ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE year 1414, Henry the Fifth, influenced by the persuasions of Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury, by the dying injunction of his royal father not to allow the kingdom to remain long at peace, or, more probably, by those feelings of ambition which were no less natural to his youth and personal character, than consonant with the manners of the times in which he lived, resolved to assert that claim to the crown of France, which his great-grandfather, Edward the Third, urged with such confidence and success.
Although several negotiations had taken place for the purpose of prolonging the subsisting truce, between September 1413 and the January following,[2] it was not until the 28th of January, 1414, that ambassadors were appointed to treat for peace. From the engagement which was then made, that Henry would not propose marriage to any other woman than Katherine, daughter of the King of France, until after the first of the ensuing May, which term was extended on the 18th of June to the 1st of August, and afterwards to the 2nd of February, 1415, it is evident that a marriage with that princess was to form one of the conditions of the treaty;[3] but the first intimation of a claim to the crown of France, is in a commission to the Bishops of Durham and Norwich, the Earl of Salisbury, Richard Lord Grey, Sir John Pelham, Robert Waterton, Esq. and Dr. Ware, dated on the 31st of May, 1414, by which they were instructed to negociate that alliance, and “the restitution of such of their sovereign’s rights as were withheld by Charles.”
The principal claims were the crown and kingdom of France: this monstrous demand being, however, at once declared impossible,[4] the English ambassadors waved it, protesting that the concession should not prejudice Henry’s rights; but other points were insisted on which it was equally impossible for France to grant, without losing her independence as a nation. She was asked to surrender the sovereignty of the duchies of Normandy and Touraine, and the earldoms of Anjou and Maine; the duchy of Britany and the earldom and lands of Flanders, together with all other parts of the duchy of Acquitaine; the territories which had been ceded to Edward the Third by the treaty of Bretigny; and the lands between the Somme and the Graveling, which were to be held by Henry and his heirs without any claim of superiority on the part of Charles or his successors. To these demands were added the county of Provence, with the castles and lordships of Beaufort and Nogent, and the arrears of the ransom of King John, amounting to sixteen hundred thousand crowns, two of which were equal to an English noble. The ambassadors also intimated that the marriage with Katherine would not take place unless a firm peace was established with France, and that two millions of crowns were expected as her dowry.
On the 14th of March, 1414-15, the French ministers, in reply, denied Henry’s right to any part of the dominions of their master; but to avoid a war, they offered to cede the counties of Angoulesme and Bigome, and various other territories; they said, that Provence not being one of Charles’s lordships was not withheld by him; that with respect to the arrears of ransom, they thought, that having offered so much to extend the possessions of England with the view of obtaining peace, the claim ought to be given up; that touching the marriage, which had been so frequently discussed, though the Kings of France had been accustomed to give much less with their daughters than six hundred thousand crowns, which sum the Duke of Berry had offered with her in the preceding August, yet that it should be enlarged to eight hundred thousand crowns, besides her jewels and apparel, and the expense of sending her in a suitable manner to the place where she was to be delivered into Henry’s hands. But as the English ambassadors said they were not permitted to prolong their stay in France, and did not possess power to alter their demands, Charles engaged to send an embassy to England to conclude the treaty.
During the progress of these negociations Henry became dissatisfied; and either from impatience, or with the view of awing France into submission, issued writs on the 26th September, 1414, commanding a parliament, to be held at Westminster, on Monday after the octaves of St. Martin, the 18th of November following; on which day it accordingly met. Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, the Chancellor, opened the parliament by the command of Henry, who was present, in a very long speech, wherein he acquainted the assembly that his Majesty had determined to recover his inheritance, which had been long and unjustly kept from him and his progenitors, the Kings of England; that for this purpose many things were necessary; and taking for his theme, the words “dum tempos habemus operemur bonum,” pointed out with more pedantry than eloquence, that for every natural thing there were two seasons; that like the tree there was a time to bud, a time to flower, and a time to bring forth fruit, and that it was then left to repose: so was there given to man a time for peace, and a time for war and labour; that the King, considering the value of peace and tranquility which this kingdom then enjoyed, and also the justice of his present quarrel, which considerations were the more necessary for every prince who has to encounter his enemies abroad, deemed that the proper time had arrived for the accomplishment of his purpose; and thus, “dum habemus tempus operemur bonum.” But to attain this great and honorable object, three things, he said, were wanted; namely, wise and faithful counsel from his vassals, strong and true support from his people, and a copious subsidy from his subjects, which each of them would readily grant, because the more their prince’s dominions were extended, the less would their burthens become; and these things being performed, great honor and glory would necessarily ensue.
