Garter at the same time as the other two. Sir Harry and Henry of Bolingbroke established a personal friendship during Richard II’s reign.
During the tumultuous years leading up to Richard II’s abdication, the elder Percy served Richard in various military, diplomatic, and administrative capacities. However, by 1399, the Earl of Northumberland threw his support to Bolingbroke and the forces that sought Richard’s abdication. Upon Henry’s ascension, the Percy became a part of Henry IV’s Privy Council.
That would not last.
Percy, his son, Hotspur, and Percy’s brother, Thomas, Earl of Worcester, served the Crown’s interests in the conduct of the Scottish Wars of 1400-1403. In 1402, the Scots, led by Archibald, Earl of Douglas, penetrated as far south as Newcastle. The Percys intercepted the Scots as they returned north with their booty. The English contingent prevailed at the August 1402 Battle of Homildon Hill (currently known as Humbleton Hill). They captured and took prisoner the Scottish leader, Archibald of Douglas.
The Percys demanded compensation from Henry for services provided during the wars. Henry IV was slow to reimburse the powerful feudal baron. Percy wanted to hold Douglas for ransom, as was the custom; Henry wanted Douglas returned to his control in London. By September of that year, the Percy’s were in league against Henry IV. They declared Henry’s rule a fraud. The former prisoner, Archibald of Douglas, supported the Percys.
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
When Henry IV wrested the Throne from Richard II, others in the extended Plantagenet family objected to Henry’s tactics. They supported young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, as the rightful heir. When Richard abdicated without an heir from his line, the Throne should have fallen to the descendant of Edward III’s second eldest son, Lionel of Antwerp, that being Mortimer, the 5th Earl of March. They insisted that Mortimer, a descendant of the more senior Plantagenet line, had a stronger claim than Henry. Edmund Mortimer, who was eight at Richard’s abdication, became a pawn of power politics.
The Mortimer claim had a degree of legitimacy. Henry was the immediate descendant of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, Edward III’s third surviving son. Gaunt was two years junior to Lionel of Antwerp, which made Henry’s claim to the Throne weaker than that of his young cousin, Mortimer. Lionel of Antwerp was dead long before the crisis arose, and he was not a factor in the power struggle. That did not deter the Mortimer advocates. Gaunt passed early in 1399. Had he lived, the family issues and the right to ascendancy would have been clearer. However, with his passing, the power grab devolved into deadly intrigue.
Owain Glyndwr
Glyndwr, a Welsh nobleman, previously served the English Crown in various capacities during Richard II’s reign. Glyndwr seized the opportunity presented by Henry IV’s disputed claim to the English Throne to pursue his interests. Traditionally, Welsh tribes suffered under the boot of English domination, as did their Scottish counterparts. The Welsh aristocracy resented the English Crown’s presumptive ways. Glyndwr, with his in-depth knowledge of the players and the machinations of the Plantagenets, struck. He and his countrymen harassed the new King with border raids.
The stage was set. The Percys, disgruntled feudal barons in the north, the Mortimer wing of the Plantagenet family hungry for power, and the down-trodden Welsh under the leadership of Owain Glyndwr created the first significant test of Henry IV’s rule.
A Plan Evolves
Sir Harry “Hotspur” Percy married Lady Elizabeth Mortimer, the granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, sometime around 1392 during Richard II’s majority reign. Richard’s marriage to Anne bore no children, and it looked like that was not about to change. The question of Richard’s successor was in the minds and on the tongues of the Mortimer contingent, of which Hotspur was a member by marriage. They viewed Elizabeth’s brother, Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, as the presumptive heir to his cousin’s Throne. Roger Mortimer was a favorite of Richard, who appointed him Lieutenant of Ireland.
Unfortunately, Roger lost his life in battle in Ireland in 1398 at the age of twenty-four. He predeceased his cousin, Richard, by two years. To the Mortimer family, that meant Roger’s elder of two boys, Edmund, 5th Earl of March, became Richard’s presumptive heir. Elizabeth’s and Roger’s brother, Sir Edmund Mortimer, became the champion of his nephew’s right to the Throne.
