Henry of Monmouth, Volume 2

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[Footnote 145: See "Battle of Agincourt."]

Our reformed views of Christian truth must not make us undervalue the
testimony borne to Henry's gratitude towards his companions in arms,
though they were removed by death from all earthly favours and
rewards. He did for them what he could; and though we believe him to
have been performing a vain office, and profitless to those whom it
was intended to benefit, in the prevailing superstition of those days
we see traces of the kindness and grateful spirit of the hero.[146]

[Footnote 146: Various entries occur in the Pell
Rolls of money paid for masses for the souls of
those who fell in these wars. Among the rest are
specified (26th September 1418) Lord Grey of Codnor
and Sir John Blount. Two thousand masses were
ordered for the souls of Lord Talbot and another.
See extracts in English, translated lately, from
the Pell Rolls, by Mr. F. Devon. This work, whilst
it acquaints the student with the sort of
information and evidence which the Pell Rolls may
supply, will in other respects assist him in his
inquiries; for many valuable and interesting facts
are presented to him in the volume: but, to
ascertain what those documents really do contain,
it is necessary (as in all other cases) to apply at
the fountain-head.]

Many of the French princes taken at Agincourt remained prisoners in
England for many years. The Duke of Bourbon died in confinement. The
Duke of Orleans was not released for five-and-twenty years. Whilst a
captive in the Tower of London, he had recourse to the solace of
literature; and composed many pieces of poetry, still preserved in the
British Museum, which indicate genius and cultivated taste. (p. 194)

* * * * *

How highly the people of England valued this victory is seen in very
many particulars. The superstition of those times was also made to
contribute to its celebrity. The victory of Agincourt was gained on
the feast of the Translation of St. John of Beverley, and was ascribed
to his merits. His festival had before been kept on the 7th of May;
but now it was ordained to be celebrated for ever on the 25th of
October. But that was the feast of Crispin and Crispianus; and so the
authorities of the church decreed that all three saints should share
in the offices of that day.[147]

[Footnote 147: Foed. viii. 236.]

The Archbishop declares that this ecclesiastical constitution was made
in full convocation by the will, counsel, and consent of all his
brothers, and also at the special instance of their most Christian
King.

The document abounds to the overflow with the gross superstition of
the age. It is only by recalling what that degrading superstition was,
that we can estimate at their proper value the blessings of the
Reformation. Of the genuineness of this document there can be no
doubt. It was addressed by Henry Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury,
to the Vicar of the Bishop of London, who was then at the council of
Constance; and its preamble at least deserves a place here.

"Henry, by divine permission, Archbishop of Canterbury, (p. 195)
Primate of all England, and Legate of the Apostolic see, to our
beloved son the spiritual Vicar-general of our venerable brother
R. by the grace of God, Bishop of London, now in foreign parts.
The holy honour of the English church (whose praise and fame, in
devoted veneration of God and his saints, the whole world extols
above the churches of other regions and provinces,) requires that
the same church shall more abound with the praises of those, and
more exultingly rejoice in glad devotion to them, by whose
patronage and grace of miracles she rejoices to flourish; and by
whose pious intercession the state, not only of the church, but
of the whole realm, together with the inward sweetness of peace
and quiet, and with victory gained over foreign enemies, is
defended by just rulers.

"The grace of this help, though God to the same church, and to
the inhabitants of the realm of England, hath often decreed to
show by the merits of divers saints, (with whom she shines
gloriously on every side,) yet in these last days He has
evidently deigned more miraculously and more especially to
console the aforesaid church, together with the aforesaid nobles,
inhabitants, and all members of the kingdom, by the especial
suffrage of her (almifici) gracious confessor and bishop, the
most blessed John of Beverley, as we verily believe!

"Oh! ineffable consolation, especially in our times, in every age
pleasant, and ever to be called to mind; namely, the victory of
our most Christian Prince, King Henry V. of England, and of his
army, in the battle of Agincourt, lately fought in the parts of
Picardy; which on the Feast of the Translation of the said Saint,
to the honour of the divine name, and to the honour of the realm
of England, from the boundless mercy of God, was granted to the
English.