This address was not without effect; for the Commons, after electing Thomas Chaucer, the son of the poet, for their speaker, granted the King, for the honor of God, and from the great love and affection which they bore his Majesty, two entire fifteenths, and two entire tenths; not, however, expressly for the purposes for whieh it was asked, but for the defence of the kingdom of England and the safety of the seas.
The only measures mentioned in the “Foedera” before April 1415, indicative of Henry’s expectation that the negociations with France would not terminate pacifically, are, that on the 26th of September, 1414, the exportation of gunpowder was prohibited; that on the 22nd of the same month, Nicholas Merbury the master, and John Louth the clerk of the King’s works, guns, and other ordnance, were commanded to provide certain smiths and workmen, with conveyance for them; that on the 18th of the following March, Richard Clyderowe and Simon Flete, were ordered to treat with Holland for ships for his service: and that on the 22nd of that month, the sheriff of London was directed to summon all Knights, Esquires, and Valets, who held fees, wages, or annuities, by grants from the King, or his ancestors, to repair immediately to London, and on pain of forfeiture, to be there by the 24th of April at the latest.
On the 7th of April Henry is said to have addressed the King of France on the subject of his claims, and in reference to the embassy which Charles had signified his intention of sending to discuss them. No part, of the correspondence on this occasion, which is extremely curious, occurs in the “Foedera,” and it is very slightly alluded to by our historians.
To the first of those letters Charles replied on the 16th of April, and to the last, on the 26th of that month; it is therefore evident, that Henry did not wait for the answer to the first before the second was written. These documents occur in contemporary writers, and as the internal evidence which they contain of being genuine is very strong, there is no cause to doubt their authenticity. Their most striking features are falsehood, hypocrisy, and impiety; for Henry’s solemn assurance that he was not actuated by his own ambition, but by the wishes of his subjects, is rendered very doubtful by the fact, that on the day after the Chancellor solicited supplies for the invasion of France, the Commons merely stated that they granted them for the defence of the realm, and the safety of the seas. The “justice” claimed was, that France should be dismembered of many important territories; and that with the hand of Katherine, Henry should receive a sum as unprecedented as it was exorbitant. But this was not all; for his first demand was the crown of France itself, and it was not until he was convinced of the impossibility of such a concession, that he required those points to which his letters refer. If then there was falsehood in his assent ion, that his demands were dictated by the wishes of his people, rather than by his envn, there was hypocrisy in the assurances of his moderation and love of peace, and impiety in calling upon the Almighty to witness the sincerity of his pmtestations, anel in profaning the holy writings, by citing them on such an occasion. These letters, which were probably dictated by Cardinal Beaufort, are remarkable for the style in which they are written: in some places they approach nearly to eloquence, and they are throughout clear, nervous, and impressive.
A circumstance is stated to have occurred in consequence of Henry’s claim to the French crown, which is so extraordinary that it must not be passed over without inquiring into its truth. The Dauphin,[5] who was at that time between eighteen and nineteen years of age, is reported, in derision of Henry’s pretensions, and as a satire on his dissolute character, to have sent him a box of tennis balls, insinuating that such things were more adapted to his capacity and disposition than the implements of war.
Hume has justly observed that the great offers made by the French monarch, however inferior to Henry’s demands, prove that it was his wish rather to appease, than exasperate him; and it is almost incredible, that whilst the advisers of Charles evinced so much forbearance, his son should have offered Henry a personal insult. Notwithstanding that neither of the French historians, nor Walsyngham, Titus Livius, or the anonymous biographer of Henry, whose narrative will be so largely cited in the following pages, notice the communication, almost every other contemporary writer alludes to it; and many subsequent chroniclers have followed their assertions. In an inedited MS. in the British Museum, entitled, “The Chronicle of King Henry the Fifth that was Kyng Henries son,” and apparently written at the period, the transaction is thus related:
The Dolphine of Fraunce aunswered to our ambassatours, and said in this manner, that the Kyng was over yong and to tender of age, to make any warre ayens hym, and was not lyke yet so be noo good werrioure to doo and make suche a conquest there upon hym; and somewhat in cornet and dispite he sente to hym a tonne full of tenys ballis because he wolde have somewhat for.to play withall for hym and for hys lordis, and that became hym better than to mayntain any were: and than anon our lordes that was embassadours token hir leve and comen into England ayenne, and tolde the Kyng and his counceill of the ungoodly aunswer that they had of the Dolphyn, and of the present the which he had sent unto the Kyng: and whan the Kyng had hard her wordis, and the aunswere of the Dolpynne, he was wondre sore agreved, and right evell apayd towarde the Frensshmen, and toward the Kyng and the Dolphynne, and thought to avenge hym upon hem as sone as God wold send hym grace and myght, and anon lette make tenys ballis for the Dolphynne, in all the hast that they myght be made; and they were great gonne stones for the Dolpynne to play wyth all.
