Irene Preston's Historical Writing
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - PART
EIGHT
Henry IV
Henry, Duke of Lancaster, was crowned Henry IV in September 1399 and was
the first king of the House of Lancaster. He would always live in doubt
as to his right to the crown of England. His father had been a 3rd son
and the descendants of Lionel the 2nd son had preference and this fact
would be at the heart of the War of the Roses. Henry was the only
surviving son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster, the younger
daughter of Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster and great grandson of
Henry III. Henry was born in Bollingbroke Castle in 1376 and was aged 2
when his mother died. She was described by Geoffrey Chaucer in his ‘Book
of the Duchess’ as being comely, sweet of voice and laughter. Henry had
2 sisters who made good marriages but he also had 3 half-brothers and a
half-sister the illegitimate children of his father and Katherine
Swineford. Henry also had another half-brother Thomas Swynford, son of
Katherine from her first marriage and another half-sister Catalina from
his father's second marriage to Constanza of Castile. The King's father
had lived openly with his mistress and truly loved her but John was
ambitious for a crown and had married Constanza of Castile in 1371
in the Cathedral of Burgos. It was a political marriage of
convenience and a daughter was born from the union but John had
renounced his claim to the throne of Castile in favour of his daughter
Catalina. Constanza died in 1394 and John married for a 3rd time to his
mistress Katherine in Lincoln Cathedral. Their children had been given
the surname of Beaufort after the Duke's estate in France and Richard II
had made them legitimate by an act of Parliament but had inserted a
clause denying them any right to the throne. As a young child Henry and
Richard had shared the same tutor at Kensington Palace and Henry was an
outgoing robust physical child as opposed to Richard who did not excel
in the same way. This caused conflict and mistrust from an early age but
Henry also disliked Richard's fondness of Robert de Vere, Earl of
Oxford, who was 5 years Richard's senior. Robert probably wormed his way
into Richard's affection knowing he would soon be king and started to
spread malicious rumours against Henry's father. The duke had arranged a
good marriage for Henry to Mary Bohun, co-heiress of Humphrey Earl of
Hereford and Essex Hereditary Constable of England who had died in 1373.
They were married in 1380 when she was 11 years old and their wedding
was held at Rochford Hall in Essex, the home of Mary's mother the
Countess of Hereford. Mary was too young for the marriage bed but it was
not long before she was with child unfortunately the child died at birth
but over the following years she bore Henry 4 sons and 2 daughters. The
first of these sons was born in the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle in 1387
so he was called Henry of Monmouth, the future Henry V. Thomas was born
in1388 the future Duke of Clarence, John in 1389 the future
Duke of Bedford and the last was Humphrey in 1390 the future Duke of
Gloucester. Mary's older sister Eleanor had married Henry's uncle
Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, who had hoped that Mary would go into a
convent and most of the estate would go to him. Henry's marriage took
place whilst Thomas was on the continent so he was not very pleased upon
his return.
He and his wife Eleanor had been very much against John's marriage to
Katherine as this made her a duchess to a senior son giving her
preference at Court and all State occasions. Henry, Earl of Hereford,
wishing to distance himself from King Richard, set sail on a small
crusade to Poland and Prussia with 70 men, 25 grooms and many servants.
He was away for 2 years and during the first year his 4th son Humphrey
was born being given the name of his maternal grandfather. Henry
returned home after a 4-week sea journey with many gifts and trading
links making his own wealth. He was welcomed home by the people due to
his open friendly manner and was obviously respected more than the king.
He bought a gilded barge with boatmen dressed in scarlet to row him
along the River Thames. When out riding a herald would precede him
wearing Henry's coat of arms of the Lions of England and the
Fleur-de-lis of France with a blue label for difference. Mary had 2
daughters, Blanche and Philippa after the birth of her 4th son but Mary
died giving birth to Philippa in1394 before Henry became king in 1399.