"On which Feast of his Translation, whilst the struggle between
our countrymen and the French was being carried on, as to the
hearing of us and our brethren in our last convocation, (p. 196)
abundantly and especially, the true report of the inhabitants of
that country brought the tidings, that from his tomb sacred oil
flowed, drops falling as of sweat, indicative of the divine mercy
towards his people, doubtless obtained by the merits of that most
holy man.

"Wishing, therefore, in our province to spread an increase of
divine worship, and especially to extol further the praise of so
great a patron, with the wills, counsel, and assent of our
brethren and the clergy in the said convocation, and no less at
the special instance of the said most Christian Prince, we have
determined that the memory of that most holy confessor everywhere
throughout our province should be exalted with feelings of
prayers and devotions [votivis et devotis affectibus]."

* * * * *

Then follows the decree above mentioned.

This mass of extravagant folly and blind superstition, this presumptuous
sharing of God's omnipotence and sovereign might with the power of such
poor erring fellow-mortals as the corrupt ministers of a corrupt church
had presumptuously ranked among the inhabitants of heaven,--thus daring
to forestal the judgment of Christ at the last day, and to pronounce on
the glory of a man whose spiritual state Omniscience alone can know,--it
is impossible to contemplate without feelings of gratitude that Heaven's
mercy has released us from such perverted use of the Gospel of the
Saviour; nor without a prayer that the Spirit of light and truth would
guide those of our fellow-creatures who are still walking in the same
land of darkness and error, into the clear light of Christian truth.

The Author, to whom the following "Song of Agincourt" has been (p. 197)
familiar from his childhood, cannot refrain from inserting it here.
This is that ancient, and, as it is believed, contemporary ballad,
which has preserved to our times that golden stanza which appears in
the title page of these volumes; and every word of which reflects the
character of Henry as a hero and a merciful man. The quotation, also,
from Burnet's History of Music, and the contemporary song to which he
refers, will, it is presumed, be generally acceptable.

SONG OF AGINCOURT.

As our King lay on his bed,
All musing at the hour of prime,[148]
He bethought him of the King of France,
And tribute due for so long a time.

He called unto him his lovely page,
His lovely page then called he;
Saying, You must go to the King in France,
To the King in France right speedily.

Tell him to send me my tribute home,
Ten ton of gold that is due to me;
Unless he send me my tribute home,
Soon in French land I will him see.

Away then goes this lovely page (p. 198)
As fast, as fast as he could hie;
And, when he came to the King in France,
He fell all down on his bended knee.

My master greets you, sir, and says,
Ten ton of gold is due to me;
Unless you send me my tribute home,
You in French land soon shall see me.

Your master is young, and of tender age,
Not fit to come into my degree;
I'll send him home some tennis-balls
That with them he may learn for to play.

Away then goes this lovely page,
As fast, as fast as he could hie;
And, when he came to our gracious King,
He fell all down on his bended knee.

What news, what news, my trusty page?
What news, what news dost thou bring to me?
I bring such news from the King of France,
That you and he can never agree.

He says you are young, and of tender age,
Not fit to come up to his degree;
He has sent you home some tennis-balls,
That with them you may learn for to play.

Oh! then bespoke our noble King,
A solemn vow then vowed he;
I'll promise him such English balls
As in French land he ne'er did see.

Go! call up Cheshire and Lancashire, (p. 199)
And Derby hills that are so free;
BUT NEITHER MARRIED MAN, NOR WIDOW'S SON,
NO WIDOW'S CURSE SHALL GO WITH ME!

They called up Cheshire and Lancashire,
And Derby hills that are so free;
But neither married man nor widow's son,
Yet they had a right good company.

He called unto him his merry men all,
And numbered them by three and three,
Until their number it did amount
To thirty thousand stout men and three.

Away then marched they into French land,
With drums and fifes so merrily;
Then out and spoke the King of France,
Lo! here comes proud King Henrie!

The first that fired, it was the French,
They killed our Englishmen so free;
But we killed ten thousand of the French,
And the rest of them they did run away.

Then marched they on to Paris gates,
With drums and fifes so merrily;
Oh! then bespoke the King of France,
The Lord have mercy on my men and me!

