Henry IV (110 page)

¹
Henry VI Parts I, II and III
, and
Richard III
, the ‘first tetralogy’ covering the years 1422–85, were written in the early 1590s, whereas
Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II
, and
Henry V
, the ‘second tetralogy’ covering 1398–1422, in the late 1590s.

²
M. Aston, ‘Richard II and the Wars of the Roses’, in
The Reign of Richard II
, ed. F. Du Boulay and C. Barron (London, 1971), 280–317, at p. 301.

³
Richard II
, 4.I.136–47.

⁴
W. Chernaik,
The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's History Plays
(Cambridge, 2007), 95–6.

⁵
Hence, in part, the special popularity of the second tetralogy, although the dramatic contrasts they encompass – the tragic Richard, the ‘immortal Falstaff’, the heroic but ambivalent Henry V – also account for much of their appeal. There were nearly three times as many references to Falstaff as to any other Shakespearean character in the seventeenth century (Chernaik,
Shakespeare's History Plays
, 125, and, for
Henry V
, 147–67).

⁶
Aston, ‘Richard II and the Wars of the Roses’, 286–7.

⁷
Aston, ‘Richard II and the Wars of the Roses’, 291–7.

⁸
W. Stubbs,
The Constitutional History of England in its Origin and Development
(fifth edn, 3 vols, Oxford, 1896), iii.1–294 (quotes at pp. 2, 5, 8, 59, 74, 274, 276, 280–94).

⁹
G. Harriss, ‘The Medieval Parliaments’,
Parliamentary History
13 (1994), 206–26, at p. 207.

¹⁰
S. Walker,
Political Culture in Later Medieval England
, ed. M. Braddick (Manchester, 2006), 11 (Introduction by G. L. Harriss, but quoting Walker).

¹¹
Full references can be found in the Bibliography. I have also made extensive and fruitful use of the superbly researched biographies in
The House of Commons 1386–1421
, and in the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
.

¹²
Walker,
Political Culture
, 11 (quote).

APPENDIX: HENRY IV'S ITINERARY 1399–1413

1399

c.
June 30, Henry's Landing from France at Ravenspur (Spurn Head, Humberside)
. July 1 Bridlington.
c.
July 7 Pickering. July 9 Knaresborough. July 13–14 Pontefract. July 15–16 Doncaster. July 20 Leicester. July 23 Coventry. July 24 Warwick. July 25–26 Gloucester. July 27 Berkeley. July 28–31 Bristol. Aug. 1 Usk. Aug. 2 Hereford. Aug. 3 Leominster. Aug. 4 Ludlow. Aug. 5–6 Shrewsbury. Aug. 7 Prees. Aug. 8 Coddington. Aug. 9–19 Chester (but
c.
12–13 Holt castle, Clwyd; Aug. 16 Flint castle). Aug. 20 Nantwich. Aug. 21 Newcastle-under-Lyme. Aug. 22 Stafford. Aug. 23–24 Lichfield. Aug. 25–26 Coventry. Aug. 27 Daventry. Aug. 28 Northampton. Aug. 29 Dunstable. Aug. 30–31 St Albans. Sept. 1 Westminster. Sept. 2–21 London (Bishop of London's palace; Hospitaller priory, Clerkenwell). Sept. 22 Hertford. Sept. 26 Waltham. Sept. 27–29 London.
September 30 Henry's Enthronement at Westminster
. Oct. 1–Nov. 21 Westminster. Dec. 20 Hertford. Dec. 25–31 Windsor.

1400

Jan. 1–3 Windsor. Jan. 4 London. Jan. 5 Hounslow Heath. Jan. 11–13 Oxford. Jan. 15 London. Feb. 26 Eltham. March 16 Eltham. April 8 Eltham. May 20–21 Westminster. May 27 St Albans. June 14 Clipstone. June 20–25 Pontefract. July 2–16 York. July 18 Northallerton. July 20 Darlington. July 23–Aug. 7 Newcastle. Aug. 8–12 Fenwick. Aug. 15 Haddington. Aug. 18–21 Leith. Sept. 2 Newcastle. Sept. 3–4 Durham. Sept. 6 Northallerton. Sept. 8–9 Pontefract. Sept. 11–12 Doncaster. Sept. 19 Northampton. Sept. 22 Coventry. Sept. 23 Lichfield. Sept. 26 Shrewsbury. Oct. 8 Bangor.
c.
Oct. 10 Mawddy. Oct. 15 Shrewsbury. Oct. 19 Evesham. Oct. 24–29 Windsor. Nov. 12 Westminster. Nov. 21–27 Hertford. Dec. 4 Hertford. Dec. 20 Hertford. Dec. 21 London. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.

