1415: Henry V's Year of Glory

by Mortimer, Ian

  And that last passage just about summed up his position. He would not recant because, for him, matters of faith were matters of truth. For the council, his refusal to recant was a refusal to accept their authority. The failure in this lay not with Hus but with the Church. The onus was on the council to show Hus and the rest of Christendom that he was wrong to deny that he had only one eye when he believed he had two. Hus was about to demonstrate that the truth was more important than mere authority. It was more important, even, than his life.

  Wednesday 26th

  Although Peter Benefeld had been told a few days earlier that Chancellor Beaufort could not possibly see him for another eight days, he was surprised one morning to see him out walking. They greeted one another and Beaufort walked with him for about a mile, talking about Poland and events in Prussia. At the end of this diversion, Beaufort asked for three days’ more grace, so he could talk things over with the king’s secretary and the keeper of the privy seal. By this stage, Benefeld knew better than to take any leading member of Henry’s court at his word, and decided personally to go and see the king’s secretary, John Stone, at Westminster.

  Henry himself was concerned with St Werbergh’s church in Chester. This had been founded by King Athelstan, and so Henry regarded it as having been founded by one of his ancestors. Maintaining it was something that touched upon the royal dignity and, as it was ‘in a dilapidated and impoverished state’, the king declared he would take it into his own hands. Accordingly, he appointed his uncle, Henry Beaufort, to remedy the condition of the abbey.

  Today Henry also issued an order to the constable of the Tower of London to deliver Brother John Matthew, a canon of Carmarthen, to the abbot of Waltham Holy Cross. The abbot was to keep this renegade Welsh canon a prisoner until further notice.109

  Thursday 27th

  Peter Benefeld probably arrived back at Westminster this evening, having ridden the 63 miles from Winchester in a day and a half. He met with John Stone and asked him when he was expecting to go to Winchester. Tomorrow, Stone replied, explaining that he planned to be in Southampton on the 30th. He added that the best person to see in this matter would be the archbishop of Canterbury. So Benefeld went to see the archbishop. But Chichele declared that, although the king had acknowledged the debt, he had not given any instructions for anything to be done about it, just as the keeper of the privy seal had said. Given this impasse in London, Benefeld reckoned his best option was to take Chancellor Beaufort at his word and see him when he and John Stone met. Therefore he prepared to ride back to Winchester the following day with the king’s secretary.

  Friday 28th

  Henry and his circle had already proved their fondness for the strict order of Carthusian canons. Henry’s priory at Sheen was a Charterhouse, and Henry Scrope made provision for all the Charterhouses in England in his will. A week ago, on the 21st, Henry had made a grant of the manor of Hinckley to Mount Grace priory in Yorkshire, at the request of Thomas Beaufort, on condition the monks pray for the king and his uncle in life and for their souls after death. Now he followed that up with a confirmation of several manors granted by the Mowbray family to the Carthusian house of Eppeworth, in Lincolnshire. Henry also added a gift of his own, granting the Carthusians two pipes of wine yearly from the royal wines landed in Kingston upon Hull. These of course were not for the monks’ general enjoyment; they were, as Henry stipulated, ‘for the celebration of Masses in the said house’.110

  Saturday 29th

  The French ambassadors were nearing Winchester, so they sent ahead for safe conducts so that they might come to the king’s presence. Henry dictated these today, naming the archbishop of Bourges and his companions. Hearing that he could expect them tomorrow, Henry sent out a welcoming party. The bishop of Durham had now joined Henry at Winchester, so he and Bishop Courtenay rode with Thomas Beaufort and the earl of Salisbury to greet their diplomatic opposite numbers. They met them on the road, about a mile from the city, and escorted them in honour to their lodgings at the Franciscan Friary.111

