Henry of Monmouth, Volume 1

Henry of Monmouth, Volume 1 - Or, Memoirs of the Life and Character of Henry the Fifth, as Prince of Wales and King of England

Memoirs such as these of Henry of Monmouth might doubtless be made more attractive and entertaining were their Author to supply the deficiencies of authentic records by the inventions of his fancy, and adorn the result of careful inquiry into matters of fact by the descriptive imagery and colourings of fiction. To a writer, also, who could at once handle the pen of the biographer and of the poet, few names would offer a more ample field for the excursive range of historical romance than the life of Henry of Monmouth. From the day of his first compulsory visit to Ireland, abounding as that time does with deeply interesting incidents, to his last hour in the now-ruined castle of Vincennes;or rather, from his mother's espousals to the interment of his earthly remains within the sacred precincts of Westminster, every period teems with animating suggestions. So far, however, from possessing such adventitious recommendations, the point on which (rather perhaps than any other) an apology might be expected for this work, is, that it has freely tested by (p. vi) the standard of truth those delineations of Henry's character which have contributed to immortalize our great historical dramatist. The Author, indeed, is willing to confess that he would gladly have withdrawn from the task of assaying the substantial accuracy and soundness of Shakspeare's historical and biographical views, could he have done so safely and without a compromise of principle. He would have avoided such an inquiry, not only in deference to the acknowledged rule which does not suffer a poet to be fettered by the rigid shackles of unbending facts; but from a disinclination also to interfere, even in appearance, with the full and free enjoyment of those exquisite scenes of humour, wit, and nature, in which Henry is the hero, and his "riotous, reckless companions" are subordinate in dramatical excellence only to himself. The Author may also not unwillingly grant, that (with the majority of those who give a tone to the "form and pressure" of the age) Shakspeare has done more to invest the character of Henry with a never-dying interest beyond the lot of ordinary monarchs, than the bare records of historical verity could ever have effected. Still he feels that he had no alternative. He must either have ascertained the historical worth of those scenic representations, or have suffered to remain in their full force the deep and prevalent impressions, as to Henry's principles and conduct, which owe, if not their origin, yet, at least, much of their universality and (p. vii) vividness, to Shakspeare. The poet is dear, and our early associations are dear; and pleasures often tasted without satiety are dear: but to every rightly balanced mind Truth will be dearer than all. It must nevertheless be here intimated, that these volumes are neither exclusively, nor yet especially, designed for the antiquarian student. The Author has indeed sought for genuine information at every fountain-head accessible to him; but he has prepared the result of his researches for the use (he would trust, for the improvement as well as the gratification,) of the general reader. And whilst he has not consciously omitted any essential reference, he has guarded against interrupting the course of his narrative by an unnecessary accumulation of authorities. He is, however, compelled to confess that he rises from this very limited sphere of inquiry under an impression, which grew stronger and deeper as his work advanced, that, before a history of our country can be produced worthy of a place among the records of mankind, the still hidden treasures of the metropolis and of our universities, together with the stores which are known to exist in foreign libraries, must be studied with far more of devoted care and zealous perseverance than have hitherto been bestowed upon them. That the honest and able student, however unwearied in zeal and industry, may be supplied with the indispensable means (p. viii) of verifying what tradition has delivered down, enucleating