1401

Jan. 1–6 Eltham. Jan. 22–March 10 Westminster. March 22 Eltham. March 26–April 11 Leeds (Kent). April 19 Windsor. May 7 Easthamstead. May 19 Easthamstead. May 20–26 Wallingford. June 2–4 Evesham. June 5–14 Worcester. June 21 Wallingford. June 24 Windsor. June 25–27 Westminster. July 12 Farnham. July 19–20 Selborne. July 21 Bishop's Sutton. July 26 Southampton. Sept. 2–10 Windsor. Sept. 29–30 Evesham. Oct. 1 Worcester. Oct. (
c.
2–14 Oct., dates lacking) Brecon, Llandovery, Carmarthen, Strata Florida Abbey, Welshpool. Oct. 15 Shrewsbury. Oct. 18 Shifnal. Oct. 27–28 Worcester. Nov. 1 Westminster. Nov. 3–13 Hertford. Dec. 1 Windsor. Dec. 11–13 Hertford. Dec. 17 Tower of London. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.

1402

Jan. 1–27 Eltham. Feb. 24 Westminster. March 10 Eltham. April 3 Eltham. April 28 Windsor. May 14–24 Berkhamstead. June 16 Kennington. June 25 Berkhamstead. June 30 Market
Harborough. July 5 Lichfield. July 23 Lilleshall. July 26 Lichfield. July 29 Burton on Trent. Aug. 1 Tideswell. Aug. 4–5 Ravensdale (Derbyshire). Aug. 7 Tideswell. Aug. 15–17 Nottingham. Aug. 22–26 Lichfield. Aug. 30 Kenilworth.
c.
2–16 Sept. in Wales (dates lacking). Sept. 20 Daventry. Sept. 22 Westminster. Sept. 26 Berkhamstead. 30 Sept.–26 Nov. Westminster (but Oct. 8, 22, 29–1 Nov. Eltham). Nov. 27–Dec. 2 Eltham. Dec. 3–9 Tower of London. Dec. 5 Barnet. Dec. 6 St Albans. Dec. 9–22 Berkhamstead. Dec. 23–31 Windsor.

1403

Jan. 1–6 Windsor. Jan. 7–9 Easthamstead. Jan. 9–20 Reading. Jan. 20–27 Farnham. Jan. 28 Clarendon. Jan. 31 Exeter. Feb. 4–9 Winchester. Feb. 10 Bishop's Sutton. Feb. 11 Farnham. Feb. 12 Guildford. Feb. 13 Kingston. Feb. 14–24 Eltham. Feb. 24–March 3 Westminster. March 3–15 Eltham. March 16 Rochester. March 20 Ospringe. March 22 Canterbury. March 27–April 28 Eltham (but 19 April Westminster). April 28–May 9 Windsor (but 6 May Chertsey). May 10–18 Easthamstead. May 19–30 Henley on the Heath. May 31 Kennington. June 3–19 Windsor. June 20–22 Tower of London. June 23–25 Windsor. June 25–27 Kingston. June 27– July 3 Kennington. July 4 Waltham. July 5 Hertford. July 6 Hitchin. July 7–8 Newenham. July 9 Higham Ferrers. July 10 Market Harborough. July 11 Leicester. July 12–13 Nottingham. July 13–14 Derby. July 15 Burton on Trent. July 16–18 Lichfield. July 19 Stafford. July 20–22 Shrewsbury. July 23–24 Lilleshall. July 25 Stafford. July 25–26 Lichfield. July 27 Burton on Trent. July 28 Derby. July 29 Nottingham. July 30 Mansfield. Aug. 1 Blyth. Aug. 2 Doncaster. Aug. 3–6 Pontefract. Aug. 7 Rothwell Haigh (Tadcaster). Aug. 8–12 York. Aug. 13–15 Pontefract. Aug. 16 Doncaster. Aug. 17 Worksop. Aug. 18–19 Nottingham. Aug. 20 Leicester. Aug. 21 Lutterworth. Aug. 22 Daventry. Aug. 23–31 Woodstock. Sept. 1 Evesham. Sept. 2–10 Worcester. Sept. 11–18 Hereford. Sept. 19 Michaelchurch. Sept. 20 Brecon. Sept. 21 Devynock. Sept. 24–29 Carmarthen. Oct. 3–6 Hereford. Oct. 7–14 Gloucester. Oct. 17–27 Bristol. Oct. 29–Nov. 14 Cirencester. Nov. 16–22 Westminster. Nov. 23–30 London. Dec. 9 Coventry. Dec. 18 Westminster. Dec. 23–31 Abingdon.

