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Henry V
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Background
Historical Context: Henry V
William Shakespeare’s play is based on the historical life of Henry V, the facts of which were known in Shakespeare’s lifetime and formed part of accepted knowledge. To maintain authority and credibility, Shakespeare stays broadly true to the historical facts but adapts and alters much of the character and meaning of the detail, a good deal of which he invents for his own artistic purposes. Henry V does not serve as historical evidence for the time it depicts but is a reflection of the political and cultural ideals at the turn of the 16th into the 17th century.
King Henry V (1386-1422) is a pivotal figure in English history, renowned for his military successes. Henry V gained military and political experience during the turbulence of his father’s reign: His father, Henry IV, seized the throne in 1399, leading to a period of instability. Prince Henry demonstrated political acumen and military prowess from an early age, putting down significant uprisings across England and Wales. Henry took on increasing power as his father’s health declined and disagreements between father and son often caused conflict. Like much of the historical framework of the play, the fact of this familial conflict is reflected in Shakespeare’s dramatic depiction, although the dynamic of it is reversed.
Henry acceded to the throne in 1413, at the age of 26. His reign was characterized by a wish to consolidate his power in England and by his assertion of the English claim to the French throne, based on a longstanding disputation of the French line of succession. Henry’s decision to invade France was driven not only by a sense of duty but also by personal ambition. His reign was marked by military triumphs, especially his victories against in France 1415-1420, including the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415. This victory against overwhelming odds solidified his reputation as a skilled military strategist but Henry V faced the competing challenges of ruling a kingdom while waging war for five years on foreign soil. He spent very little of his reign in England. While undoubtedly a capable military leader, he experienced difficulties in maintaining domestic order and faced criticism for his harsh treatment of those he perceived as political threats, including the executions of the Earl of Cambridge, Henry Scrope, and Sir Thomas Grey. These events are used by Shakespeare in his play but adapted considerably.
In 1420 Henry V married Catherine of Valois, the daughter of King Charles VI of France, as part of the peace treaty between England and France, following Henry’s successful five-year war. Henry was also made Charles’s heir-apparent, intended to unite the two kingdoms of France and England under English rule after Charles’s death. Shakespeare’s play condenses these events, suggesting that the treaty and marriage were the direct result of Agincourt. In fact, Agincourt was fought at the beginning of Henry’s French campaign. The marriage between Henry and Catherine was a formal treaty arrangement, characteristic of royal marriages at the time. She was 19 and Henry was 34. Its purpose was political alliance and to create heirs; it was not a love match, but it seems to have been a successful union.
As the play’s epilogue notes, Henry V died in 1422, aged 36. He was succeeded by his infant son, Henry VI. The youth of the king caused unrest and instability and, ultimately, led to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI was also unable to hold the territories in France won by his father. He was deposed in 1461. Henry V’s “reclamation” of ancient Norman territories, his early death, and the problematic period that followed have made his character and reign a focus for English nationalist pride and nostalgia for centuries. Shakespeare’s play has undoubtedly added enormously to the mythologizing of Henry V in the English and British popular consciousness.
Historical Context: The Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt, fought on October 25 (St. Crispin’s Day), 1415, was a pivotal moment in the ongoing conflict between England and France, known as the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453). This conflict, lasting five generations, was based on a dispute between the kings of England and France about the line of French succession. Individual English kings approached this ongoing dispute with differing levels of aggression; Henry V invaded France almost as soon he became king, spending the majority of his short reign on campaign there.
Agincourt is famous for the inventive strategy of the English command that overcame significant odds. The English army was vastly outnumbered by the French and had the additional challenges of being the invading force. Many of the original troops had already died from disease. The English army tried to retreat to English-held Calais but were blocked, forcing a confrontation. Henry’s forces, approximately 9,000 men, included a large number of longbowmen, skilled archers whose expertise and discipline proved instrumental. The French army of approximately 12,000 men boasted a large contingent of heavily armored knights and feudal men-at-arms, confident in their superiority. The French expected to rout the invading force. Estimates vary, but the French lost approximately 6,000 men, with many more hundreds captured, while sources cite English losses of anywhere between 600 and 1,600.