difficulties, rectifying mistakes, reconciling apparent inconsistencies, clearing up doubts, and removing that mass of confusion and error under which the truth often now lies buried,our national history must be made a subject of national interest. It is a maxim of our law, and the constant practice of our courts of justice, never to admit evidence unless it be the best which under the circumstances can be obtained. Were this principle of jurisprudence recognised and adopted in historical criticism, the student would carefully ascend to the first witnesses of every period, on whom modern writers (however eloquent or sagacious) must depend for their information. How lamentably devoid of authority and credit is the work of the most popular and celebrated of our modern English historians in consequence of his unhappy neglect of this fundamental principle, will be made palpably evident by the instances which could not be left unnoticed even within the narrow range of these Memoirs. And the Author is generally persuaded that, without a far more comprehensive and intimate acquaintance with original documents than our writers have possessed, or apparently have thought it their duty to cultivate, error will continue to be propagated as heretofore; and our annals will abound with surmises and misrepresentations, instead of being the guardian depositories of historical verity. Only by the acknowledgment and (p. ix) application of the principle here advocated will England be supplied with those monuments of our race, those "POSSESSIONS FOR EVER," as the Prince of Historians[1] once named them, which may instruct the world in the philosophy of moral cause and effect, exhibit honestly and clearly the natural workings of the human heart, and diffuse through the mass of our fellow-creatures a practical assurance that piety, justice, and charity form the only sure groundwork of a people's glory and happiness; while religious and moral depravity in a nation, no less than in an individual, leads, (tardily it may be and remotely, but by ultimate and inevitable consequence,) to failure and degradation. In those portions of his work which have a more immediate bearing upon religious principles and conduct, the Author has not adopted the most exciting mode of discussing the various subjects which have naturally fallen under his review. Party spirit, though it seldom fails to engender a more absorbing interest for the time, and often clothes a subject with an importance not its own, will find in these pages no response to its sentiments, under whatever character it may give utterance to them. In these departments of his inquiry, to himself far the most interesting, (and many such there are, especially in the second volume,) the Author trusts that he has been guided by the Apostolical maxim of "Speaking the Truth in Love." He has not willingly (p. x) advanced a single sentiment which should unnecessarily cause pain to any individual or to any class of men; he has not been tempted by morbid delicacy or fear to suppress or disguise his view of the very Truth. The reader will readily perceive that, with reference to the foreign and domestic policy of our country,the advances of civilization,the manners of private life, as well in the higher as in the more humble grades of society,the state of literature,the progress of the English constitution,the condition and discipline of the army, which Henry greatly improved,and the rise and progress of the royal navy, of which he was virtually the founder, many topics are either purposely avoided, or only incidentally and cursorily noticed. To one point especially (a subject in itself most animating and uplifting, and intimately interwoven with the period embraced by these Memoirs,) he would have rejoiced to devote a far greater portion of his book, had it been compatible with the immediate design of his undertaking;the promise and the dawn of the Reformation. However the value of his labours may be ultimately appreciated, the Author confidently trusts that their publication can do no disservice to the cause of truth, of sound morality, and of pure religion. He would hope, indeed, that in one point at (p. xi) least the power of an example of