Shakespeare's Kings (54 page)

As we have seen, the identical claim had been made the best part of a century before by his great-grandfather Edward III, on the grounds that Edward's mother Isabella was the rightful heir to the childless King Charles IV;
²
but it had been rejected by the French, who had pointed out that the old Salic Law of Charlemagne recognized male heirs only. The crown had therefore passed to Charles's first cousin, Philip of Valois. Three Kings had reigned over France since Philip; Henry was therefore now effectively claiming not only that he was the rightful sovereign, but that the last four rulers had been illegitimate. In fact, his claim was even less justifiable than his great-grandfather's: any right that might have existed would have passed to the Earl of March, Richard II's legitimate, heir, rather than to a usurper's son. Such considerations,

1
.
It was as a defence against further forays of the
same sort that Bodiam Castle in
East Sussex was built during the following decade -
the most complete and unspoilt
late-medieval moated castle surviving anywhere in the country.

2.
See p.
17.

however, were of little interest to Henry. 'No King of England, if not King of France!' - the words are Shakespeare's, but the sentiment was certainly his own. His character was straightfoward and direct, impatient of legal subtleties: he saw things in black and white, and by the early summer of
1414
he was preparing for the fray.

There could have been no more favourable moment to attack. France, virtually paralysed under an imbecile monarch, was split down the middle, with Charles of Orleans and the Armagnacs on one side and the Duke of Burgundy on the other. England, on the other hand, still possessed her two invaluable bridgeheads, Calais and Bordeaux - though in the event, neither would be used. There were domestic reasons, too, which made a foreign war desirable. The Lollard rebellion, hopeless failure as it had been, had occurred only ten months after Henry's accession and had severely shaken his confidence. He was not, it appeared, as popular as he had imagined. He needed now to burnish his own image, while distracting attention as far as possible from the dissatisfaction and dissent that had so unfortunately — some said ominously - marked the beginning of his reign. He was aware, too, of the vast numbers of idle soldiery who were roaming the kingdom - men whose courage and military skill made them virtually invincible in war, but who could cause havoc in the countryside when a protracted spell of peace, without opportunities for plunder or pillage, left them with no employment for their swords.

Early in
1415
the King sent his uncle Thomas Beaufort to the French court, at the head of an impressive company of high ecclesiastics and noblemen and armed with a list of still more formidable demands. It was a tactic as old as diplomacy itself: deliberately to ask of a weaker nation more than it could possibly perform, and then to use its inevitable refusal as an excuse for war. First on the list was the crown of France. When this was denied - as it clearly would be — Beaufort was to demand Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine and all the territories ceded to Edward III by the Treaty of Bretigny in
1360.
¹
Next he was to claim half of Provence, with the castles of Beaufort and Nogent, as being part of the Lancastrian inheritance through John of Gaunt. These territorial demands accounted for much of the French kingdom; but they were not all. Henry also insisted on the immediate payment of all the arrears

1. See
p. 38.

of
the
ransom
of
John
II,
captured
during
the
battle
of
Poitiers
in
1356 -
a
sum
which
amounted
to
no
less
than
1,600,000
gold
crowns.
Finally he
required
the
hand
of
Charles
VI's
daughter
Katherine,
on
account of
whom
he
professed
himself
ready
to
accept
a
dowry
of
a
further 2,000,000
crowns.

France
was
not
ready
for
war,
and
was
willing
to
pay
heavily
to
avoid it;
but
such
demands
were
beyond
the
bounds
of
reason.
The
French negotiators,
led
by
the
Duke
of
Berry,
offered
a
considerable
territorial addition
to
the
English
duchy
of
Aquitaine
and,
for
Katherine,
an unprecedented
dowry
of
600,000
crowns,
later
increased
to
800,000; but
beyond
that
they
could
not
go.
Unhesitatingly
Beaufort
rejected the
offer
and
returned
with
his
retinue
to
England
to
inform
his
master. Henry
could
not
conceal
his
satisfaction.
It
was
exactly
what
he
had expected.
Diplomacy
could
have
gained
him
valuable
territory
and
a considerable
increase
in
wealth;
but
only
war
could
win
him
a
crown.

With
the
return
of
the
ambassadors,
Henry
began
his
preparations
in earnest.
Transportation
would
be
one
of
his
principal
problems:
he
now sent
out
commissioners
to
every
English
port
between
New
castle
and Bristol,
with
orders
to
commandeer
all
ships
above
a
certain
capacity and
to
press
sufficient
sailors
to
crew
them.
Two
of
his
knights
were dispatched
to
the
Low
Countries
to
hire
still
more,
with
the
result
that in
less
than
six
months
he
had
some
1,500
vessels
lying
at
anchor
along the
south
coast
between
Southampton
and
Portsmouth.
Meanwhile
he concentrated
his
own
energies
on
the
army,
contracting
for
about
2,500 men-at-arms
—
fully
armoured
knights
with
their
attendant
esquires
and pages
-
and
perhaps
8,000
archers,
together
with
gunners,
sappers, armourers,
grooms,
surgeons,
cooks,
saddlers,
smiths,
fletchers,
chaplains and
even
fifteen
minstrels.
With
them
were
vast
numbers
of
largely untrained
hangers-on
who
could
be
mobilized
as
necessary.
All
were remunerated
according
to
their
rank
and
station,
from
dukes
who
were paid
thirteen
shillings
and
fourpence
a
day
to
the
archers
and
other ranks
who
received
sixpence.
The
cost,
inevitably,
was
enormous:
huge cash
loans
were
raised
from
the
wealthier
private
citizens,
with
virtually everything
of
value
that
the
King
possessed
—
including
many
of
the crown
jewels
—
being
offered
as
security.

While
this
immense
force
was
assembling,
Henry
set
off
on
a
pilgrimage
to
the
shrine
of
St
Winifred
at
Holywell
in
Fli
ntshire
—
a
distance

of
some
160
miles
each
way
-
returning
in
time
for
a
solemn
service
at St
Paul's
on
16
June.
Then
he
headed
once
again
for
the
south
coast, stopping
briefly
at
Winchester
to
receive
a
delegation
from
the
French court,
dispatched
in
a
desperate
last-minute
attempt
to
avert
the
coming invasion.
He
received
the
ambassadors
with
all
the
honour
due
to
their high
rank,
and
loaded
them
with
presents;
but
he
rejected
their
improved offer
of
900,000
crowns
for
Katherine's
dowry.
The
expedition,
as
he politely
explained
to
them,
was
on
the
point
of
departure.
There
could be
no
turning
back
now.