Henry V

[Csargo]

If someone could give me some information on him it would greatly appreciated. I'm doing a project on him and I need information.

[ShadesPanther]

http://www.bartleby.com/65/he/Henry5Eng.html

IIRC the French king, Charles VI, died a year after Henry.

[Atilius]

To put some flesh on the bones offered by the link above:

Desmond Seward, in his book on the Hundred Years War, writes "He had no mistresses, at least not while he was King. Indeed a Frenchman who saw Henry at Winchester in the spring of 1415 thought he looked more like a churchman than a soldier, and undoubtably he had a churchman's tastes: he liked books and often wrote his own letters, he was a patron of sacred music, and he took a keen interest in theology and ecclesiastical affairs. Furthermore before his accession he played an active role in suppressing heresy; on one occasion he personally superintended the burning of a Lollard blacksmith in a barrel. When the man began to scream Henry had him pulled out and offered him a pension if he would recant - the man (who had denied transubstantiation) refused and was promptly put back into the flaming barrel."

[Beirut]

Desmond Seward also wrote a biography of Henry V (which I just finished reading for the third time), and good King Henry was a nasty *******, that's for sure. He could be the greatest friend and the greatest foe. Fair minded and just one moment, cruel beyond contemplation the next. One thing for sure, he truly thought he was in the eye of God.

Seward made an interesting comparison between the King Henry and the Nazis, saying that the French population were in far greater danger from the English under Henry V than from the German's under Hitler's rule. King Henry was responsible for, as far as I know, the most brutal acts ever committed against the French. There is no doubt that the French view Henry V with the same admiration as the Russians view Hitler.

Militarily speaking, Henry was grand indeed. Audacious, calculating, and an expert in siegecraft. He was a grand strategist in every sense of the word. He played politics and war together like a master. Mind you, some of his actions were hasty in nature, his thinking was that he could not lose since God was on his side. But then again, he won, so who is to say?

[Mount Suribachi]

King Henry was responsible for, as far as I know, the most brutal acts ever committed against the French.

I dunno about that. I think Julius Caesers conquest of Gaul would have that honour - genocidal is a word used more and more to describe it.

[Pontifex Rex]

I dunno about that. I think Julius Caesers conquest of Gaul would have that honour - genocidal is a word used more and more to describe it.

Yes but that was against the Gauls in 50ish BC. By Henry Vs day the Gauls are all gone, replaced by Burgundians, Franks, various Visigothic elements and other Germanic tribes all which evolved into what would become the *French*.

Like most European nations they are mix of whatever conquoring group happened to roll through the area after the collapse of the western Roman Empire.

Cheers.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Seward made an interesting comparison between the King Henry and the Nazis, saying that the French population were in far greater danger from the English under Henry V than from the German's under Hitler's rule. King Henry was responsible for, as far as I know, the most brutal acts ever committed against the French. There is no doubt that the French view Henry V with the same admiration as the Russians view Hitler.

I'm sure Henrys acts were not as bad as some of the monarchs before him. His sieges did end in some bloodshed but the sacking of Caen in 1346 under Edward III or the sacking of Limoges under the Black Prince when the English troops went wild with bloodlust was much worse than some of Henry's atrocities.

Henry V was on the same level of most monarchs of the period with many being labelled with massacres or atrocities at some point in their reign.

[Red Peasant]

Desmond Seward also wrote a biography of Henry V (which I just finished reading for the third time)

Three times! Sounds like you admire Henry despite his 'atrocities'. I've never heard even a whisper of this comparison with Hitler by the French. I think William the Bastard was far worse to the English.

IIRC, the numbers for Julius Caesar (by his own account, so maybe just boasting) was one million dead Gauls, and over one million sold into slavery. Quite a feat! Gaul must have been very heavily populated for the time, hence very productive and quite socially advanced, which gives the lie to JC's slyly disparaging comments.

[Beirut]

Three times! Sounds like you admire Henry despite his 'atrocities'.

I do. I admit to being caught up in the Shakesperean "myth" of King Henry before I knew all the facts of him. He was, regardless of his horrid behaviour, a magnificient example of determination in a man, and is worthy of study. Also, Agincourt is too magnificient a battle to overlook.

I'm sure Henrys acts were not as bad as some of the monarchs before him. His sieges did end in some bloodshed but the sacking of Caen in 1346 under Edward III or the sacking of Limoges under the Black Prince when the English troops went wild with bloodlust was much worse than some of Henry's atrocities.

The list of his atrocities is long indeed. During Henry's siege of Rouen, when the city released thousands of civilians they could no longer feed, King Henry did not let them go but had them herded into the ditches surrounding the city and watched them starve to death day after day. If a child was born in the ditch, it was brought up in a basket, christened, and sent back down to starve to death with its mother. This is just one example of his behaviour.

[Brutus]

IIRC the French king, Charles VI, died a year after Henry.

Both died in 1422 (Charles a few months later, I believe), so the infant Henry VI became both king of England and king of France (the only English king to have been effectively king in both countries).

[ShadesWolf]

Are you still doing the project, or have you finished it yet.

If you need some more info what type of data do you need.