  Sunday 30th

  Henry’s relationship with his stepmother, Queen Joan, had never been a close one. In later years he banished her Breton companions, accused her of witchcraft, and confiscated her income. But in 1415 they were probably as close as they were ever likely to get. Queen Joan had shared her husband’s ardent faith in the Trinity, and this gave her something in common with her stepson. Henry had shown respect to her when he bade her a formal farewell at Westminster on the 15th. Today he specified which royal estates she might stay at during his absence. While he was abroad she might live at Windsor Castle, Wallingford Castle, Berkhamsted or Hertford Castle.112 In addition, he gave her the royal manor of Langley outright. This latter gift was not a mark of affection or generosity, however; it was compensation for Hertford Castle, which her late husband had granted her but which Henry now wanted for himself.113

  *

  The ambassadors from France finally arrived at Winchester. They found the king in the great chamber of Wolvesey Castle, seated at a table, with his head uncovered – without a crown. He was wearing a long robe of cloth of gold. Near his bed was a magnificent chair adorned with golden tapestries. To his right sat his three brothers and the duke of York, the earl of Huntingdon, and several other lords. To his left sat Chancellor Beaufort and the bishops of Durham and Norwich.

  The French humbly genuflected before the king on entering, in the correct manner. Archbishop Boisratier passed the formal sealed letters he carried from the king of France to another man to pass to Henry, together with similar letters from the duke of Berry. As these were opened for the king, Archbishop Boisratier said:

  Most excellent and most powerful prince, our sovereign lord the king of France greets you affectionately, and the duke of Berry humbly recommends himself to your serenity. The king’s letter you have there, dated 1 May, begins as follows: Our very dear cousin, we send you our special ambassadors, praying that you receive them on our recommendation, and wishing that you hear them favourably. For we are hoping that by their mediation, you will have satisfaction on the subject of the agreement that you wish to conclude between us.

  Henry kissed the letter and handed it to his chancellor and asked after the king of France’s health.114 When told all the details he spoke to the ambassadors. ‘You are welcome’, he said, inviting them to take spiced wine with him and his lords. As the drinks were being served he invited the ambassadors to return and dine with him on the following day. Then they would have a public audience in the hearing of all the bishops and lords then present.115

  *

  While all this formal posturing was taking place, Peter Benefeld and the king’s secretary arrived from Westminster. Benefeld immediately went to the bishop’s palace and asked to see the king. He was told that a royal audience was quite out of the question. The French envoys had arrived; it would be at least nine days before the king or the chancellor could attend to his letter.

  By this stage Benefeld must have been wishing he had never left Prussia.

  July

  Monday 1st

  THIS MORNING, HENRY prepared to receive the French envoys at Wolvesey Castle. They were expected for dinner: about 11 or 11.30 a.m. by our reckoning.1. While he waited he dealt with various items of business, including commissioning four men to look after the temporalities of the see of Chichester, which were in the king’s hands following the death of the bishop.2

  The French envoys came early. They joined Henry for a special Mass sung by twenty-eight chaplains, and afterwards were led to the great chamber where they had seen the king the previous day. He sat on the golden-tapestry-covered chair near the royal bed, with the same people to his left and right as on the previous day: secular lords on one side and prelates on the other. Archbishop Boisratier opened his address with a sermon on the theme of Kings I, chapter 19. ‘Peace be to you and your household’. He developed this to praise peace in general terms without mentioning the subject of their mission. He quoted v
arious texts of the Old and New Testaments, and stated that ‘he had come in the interests of peace’, demonstrating how it would be better to be certain of this peace, which all men desired, than run the risk of the horrors of war.3

  When the archbishop had finished, the chancellor responded, saying the king had heard the archbishop’s speech with great pleasure and considered it most eloquent. He was particularly pleased to hear that the king of France was prepared to do all he could in the interests of peace. In the past he had been tardy in sending negotiators, and this slackness was very dangerous; he hoped that in future the French king would be speedier about matters of peace.