A poem, in MS in the same library, which has been attributed to Lydgate, who lived during the reigns of Henry the Fifth and Henry the Sixth, contains an allusion to the subject:
And thanne answerde the Dolfyn bold,
To our Bassatours sone ageyn,
Me thinke youre Kyng he is nought old,
No werrys for to maynteyn,
Grete well youre Kyng he seyde, so yonge,
That is bothe gentill and small,
A tonne of tenys ballys I shall hym sende,
For to play hym with all.
A dieu Sire seide oure lordis alle,
For there they wolde no longer lende,
They token there leve bothe grete and smalle,
And hom to Ingelond they gum wende;
And thanne they sette the tale on ende,
All that the Dolfyn to them gon saye,
I schal hym thanke, thanne seyde our Kynge,
By the grace of God if that I may.
The Kyng of Fraunce that is so old,
Onto oure Kyng he sent on hy,
And prayde trews that he wold hold,
For the love of Seynt Mary:
Oure Cherlys of Fraunce gret well or ye wend,
The Dolfyn prowed withinne his wall,
Swyche tenys ballys y shal hym sende,
As schall tere the roof all of his all.
As several contemporary writers state that the Dauphin sent Henry the contemptuous present which has been imputed to him, it ought not to be disbelieved, because some of the writers of the time do not speak of it, or because it is improbable. No proof of the circumstance can now be adduced, and the statement consequently remains among those innumerable points of history, upon which every individual must form his own conclusions; but it should be observed, as additional grounds for doubting that the message or gift was sent by the Dauphin, that such an act must have convinced both parties of the hopelessness of a pacific arrangement afterwards; and would, it may be imagined, have equally prevented the French court and Henry from seeking any other means of ending the dispute than by the sword. This, however, was not the case, for even supposing that the offensive communication was made on the occasion of the last, instead, and which it would appear from the preceding extracts was the case, on that of the first embassy, it is certain that overtures were again sent to Henry whilst he was on his journey to the place of embarkation; and that even when there he wrote to the French monarch, with the object of adjusting his claims without a recourse to arms. Moreover, had the Dauphin given Henry so much cause for personal hatred, he would in all probability have alluded to it in the letter by which he challenged him to decide his claim by single combat. The circumstance of Henry’s offering to meet his adversary in that manner, may perhaps be deemed to afford some support to the idea that he was influenced by those feelings of revenge to which the Dauphin’s conduct would probably have given birth; but if the chief motive of that challenge was the present of the tennis balls, some allusion to it would most likely have found a place in its contents; and the specious pretext of merely wishing to save the effusion of human blood, have been superseded by an expression of defiance, and a desire of vengeance for the insult which he had offered him.
It is unquestionable that Henry did not anticipate that the embassy which, in his first letter to the French monarch, he complains had not arrived, and for which, in the second, he says, he had granted passports, would be attended with success. Nor can it be believed that his wishes were opposed to his expectations; for on Tuesday, the 16th of April, the day immediately succeeding the date of his second letter to Charles, he held a council at Westminster, at which, pursuant to writs commanding them to attend there in the quindesme of Easter, the Dukes of Clarence, Bedford, Gloucester, and York, nine Earls, ten Bishops, five Abbots, the Prior of the Hospital, and fourteen Barons, were present. After Henry had particularly thanked them for their prompt obedience to his summons, the Bishop of Winchester, the Chancellor, by his Majesty’s command, acquainted them ably and briefly with the proceedings of the great council, before held at the same place, and with the resolutions adopted; and, he added, that for the causes then assigned, the King had determined to undertake a voyage, by the grace of God, in his own person for the recovery of his inheritance.
On the next, day, Wednesday, the 17th of April, all the lords spiritual and temporal again assembled in council in the presence of the King, when the Chancellor informed them that his Majesty had appointed his brother, the Duke of Bedford, to be his Lieutenant of England during his absence, and that the following persons were to form his council; the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of Winchester and Durham, the Earl of Westmoreland, the Prior of the Hospital, the Lords Grey de Ruthin, Berkeley, Powys, and Morley. The defence of the Marches of Scotland was entrusted to the Earl of Westmoreland, and the Lords Mauley and Dacre. Besides the retinue for the war of the Marches and the Sea, two hundred lances and four hundred archers were assigned for the defence and safeguard of the East March and West March, towards Scotland; one hundred lances, and two hundred archers, for South and North Wales; one hundred and fifty lances, and three hundred archers, for the Marches of Calais: and for the Sea, one hundred and fifty lances, and three hundred archers, besides double shipping.