1404

Jan. 1–6 Abingdon. Jan. 11 Sutton. Jan. 14–March 20 Westminster (but Feb. 8 Tower of London). March 31–April 6 Eltham. April 6–15 Westminster. May 5 St Albans. May 8 Woburn. May 16–20 Leicester. May 25–June 1 Nottingham. June 6 Castle Donington. June 8–12 Nottingham. June 13 Worksop. June 14 Doncaster. June 17–21 Pontefract. July 6–10 Pontefract. July 11 York. July 14 Pontefract. July 19 Wressle. July 26 Leicester. Aug. 7 Rockingham. Aug. 8 Drayton. Aug. 11 Pipewell Abbey. Aug. 14–21 Leicester. Aug. 22–29 Lichfield. Sept. 1–27 Tutbury (but Sept. 13–25 Ravendale). Sept. 28–9 Maxstoke. Oct. 6–Nov. 14 Coventry. Nov. 16–18 Kenilworth. Nov. 29–Dec. 1 Barnet. Dec. 4–9 Tower of London. Dec. 12 Hertford. Dec. 21–22 Tower of London. Dec. 24–31 Eltham.

1405

Jan. 1–6 Eltham. Jan. 9–15 Westminster. Jan. 19–27 Eltham. Jan. 30–31 Tower of London. Feb. 2 Westminster. Feb. 3 Eltham. Feb. 9 Tower of London. Feb. 14 Kennington. Feb. 15 Windsor. Feb. 17–March 9 Westminster. March 10 Barnet. March 11 St Albans. March 11–17 Berkhamstead. March 18 Barnet. March 19–20 Westminster. March 26 Canterbury. March 27 Sittingbourne. March 30 Tower of London. April 2–5 St Albans. April 6–11 Berkhamstead. April 16–23 Windsor. April 24 High Wycombe. April 25–26 Oxford. April 27–28 Woodstock. April 29 Chipping Norton. April 30 Evesham. May 1–12 Worcester. May 14–23 Hereford. May 24–26 Worcester. May 27 Hatfield (Worcestershire). May 28 Derby. May 30–June 1 Nottingham. June 2 Doncaster. June 3–4 Pontefract. June 6–8 York. June 9–16 Ripon. June 17 Thirsk. June 18 Northallerton. June 19–21 Durham. June 21–25 Newcastle. June 27 Widdrington. July 1–2 Warkworth. July 8 Worthington. July 10–12 Berwick. July 12 Warkworth. July 14 Alnwick. July 15–17 Newcastle. July 18–20 Durham.
July 20–22 Raby. July 22–23 Northallerton. July 23–29 Pontefract. Aug. 3 Newstead. Aug. 4–14 Nottingham. Aug. 15–19 Leicester. Aug. 20–31 Worcester. Sept. 3–10 Hereford.
c.
12–25 Sept. in Wales (Coety castle, date lacking). Sept. 29–30 Hereford. Oct. 1 Bromyard. Oct. 2–6 Worcester. Oct. 7 Alcester. Oct. 8–Nov. 2 Kenilworth. Nov. 3–5 Daventry. Nov. 6–7 Stony Stratford. Nov. 8 Barnet. Nov. 9–21 Tower of London. Nov. 23–Dec. 3 Westminster. Dec. 4–6 Tower of London. Dec. 7–20 Hertford. Dec. 21 Waltham. Dec. 22 Tower of London. 23–31 Dec. Eltham.