In 1398 Thomas Mowbray, the Earl of Norfolk, accused Henry of treason
and a duel was arranged but King Richard stepped in and exiled them from
England. Henry sailed for France to stay with Charles VI hoping to
arrange a second marriage to the king's cousin but Richard's friends,
the Earl of Salisbury and the Bishop of Carlisle, arrived and denounced
Henry to King Charles as a traitor. Henry would never forgive Salisbury
and decided to go on another crusade but thought it better to seek his
father's advice first. He secretly sent one of his knights to England
but he returned with the sad news that Henry's father was dying. The
advice he sent his son was to visit his sister Queen Philippa of
Portugal or his half-sister Queen Catalina of Castile but Henry decided
to stay in France to await news of his father's death. He was not
without his own army of secret agents who kept him informed of the
unrest in England and just waited his time. His father died in February
1399 and Richard made Henry's exile for life and claimed all the lands,
castles and estates of the Duchy of Lancaster for the Crown. Henry made
his plans to return and reclaim his inheritance before the king could
break up the Duchy to give to his favourites. Henry now Duke of
Lancaster landed in the north of England knowing he had the support of
his family retainers in the Lancastrian Castles. Richard had paid little
attention to Henry's activities in France but he had taken Henry's son,
Henry of Monmouth, as a hostage together with several other young sons
of nobility. He had also taken many of his friends with him leaving his
uncle Edmund, Earl of Cambridge and Duke of York as regent who was not
of strong character, so England was left to her fate. As soon as the
king heard of Henry's landing in England he locked Henry of Monmouth and
the other youths in a castle and made his way to meet Henry of
Lancaster. Richard wasn't prepared and by the time he reached England
his support had wilted and he was taken prisoner. Richard's death caused
revolts in Wales and Scotland, the French were also displeased because
Henry had spent Queen Isabella's dowry and kept her jewels saying that
King John's ransom had not been paid in full. He had hoped for a
marriage arrangement between his son Henry and Isabella but she
eventually returned to France in 1401. She became the wife of Charles of
Orleans in 1406 and died in childbirth in 1409.
Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, had supported Henry, Duke of
Lancaster, on the promise that Richard would not be hurt but when he
died in Pontefract Castle the earl and his men did battle with king
Henry and his son Henry of Monmouth in 1403. By 1408 Henry Percy and his
son and heir were dead but the earldom and all the estates were to be
given to his grandson by Henry V. When Henry, Duke of Lancaster, was
crowned king he created his son Henry of Monmouth the Prince of Wales,
Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester. He became Duke of Aquitaine at a
later date. Prince Henry worked well in his father's government and
encouraged his Beaufort uncles to be active at Court. After the death of
Henry's father his stepmother Katherine went to live in Lincoln with an
allowance from the Duchy of Lancaster. She was a generous benefactor to
Lincoln Cathedral and when she died in 1403 her body was laid to rest in
the Chantry. At her feet lies the body of her daughter Joan, Countess of
Westmoreland, who was to be the grandmother of 2 future kings, Edward IV
and Richard III. Of Katherine's sons, John became the Earl of Somerset
and was to be the great grandfather of Henry VII. Henry became the
Archbishop of Lincoln in 1398 and Archbishop of Winchester in 1401 he
was the king's Chancellor from 1403 to 1405. He was a very proud and
ambitious man with great ability and was made a cardinal by the Pope he
also became tutor to the young Prince Henry. Thomas, the last son,
became the Duke of Exeter and doesn't seem to have achieved very much.
Henry IV married again to Joan the daughter of Charles II of Navarre.
The King's household and expenditures increased with the influx of
foreigners who accompanied the new Queen. This had always caused a
problem for kings and Parliament but Henry had a good relationship with
his Government and his worst problem was due to the many plots during
the early years of his reign. He had problems with Robert III of
Scotland and the Welsh despised the Marcher (Border) Lords as they
levied heavy taxes and the Welsh were excluded from high office and
ecclesiastical appointments. They had favoured Richard II as he
respected them more than Henry IV. The king also had financial problems
due to the decline in the volume of wool being produced. This seems to
have been due to the loss of sheep during several very wet summers.