Hotspur was well-aware of his in-laws’ ambitions and desires while he served King Henry IV.
Owain Glyndwr led the Welsh Rising of 1400 to 1415 against King Henry IV. By 1402, the Welsh had experienced some success against Henry IV’s forces. At the time, Hotspur was Henry’s principal lieutenant in North Wales. At the June 1402 Battle of Bryn Glas, Sir Edmund Mortimer, the champion for his nephew’s right to the English Throne, led two thousand Englishmen against Glyndwr and his Welshmen. Glyndwr’s men carried the day and captured Mortimer.
Glyndwr held Mortimer for ransom, which Henry IV was unwilling to pay. By refusing the usual payment, Henry kept the champion of a Mortimer threat to his Throne at bay, and Mortimer was hung out to dry and subject to Glyndwr’s will.
Sir Edmund Mortimer married Catrin Ferch Owain Glyndwr. Before the end of the year, Mortimer disavowed Henry IV’s rule. He threw in Glyndwr, his father-in-law, against the English King, and advocated for his nephew’s right to the Throne. Hotspur, who had success against the Welsh, sought reimbursement for services rendered on Henry IV’s behalf. As was the case with Sir Henry Percy in Northumberland, compensation from the Crown was not forthcoming. Hotspur joined his brother-in-law, Edmund Mortimer, and denounced the new King. The 1st Earl of Northumberland threw his weight to the rebellious cabal. Percy’s unransomed prisoner, Archibald of Douglas, jumped on the bandwagon.
The Battle of Shrewsbury 21 July 1403
The 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury, a community in England's West Midlands, close to the Welsh border, and well south of Liverpool, was a seminal moment in the new King's reign. The consortium of former allies included the Percys, Henry, Hotspur, Thomas, and their former prisoner Archibald of Douglas, Glyndwr and his former hostage, Edmund Mortimer. They joined forces to right a wrong, or to redress grievances, or to secure unto themselves the wealth and glory of the English Crown.
Henry IV established a garrison near Shrewsbury to address, among other things, the harassment from the Welsh tribes to his west. Henry's eldest son, Henry of Monmouth (1387-1422), and the future Henry V commanded the garrison.
The Earl of Northumberland’s forces under the command of Percy's son, Sir Harry Hotspur Percy, were to come from the north and east. They planned to muster with Owain Glyndwr's forces from the west and confront the garrison at Shrewsbury.
Upon receiving word of the impending encounter, Henry IV, an accomplished warrior, led the royal troops to Shrewsbury. As a precaution against drawing too much attention to him as King, Henry donned a conventional surcoat (or surcoate) over his armor and had a half-dozen knights outfitted in royal surcoats. He planned to intercept Hotspur's army before Hotspur could join forces with the Welsh militia.
Henry IV arrived at Shrewsbury before Hotspur and his men. Sir Henry Percy was not there. Glyndwr's forces had yet to reach Shrewsbury if they ever meant to be there. On behalf of Hotspur’s army, Thomas Percy met Henry IV in a failed attempt to negotiate a settlement before bloodshed. The following day, 21 July 1403, the opposing English armies met at Haytely Field, a location about three miles from the town center. The English longbow proved to be a devastating weapon for both sides. The King's army, with superior numbers, carried the day, but not before there were heavy losses on both sides.
Legend has it that Sir Harry Hotspur caught an arrow in the forehead and died on the battlefield. The King did not perish, but four of his knights togged in the King’s surcoat over their armor did not live to see the next morning. By evening, Henry’s people recovered Hotspur's body from among the carnage. Henry is said to have wept at the death of his former ally and friend.
Henry allowed Hotspur's body to be interred at nearby Whitchurch.
Before long, however, rumors spread that Hotspur had survived the battle. Henry IV reacted. He had Hotspur's corpse disinterred and impaled on a spear in Shrewsbury. Later, he quartered the body and sent it locations in England. Hotspur's head adorned a spear at the gates of York.
Henry's message was clear and unequivocal.
The third and final segment on Henry IV, The Rest of the Story, is coming soon.
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