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  Shakespeare's Kings

  John Julius Norwich

  Published: 2001

  Tags: Non Fiction

  Non Fictionttt

  * * *

  SUMMARY:

  In a sparkling, fast-paced narrative, esteemed historian John Julius Norwich chronicles the turbulent events of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century England that inspired Shakespeare's history plays. It was a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare, a time during which the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, and peasants and townsmen alike arose in revolt. This was the raw material of Shakespeare's dramas, and Norwich holds up his work to the light of history to ask: Who was the real Falstaff? How accurate a historian was the playwright? Shakespeare's Kings is a marvelous study of the Bard's method of spinning history into art, and a captivating portrait of the Middle Ages.

  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 published by Penguin in one volume entitled 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 [1337-1377]

  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 palace by mob after trial of Wycliffe · Peace between Gaunt and Londoners made by Richard on accession 54

  Papal schism, England siding with Urban VI · Beginnings 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 · Mowbray, 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 · Deputation 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 · Agreement at Westminster · King's bad faith · De Vere marches on London · Radcot 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 · Sentences · 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 royalists · 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 · Visit 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/Oldcastle · 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 battle 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 responsibilities 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 · King 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 Lollards · Case of Sir John Oldcastle · St Giles's Fields 173 Henry's claim to throne of France · Beaufort's mission · 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

  10. King Henry [1414-1420]

  Chronological limitation of play · Assistance of Chorus in dating · Tennis balls incident, true or false? · Southampton plot · Sanity of Charles VI 207

  Fluellen · Harfleur · Princess Katherine · Agincourt 211

  Return to London · Reconciliation between French and English · Courtship and marriage 216

  11. King Henry VI: His Childhood and Youth [1422-1445]

  Henry's birth · Bedford, Gloucester, Beaufort · Hopelessness of the war · England's steady loss of support in France · Coronation 221 Joan of Arc · Death of Salisbury · Battle of the Herrings · Capture of Joan of Arc · Her burning · Henry's coronation in Paris · Peace of Arras between France and Burgundy · Death of Bedford 223 Character of Henry VI · Release of Charles of Orleans · Fall of Duke Humphrey · Rise of Suffolk · Margaret of Anjou · Her marriage to Henry 227

  12. King Henry VI Part I [1422-1453]

  Authorship · Fidelity to truth · Sources ■ Telescoping of time · FalstafF · Joan of Arc · Death of Salisbury * Introduction of Talbot · His fight with Joan 235

  Act II · Unhistorical recovery of Orleans · Countess of Auvergne · Temple Garden scene · York's visit to the dying Mortimer 240 Act III · Beaufort-Gloucester feud · Building-up of Richard of York · Joan's capture of Rouen · Confused chronology · Talbot made Earl 242 Act IV · Henry's French coronation · His division of the army in France · Death of Talbots · ActV · Exeter's surprise at Beaufort as Cardinal · Henry's projected marriage · Scenes with the Pucelle · Appearance of Margaret of Anjou · Peace 245

  13. King Henry VI: The Gathering Storm [1445—1455]

  Charles VII makes good use of truce · Arrest and death of Duke Humphrey · Death of Cardinal Beaufort · Suffolk assumes power · Richard of York appointed to Ireland · French war resumes under Somerset · English defeat at Formigny · Imprisonment of Suffolk · His death 253

  Jack Cade's rebellion · York's return from Ireland · His first march on London · Somerset's claim to throne · Increasing York-Somerset hostility · York's second march on London · King promises Somerset's arrest · His breach of faith 257

  Henry's illness and insanity · Birth of his son · Arrest of Somerset · York appointed Protector · Appoints Salisbury Chancellor · Henry recovers · York, Salisbury, Warwick withdraw to north · York's third march on London · First battle of St Albans 262