Oh! I will send him his tribute home,
Ten ton of gold that is due from me;
And the very best flower that is in all France
To the rose of England will I give free.

[Footnote 148: The second line of this song is
variously read. Probably the original words are
lost. The reading in the text is conjectural.]

"At the coronation of Henry V," observes Dr. Burney, "in 1413, (p. 200)
we hear of _no other instruments than harps_;[149] but one of that
prince's historians[150] tells us that their number in the hall was
prodigious. Henry, however, though a successful hero and a conqueror,
did not seem to take the advantage of his claim to praise; and either
was so modest or so tasteless as to discourage and even prohibit the
poets and musicians from celebrating his victories and singing his
valiant deeds. When he entered the city of London, after the battle of
Agincourt, the gates and streets were hung with tapestry, representing
the history of ancient heroes; and children were placed in temporary
turrets to sing verses. But Henry, disgusted at these vanities,
commanded, by a formal edict, that for the future no songs should be
recited by harpers, or others, in honour of the recent victory.
'_Cantus de suo triumpho fieri, seu per citharistas, vel alios
quoscunque, cantari, penitus prohibebat._'

[Footnote 149: Dr. Burney has here fallen into a
most extraordinary mistake. In the very page to
which he refers, Elmham, in his turgid manner,
assures us that at Henry's coronation the
tumultuous clang of so many trumpets made the
heavens resound with the roar of thunder. He then
describes the sweet strings of the harps soothing
the souls of the guests by their soft melody; and
the united music of other instruments also, by
their dulcet sounds, in which no discord
interrupted the harmony, inviting the royal
banqueters to full enjoyment of the festival.]

[Footnote 150: Thomas de Elmham, Vit. et Gest. Hen.
V. edit. Hearne, Oxon. 1727, cap. xii. p. 23.]

"It is somewhat extraordinary that, in spite of Henry's edicts and
prohibitions, _the only English song of so early a date, that has come
to my knowledge, of which the original music has been preserved_, is
one that was written on his victory at Agincourt in 1415. It is
preserved in the Pepysian Collection, at Magdalen College,
Cambridge."[151]

[Footnote 151: Burney's History of Music, vol. ii.
p. 382.]

After some observations upon the general ignorance of the (p. 201)
transcribers of ancient music, Dr. Burney proceeds to say, "that the
copy in the Pepysian Collection is written upon vellum in Gregorian
notes, and can be little less ancient than the event which it
recorded;" and that there is with it a paper which shows that an
attempt was made in the last century (17th) to give it a modern dress,
but that too many liberties had been taken with the melody, and the
drone bass, which had been set to it for the lute, is a mere jargon.
He then presents what he says is a faithful copy of this venerable
relic of our nation's prowess and glory.

Owre Kynge went forth to Normandy,
With grace, and myght of chyvalry;
The God for hym wrought marv'lusly,
Wherefore Englonde may calle and cry,

CHORUS.

Deo gratias, Anglia!
Redde pro Victoria!

He sette a sege, the sothe to say,
To Harflue town, with royal array;
That toune he wan, and made a fray
That Fraunce shall rywe tyl domes-day.
Deo gratias! &c.

Than, for sothe, that Knyght comely
In Agincourt feld faught manly;
Thorow grace of God, most myghty,
He hath bothe felde and victory.
Deo gratias! &c.

Then went owre Kynge, with all his oste, (p. 202)
Thorowe Fraunce, for all the Frenshe boste;
He spared[152] for drede of leste ne most,
Till he come to Agincourt coste.
Deo gratias! &c.

Ther Dukys and Earlys, Lorde and Barone,
Were take and slayne, and that wel sone;
And some were ledde into Lundone;
With joye, and merth, and grete renone,
Deo gratias! &c.

Now gracious God he save owre Kynge,
His peple, and all his well wyllinge;
Gef him gode lyfe, and gode endynge,
That we with merth may safely synge,
Deo gratias, Anglia! redde pro Victoria!

[Footnote 152: For dread neither of least nor of
greatest.]