  At the dinner that followed, Archbishop Boisratier and the bishop of Lisieux were seated on one side of the king and his youngest brother Humphrey on the other. The count of Vendôme and the seigneur d’Ivry sat next to Humphrey. After the dinner, the king returned to the bishop’s great chamber where he was staying and addressed the ambassadors graciously, saying to them that he was happy that they had arrived because ‘they wished to work efficaciously for peace’. And then he dismissed them, delegating the actual discussions to his ambassadors.4

  *

  Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, today set his seal to his will. He was fifty-four years of age, and a grandfather. Knighted by Richard II in 1377, he had seen his family fall completely from grace when his father was impeached in the parliament of 1386. It had taken him a long time to recover his family dignities, but eventually he had done so. He had been appointed to the privy council in 1402, and in 1408 he had been one of the representatives at the council of Pisa. Now he would be heading to France, to war. It was time to contemplate the end of life, as many men were doing in the few quiet moments they were permitted, lying in their beds or kneeling in chapel.

  De la Pole wished to be buried in the Charterhouse at Kingston upon Hull, with no tomb but just a flat stone on him, between the tomb of his parents and the altar. But interestingly he declared this was to happen only if he died in the north of England. If he died anywhere else, he desired to be buried in the collegiate church at Wingfield, Suffolk, on the north side of the chapel of the Virgin. To his son he left a small Latin primer. To his wife Katherine he left a small book and the coronet that once had belonged to her father, the earl of Stafford. She was left in charge for the rest of his estate, in conjunction with his aged uncle, Edmund de la Pole.5

  *

  In the Franciscan Friary at Constance, Jan Hus was also contemplating death. Today he had to make his final declaration to the council – whether he would recant or not. Would he accept that men could act in God’s name against him? He wrote the following momentous letter:

  I, Jan Hus, a priest in hope of Jesus Christ, fearing to offend God and fall into perjury, am unwilling to recant any or all of the articles produced against me in the testimonies of false witnesses. For God is my witness that I neither preached, asserted nor defended them, as they said …

  If it were possible for my voice to be heard across the whole world – as it will be at the Day of Judgment, when every lie and all my sins will be revealed – I would most gladly recant before all the world, taking back every falsehood or error I have ever said or thought of saying.

  This I say and write of my own free will. With my own hand.6

  And with those few small words, in the silence of his cell, Jan Hus decided that he would obey his conscience, and die a martyr’s death.

  Tuesday 2nd

  The French ambassadors assembled this morning ‘in the chapter house of the small church’ with the bishops and lords whom they had met the previous day. In the king’s absence, Chancellor Beaufort presided. He outlined his authority to all those present, and urged the French to cut straight to the main point because the delays so far encountered were prejudicial to the king and contrary to his recommendations. The king had decided they had until the following Saturday to discuss the subject of peace, and after that there would be no more discussion.

  Archbishop Boisratier could see that his authority was not great enough to secure peace. No power in the world could have stopped Henry on his march to war. In his letter to the French king, Henry had said that he would extend the time of the ambassadors’ safe conducts if the peace negotiations looked promising. Now he had already set a final date for their discussions: in just four days’ time. And there was to be no let up to the military preparations. Nevertheless the archbishop had to do what he could.

  The king, our master, takes as witness the whole of Christendom, which has always wished for peace, and states that he has always searched to come to it by the road to justice, in offering to dismember the realm and to cede to the king of England more important towns in Aquitaine, more counties and lands of an almost unappreciable value, and the hand of his illustrious daughter Katherine with a dowry of 800,000 gold crowns. History does not show a daughter leaving her father’s palace with such a large sum of money. Would you tell us whether you are agreeable with these propositions?

  According to the official French chronicler who recorded these words, the English chancellor replied that Henry did not intend to withdraw from his initial demands – specifically his first, most excessive terms. Beaufort maintained that in the course of the year 1414 the king of France had written to Henry stating that he was sending an embassy to treat with him in the way of justice and of the peace treaty, and to conclude the marriage, and to bring together certain key points and particulars in order to hasten the success of negotiations. Henry had been given to understand that the French ambassadors had sufficient authority to offer much more than they had to date. The archbishop of Bourges objected that the letters of authority that he had been given in France should not be supposed to convey more powers than they actually did. However, he had been authorised to offer to augment Princess Katherine’s dowry by 50,000 francs (not crowns), and he promised that the young princess would be sent to England with rich clothes and valuable jewels.7

  At this the meeting broke up to confer further.

