Chronicles (3 of 6): Historie of England (1 of 9): Henrie IVHolinshed, Raphael
History
Chronicles (3 of 6): Historie of England (1 of 9): Henrie IV
Holinshed, Raphael
Great Britain -- History -- Henry IV, 1399-1413; Middle Ages
[Sidenote: The prince taketh awaie the crowne before his father was
dead.] The prince his sonne being hereof aduertised, entered into the
chamber, tooke the crowne, and departed. The father being suddenlie
reuiued out of that trance, quicklie perceiued the lacke of his crowne;
and hauing knowledge that the prince his sonne had taken it awaie,
[Sidenote: He is blamed of the king.] caused him to come before his
presence, requiring of him what he meant so to misuse himselfe.
[Sidenote: His answer.] The prince with a good audacitie answered;
[Sidenote: A guiltie conscience in extremitie of sicknesse pincheth
sore.] “Sir, to mine and all mens iudgements you seemed dead in this
world, wherefore I as your next heire apparant tooke that as mine owne,
and not as yours.” Well faire sonne (said the king with a great sigh)
what right I had to it, God knoweth. Well (said the prince) if you die
king, I will haue the garland, and trust to kéepe it with the sword
against all mine enimies as you haue doone. [Sidenote: The death of
Henrie the fourth.] Then said the king, “I commit all to God, and
remember you to doo well.” With that he turned himselfe in his bed, and
shortlie after departed to God in a chamber of the abbats of Westminster
called Ierusalem, the twentith daie of March, in the yeare 1413, and in
the yeare of his age 46, when he had reigned thirteene yeares, fiue
moneths and od daies, in great perplexitie and little pleasure [or
fourtéene yeares, as some haue noted, who name not the disease whereof
he died, but refer it to sicknesse absolutelie, whereby his time of
departure did approach and fetch him out of the world: as Ch. Okl.
saith, whose words may serue as a funerall epigramme in memoriall of the
said king Henrie:
Henricus quartus his septem rexerat annos
Ànglorum gentem summa cum laude & amore,
Iàmq; senescenti fatalis terminus æui
Ingruerat, morbus fatalem accerserat horam.]
[Sidenote: _Ab. Fl._ out of _Angl. præl._ _sub. Hen._ 4] [Sidenote:
_Fabian._] We find, that he was taken with his last sickenesse, while he
was making his praiers at saint Edwards shrine, there as it were to take
his leaue, and so to procéed foorth on his iournie: he was so suddenlie
and greeuouslie taken, that such as were about him, feared least he
would haue died presentlie, wherfore to reléeue him (if it were
possible) they bare him into a chamber that was next at hand, belonging
to the abbat of Westminster, where they laid him on a pallet before the
fire, and vsed all remedies to reuiue him. At length, he recouered his
spéech, and vnderstanding and perceiuing himselfe in a strange place
which he knew not, he willed to know if the chamber had anie particular
name, wherevnto answer was made, that it was called Ierusalem. Then said
the king; “Lauds be giuen to the father of heauen, for now I know that I
shall die heere in this chamber, according to the prophesie of me
declared, that I should depart this life in Ierusalem.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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