CHAPTER XXIV. (p. 203)

REASONS FOR DELAYING A SECOND CAMPAIGN. -- SIGISMUND UNDERTAKES TO
MEDIATE. -- RECEPTION OF SIGISMUND. -- FRENCH SHIPS SCOUR THE SEAS,
AND LAY SIEGE TO HARFLEUR. -- HENRY'S VIGOROUS MEASURES THEREUPON. --
THE EMPEROR DECLARES FOR "HENRY AND HIS JUST RIGHTS." -- JOINS WITH
HIM IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL ON A DAY OF THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY OVER
THE FRENCH. -- WITH HIM MEETS THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY AT CALAIS. -- THE
DUKE ALSO DECLARES FOR HENRY. -- SECOND INVASION OF FRANCE. -- SIEGE
OF CAEN. -- HENRY'S BULLETIN TO THE MAYOR OF LONDON. -- HOSTILE
MOVEMENT OF THE SCOTS.

1415-1417.

It has been made a subject of observation, and of conjecture as to its
cause, that Henry did not take advantage of the next spring to
prosecute his claims in France. Some[153] would have us suspect that
it was "to show that personal honour had been his leading object, that
he remained at home nearly two years afterwards without any military
movement." But a much more intelligible and palpable cause (p. 204)
offers itself to the mind on the slightest reflection upon the
circumstances in which he was placed.[154] He had not the means ready
for invading France. His forces were diminished by a number of men
appallingly great, in proportion to the body with which he had landed
at Harfleur; and his treasury was exhausted. For his first expedition
he had borrowed the utmost which his subjects and friends either would
or could supply; and the grants made to him by his parliament had been
anticipated even to carry on the former campaign. That it was his
intention, however, when he left France after the victory of
Agincourt, to return to that country in the following spring, seems
clear from the circumstance that, on dismissing his less illustrious
prisoners at Calais, he bound them on their words to bring their
ransoms to him on the field of Lendi, at the feast of St. John in the
summer; with this voluntary proviso, that, if they did not find him
there, they should be free from all obligation to him.

[Footnote 153: Mr. Turner.]

[Footnote 154: Another view might be taken of the
cause of this delay on the part of Henry. Perhaps
he was acting prudently by allowing time for his
enemies to weaken each other, and to exhaust their
resources by the insatiable demands of civil
warfare. Meanwhile, he was not himself idle.]

In the mean time, a most influential mediator between the two kingdoms
appeared, the intervention of whom would, even under other
circumstances, have rendered delay imperative. Sigismund, Emperor (p. 205)
of Germany, first visited the King of France in his capital, and
then extended his journey to England, with a view of bringing about a
peace, though all his efforts proved unavailing.

On his approach towards England, the utmost pains seem to have been
taken to make his reception worthy of his high dignity and of the
English people. The orders of council are very minute and
interesting;[155] and the arrival of Sigismund seems to have occupied
the time and thoughts of the whole nation. The Earl of Warwick was
then Captain of Calais, whose character for gallantry and courteous
bearing was so distinguished on this, as on all other occasions, that
he was called the Father of courtesy. The Emperor and his retinue of
one thousand persons, among whom were many German and Italian princes
and nobles, embarked at Calais in thirty of the King's ships, and
arrived at Dover on the 29th of April 1416. Here the Duke of (p. 206)
Gloucester, Constable of Dover, with many noblemen, met him; and gave
him precisely that sort of reception which we should have expected
from English gentlemen under the immediate direction of Henry. As the
Emperor was ready to set his foot on land, they stepped into the water
with their drawn swords, and told him with mingled firmness and
courtesy, "that, if he came as a mediator of peace, they would receive
him with all the honours due to the imperial dignity; but if as
Emperor he challenged any sovereign power, they must tell him that the
English nation was a free people, and their King had dependence on no
monarch on earth; and they were resolved, in defence of the liberty of
the people, and the rights of their King, to oppose his landing on
their shores." The answer of the Emperor set them at ease on this
point, and he was received with every mark of respect and honour;
among other testimonies of Henry's feelings towards him, was his
installation of him as a Knight of the Garter at Windsor.[156]