Historical records portray Henry V as a warrior-king, leading from the front, rallying his men and becoming a symbol of inspiration. His leadership and strategic acumen certainly played a crucial role in maintaining morale and cohesion within the English ranks. The battle showcased the effectiveness of disciplined archery tactics, superior strategy, and leadership. Bad weather also acted as a levelling factor between the two unevenly matched sides; England’s lightly armored archers and foot soldiers were more agile than heavy French cavalry and men in full armor or mail. Shakespeare highlights the difference in status and appearance between the troops before battle, as the French boast about their horses and armor, laughing at the ragged-looking English. Henry V’s triumph against a numerically superior foe solidified his reputation as a military leader and bolstered England’s position early in his five-year campaign. It also elevated Henry V’s prestige, and furthered his ambitions for the legitimacy of his kingship; his father had taken the English crown by force. Successive English victories across France would ultimately lead to the treaty of 1420, making Henry V the successor to the French throne.
Authorial Context: Shakespeare and His History Plays
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564. He is regarded as one of the most important literary figures in the English-speaking world and the leading figure of English Renaissance dramatic literature. Among Shakespeare’s many and varied contributions to dramatic and poetic literature, the group of plays named by scholars as his “history plays” offer a particular insight into dramatic art and its role and function in England at the turn of the 16th into the 17th century. Depicting the medieval history of the British Isles through the perspective of the Shakespeare’s time, these plays engage with the dominant political and cultural forces prevailing during his lifetime, and illuminate the ways in which Renaissance English society understood and drew upon their nation’s past.
Much of the detail of Shakespeare’s early life is unknown, although records show his baptism on April 26, 1564. He was the third child of John Shakespeare, a successful glove-maker and local politician, and his wife Mary, née Arden. At the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Little is known about Shakespeare’s life between his marriage and his emergence as key figure on London’s theatrical scene in the 1580s. By this time, he had established himself as an actor and playwright in England’s thriving capital city, the center of the nation’s cultural and political life. Shakespeare’s connection with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (also known as the King’s Men from 1603 following the accession of King James I), brought him both financial success and artistic freedom. This was a company of “players” (actors) with aristocratic patronage and access to royal and courtly influence. Many of Shakespeare’s plays, including Henry V, were written for this company. Shakespeare’s plays became immensely popular in his lifetime, drawing a huge audience from across the whole social spectrum.
During the late 1590s and early 1600s, Shakespeare began to write his history plays, a genre that served not only as entertainment but also as a vehicle for serious themes around national identity. In an era when the role and person of the monarch was paramount to national and political security, and emblematic of a nation’s status and identity, Shakespeare’s histories explored the nature of monarchy and nationhood, drawing on links between England’s past and present.
Ten of Shakespeare’s history plays (the vast majority) deal with the period 1399-1487, which includes the pivotal Wars of the Roses, 32 years of civil war when the houses of York (the white rose) and Lancaster (the red rose) vied for supremacy, dividing the nation and bringing instability and hardship to England. The eventual supremacy of the House of Lancaster (the Tudor dynasty) established the Tudors as the ruling family of England when Henry VII was crowned in 1485. Both English monarchs during Shakespeare’s life were the grandchildren of Henry VII: Elizabeth I (1533-1603) and her successor (and cousin) James I (1603-1625). The history of the tumultuous 15th century was highly significant to the legitimacy and myth-making of subsequent English monarchs. In Richard III, Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard III as a villain served to legitimize the Tudor claim to the throne: The play depicted Richard as a power-hungry, deformed tyrant, celebrated the Tudor victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and demonized the House of York. This portrayal solidified Tudor legitimacy. In Henry V, Shakespeare paints a heroic and charismatic image of the king, focusing on his victories against the French and his apparent ability to unite his subjects against a common enemy. The play, probably written in 1599, was conceived and performed at a time when England faced tensions with other European powers, especially over religious tensions between Catholic and Protestant powers. Elizabeth I’s long reign was a period of relative peace, prosperity, and stability but the line of succession was uncertain as Elizabeth I was childless and had not yet named an heir in 1599, although she was age 64 and in ailing health (she would die in 1603). Shakespeare’s play clearly aims to rally nationalistic sentiments and support for Englishness and the monarchy. It also uses the foreshadowing of the monarch’s death, including a problematic succession, to subtly address these contemporaneous issues.
As a successful playwright at a time when appearing to detract from the monarch or monarchy was punishable by death (and when patronage was essential to those working in the theater), it was necessary for Shakespeare to portray historical events and figures in a manner that aligned well with the ruling establishment’s narrative. Scholars agree, however, that his treatment is often ambiguous, complex, and subversive, rising above simple propaganda. Shakespeare’s nuanced approach to political and professional necessities balanced the demands of his patrons with artistic integrity and sophistication. While his plays ostensibly support the political ideologies of the ruling class, they also provide subtle critiques and explore the complexities of power and governance.
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