  Wednesday 3rd

  Archbishop Boisratier sent a formal request to continue the negotiations in the chapter house. After they assembled, Chancellor Beaufort, as spokesman, let it be known that Henry had reduced his demands from 1,000,000 crowns of gold to 900,000. The archbishop responded that he was not authorised to agree to such a sum, unless it be done subtly, by a change of text. There had been discussion in both currencies: francs and crowns. Ten gold crowns was the equivalent of about 10.5 francs.8 The French could stretch to 900,000 francs. But how much income might be assigned to Princess Katherine, when she was queen?

  The whole process of negotiations was tiresome to the English; it was a charade. They were going to war – there were no two ways about it – and so the usual negotiating postures were meaningless. Having said that, if the French raised new objections, these could be used as further means to hasten the breakdown of the negotiations with no loss of honour. So the English replied that Katherine when queen would have the use of 10,000 marks (£6,666 13s 4d). The archbishop was appalled and argued that this was not enough, pointing to the illustrious birth of the princess, and stressing the advantages that the union would bring to both kingdoms. He also insisted that the sum allowed her should be relative to the immense wealth that she was bringing Henry in her dowry. Chancellor Beaufort would have none of it.

  Discussions on the subject of the marriage stopped there, and the ambassadors departed.9

  *

  Henry was not present at these discussions in the chapter house. Only one instruction of his is known for today. He ordered that the keepers of passage in fifteen ports were not to allow anyone at all to leave.10 This was a wise precaution; it was usual to close the ports immediately after the death of a king, for reasons of security, and Edward III had extended this to times of war, to conceal news of his expeditions’ destinations leaking out. But one wonders what the people of the French ports thought, when no more vessels docked from England. They would have known
their ambassadors were still overseas. The empty seas must have been ominous.

  Thursday 4th

  ‘A happy and famous day,’ wrote Cardinal Fillastre in his journal at Constance. In the presence of Sigismund, wearing his imperial insignia, the representatives of Gregory XII – by far the most amenable of the three popes at the start of 1415 – came to abdicate on his behalf. Carlo Malatesta, Friar Giovanni Dominici, cardinal of Ragusa, and the patriarch of Constantinople, sat before the emperor and listened as Gregory’s last two papal bulls were read out, conferring on his delegates the authority to represent him at the council, and on Carlo Malatesta the authority to resign his papal title.

  Giovanni Dominici preached a sermon on the theme of ‘Who is he and we will praise him? For in his lifetime he has done marvellous things’, relating this to Pope Gregory XII. After this he reiterated his master’s support for the council and all its acts to date, and all acts to be performed thereafter. Following this Friar Dominici was received into the college of cardinals at Constance – no longer a schismatic – and the patriarch of Constantinople was likewise honoured with a cardinal’s red hat.

  Then it was the moment for Carlo Malatesta to read his written permission to abdicate in Gregory XII’s name, when it was considered expedient. The archbishop of Milan declared on the council’s behalf that it was expedient now. The nations all agreed, and following a few words praising his master, he read out the carefully prepared text:

  The authentic bull of our most holy lord aforesaid, just read, shows him to be free from pressure and coercion by violence and seduced by no error, so that all may clearly perceive by his deeds with what sincerity and heartfelt love he has laboured and will labour for the sacred union and restoration of Christendom in the unity of the Holy Mother Church. He accepts even the way of his own abdication, honestly, freely and sincerely. Therefore as proctor on behalf of our most holy lord Pope Gregory XII, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I abdicate and resign as set forth in these letters, in reality and effect all right, title and possession that he holds as pope, and in the name of our said lord I hereby renounce the papal office and every right, title, and possession of the papacy that he now holds, in the presence of our lord Jesus Christ, the head and bridegroom of His Holy Church, and before this sacrosanct synod and universal council, representing the Holy, Roman and Universal Church.11