Henry V and the conquest of France, 1413-21
The significance of renewing the war with France
Henry V’s military and political experience prior to becoming king in 1413
- Henry was 26 when he came to the throne
- His prowess as a fighter was largely due to the time he spent in Wales, engaging in battles
against the rebels
- He also led troops in 1403 against Hotspur rebellion
- After Henry IV’s descent into illness in 1405 led to his son gaining an increasingly important
role in governing the realm as part of a council up until 1411
Background to the 1414 invasion
- Henry was keen to regain a number of territorial losses in France that had occurred under
his father
- Early in his reign, he sent ambassadors to the french king, claiming all territories that were
historically regarded english.
- Henry V also asked for the hand of Catherine of Valois, youngest daughter of the king
- These demands were all rejected by the french which led to Henry preparing a large invasion
force during 1414- 1415
Diplomacy and preparations for war, 1413-15
- Henry V was already a considerable military leader when he came to be king
- He was also politically astute and used carful diplomatic tactics to secure his kingdom as well
as to isolate France:
o Adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the Welsh – issuing pardons to former
rebels. This made attacks on welsh border less likely as well as increasing the
number of french men which would fight against France
o Henry rehabilitated the Percy power – permitting the heir of hotspur to inherit the
family estates. Reinstating the Percies increased security for the northern areas of
England
o Henry held King James I of Scotland as prisoner, had been captured in 1406
o In January 1414, Henry agreed 10 year truce with Duke of Brittany
Southampton plot
- In 1415, Henry was faced by a serious domestic threat to the throne in the form of the
Southampton plot
- This plot was led by the earl of Cambridge, Baron Scrope and Sir Thomas Grey
- They plotted to kill the king and put Edmund Mortimer, earl of March on the throne instead
- This plot involved Scottish and Welsh rebels, as well as Lollards
- Rumoured to have been funded by the French in hopes of preventing the invasion
- Henry was informed of the plot by Mortimer himself and was able to put the rebellion down
swiftly – executing the main perpetrators
The campaign of 1415
- Size of Henry’s army was between 10,500 to 12,000 fighting men
- His troops began by surrounding the port of Harfleur, both by land and sea placing it under
siege
- French initially resisted but surrendered on the 22 nd September 1415 – Henry left an English
Garrison to maintain control as the other troops continued
- Henry decided to march the troops to Calais – debated reasoning why one is that the troops
needed to rest before further fighting
, - There was the difficulty of crossing the River Somme and the French had taken a number of
precautions to prevent this
o Organised 6000 men to wait at most obvious points to cross forcing Henry’s troop to
march further upstream
o All bridges and crossing points were defended or or blocked
o French tracked enemy’s progress upstream and mirrored on opposite side of rive
- Releasing the problems faced, Herny pushed his troops hard to gain half a day march on the
french troops
- They found a causeway that had been broken but repaired it using materials they had on
hand
- By 19th October 1415, the english troops had crossed the Somme
The battle of Agincourt
- Took place on 24th October 1415
- Use of high proption of archers, 80% on leaving England were archers and by Agincourt
proportion was even higher
- Due to the landscape, the french who had a larger army chose the distorts choice of
attacking in close formation which led to them being grouped to tightly making it hard to
fight
- The presence of the French Cavalry at the back of troops also hindered the troops who
wished to fall back
- Towards the end of the battle, Henry feared further french reinforcements arid ordered that
all enemies taken prisoner should be killed
- The reinforcements did not arrive and the English victory was complet
- Henry’s army sustained relatively few losses around 1 – 300
- French lost, 11 magnates, 120 barons and 1500 knights
The significance of the 1415 French Campaign
- Following victory, Henry marched to Calais where they returned home to London
- Henry’s arrival on 23rd November 1415 involved large processions, pageants and feasting
- Henry’s victory brought much greater political success as well as reinforcing his divine right
to rule which made him drastically more popular
- The victory in France drastically reduced the threat of a french invasion and of french naval
raids
- Parliament, due to Henry’s success, were much more willing to provide him with financial
assistance and even before his arrival parliament had met and decided to grant him a
generous revenue from taxation.
Lollardy and Lollards
- Only permitted faith was that of the Roman Catholic Church
- A priest and an Oxford theologian called John Wycliffe had entered into royal service in
1370s and developed an association with John of Gaunt
- Wycliffe, in 1377, was charged with teaching a number of religious matters that contravened
those of the church
- Wycliffe’s theology contravened traditional church teachings in regard to wealth and
taxation, the authority of the pope and the role of the priest in sacraments
o Due to support from John of Gaunt, Wycliffe escaped punishment and died of
natural causes in 1384
- Wycliffes views gained a number of supporters who then became known as the Lollards
o Noted for translating the scriptures into english (bibles were largely in Latin)
