Part 44

At the outset of his reign Parliament showed its power by changing the succession and making Henry King instead of young Edmund Mortimer, the direct hereditary heir to the crown. Though successful in crushing rebellion, Henry was obliged to submit to the guidance of a council.

Furthermore, he was made more entirely dependent on Parliament, especially in the matter of supplies, than any previous King, for the House of Commons now got and held control of the nation's purse. For the first time in English history heresy was made punishable by death; yet such was the restraining influence of the people, that but two executions took place in Henry IV's reign.

Henry V--1413-1422

286. Lollard Outbreak at Henry's Accession.

Henry's youth had been wild and dissolute, but the weight of the crown sobered him. He cast off poor old "Jack Falstaff" (S282) and his other roistering companions, and began his new duties in earnest.

Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Part II, Act V, scene v, beginning, "I know thee not, old man."

Sir John Oldcastle, or Lord Cobham, was at this time the most influential man among the Lollards (SS255, 283). He was brought to trial and convicted of heresy. The penalty was death; but the King granted him a respite, in the hope that he might recant, and Oldcastle managed to escape from prison (1414).

Immediately after, a conspiracy was detected among the Lollards for seizing the government, destroying the chief monasteries in and about London, and raising Oldcastle to power. Henry attacked the rebels unawares, killed many, and took a large number of prisoners, who were executed on a double charge of heresy and treason. Several years afterwards Oldcastle was burned as a heretic.

287. Report that Richard II was alive.

A strange report now began to circulate. It was said that Richard II (S257) had been seen in Scotland, and that he was preparing to claim the throne which Henry's father had taken from him. To silence this seditious rumor, the King, it is said, exhumed Richard's body from its grave in the little village of Langley, Hertfordshire. At any rate, a dead body, reputed to be Richard's, was brought to London and propped up in a chair, so that all might see it.

In this manner the King and his court escorted the corpse in solemn procession to Westminster Abbey, where it was reinterred among the tombs of the English sovereigns. With it he buried once for all the troublesome falsehood which had kept up insurrection, and had made the deposed King more feared after death than he had ever been during life.

288. War with France (1415).

To divert the attention of the nation from dangerous home questions likely to cause new plots and fresh revolts (SS286, 287), Henry now determined to act on his father's dying counsel and pick a foreign quarrel. The old grudge against France, which began with the feuds of Duke William of Normandy before he conquered England, made a war with that country always popular. At this period the French were divided into fierce parties that hated each other even more, if possible, than they hated the English. This, of course, greatly increased the chances of Henry's success, as he might form an alliance with one of these factions.

The King believed it a good opportunity to get three things he wanted,--a wife, a fortune, and the French crown. The King of France and his most powerful rival, the Duke of Burgundy, had each a daughter. To make sure of one of them, Henry secretly proposed to both. After long and fruitless negotiations the French King declined to grant the enormous dowry which the English King demanded. The latter gladly interpreted this refusal as equivalent to a declaration of war.

289. The Great Battle of Agincourt, 1415.

Henry set to work with vigor, raised an army, and invaded France. He besieged Harfleur, near the mouth of the Seine, and took it; but his army suffered so much from sickness that, after leaving a garrison in the place, he resolved to move north, to the walled city of Calais. It will be remembered that the English had captured that city nearly seventy years before (S240), and Henry intended to wait there for reenforcements. (See map facing p. 128.)

After a long and perilous march he reached a little village about midway between Cre'cy and Calais. There he encountered the enemy in great force. Both sides prepared for battle. The French had fifty thousand troops to Henry's seven or eight thousand; but the latter had that determination which wins victories. He said to one of his nobles who regretted that he had not a larger force:

"No, my fair cousin; If we are marked to die, we are enough To do our country loss; and if we live, The fewer men, the greater share of honor."

Shakespeare's "Henry V," Act IV, scene iii.

A heavy rain had fallen during the night, and the plowed land over which the French must cross was so wet and miry that their heavily armed horsemen sank deep at every step. The English bowmen, on the other hand, being on foot, could move with ease. Henry ordered every archer to drive a stake, sharpened at both ends, into the ground before him. This was a substitute for the modern bayonet, and presented an almost impassable barrier to the French cavalry.

As at Cre'cy and Poitiers, the English bowmen gained the day (SS238, 241). The sharp stakes stopped the enemy's horses, and the blinding showers of arrows threw the splendidly armed knights into wild confusion. With a ringing cheer Henry's troops rushed forward.

"When down their bows they threw, And forth their swords they drew, And on the French they flew: No man was tardy. Arms from the shoulder sent; Scalps to the teeth they rent; Down the French peasants went: These ere men hardy."

These vigorous lines, from Drayton's "Ballad of Agincourt" (1606), if not quite true to the letter of history (since it is doubted whether any French peasants were on the field), are wholly true to its spirit.

When the fight was over, the King asked, "What is the name of that castle yonder?" He was told it was called Agincourt. "Then," said he, "from henceforth this shall be known as the battle of Agincourt." This decisive victory made the winner feel sure that he could now hold his throne in spite of all plots against him (S288).

290. Treaty of Troyes, 1420; Henry's Death.

Henry went back in triumph to England. Two years later, he again invaded France. His victorious course continued. By the Treaty of Troyes (1420) he gained all that he had planned to get. He obtained large sums of money, the French Princess Catharine in marriage, and the promise of the crown of France on the death of her father, Charles VI, who was then insane and feeble. Meantime Henry was to govern the French kingdom as regent.

Henry returned to England with the bride he had won by the sword, but he was soon recalled to France by a revolt against his power. He died there, leaving an infant son, Henry. Two months afterward Charles VI died, so that by the terms of the treaty Henry's son now inherited the French Crown.

291. Summary.