pernicious tendency might be weakened by the issue of his investigation. If the results of these inquiries be acquiesced in as sound and just, no young man can be encouraged by Henry's example (as it is feared many, especially in the higher classes, have been encouraged,) in early habits of moral delinquency, with the intention of extricating himself in time from the dominion of his passions, and of becoming, like Henry, in after-life a pattern of religion and virtue, "the mirror of every grace and excellence." The divine, the moralist, and the historian know that authenticated instances of such sudden moral revolutions in character are very rare,exceptions to the general rule; and among those exceptions we cannot be justified in numbering Henry of Monmouth. He was bold and merciful and kind, but he was no libertine, in his youth; he was brave and generous and just, but he was no persecutor, in his manhood. On the throne he upheld the royal authority with mingled energy and mildness, and he approved himself to his subjects as a wise and beneficent King; in his private individual capacity he was a bountiful and considerate, though strict and firm master, a warm and sincere friend, a faithful and loving husband. He passed through life under the habitual sense of an overruling Providence; and, in his premature death, he left us the example of a Christian's patient and pious resignation to the Divine Will. As long (p. xii) as he lived, he was an object of the most ardent and enthusiastic admiration, confidence, and love; and, whilst the English monarchy shall remain among the unforgotten things on earth, his memory will be honoured, and his name will be enrolled among the Noble and the Good. (p. xiii) TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, IN THEIR CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. [*] Those years, months, or days, respectively, to which an asterisk is attached, are not considered to have been so fully ascertained as the other dates. 1340* Feb.* John of Gaunt born. 13401341 Earl of Northumberland, Hotspur's father, born, before Nov. 19, 1341. 1359 May 19, John of Gaunt married to Blanche. 13581359 Owyn Glyndowr born, before Sept. 3, 1359. 1366 April 6, Henry Bolinbroke born. 13651366 May 20,* Henry Percy (Hotspur) born before 30th Oct. 1366. 1367 Jan. Richard II. born at Bourdeaux. 1369* Blanche, wife of John of Gaunt died. 1371* John of Gaunt married Constance. 1376 June 8, Edward the Black Prince died. 1377 June 21, King Edward III. died. 1378 Nov. Hotspur first bore arms at Berwick. 1381 Bolinbroke nearly slain by the rioters. 1382 Richard II. married to Queen Anne. 1384 Dec. 31, Wickliffe's death. 1386* Bolinbroke married Mary Bohun. 1387 John of Gaunt went to Spain. 1387* Aug. 9,* Henry born at Monmouth. 1388 Hotspur taken prisoner by the Scots. 1388 Thomas Duke of Clarence born. 1389 Nov. 9, Isabel, Richard II.'s wife, born. (p. xiv) 1389* Nov.* John of Gaunt returned from Spain. 1389* John Duke of Bedford born. 1390* Humfrey Duke of Gloucester born. 13901391 Bolinbroke visited Barbary. 13921393 Bolinbroke visited Prussia and the Holy Sepulchre. 1394* Mary, Henry's mother, died. 1394* Constance, John of Gaunt's wife, died. 1394 June 7, Anne, Richard II.'s Queen, died. 1396 John of Gaunt recalled from Acquitaine by Richard II. 1396 John of Gaunt married Katharine Swynford. 1397 Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, banished. 1397 Sept. 29, Bolinbroke created Duke of Hereford. 1397* John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, banished. 1397 Nov. 4, Richard II. married to Isabel. 1398* Henry of Monmouth resided in Oxford. 1398 July 14, Henry Beaufort consecrated Bishop of Lincoln. 1398 Sept. 16, Bolinbroke and Norfolk at Coventry. 1398 Bolinbroke banished. 1399 Feb. 3, John of Gaunt died. 1399 May 29, Richard II. sailed for Ireland. 1399 June 23, Henry of Monmouth knighted. 1399 June 28, News of Bolinbroke's designs reached London. 1399 July 4, Bolinbroke landed at Ravenspur. 1399 August, Henry shut up in Trym Castle. 1399 August, Richard landed at Milford. 1399 Aug. 14, Richard fell into Bolinbroke's hands. 1399 August, Bolinbroke sent to Ireland for Henry. 