Henry IV's reign, marked by intrigue and conflict, stabilized England amid chaos, laying groundwork for future dynastic struggles and Tudor ascendancy.
Europe in the Middle Ages was a bloody place, where poisoning wells and massacring your enemy's peasants was considered an acceptable mode of warfare. So
Published:
February 19, 2021 at 6:04 am
On 30 June 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke stepped ashore at Ravenspur on the Humber, ostensibly to recover his inheritance. It was a daring move, for just nine months earlier, Henry had been banished from England by his cousin King Richard II. Then, in March 1399, Richard had seized the great Lancastrian duchy from under Henry’s nose following the death of the latter’s father, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. When Richard unwisely sailed to Ireland in May, Henry seized his chance with characteristic boldness.
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No army of invasion accompanied him, just a handful of servants and fellow exiles. Barely had Henry landed, however, when Lancastrian retainers and disaffected nobles, chafing under Richard’s predatory rule, flocked to his banner, while support for the king evaporated. Returning from Ireland, Richard was cornered at Flint Castle in north Wales, where on 16 August the cousins met. Jean Creton, a valet, in Rich