On the following day, Thursday, the 18th of April, the King being present in his said great council, declared in what, manner the Lords and others of his retinue were to be retained to serve him in the said voyage for one year, and that they should receive, every Duke 13s. 4d.; every Earl 6s. 8d.; every Baron 4s.; and every Knight 2s. each a day. If the voyage extended to France, every Esquire, Man at Arms, was to receive for his wages 12d., and every Archer 6d., a day, and for every thirty men at arms a reward of one hundred marks a quarter; and if the voyage extended to Guienne, each Duke, Earl, Baron, and Knight, was to receive as above, every Man at Arms forty marks, and every Archer twenty marks a year, without reward.
Henry having so far provided for the safety of the Realm during his absence, and settled the rate of wages of his Army, proceeded to use every possible exertion to raise the requisite number of soldiers, and to provide the necessary materiel for the expedition. Copies of a great many contracts, between the King and such persons as were bound to provide a stated number of Men at Arms and Archers, and with different persons to procure carpenters, masons, waggons, bows, arrows, &c. are printed in the “Foedera,” but the most interesting are the agreements with the crown for the payment of the retainers; and between the lords and their vassals for their equipment and reward in the voyage.
It was one of the earliest measures to secure shipping from Holland; and besides the commission issued to Richard Clyderow and Simon Flete, dated on the 18th of March, which has been mentioned; Clyderow and Reginald Curteys were ordered, on the 4th of April, 1415, to hire ships in Holland and Zealand for the King’s service, which were to be sent to the ports of London, Sandwich, and Winchelsea; and on the 11th of that month, Nicholas Mauduyt, serjeant-at-arms, was commanded to arrest all ships and other vessels carrying twenty tons or more, as well belonging to this kingdom as to other countries, which were then in the river Thames, and in other sea-ports of the realm, as far as Newcastle-upon-Tyne, or which might arrive there before the 1st of May; and the said vessels were to be at the ports of Southampton, London, or Winchelsea, by the 8th of May at the latest.
Commands were also issued, dated on the 3rd of May, to John Kyngeston, master of the ship called the Katherine of the Tower, to William Robynson, of the Nicolas of the Tower, to Stephen Thomas, of the Trinity Royal; to John Piers of the Little Trinity of the Tower, and to William Richeman, of the Gabriel of the Tower, on the 16th of May; on the 4th of June, to John Huterell, of the Little Mary of the Tower; and on the 2nd January, to Henry Pitman, of the Rude Cog’ of the Tower, to arrest the necessary sailors to navigate these ships in the expedition. Writs were directed on the 20th of April, to Nicholas Frost, bowyer, to provide, at his Majesty’s charge, workmen to make and repair the King’s bows, and for that purpose to procure wood, called bow-staves, from any place he thought proper, excepting from the property of the church; to Robert Hunt, serjeant of the waggons of the household, dated on the 16th of May, to provide a sufficient quantity of carts and waggons for the voyage, and also carpenters, smiths, wood and iron, to construct them, with the necessary horses. To Stephen Ferrour, serjeant of the King’s farriers, on the 25th of May, to provide iron and horse shoes, smiths and iron, and all other things requisite for farriers, together with proper conveyance. To Simon Lewys and John Benet, masons, on the 6th of June, to provide one hundred of the best and most able masons, with their tools, for the expedition; to John Southemede, “fare carter,”[6] dated on the day last mentioned, to provide sixty two-wheeled carts, with collars, harness, halters, leather pipes, and all other articles requisite for carts, by the 17th of June at the latest. To Thomas Mathewe and William Gille, also dated on the 6th of June, to provide one hundred and twenty carpenters and turners; a and to William Mersh and Nicholas Shokyngton, smiths, to provide forty smiths. All these persons and things were to be procured in the counties of Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Herts, Bucks, and Middlesex, or the city of London; and the civil authorities were commanded to afford every possible assistance in raising them. The Sheriffs of various counties were ordered, on the 26th of May and 24th of June, to levy a certain number of cattle; and on the 27th of May the Sheriff of Southampton was desired to cause ale to be brewed and bread to be baked in Winchester and Southampton, and in places adjacent, by the time the King arrived, for the use of his army.
