Henry IV was born on April 3, 1366 at Bolingbroke Castle in Kent, to Blanche of Lancaster and John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III.
The Childhood of Henry IV
Henry had a number of siblings, including Philippa, who married the King of Portugal, and Catherine, the Queen Consort of Castile. Henry also had a number of siblings by his sisters’ governess Katherine Swynford, who eventually became his father’s third wife.
Henry’s relationship with his stepmother seems to have been a positive one overall, but his relationships with his stepsiblings, seems to have varied widely. As a child, Henry seems to have gotten along well with them, but rivalries with his stepbrothers, Henry and Thomas Beaufort, caused problems for Henry IV from 1406 onward. Eventually a direct descendant of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, would rule England as Henry VII.
Henry’s relationship with Richard II was more inconsistent. Henry’s father and Richard were first cousins and had been childhood playmates. They were also inducted into the Order of the Garter together in 1377. After he regained power, Richard II did not punish Henry for his association with the rebellious group of nobles known as the Lords Apellant, even though many other barons were executed or banished. In fact, Henry was elevated from being the Earl of Derby to the Duke of Hereford
In 1390, Henry took part in the Siege of Vilnius, in Lithuania. In the course of the campaign, he bought 300 Lithuanian princes and took them back to England. In 1392, Henry mounted a second expedition to Lithuania. However, Henry’s force was small, consisting of only 100 men. Despite Henry’s best efforts in two years of campaigning, he was not able to lift the Siege of Vilnius. In 1392 and 1393, Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Mount of Olives. Henry also vowed to free Jerusalem from the infidel, but he died before this could be accomplished.
In the meantime, the relationship between Henry and Richard experienced another crisis. In 1398, remarks made by Henry regarding the reign of Richard II, were regarded as treasonous by Thomas de Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk. Henry and de Mowbray agreed to settle the issue through trial by combat at Gosford Green near Coventry. At the last minute, Richard intervened and banished Henry from England for ten years and de Mowbray for life.
The Abdication of Richard II
Henry’s father, John of Gaunt died in 1399. Shortly after his death, Richard cancelled his will, which would have allowed Henry to inherit his father’s lands automatically. Instead, Henry was now required to ask Richard for his father’s estate. However, Richard refused and extended Henry’s banishment from ten years to life. In doing so, he made Henry a dangerous enemy.
In the wake of these events, Henry met Thomas Arundel, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. Arundel was in exile for his involvement with the Lords Appellant. In June, 1399, while Richard was campaigning in Ireland, Henry and Arundel returned to England. Upon being informed that Henry had landed in Yorkshire, Richard returned to England where he found that much of the nobility had turned against him.
In a lightening campaign, Henry attacked his enemies and destroyed much of Cheshire in the process. On August 19, 1399, Richard was forced to submit to Henry at Flint. Following Richard’s imprisonment in the Tower of London Henry was crowned King of England with the support of Parliament on September 30, 1399.
Following the forced abdication of Richard, Henry’s first problem was what to do with Richard II. Henry was initially inclined to allow Richard to live, but changed his mind following the suppression of a failed attempt by Richard’s supporters to free him (known as the Epiphany Rising) and ordered Richard’s death. Richard II died under mysterious circumstances on February 14, 1400. Following his death, Richard’s body was put on display in Old St. Paul’s Cathedral on February 17. He was eventually buried in Kings Langley Chapel on March 6. In an attempt to atone for the actions of his father and to dispel continuing rumours of his survival, Henry V had Richard’s body interned in Westminster Abbey in 1413.
The Reign of Henry IV
Henry spent much of his reign defending himself from court intrigues and assassination plots, as well as putting down rebellions. Among the largest rebellions of Henry’s reign was the uprising led by Owain Glyndwr, who declared himself to be the Prince of Wales in 1400; and the rebellion led by the Earl of Northumberland. Henry was successful in suppressing these and other uprisings, thanks in large part to the military skills of his son, Henry of Monmouth, who would eventually rule England as Henry V.
In the last years of his reign, the occurrence of rebellions against Henry IV increased in frequency as a result of renewed rumours of the survival of Richard II. "The old fable of a living Richard was revived and emissaries from Scotland traversed the villages of England in the last year of Henry’s reign declaring that Richard was residing at the Scottish court." At the same time an impostor was found and Richard’s groom began circulating rumours that Richard was alive and waiting for a signal from his friends to retake the throne.
Early in his reign, Henry played host to Manuel II, the only Byzantine Emperor to visit England. In 1406, English pirates captured James I, the future King of Scotland off the coast of Flamborough Head, as he was traveling to France. James was held in captivity for the rest of Henry’s reign.
The last few years of Henry’s reign were marked by significant health problems. Henry was known to have been afflicted by a disfiguring skin disease. He also suffered acute attacks from an unknown illness from June, 1405 to December, 1412. There is uncertainty among modern historians regarding the nature of Henry’s health problems. Modern medical experts have speculated that Henry might have bee afflicted with leprosy or psoriasis. The second illness Henry suffered is thought to have been some form of cardio-pulmonary condition. Some medieval chroniclers claimed that Henry had been afflicted with leprosy as divine retribution for his treatment of Richard le Scrope, the Archbishop of York, who had been put to death following a failed coup.
The Death of Henry IV
During his life it was predicted that Henry would die in Jerusalem. Henry himself took this to mean that he would die on Crusade. In actuality, Henry IV died in the Jerusalem chamber in the house of the Abbot of Westminster. Unusually for an English king, Henry was not buried in Westminster Abbey, but in Canterbury Cathedral, near the shrine of Thomas Becket. During Henry’s reign the cult of Thomas Becket was at its height and Henry was particularly devoted to Becket. Following the death of Henry IV, his sonHenry V, was declared King of England.
Sources
Mortimer, Ian The Fears of Henry IV: the Life of England's Self-Made King (Jonathan Cape, 2007)
Terry Long - I hold degrees in history and journalism. In addition to my contributions to Suite 101, I have also written for the Brampton Bulletin, the ...
Join the Conversation