Henry attempted to strengthen his position by the marriage of his
daughter Blanche to the German Prince Louis of Bavaria in 1402 and
Philippa to King Erik of Denmark and Sweden in 1406. In 1402 Sir Roger
of Clarendon the acknowledged son of The Black Prince and half-brother
to Richard II, conspired against Henry IV and was tried for treason and
hung at Tyburn. In 1406 David, the son and heir to King Robert III of
Scotland, died mysteriously so his brother James was sent to France for
safety. However, he didn't arrive in France as he was captured by an
English ship and imprisoned by the Lancastrians. King Henry IV said he
would educate him and when Robert III died James became King James I of
Scotland. He was a handsome and romantic man and took a liking to
Henry's niece Joan Beaufort the daughter of John, Earl of Somerset. They
were to be married in 1424.
In 1392 King Charles VI of France suddenly went mad attempting to kill
his
courtiers and it was decided that his uncle Phillip of Burgundy would
govern
France, and when the king had times of recovery his brother Louis, Duke
of
Orleans, would take over. In view of the instability of King Charles
there existed a strong rivalry between Louis of Orleans and Phillip of
Burgundy causing a minor civil war that continued for about 30 years and
eventually King Charles had to be locked away. Duke Phillip died in 1404
and his son John became the duke who had Louis of Orleans murdered on
the streets of Paris in 1407. Duke John of Burgundy ordered all the
supporters of the Armagnacs to be attacked as enemies resulting in
persecution and suffering. The Orleanists took the name Armagnacs from
their leader the Count of Armagnac whose daughter had become the second
wife of Louis' son Charles, his first wife had been Isabella widow of
Richard II. At the beginning of 1411 Duke John's hold on Paris was
threatened and he sought help from Henry IV. The king's health was
declining and Prince Henry had become the leader of the Council and was
widely accepted as an able leader. In October 1411 the Duke of Burgundy
asked for military aid in return for certain political alliances and the
marriage of his fifth daughter. The prince considered the duke's offer
as he had the rule of Flanders and this would help to resolve commercial
disputes England had with them. At the same time the prince thought it
wise to have the duke on his side instead of being in opposition. Prince
Henry sent an army of men under the command of Thomas, Earl of Arundel,
but it was not actually authorized by the king. The battle was soon
ended and the English returned home but in May 1412 the Duke of the
Armagnacs asked for the king's aid and King Henry sent his second son
Thomas, Duke of Clarence. Upon arrival he found that the Armagnacs had
surrendered to the Burgundians and his army was no longer needed.
Thomas, rash and impulsive wanting to emulate his older brother, was not
pleased as the expedition to France cost £600 a day so to compensate he
took his men to winter in
Bordeaux burning and looting along the way, taking hostages and
demanding
ransoms. The Duke of Burgundy began to think that the English would
attempt an invasion and demanded an increase in taxes for defences but
he only received opposition. He retaliated by sending out his Parisian
mercenaries who began a reign of terror for several weeks. Eventually he
had to abandon Paris to the Armagnacs but between them they had ruined
France leaving a weakened country open to invasion.
Henry IV had suffered poor health most of his later life especially due
to his
strong feelings of guilt as a usurper against the true order of
kingship. He lost the power of walking and suffered a final seizure
whilst praying before the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor in
Westminster Abbey. He died in the Jerusalem Chamber in 1413 and was
buried in Canterbury Cathedral.
Books The Hundred Years War by
Desmond Seward
Henry IV by Bryan Bevan
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - William I to Henry II click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Richard I and King John click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Henry III click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Edward I click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Edward II click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Edward III
click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Richard II
click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Henry IV click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND - Henry V click
THE PLANTAGENET KINGS OF ENGLAND -
Henry VI
click