1399 August, Death of the young Duke of Gloucester. 1399 Sept. 1, Bolinbroke brought Richard captive to London. 1399 Oct. 1, Richard's resignation of the crown read in Parliament. (p. xv) 1399 Oct. 13, Bolinbroke crowned as Henry IV. 1399 Oct. 15, Henry created Prince of Wales. 1400 Jan. 4, Conspiracy against the King at Windsor. 1400* Feb. 14,* Richard II. died at Pontefract. 1400* Oct. 25,* Chaucer died. 1400 June Henry IV. proceeded to Scotland. 1400 June 23, Lord Grey of Ruthyn's letter to Henry. 1400 Sept. 19, First proclamation against the Welsh. 1400 Owyn Glyndowr in open rebellion. 1401 Henry in Wales, before April 10. 1401 April 10, Hotspur's first Letter. 1401* Sept. 13,* Katharine, Henry's Queen, born. 1401* Nov. 11,* Restoration of Isabel. 1402 April 3, Henry IV. espoused to Joan of Navarre. 1402 June 12,* Edmund Mortimer taken prisoner. 1402 Sept. 14, Battle of Homildon. 1402* Nov. 30,* Edmund Mortimer married to a daughter of Owyn Glyndowr. 1403 March 7, Henry appointed Lieutenant of Wales. 1403* May 30, Henry's Letter to the Council. 1403 July 21, Battle of Shrewsbury. 1404 May 10, Glyndowr dated "the fourth year of our Principality." 1404 June 10, Welsh with Frenchmen overran Archenfield. 1404 June 25, Henry's letter to his father. 1404 Oct. 6, Parliament at Coventry. 1405 Feb. 20, Sons of the Earl of March stolen from Windsor. 1405 March 1, Crown settled on Henry and his brothers. 1405 March 11, Battle of Grosmont. 1405 May, Revolt of the Earl of Northumberland and Bardolf. 1405 June 8, Scrope, Archbishop of York, beheaded. 1405 June 7, Testimony of the Commons to Henry's excellences. 1406* June 29,* Isabel married to Angouleme. 1407* Nov. 1,* Henry went to Scotland. (p. xvi) 1408 Feb. 28,* Earl of Northumberland, Hotspur's father, fell in battle. 1408 July 8, Henry in London, as President of the Council. 1409 Feb. 1, Henry, Guardian of the Earl of March. 1409 Feb. 28, Henry, Warden of Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover. 1409* Sept. 13,* Death of Isabel, Richard II.'s widow. 1410 March 5, Warrant for the burning of Badby. 1410 March 18, Henry, Captain of Calais. 1410 June 16, Henry sate as President of the Council. 1410 June 18, Do. do. 1410 June 19, Do. do. 1410 June 23, Affray in Eastcheap, by the Lords Thomas and John, his brothers. 1410 July 22, Henry, as President. 1410 July 29, Do. 1410 July 30, Do. 1411 March 19, Henry with his father at Lambeth. 1411 August,* Duke of Burgundy obtained succour. 1411 Nov. 3, Parliament opened. 1411 Nov. 10, Battle of St. Cloud. 1412 May 18, Treaty with the Duke of Orleans. 1412* June 30,* Henry came to London attended by "Lords and Gentils." 1412 July 9, The Lord Thomas created Duke of Clarence. 1412* Sept. 23,* He came again with "a huge people." 1413 Feb. 3, Parliament opened. 1413 March 20, Henry IV. died. 1413 April 9, HENRY V. CROWNED. 1413 May 15, Parliament at Westminster. 1413 June 26, Convocation of the Clergy. 1413 Lord Cobham cited. 1413 Lord Cobham escaped from the Tower. 1414 Jan. 10, Affair of St. Giles' Field. 1414 April 20, Parliament at Leicester. 1414 Henry founded Sion and Shene. 1414 Council of Constance. (p. xvii) 1415 May 4, The Council of Constance condemned Wickliffe's memory, and commanded the exhumation of his bones. 1415 July 6, John Huss condemned. 1415 July 20, Conspiracy at Southampton. 1415 Aug. 11, Henry sailed for Normandy. 1415 Sept. 15, Death of Bishop of Norwich in the camp. 1415 Sept. 22, Surrender of Harfleur. 1415 Clayton and Gurmyn burnt for heresy. 1415 Oct. 25, Battle of Agincourt. 1415 Nov. 16, Henry returned to England. 1415 Nov. 22, Thanksgiving in London. 1416 April 29, Emperor Sigismund visited England. 1416 May 30, Jerome of Prague burnt. 1416 Aug. 15, League signed by Henry and Sigismund. 1417 July 23, Henry's second expedition. 1417 Sept. 4, Surrender of Caen. 1417 Dec. Execution of Lord Cobham. 1418 July 1, Rouen besieged. 1419 Jan. 19, Rouen taken. 1419 May 30, Henry and Katharine first met. 1419* July 7, Henry's letter concerning Oriel College. 1420 May 30, Henry and Katharine married. 1420 July, Katharine lodged in the camp before Melun. 1420 Henry and Katharine, with the King and Queen of France, entered Paris. 