1406

Jan. 1–6 Eltham. Jan. 7–17 London. Jan. 18–28 Westminster (Jan. 24 at earl of Northumberland's hostel). Jan. 29 Waltham. Jan. 30–Feb. 4 Hertford. Feb. 5 Waltham. Feb. 6–19 Tower of London. Feb. 20–25 Hertford. Feb. 26 Waltham. Feb. 27–April 7 Westminster. April 8–20 Eltham. April 21 Greenwich. April 22–23 Kingston. April 24–29 Windsor. April 29 Kingston. April 30 Westminster. May 1–July 5 London (Bishop of Durham's house, Dowgate; but 15, 22 and 24 May, 7 and 19 June at Westminster). July 6 Waltham. July 7–9 Hertford. July 10–15 Tower of London. July 16 Waltham. July 17–19 Hertford. July 20 Berksway. July 21 Babraham. July 22–23 Bury St Edmunds. July 24–25 Thetford. July 26 Wymondham. July 27–29 Norwich. July 30 Cawston. July 31–Aug. 1 Walsingham. Aug. 2–3 Castle Rising. Aug. 4–11 Lynn. Aug. 12 Wisbech. Aug. 13 Gedney. Aug. 14–15 Spalding. Aug. 16 Boston. Aug. 19 Revesby. Aug. 20 Horncastle. Aug. 21–22 Bardney. Aug. 23–25 Lincoln. Aug. 26 Newark. Aug. 27 Bottesford. Aug. 28 Melton Mowbray. Aug. 29–Sept. 5 Leicester. Sept. 6 Market Harborough. Sept. 7–8 Northampton. Sept. 9 Stony Stratford. Sept. 10 Dunstable. Sept. 11–12 St Albans. Sept. 13 Barnet. Sept. 14–30 London. Oct. 1 London (earl of Northumberland's hostel). Oct. 2–4 Westminster. Oct. 5–11 Merton. Oct. 12–29 Westminster. Oct. 30 Waltham. Oct. 31–Nov. 1 Hertford. Nov. 2 Waltham. Nov. 3–Dec. 23 Westminster. Dec. 24–31 Eltham.

1407

Jan. 1–7 Eltham. Jan. 8 Tower of London. Jan. 13–17 Merton Priory. Jan. 30 Westminster. Feb. 7 Hertford. March 18–April 8 Hertford. April 23 Windsor. May 9–23 Windsor. May 28 Rotherhithe. June 1 Waltham. June 22–28 Leicester. July 7–Aug. 16 Nottingham. Aug. 17 Newstead. Aug. 18 Worksop. Aug. 19–22 Pontefract. Aug. 24–Sept. 1 Rothwell Haigh (Tadcaster). Sept. 5–6 York. Sept. 8 Faxfleet. Sept. 11–13 Beverley. Sept. 14 Bridlington. Sept. 16–21 York. Sept. 22 Cawood. Sept. 29 Worksop. Sept. 30 Nottingham. Oct. 4 Repton. Oct. 10–16 Evesham. Oct. 22–Dec. 5 Gloucester. Dec. 8 Cirencester. Dec. 10 Evesham. Dec. 11 Gloucester. Dec. 14 Windsor. Dec. 18 Westminster. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.

