Henry IV
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Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog: Having just written two blogs on Henry Vth and touched on this subject, I wanted to explore Shakespeare’s re-occurring theme of the burdens of kingship in his history plays with particular reference to Richard II and Henry IV, Parts I and II and on into Henry Vth and Richard III.…
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Part 2 – For a kingdom any oath may be broken – York’s title 1460 Introduction This is an essay about the legitimacy of the duke of York’s title to the English crown. I am not going to delve into the duke’s motive for claiming the crown, or into the details of the rebellion…
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Part 1-– Necessitas non habet leger – The Lancastrian title 1399 Introduction I am not arguing that Henry IV usurped the crown in 1399. That judgment has already been made and hardly challenged since the fifteenth century[1]. Neither will I rehearse the reasons for king Richard II’s downfall in 1399; they are already well enough…
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After Henry VI’s death in 1471, Henry IV’s legitimate line was extinct but his sister’s senior descendant was her grandson, Afonso V, King of Portugal (1432 r.1438-81). He was, therefore, the principal Lancastrian claimant to the English throne, although Edward IV had become Duke of Lancaster by then as a result of Henry IV merging…
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This 1988 volume reads very well and is an excellent summary of the life of the second (or first) son of John of Gaunt by his mistress Catherine de Roet. The language is very modern although the plain cover is a little reminiscent of many older books. There is relatively little material about Henry Beaufort’s…
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After the fall of Harlech Castle in February 1409, various members of Owain Glyndwr’s family were taken to the Tower. Among them was his grandson, Lionel ap Edmund (or Lionel Mortimer) the young son of Sir Edmund Mortimer and his wife Catrin ferch Owain. This boy cannot have been older than six at the uttermost,…
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The Strange Death of Lancastrian England
“Beauforts”, Azincourt, Bauge, Blanche, Burgundy, Cambridge Plot, Cardinal Beaufort, Catherine de Valois, Charles VI, Charles VII, Congress of Arras, Edward of Lancaster, Eleanor Cobham, France, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Humphrey of Gloucester, John of Bedford, Lancastrians, Margaret of Anjou, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Rupert of Germany, Sir Hugh Swynford, Thomas of Clarence, Treaty of Troyes, Verneuil, WakefieldWhen Henry IV had his final succession statute passed through Parliament he made no provision for the throne beyond his children and their offspring. Neither the Beauforts, the Yorks, or even the Hollands got so much as a line. This was quite understandable, given that he had four sons and two daughters. No one could…
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The “official” version of Richard II’s death is straightforward. After his deposition he was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, and, following a rebellion of his followers in early January 1400, starved to death. The date of death is usually given as 14th February 1400. His body was subsequently taken by stages to London, being publicly exhibited…
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