Shakespeare's Kings (44 page)

By what by-paths and indirect crook'd ways I met this crown, and I myself know well How troublesome it sat upon my head.

king henry iv part ii

The second of Shakespeare's two Henry IV plays is even more episodic than the first. Since the decade it covers - from the aftermath of the
Battle
of Shrewsbury to the death of the King in
1413
- occupies five times as much space in Holinshed's chronicle as do the three years covered by
Part
I
, the author has had to be ruthlessly selective of the events he has decided to include. Just how selective, we shall see as we go on; first, however, we must briefly trace the course of the last ten years of Henry's unhappy reign.

The Parliament that met from January to March
1404
might have been expected to show some appreciation of a monarch who had risked his life — and very nearly lost it — in the defence of his crown. In fact it proved openly hostile, being principally concerned with securing an official pardon for the father of the rebel leader. The Earl of Northumberland appeared in person at Westminster, confirmed the submission he had made at York five months before and swore a public oath of loyalty, both to the King himself and to the Prince of Wales as heir apparent. Parliament then returned to the attack. It demanded the immediate removal of four members of the King's household, drastically cutting down on that of the Queen; it decreed the expulsion from the kingdom of all aliens and schismatics; it severely reproved Henry for his alleged extravagance, despite the fact that his expenses were in fact little more than a fifth of his predecessor's; it insisted that the ludicrously small sum of
£6,500,
voted for the
defence of the realm, should be
paid
not
dire
ctly
to
the
King
himself
-
for
fear
of
misappropriation
-but
to
specially
appointed
'treasurers
of
war';
and
it
stipulated
finally that
no
mention
should
be
made
of
the
last
item
in
the
official
records, lest
it
be
taken
as
a
precedent
for
the
future.

This
defence
grant
in
fact
proved
to
be
so
inadequate
that
Henry was
obliged
to
summon
another
Parliament
only
seven
months
later. His
need
was
now
urgent,
largely
owing
to
the
activities
of
the
French. For
ten
years
already,
Charles
VI
had
been
subject
to
periodic
fits
of insanity,
which
with
the
passage
of
time
were
becoming
increasingly prolonged;
he
seems
by
now
to
have
developed
a
pathological
hatred of
Henry,
whom
he
had
forgiven
neither
for
the
deposition
of
his son-in-law
nor
for
his
refusal
to
maintain
Queen
Isabelle
in
the
style to
which
she
was
accustomed.
It
was
ostensibly
on
her
behalf
that French
ships
had
for
some
time
been
raiding
the
Channel
coast:
in
the early
summer
of
1404
there
had
been
a
serious
attack
on
Dartmouth. Fortunately
this
had
been
repelled,
causing
heavy
losses
to
the
would-be invaders;
it
was
soon
afterwards
learnt,
however,
that
the
French
court had
given
a
warm
welcome
to
envoys
from
Glendower,
with
whom it
was
even
then
negotiating
an
alliance.
Meanwhile
Maud,
Countess of
Oxford
-
mother
of
Richard's
favourite
Robert
de
Vere
—
together with
the
Duke
of
Orleans
and
the
Count
of
Saint-Pol,
was
found
to be
planning
another
invasion,
this
time
in
Essex,
in
support
of
Richard -
whom
she
firmly
believed
to
be
still
alive
-
and
Isabelle.
This
second landing
failed
to
materialize
only
because
the
young
Queen
did
not share
the
Countess's
illusions,
and
at
the
critical
moment
announced her
engagement
to
Orleans's
son
Charles
Count
of
Angouleme.
Maud herself,
with
several
others
involved
—
mostly
churchmen
-
was
sent
to the
Tower
on
a
charge
of
treason,
but
was
eventually
pardoned.

The
French,
on
the
other
hand,
continued
to
make
trouble.
Orleans
' turned
his
attention
to
Guyenne,
where
he
was
soon
marching
on Bordeaux
-
still
of
course
in
English
hands;
and
at
the
great
council meeting
which
was
held
at
Lichfield
in
August
1404
it
was
reported that
no
less
than
sixty
ships
were
gathered
at
Harfleur,
with
men-at-arms and
provisions
intended
for
Glendower.
Henry
immediately
sent
letters to
various
points
along
the
south
coast,
urging
the
local
authorities
to keep
a
close
watch
for
this
fleet,
and
to
intercept
it
when
possible. Ideally,
he
would
have
liked
to
lead
another
expedition
into
Wales
in a
combined
operation
with
the
Prince,
who
had
been
in
command there
since
the
beginning
of
the
year;
but
he
had
no
more
money
than his
son,
who
had
already
complained
in
a
letter
to
Archbishop
Arundel that
he
had
had
to
pawn
his
own
plate
in
order
to
pay
his
expenses.

The
second
Parliament
of
the
year
met
at
Coventry
in
October. Known
as
the
'Unlearned
Parliament'
since
all
lawyers
were
excluded by
proclamation,
it
seemed
to
be
principally
interested
in
attacking the
Church.
There
had
recently
been
a
notable
upsurge
of
feeling throughout
the
country
in
favour
of
the
Lollards
-
those
followers
of John
Wycliffe
who,
basing
their
faith
on
the
Scriptures
alone,
opposed many
of
the
fundamental
principles
and
practices
of
the
established Church,
including
transubstantiation,
the
celibacy
of
the
clergy
and
the sale
of
indulgences.
Angry
calls
were
made
for
the
confiscation
of ecclesiastical
estates;
Archbishop
Arundel
is
said
to
have
spent
his
nights in
prayers
and
tears.
He
and
his
colleagues
finally
won
the
day
—
some of
the
Commons
actually
sought
absolution
for
their
earlier
attitude
— but
there
is
no
doubt
that
they
were
severely
shaken.
Where
the all-important
defence
grant
was
concerned,
however,
the
assembly proved
surprisingly
generous;
and
it
was
with
a
somewhat
less
heavy heart
that
the
King
returned,
by
easy
stages,
to
London
in
time
for Christmas.
With
a
determined
effort
in
the
following
year,
he
might succeed
in
crushing
Glendower
once
and
for
all.