Henry V: The Background, Strategies, Tactics and Battlefield Experiences of the Greatest Commanders of History Paperback (3 page)

in his own country but also a vassal of the King of France in his role as Duke

of Aquitaine. Whenever either the king of England or France changed, the

King of England was required to pay homage to the King of France for his

French territories, something confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1259 between

Henry III and Louis IX when the English king surrendered his rights to the lost

territories in return for confirmation of the Duchy of Aquitaine. The King of

England therefore paid homage for his French territories in 1273, 1285, 1303,

1308, 1320 and 1325, though conflict also broke out over the issue in 1294

and 1324 following French confiscation of the duchy during periods of feudal

conflict. In 1337 conflict broke out once more and Philip VI of France declared

that Edward III was a disobedient vassal and confiscated the duchy. However,

this time the English response was different - Edward III claimed the throne of

France through his grandfather, Philip IV, launching the Hundred Years War.

It was this claim that Henry V would use to legitimize his programme of

conquest in Normandy, and he was the closest of all the English monarchs to

achieving the realization of that claim through the Treaty of Troyes of 1420 that

disinherited the Dauphin and made Henry the heir to the throne of France.

Prior to this the English monarchy had used the claim to the throne of

France more as a bargaining piece to extend their territorial claims, and

Edward III was willing to drop using the title following the Treaty of Bretigny,

which came out of the English victories at Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356)

- the latter of which had seen the capture of the French king John II.

The Dunstable Swan Jewel

This treaty gave Edward III Aquitaine, Poitou, Ponthieu and the newly

was found during

captured territory around Calais in full sovereignty in return for an

excavations at the

abandonment of the English claims to the French throne, Normandy, Anjou

Dominican Friary in

and Maine. However, this treaty rapidly broke down and war was resumed in

Dunstable in 1965. It is

1369. Henry's claims and campaigns can be seen, at least initially, as being

made of white enamel on

part of this process. However, the scale of his successes and the divided nature

gold and dates from around

of the French leadership - particularly following the murder of John the

the year 1400. The swan

Fearless of Normandy in 1419 - gave him the opportunity to push further

was adopted as a symbol

than any English king before him and make the dual monarchy of France and

by the house of Lancaster,

England a reality.

and as a livery badge is

particularly associated with

Henry V. (British Museum,

London, UK/The Bridgeman

T H E E A R L Y Y E A R S

Art Library)

The future Henry V was not born a royal prince,

but the son of a major magnate - Henry Bolingbroke,

Earl of Derby and Northampton, himself the son of

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and son of

Edward III, thus making Bolingbroke first

cousin of the King of England, Richard II.

Henry's mother was Mary Bohun, through

whom Bolingbroke obtained the Earldom

of Hereford.

6

Henry was born in the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle in Wales on

16 September 1386, and was known in his early years as Henry of Monmouth

accordingly. His mother died in 1394 at the age of 24, but not before she

had given Bolingbroke three more sons, who would later become Thomas,

Duke of Clarence, John, Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester.

Henry of Monmouth's childhood was no doubt conventional enough,

though few details remain of his early years. He was certainly instructed in

the military skills suitable for his class - as well as the aristocratic pursuits The young Henry of of hunting and falconry. Owing to his father's influence, he was unusually Monmouth is knighted by learned, becoming proficient in Latin, French and English under the tutelage King Richard II during the of his uncle, Henry Beaufort. The Beauforts were the legitimized children of campaign against Ireland John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, and would prove influential in 1399. Henry was taken

throughout Henry's reign. There is a legend that Henry studied at Queen's into Richard's court as

College, Oxford, when Henry Beaufort was chancellor of Oxford in 1397-98 a hostage following his

- but there is no concrete evidence of this, and the fact that he was only father's banishment,

10 years old at the time militates against it.

and accompanied Richard

The year 1398 saw Henry's life thrown into chaos when his father during his campaign to

was exiled following a dispute with Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Ireland later in the year.

The origins of this dispute date back to a confrontation between Richard II This illustration is taken and some of his magnates in 1388. Henry Bolingbroke had been on the side from an early 15th-century of the magnates and had defeated the Ricardian forces at the short-lived French illuminated

battle of Radcot Bridge. Richard had been compelled to assent to manuscript, the
Histoire

impeachment and execution of some of his favourites in the 'Merciless
du Roy d'Angleterre Richard
Parliament' of the same year, and ever since had sought to revenge himself //(Ms.Harley 1319, fol.5), upon the lords who had infringed his prerogatives. In 1397 three of the five held in the British

great lords who had opposed him were tried and executed or exiled, which Library, London,

left only Mowbray and Bolingbroke. Richard took the opportunity of the (akg-images/

confrontation between the two of them to get rid of the last of his enemies British Library)

and, having originally decided that

the dispute between Mowbray and

Bolingbroke should be settled by a

judicial duel, he called it off at the last

moment and banished both of them

- Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke

for ten years. Bolingbroke's eldest

son, the young Henry of Monmouth,

was taken into the king's household

as a virtual hostage.

In February 1399, Bolingbroke's

father, John of Gaunt, died leaving

him to inherit the vast wealth and

territory of the Duchy of Lancaster.

However, Richard II had other

ideas and in March he extended

Bolingbroke's period of banishment

to life and confiscated all his estates

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and his inheritance. He then undertook an expedition to Ireland, taking

Henry of Monmouth and his uncle, Henry Beaufort, with him. While Richard

was attempting to bring the rebellious Irish to heel, Bolingbroke returned to

England with a small retinue on 4 July 1399, ostensibly to claim his Duchy of

Lancaster. The Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, along with other

northern magnates, rapidly joined him. Hearing the news in Ireland, Richard

is supposed to have said to the young Henry of Monmouth: 'Henry, my boy,

see what thy father hath done to me! He hath invaded my land and put my

subjects to death without mercy, through these unhappy doings thou wilt

perchance lose thine inheritance/

While Richard delayed his return from Ireland, Bolingbroke's party

gathered strength, and by the time Richard returned in early August he

had very little support left. Around 10 August, Richard surrendered to

Northumberland and Thomas Arundel, later Archbishop of Canterbury, at

Conway Castle and was escorted to Chester as a prisoner. From this point

onwards events moved rapidly. Richard was escorted to London where,

on 29 September, he resigned the throne, presumably under some duress.

On 30 September Parliament assembled and renounced homage and fealty to

Richard, and Henry Bolingbroke claimed the throne of England through his

line of descent from Henry III. He was acknowledged as Henry IV of England

and his eldest son, Henry of Monmouth, was acclaimed as his heir.

On 15 October Henry, who had by now been brought back from Ireland,

was granted the titles once held by the Black Prince: Prince of Wales, Duke of

Cornwall and Earl of Chester; he was also made Duke of Lancaster on

10 November 1399. His cousin, the deposed King Richard, was taken as a

prisoner to Pontefract Castle, where he would end his days in February 1400.

As heir to the throne of England the 13-year-old Henry's position and

expectations had been transformed. He was now one of the most important

figures in the country and, militarily, was required to assist his father in the

establishment of the new, Lancastrian dynasty.

T H E M I L I T A R Y L I F E