1408

Jan. 1–11 Eltham. Jan. 12 Merton. Feb. 20 London. Feb. 21 Westminster. March 2 St Albans. March 12 Leicester. March 16 Nottingham. March 18 Pontefract. March 20 Rothwell Haigh. March 26 York. March 26–April 6 Wheel Hall. April 7–8 Selby. April 8–30 Pontefract. May 3 Newstead. May 8–12 Leicester. May 21–24 Windsor. May 26 Sutton. May 29–31 Tower of London. June 1–July 12 Mortlake. July 14–22 Hertford. July 23–29 London. Aug. 16 Waltham. Sept. 2 Westminster. Sept. 7 London (Hugh Waterton's hostel). Sept. 19 Windsor. Nov. 1 Southwark (Bishop of Winchester's hostel). Nov. 12 Westminster. Nov. 15 London (Hugh Waterton's hostel). Nov. 28–Dec. 10 King's Langley. Dec. 17 London (Hugh Waterton's hostel). Dec. 24 Lambeth. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.

1409

Jan. 1–12 Eltham. Jan. 21–March 12 Greenwich. March 17–April 10 Eltham. May 1–8 Sutton. May 9 Windsor (Birdsnest Lodge). May 20 Windsor (castle). June 1–6 Windsor
(castle). June 27 Windsor (Birdsnest Lodge). July (dates lacking) London (Archbishop of York's hostel; St. Bartholomew's Priory, Smithfield). July 5 Westminster. July 22 Westminster. July 23 London (Bishop of Ely's hostel, Holborn). July 24 Havering-atte-Bower. Aug. 4 Windsor. Aug. 15 Westminster. Aug. 20 Sutton. Aug. 22 Beauregard. Aug. 27 Bagshot. Sept. 3 Romsey. Oct. 3 Windsor. Oct. 4 London (Bishop of Ely's hostel, Holborn). Oct. 5 Windsor. Oct. 22 Westminster. Nov. 11 Westminster. Nov. 14 St Albans. Nov. 20 Berkhamstead. Nov. 23 Stony Stratford. Nov. 23–25 Northampton. Dec. 2–4 Leicester. Dec. 4 Groby. Dec. 15 Northampton. Dec. 21–23 Westminster. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.

1410

Jan. 1–19 Eltham. Jan. 25–27 Westminster. Feb. 13 Lambeth. March 4 Westminster. March 19 Lambeth. April 3 Beauregard. April 8 Lambeth. April 10 Windsor. April 12 Sutton. April 15–20 Windsor. April 24–26 Lambeth. May 2 Westminster. May 11–12 Lambeth. May 14 Windsor. May 20 Westminster. May 25–27 Windsor. May 27–28 Lambeth. May 29–June 9 Windsor. May 16–28 Sonning. June 26–July 10 (dates lacking) Henley, Tetsworth, Thame. July 10–Aug. 20 Woodstock. Aug. 22 Dadlington. Aug. 28 Daventry. Sept. 6–20 Leicester. Sept. 15 Bilton. Sept. 21 Oakham. Sept. 24–27 Leicester. Oct. 12–Nov. 11 Groby. Nov. 23–Dec. 3 Leicester. Dec. 6–8 Groby. Dec. 9–14 Leicester. Dec. 20 Coventry. Dec. 25–31 Kenilworth.

1411

Jan. 1–Feb. 16 Kenilworth. Feb. 22 Dunstable. March 15–19 Lambeth. April 1–2 Beauregard. April 9–28 Windsor (but April 20 Beauregard). May (dates lacking) Gloucester. May 4 Lambeth. May 8 Rotherhithe. May 12–13 Lambeth. May 15 Rotherhithe. May 16 Westminster. May 18–28 Rotherhithe. June 9–13 Stratford Abbey (Essex). June 15 Lambeth. June 19–Aug. 6 Stratford Abbey. Aug. 11 Lambeth. Aug. 18 Beauregard. Aug. 20 Stratford Abbey. Aug. 21 Beauregard. Aug. 26 Rotherhithe. Aug. 28 Lambeth. Aug. 29–Sept. 1 Rotherhithe. Sept. 3–7 Lambeth. Sept. 8 Stratford Abbey. Sept. 9–26 Lambeth. Sept. 27 Beauregard. Sept. 28 Windsor (Birdsnest Lodge). Sept. 29–Oct. 2 Beauregard. Oct. 6–26 Windsor. Nov. 2 Beauregard. Nov. 5–Dec. 19 Westminster. Dec. 25–31 Eltham.