Upon his father’s death, Henry of Monmouth, the eldest surviving son of Henry IV, became King of England as Henry V. Monmouth’s story begins long before he ascended to the Throne. As the Prince of Wales, Henry established his credentials during eight years of service to his father and the Crown during conflicts on the Welsh border.
King Henry V’s leadership skills contrasted sharply with those of his father.
The Prince of Wales
Parliament accepted thirteen-year-old Henry as the Prince of Wales, heir-apparent to Henry IV's Crown on 15 October 1399. He became the Duke of Cornwall and the Earl of Chester at the same time. In November 1399, he received the title of Duke of Lancaster and Duke of Aquitaine. The titles provided fabulous estates and healthy annual stipends. The title of Duke of Aquitaine included the English claim to the vast wealth and power in English controlled France.
Prince of Wales earned his reputation fighting Owain Glyndwr and his Welshmen from 1400 through 1408. Garrisoned at Shrewsbury, Monmouth participated in the 21 July 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury against the forces of Sir Harry Hotspur Percy, an old ally of Henry IV and his family. An enemy arrow caught the seventeen-year-old Prince in the face, but he refused to retire from the action. Because of his royal status, young Henry received what was then state-of-the-art medical treatment. The attending physician successfully removed the arrowhead, applied medications, and Henry survived. He carried the scar on his face for his remaining days, a constant reminder of his status as a warrior.
Henry learned valuable lessons from his eight years as the Warrior Prince. He gained an appreciation of:
. Controlling strong points in the field of battle,
. Developing a functional supply line,
. Managing the monotony of military life,
. The value of adequate funding and
. The power of the Crown.
These vital lessons came into play later when Henry pursued his ambitions in France as Henry V.
At home, the young Prince became increasingly more involved in domestic affairs. From 1406 through 1411, he participated in his father's King's Council. Frequently, the Prince disagreed with Henry IV's views. In 1411, Henry IV was so put out with his son that he dismissed him from the Council.
In 1412, Henry IV organized an expedition to Calais, a city on the coast of Normandy, under the young Prince's brother, Prince Thomas. The Prince of Wales, refused to participate. The mission failed, and young Henry was accused of pilfering funds and plotting against his father. Henry was exonerated on both accounts. By the end of 1412, the royal house was in disarray, with the family split into armed and angry factions.
Henry IV died on 20 March 1413. Parliament proclaimed Prince Henry as King Henry V the next day. Henry V received his Crown on 9 April 1413.
King Henry V
At the time of his birth, Henry was not in line for the Crown; thus, the scribes did not make detailed attention to his birth date a priority. Historians settled on 16 September 1386 as the most likely date of his birth, long before his father gained control of the English Throne in 1399. Henry IV’s wife, seventeen-year-old Mary de Bohun, gave birth to her first child of record at Monmouth Castle on the Welsh border. As was the custom of the time, Henry was known as Henry of Monmouth. He received an exceptional education, even by royal standards. He learned French, Latin, and English. His instruction included martial arts, music, literature, and horsemanship. The formal training was not wasted; Henry exhibited a considerable intellect.
Henry was the eldest of six children.
1. Henry Monmouth 1386-1422, Henry V,
2. Thomas of Lancaster 1387-1421, 1st Duke of Clarence,
3. John of Lancaster 1389-1435, 1st Duke of Bedford,
4. Humphrey of Gloucester 1390-1447, Duke of Gloucester,
5. Blanche 1392-1409, Lady of the Garter, and
6. Philippa 1394-1430. Queen consort of Denmark.
Henry’s mother, Anne, died at Peterborough Castle while giving birth to her daughter, Philippa, on 4 June 1394. Henry was sixteen when the widow Joan of Navarre (c. 1368-1437) married Henry’s father on 7 February 1403. Joan had no children by Henry IV, but she had a good relationship with her step-son. Joan frequently sided with Henry in his arguments with his father.
In 1419, his step-mother, Joan, and Henry V had a falling out. The relationship changed dramatically. Upon Henry IV's death in 1413, Joan had an altar built upon the site of her second husband's demise. After the falling out, Henry V accused Joan of necromancy and imprisoned her at Leeds Castle. Joan remained a prisoner until 1422 when, weeks before his death, Henry V released her and returned her estates. Joan lived on until 1437, a wealthy widow.
Henry V proved to be a capable administrator. He established a strong working relationship with Parliament, a key to Henry’s funding for his ambitions in France. Henry streamlined the financial system and addressed the general lawlessness prevalent in England. He reduced the number of marauding bands in the countryside. The hooligans caught by Henry's people were given a pardon if they opted for military service overseas. Most important, Henry's actions unified the people in the legality of his cause. Commoners and nobility alike threw their support to him, a feat that Richard II and Henry IV before him failed to achieve.
Henry V was the first English Monarch since William I in 1066 to conduct his daily business in English. For three hundred and fifty years before Henry V, the Royal Family spoke French.
The Oldcastle Affair
As Henry IV before him, Henry V confronted Lollardism. The conflict cost the young King dearly. An old comrade in arms and personal friend, Sir John Oldcastle (c. 1378-1417), was at the epicenter of the problem. Oldcastle followed the teachings of John Wycliffe (c. 1320s-1384), a dissident Roman Catholic theologian and scholar, and the mind behind the Lollard movement. Archbishop Arundel of Canterbury found Oldcastle guilty of heresy and sentenced the man to death. Henry V stayed the execution. In an attempt to convince his friend to recant and save his life, Henry incarcerated his friend in the Tower of London, from which Oldcastle escaped.
In a puzzling twist, Oldcastle turned against Henry. He proposed to assassinate the King and his brother and introduce sweeping changes consistent with the Lollard beliefs. The revolt dubbed the Oldcastle Revolt of 1414 was dead on arrival. The King's men easily defeated the Lollards, but the crafty Oldcastle escaped and remained at large until 1417.
In Normandy, Henry attended to the ghastly business of conquest through siege warfare when, back in England, authorities caught up with Oldcastle. The rest is a sad history. The establishment executed heretic Oldcastle in a most gruesome way. They hanged him, a pyre started below him, and Oldcastle, scaffolding, and all went up in flames.
Next Up - The King Prepares For War
Hozzászólások