[Footnote 155: Lord Talbot was to be associated
with the Captain of Calais to receive the Emperor
in that city. At Dover, the Duke of Gloucester,
with the Lords Salisbury, Furnival, and Haryngton,
were to welcome him to the English shores; at
Rochester, the Constable and Marshal of England,
the Earl of Oxford, and others; at Dartford, the
Duke of Clarence, with the Earls of March and
Huntingdon, Lord Grey of Ruthing, Lord Abergavenny,
and others, were to meet him. At Blackheath, the
Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and good people of London
were to await his arrival; whilst Henry himself was
to receive Sigismund between Deptford and
Southwark, at a place called St. Thomas
Watering.--"Privy Council," April 1416, Pour la
venue de l'Empereur.]

[Footnote 156: The Archbishop of Canterbury
commanded all his suffragans to take especial care
that prayers be offered in all congregations for
the good estate of Sigismund.--Rymer's Foed.
1416.]

It is impossible not to contrast the conduct of our countrymen on this
occasion and the behaviour of Sigismund, with his conduct in France,
and the readiness with which that conduct, however humiliating, was
submitted to. Sigismund was received with much ceremony and (p. 207)
magnificence at Paris; but, before he left it, he had surprised and
disgusted the King by exercising an act of sovereignty in the very
house of parliament. By courtesy he was seated on the chair usually
occupied by the King himself. A trial was proceeding, the result of
which seemed to turn on the knighthood of one of the litigants. The
Emperor called for a sword, and knighted the individual forthwith.

Whilst Sigismund was anxiously engaged in endeavouring to bring the
two nations to terms of peace, news arrived of an event which must
have made his efforts and mediation appear hopeless. The French had
fallen upon part of the garrison of Harfleur, and cut off a
considerable body of them. Not long after this, and whilst
negociations were pending between London and Paris, with a more
favourable appearance of a successful issue, tidings came that the
French fleet had scoured the Channel, had blockaded Southampton, and
had made various attempts on the Isle of Wight; that the Constable,
D'Armagnac, had recalled them, and they were then besieging Harfleur.
Henry and his council resolved on making an immediate and vigorous
effort to destroy that fleet; and forthwith an armament was prepared,
of which Henry expressed his determination to take the command
himself. At the urgent request, however, of the Emperor, he desisted
from that resolution, and gave the supreme command to his brother the
Duke of Bedford; who, after a most obstinate battle, gained a (p. 208)
decided victory over the enemy, and relieved Harfleur.[157]

[Footnote 157: Henry was at Smalhithe in Kent
(August 22), superintending the building of some
ships, when news of this success reached him. He
hastened to join the Emperor, who was at
Canterbury, and both went to the cathedral together
to return thanks for the victory. This happened a
week subsequently to their signing of the league of
amity mentioned below.]

The Emperor was soon convinced that his mediation must fail, and that
France was resolved to renew the war. He then determined not to remain
neutral, but to join himself by a solemn league with Henry. The
preamble of this covenant is deeply interesting, as indicative, at
least, of the professed sentiments of Sigismund with regard to the
pretensions of Henry, and to the conduct and character of the two
belligerent kings. Sigismund declared the object of his desire to have
been the restoration of peace to the church and to Christendom; and,
with that end in view, he had endeavoured to reconcile the Kings of
England and France, but without success. The failure he ascribed
entirely to the hatred of peace which influenced the French King, to
whom he attributed also the prevalence of schism in the church, and
the disturbed state of the Christian world. He then expresses his
resolution "to form a league with Henry in the name of the Lord God of
Hosts, and to assist him in the recovery of his JUST RIGHTS."[158]
This league was signed August 15, 1416. The Emperor, shortly after (p. 209)
this unlooked-for termination of his office as mediator, left England.
Before he had proceeded onwards from Calais, Henry himself arrived at
that town. After some days, the Duke of Burgundy also joined them; and
much time was spent in secret negociations, the nature of which did
not transpire, though we may suppose both the Emperor and King were
anxious to make him a party to the league already concluded between
themselves. A covenant, however, was signed by the Duke early in
October, in which he declared that, "though he had taken part with the
enemies of Henry in time past, yet now, _being assured of his lawful
claim_, he would employ his arms in his service as the rightful King
of France."

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