  14. King Henry VI Part II [1441-1455]

  Anjou and Maine · Confusion over Warwicks · Shakespeare extends Protectorate · Kingdom torn apart by factions 269 Eleanor Cobham · Her penance · Duke Humphrey's death 272 Blackening of Duke of York · Humphrey not murdered · No affair between Queen and Suffolk · Circumstances of death of Cardinal Beaufort · Suffolk's death · Cade's rebellion 274 York's return from Ireland · Telescoping time · York's behaviour at Blackheath · His children · St Albans 278

  15. The Wars of the Roses [1455-1475]

  Shakespeare's telescoping · Richard of York claims the throne · Battle of Wakefield · Mortimer's Cross · St Albans II · Edward proclaimed 283

  Battle of Towton · Edward in the north · Margaret's foreign intrigues · Hedgeley Moor and Hexham 287

  Marriage to Elizabeth Woodville · Warwick's reaction · Alliance with Clarence · Clarence marries Isabel Nevill · They march to London · Robin of Redesdale · Battle of Edgecote · Edward's captivity 290

  His liberation · Welles rebellion · Battle of Losecoat Field Warwick and Clarence escape to France · They ask Louis XI for protection · Warwick's 'reconciliation' with Margaret of Anjou · He and Clarence return to England · Betrayal of Montagu · Edward flees to Holland · Henry VI reinstated · Edward lands at Ravenscar 294

  Clarence betrays Warwick · Edward enters London and is recrowned · Battle of Barnet · Warwick's death · Margaret lands at Weymouth · Her arrival at Tewkesbury 299

  Battle of Tewkesbury · Massacre · Fate of Edward, Prince of Wales · Fate of Margaret · Fate of Henry VI 302

  16. King Henry VI Part III [1455-1475]

  Crimes of Lancaster expiated after Tewkesbury · Opening inaccuracies · Dramatization of Act of Accord · Battle of Wakefield 307

  Act II · Mortimer's Cross, St Albans II, Towton · Presence/absence of George and Richard · Act III · Henry VI's wanderings · Warwick at French court, suing for hand of Bona · His return in rebellion in 1470 309

  Act IV · Edward seeks opinion of marriage · Telescoping of Edward's capture and his flight to Holland · His landing at Ravenscar · London -Barnet · Tewkesbury · Death of Prince of Wales · Murder of Henry VI 313

  Conclusion · Stress on Richard's villainy 317

  17. King Edward V [1471-1483]

  French expedition of 1475 · Rivalry between Clarence and Gloucester · Their contrasting appearances · Warwick's inheritance Richard's marriage ·

  Clarence becomes paranoid His trial and death 321 /

  Richard in the north · He occupies Edinburgh · De
ath of Edward IV · Power of Woodvilles · Richard and Buckingham act against them · Richard's seizure of Edward V on way to London Execution of Rivers 324

  Edward V and Richard enter London · Extracts Duke of York from sanctuary · Meeting of 13 June · Arrest and execution of Hastings 327

  Sermon of Dr Shaa · Buckingham's speech at Guildhall · Petition to Richard to accept crown · He takes oath in Westminster Hall 330

  Coronation · The Princes in the Tower 333

  18. The Final Reckoning [1483-1485]

  Triumphal progress through north · Buckingham's revolt · Role of Morton · Margaret Beaufort · Revolt ends in fiasco · Buckingham executed · Support grows for Richmond · Fugitive rebels join him at Rennes 339

  Richard's anxieties · Begins to see Richmond as serious threat

  Treaty of Pontefract with Brittany · Henry's escape into Anjou · Warm reception from French court · Arrival of Oxford · Affair at Hammes · Death of Queen · Richard considers marriage with Elizabeth of York · Denial at Clerkenwell 343

  Henry's landing · His progress · Bosworth 347

  After Bosworth · Fate of Richard's body 351

  19. King Richard III [1471-1485]

  The two legends · Dating of the play 355

  Acts I and II · Chronologies · Clarence's death · Queens' lamentations - Undramatic treatment of Richard's coup 357 Acts III and IV · Richard's progress to the throne · His murder of the

  Princes 361 Bosworth 365

  Epilogue 369 Chronological Table 375 Bibliography 379