1421 Jan 31, Henry and Katharine arrived in England. 1421 Feb 23, Katharine crowned in Westminster. 1421 March 23, They passed their Easter at Leicester. 1421 Between March & May, They travelled through the greater part of England. 1421 March 23, Death of the Duke of Clarence. 1421 May 26, Taylor condemned to imprisonment for heresy. 1421 June 1, Henry left London on his third expedition. (p. xviii) 1421 June 10, Henry landed at Calais. 1421 Oct. 6, Siege of Meaux began, and lasted till the April following. 1421 Dec. 6, Henry's son born at Windsor. 1422 May 21, Katharine landed at Harfleur. 1422 Henry met her at the Bois de Vincennes. 1422 They entered Paris together. 1422 Aug. Henry left Katharine at Senlis. 1422 Aug. 31, Death of Henry. 1423 March 1, William Taylor burnt for heresy. (p. xix) CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. 1387-1398. Henry of Monmouth's Parents. Time and place of his Birth. John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry Bolinbroke. Monmouth Castle. Henry's infancy and childhood. His education. Residence in Oxford. Bolinbroke's Banishment. CHAPTER II. 1398-1399. Henry taken into the care of Richard. Death of John of Gaunt. Henry knighted by Richard in Ireland. His person and manners. News of Bolinbroke's landing and hostile measures reaches Ireland. Indecision and delay of Richard. He shuts up Henry and the young Duke of Gloucester in Trym Castle. Reflections on the fate of these two Cousins of Bolinbroke of Richard and of the widowed Duchess of Gloucester. CHAPTER III. (p. xx) 1398-1399. Proceedings of Bolinbroke from his Interview with Archbishop Arundel, in Paris, to his making King Richard his prisoner. Conduct of Richard from the news of Bolinbroke's landing. Treachery of Northumberland. Richard taken by Bolinbroke to London. CHAPTER IV. 1399-1400. Richard resigns the Crown. Bolinbroke elected King. Henry of Monmouth created Prince of Wales. Plot to murder the King. Death of Richard. Friendship between him and Henry. Proposals for a Marriage between Henry and Isabel, Richard's Widow. Henry applies for an Establishment. Hostile movement of the Scots. Tradition, that young Henry marched against them, doubted. CHAPTER V. 1400-1401. The Welsh Rebellion. Owyn Glyndowr. His former Life. Dispute with Lord Grey of Ruthyn. That Lord's Letter to Prince Henry. Hotspur. His Testimony to Henry's presence in Wales, to his Mercy and his Prowess. Henry's Despatch to the Privy Council. CHAPTER VI. (p. xxi) 1403. Glyndowr joined by Welsh Students of Oxford. Takes Lord Grey prisoner. Hotspur's further Despatches. He quits Wales. Reflections on the eventful Life and premature Death of Isabel, Richard's Widow. Glyndowr disposed to come to terms. The King's Expeditions towards Wales abortive. Marriage proposed between Henry and Katharine of Norway. The King marries Joan of Navarre. CHAPTER VII. 1402-1403. Glyndowr's vigorous Measures. Slaughter of Herefordshire Men. Mortimer taken prisoner. He joins Glyndowr. Henry implores Succours, Pawns his Plate to support his Men. The King's Testimony to his Son's conduct. The King, at Burton-on-Trent, hears of the Rebellion of the Percies. CHAPTER VIII. 1403. The Rebellion of the Percies, Its Origin. Letters of Hotspur and the Earl of Northumberland. Tripartite Indenture between the Percies, Owyn, and Mortimer. Doubts as to its Authenticity. Hotspur hastens from the North. The King's decisive conduct. He forms a junction with the Prince. "Sorry Battle of Shrewsbury." Great Inaccuracy of David Hume. Hardyng's Duplicity. Manifesto of the Percies probably a Forgery. Glyndowr's Absence from the Battle involves neither Breach of Faith nor Neglect of Duty. Circumstances preceding the Battle. Of the Battle itself. Its immediate consequences. CHAPTER IX. (p. xxii) 1403-1404. The Prince commissioned to receive the Rebels into allegiance. The King summons Northumberland. Hotspur's Corpse disinterred. The Reason. Glyndowr's French Auxiliaries. He styles himself "Prince of Wales." Devastation of the Border Counties. Henry's Letters to the King, and to the Co ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 20488
Author: Tyler, James Endell
Release Date: Jan 31, 2007
Format: eBook
Language: English