That the Kingdom might not be left without protection, orders were issued, on the 28th of May, to the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Bishops, immediately to array the clergy of their respective dioceses, as well religious as a secular, exempt or not exempt, according to their condition and means, for the defence of the realm in case it was invaded; and to certify, under their seals in Chancery, the state and number of the array, by the 16th of the ensuing July. Commands for the same purpose were given on the 29th of that month, to some of the principal knights and esquires of each county, to take a review of all the men at arms and others capable of bearing arms, as well hoblers as archers, to divide them into companies of thousands, hundreds, and twenties, and to keep them in readiness for resisting an enemy. This regulation must not be noticed without adding, that it has been said to be the first commission of array ever issued, and that “this was the aera when the feudal militia in England gave place to one which was perhaps still less orderly and regular”; but an historian of the present day has shewn, that such commissions were usual in all reigns since that of Henry the Second. Every Sheriff, by writs dated on the 7th of August, from Porchester Castle, was enjoined to proclaim the King’s commands that a nightly watch should be kept in each town until the feast of All Saints next following, and that no tavern-keeper should suffer any unknown persons to remain in his house for more than one day and a night, without knowledge of the cause of his stay; and if any such stranger should refuse to explain the motive of his remaining, he was to be arrested by the mayor, bailiffs, or constables of the town, and committed to prison.
Letters of protection were granted to numerous individuals on account of their engagement to attend the King: these, in which were included persons of various ranks in life, were probably given to exempt them from civil process, or from losses in consequence of their being out of the kingdom; and others obtained general letters of attorney.
The supply granted by parliament in the preceding November, being insufficient to defray the expense of advancing to each person in the army part of the wages, to which by his agreement he was entitled, Henry issued a proclamation, addressed to his “very dear, faithful, and well-beloved subjects,” dated at Reading on the 10th of May, informing them that he had set out on the expedition in his own person; that the Lords and others of his retinue had been paid a quarter’s wages, but that he had promised to pay them for another quarter at the time of their embarkation, which was near at hand; that the money granted was not sufficient to pay the said wages at the time he had promised; and that if this was not done the voyage would not only be retarded, but the first payment would be lost, to the great injury of him and his kingdom: he therefore entreated them, as they wished for the success of the voyage, and the welfare of himself and the realm, that they would grant him such sums as his dear and faithful knights, John Pelham and William Esturmy, the bearers of that address, would point out, and to whom they were to give full credence; that they were to send the money as quickly as possible by one of their own people, in whom they had confidence; and that such security for the repayment should be given, as with the grace of God would content them. This application was attended with some success, for there is proof that the following sums were advanced in consequence, with which various customs and other sources of the royal revenue were charged:
By the inhabitants of Canterbury 100 marks; by those of Sudbury £26. 13s. 4d.; by those of Bristol £240; by the Bishop of Hereford £100; by the Bishop of Lincoln £40;f by Paul de Milan, merchant of Lucca, 200 marks; by Nicholas de Mulyn and his colleagues, merchants of Venice, 1000 marks; by Richard Whityngton, citizen of London, 700 marks; by John Butiller, customer of London, £220; by John Norton, collector of the subsidy, £200; by Richard Bukland, collector of the subsidy, £200; by Robert Cotton, collector of the customs, £200; by Thomas Denton, collector of the customs, £200; by Laurence de Albert and others, merchants of Florence, 1000 marks.
The King’s appeal to the generosity of his subjects did not, however, produce sufficient money for his purpose; and he was obliged to pawn some of the crown jewels, with a quantity of plate, to his soldiers as security for their wages. Of these deposits minute information has been preserved: they exhibit a curious picture of Henry’s neccessities, and contain an interesting description of the plate and jewels then used, with their weight and value. A very unfavorable impression of the royal dignity is produced by these contracts; for whilst they prove the King’s extreme poverty, they establish the degrading fact, that the humblest Esquire in his retinue would not embark under his banner without receiving half a year’s wages in advance, or a piece of plate, a fragment of the royal diadem, or some other valuable article, as security for payment. This caution must have arisen from experience of its necessity; and it may be inferred that the laurels that adorned the brows of some of our early monarchs, were gained by services which they repaid with treachery and falsehood.
It has been estimated that Henry raised by loans, and by the grant of Parliament, five hundred thousand nobles, or nearly one huudred and seventy thousand pounds; and having thus surmounted the only obstacle, he prosecuted his arrangements with unremitting energy.
On the 18th of June, he left Westminster on his way to Southampton. It would appear from Lydgate, that his departure was attended with much ceremony; that he proceeded through London to St. Paul’s, accompanied by the Mayor and Citizens, and that having made a handsome offering to that church, he took leave of his royal step-mother and then offered another oblation at St. George’s, in the Fields, after which he set out on his journey.