Shakespeare's Kings

penguin books

SHAKESPEARE'S KINGS

John Julius Norwich was born in
1929.
He was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, at Eton, at the University of Strasbourg and, after a spell of National Service in the Navy, at New College, Oxford, where he took a degree in French and Russian. In
1952
he joined the Foreign Service, where he remained for twelve years, serving at the embassies in Belgrade and Beirut and with the British delegation to the Disarmament Conference at Geneva. In
1964
he resigned from the service in order to write.

His many and varied publications include two books on the medieval Norman Kingdom in Sicily, The Normans in the South and The Kingdom in the Sun, which are publishe
d by Penguin in one volume entitl
ed
The Normans in Sicily;
two travel books,
Mount Athos
(with Reresby Sitwell) and
Sahara; The Architecture of Southern England; Glyndebourne;
two anthologies of poetry and prose,
Christmas Crackers
and
More Christmas Crackers; A History of Venice,
originally published in two volumes; his three-volume history of the Byzantine Empire,
Byzantium: The Early Centuries, Byzantium: The Apogee,
and
Byzantium: The Decline and Fall A Short History of Byzantium
was published in
1997.
Many of his books are published in Penguin. In addition he has written and presented some thirty historical documentaries for television, and is a regular lecturer on Venice and numerous other subjects.

For nearly thirty years Lord Norwich was chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund. He is now chairman of the World Monuments Fund in Britain. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Geographical Society and the Society of Antiquaries, a Companion of the Royal Victorian Order and a Commendatore of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.

Shakespeare's Kings

PENGUIN BOOKS

JOHN JULIUS NORWICH

PENGUIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane, London w8
5tz,
England Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4
.V
3B2
Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd, Private Bag 102902, NSMC, Auckland, New Zealand

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

First published by Viking 1999
Published in Penguin Books 2000

Copyright ©John
Julius Norwich, 1999 All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Set in Monotype Bembo Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

To

Peter Carson, who for thirty years guided my hand and who gave me, with so much else, the idea for this book

Shakespeare was the theatre's greatest craftsman: he wasted no tortured ratiocination on his plays. Instead he filled them with the gaudy heroes that all of us see ourselves becoming on some bright morrow, and the lowly frauds and clowns we are today.

H. L. Mencken

Table of Contents

Introduction
i

1
Edward III and the Black Prince
[
1337-13
77]

Murder of Edward II · Fate of Gaveston · Succession of Edward III · His dominions · Death of Charles IV · Edward's claim to France · French counter-claim · Feudality and vassalage · Hundred Years War begins 15

Opening of
Edward III
· Acts I and II 18

Edward's invasion · Battle of Sluys 21

Sluys in
Edward III
23

Truce of Esplechin · Second invasion, 1346 · Battle of Crecy 25 Crecy in
Edward III
30 Siege of Calais 33
Battle
of Poitiers 36

Calais and Poitiers in
Edward III
· End of play 39

Last years of Edward's reign · Black Prince at Bordeaux · Najera · Sickness and death of Prince · Death of Edward 44

2.
The Young Richard
[1377-1381]

Children of Edward III · Question of succession · Richard's coronation 51 Richard's birth · His mother, the Fair Maid of Kent · His father, the Black Prince · His uncle, John of Gaunt · Destruction of Gaunt's pala
ce by mob after trial of Wycliff
e · Peace between Gaunt and Londoners made by Richard on accession 54

Papal schism, England siding with Urban VI · Beg
innings and causes of Peasants'
Revolt · March on London 58 Rebels advance · Their depredations · Confrontations at Mile End and

Smithfield 61 Aftermath of Revolt 65

3.
Favourites and Appellants
[1381-1388]
Marriage · Life at court · Food · Clothes · Portraits 69

Arrogance and irresponsibility · Favourites · Mow
bray, de Vere, Burley · John of
Gaunt · The Norwich Crusade 73 Latimer incident · Scottish expedition · Departure of John of Gaunt for
Spain 77

Trouble with Parliament over Suffolk · Deputat
ion by Gloucester and Bishop of
Ely · Appointment of Commission · Progress to North · Judges find

Commission illegal · Return to London 80 Gloucester, Arundel, Warwick defy King · Ag
reement at Westminster · King's
bad faith · De Vere marches on London · R
adcot Bridge · Appellants issue
ultimatum · 84

'Merciless' Parliament · Executions · King's promise · Attempts to save his personal reputation 87

4.
The King's Revenge
[1388-1398]

Richard assumes personal responsibility for government · John of Gaunt · Results of his Spanish expedition · His return · Attempts to have Edward II canonized 95

Quarrel with Londoners · Risings in Cheshire
· Death of Queen · First Irish
expedition · Return of body of de Vere · Remarriage of John of Gaunt 97 Richard's marriage to Isabelle of France · Her coronation · January 1397

Parliament at Westminster · Haxey petition · Westminster Hall 100 Richard moves against Gloucester, Arundel,
Warwick · Their condemnation at
September Parliament · Senten
ces · New dukedoms · Shrewsbury
Parliament · Bolingbroke accuses Mowbray 102

5.
The Triumph of Bolingbroke
[1398-1400]

Opening
of Richard II
· Lists at Coventry ·
Sentences of exile · Expensive
pardons and forced loans 111 Death of John of Gaunt ■ Shakespeare's portrait of him · Confiscation of his

estates · Increase of Richard's megalomania · His departure for Ireland 115 Bolingbroke lands at Ravenscar · Submission of r
oyalists · Richard returns from
Ireland · His capture 117 Deposition and accession · Henry's claim · Coronation · Recriminations 121 Shakespeare's interpretation · Richard sent to Pontefract · Plot to reinstate him ·

His fate · Henry's reaction 124

6.
King Henry IV Part I
[1400-1403]

King Henry IV · His background and early travels · His problems: Parliament, France,
Scotland
, Wales · Scottish campaign · Glendower's rebellion, Welsh campaign · Vis
it of Manuel
Palaeologus · Return of Queen Isabelle to France 131

Marriage to Joan of Brittany · Shakespeare's
1 Henry IV
· Capture of Mortimer by Glendower · Second Welsh campaign · Homildon Hill · Quarrel with Hotspur over prisoners ■ Shakespeare's treatment · Character of Hotspur 135

FalstafF/Oldcastl
e · Hal's riotous living · His military record · Percy rebellion · Battle of Shrewsbury 139

Shakespeare's version of the rebellion and the preparations for the
Battle
144

Shakespeare's battl
e 146

7.
King Henry IV Part II [1403-1413]

Problems with Parliament · The French make trouble · New campaign against Glendower deflected against Northumberland · Rebellion of Earl Marshal
and Archbishop of York · Their
arrest · Fifth invasion of Wales · The King sickens 151

The King's sickness · Growing respon
sibilities of Prince of Wales ·
Tight-fistedness of Parliament · The French attack Bordeaux · Fall of Harlech ends Glendower's rebellion · King's health declines 155

Difficulty of Prince's position · Burgundian and Orleans factions in France · Prince sends army to Burgundy under Arundel · Henry rallies, dismisses Beauforts · Prince leaves for Midlands · Ki
ng sends army under Clarence to
help Armagnacs · Fiasco · Prince partly to blame, raises militia, which he brings to London 158 King's final seizure and death · His tomb 161

The play · What Shakespeare makes of King Henry · Compression of events · Sickness · Affair of Chief Justice · Treatment of Northumberland and of John of Lancaster · Crown and pillow incident · Act V 163

8.
Harfleur and Agincourt
[1413-1415]

Henry V · His coronation · The Lol
lards · Case of Sir John Oldcastl
e ·
St Giles's Fields 173 Henry's claim to throne of France · Beaufort's m
ission · Huge and unfulfillable
demands 178

Preparations for war · The Southampton plot ·
The fleet sails · The siege of
Harfleur 180 The march to Agincourt 184

The battle · The massacre of prisoners · Losses on each side · Celebrations in London · Henry's gloom 185

9.
The End of the Adventure
[1415-1422]

Death of Dauphin · Dorset's defeat at Valmont · French siege of Harfleur · Battle of the Seine · Visit of Emperor Sigismund to England · Alliance at Canterbury · Abortive conference in Calais 193

Preparations for new expedition · Capture of Caen and other cities · Another death of a Dauphin · Queen Isabella proclaims herself Regent, John the Fearless as Governor of France · Murder of Armagnac · Queen and Duke enter Paris, Dauphin flees · Siege and capture of Rouen 195

Meeting at Meulan with Queen and Duke · Capture of Pontoise · Meeting on bridge at Moritereau · Murder of John the Fearless · Treaty of Troy es · Henry marries Katherine · Capture of Sens and Melun · Henry hangs Scots mercenaries · Other cruelties · Entry into Paris · Return to England 198

Defeat and death of Clarence at Beauge · Henry's last campaign · His inhumanity increases · Sickness and death · His tomb · Fate of Katherine 200