Henry of Monmouth, Volume 1: Or, Memoirs of the Life and Character of Henry the Fifth, as Prince of Wales and King of EnglandTyler, James Endell
History
Henry of Monmouth, Volume 1: Or, Memoirs of the Life and Character of Henry the Fifth, as Prince of Wales and King of England
Tyler, James Endell
Henry V, King of England, 1387-1422
Two letters from the Earl of Northumberland, the one to the council in
May, the other to the King, dated 26th June 1403, breathe the same
spirit with those of his son Hotspur, and would have led us to
anticipate the same subsequent conduct; at least they ought to have
prepared the King and council for the resentments of two such men,
overflowing with bitter indignation at the neglect and injustice with
which they considered themselves to have been treated.
"The last of these letters (we quote throughout the words of the same
Editor) is extremely curious. Northumberland commenced by acknowledging
the receipt of a letter from the King, wherein Henry has expressed (p. 145)
his expectation that the Earl would be at Ormeston Castle on the day
appointed, and in sufficient force, without creating any additional
expense to his Majesty; but that, on consideration, the King, reflecting
that this could not be the case without expenses being incurred by the
Earl and his son Hotspur, had ordered some money to be speedily sent
to them. Of that money the Earl said he knew not the amount, nor the
day of payment; that his honour, as well as the state of the kingdom,
was in question; and that the day on which he was to be at Ormeston
was so near, that, if payment was not soon ordered, it was very
probable that the fair renown of the chivalry of the realm would not
be maintained at that place, to the utter dishonour and grief of him
and of his son, who were the King's loyal subjects; which they
believed could not be his wish, nor had they deserved it. 'If,' the
Earl sarcastically observed, 'we had both been paid the 60,000_l._
since your coronation, as I have heard you were informed by those who
do not wish to tell you the truth, then we could better support such a
charge; but to this day there is clearly due to us, as can be fully
proved, 20,000_l._ and more'. He then entreated the King to order his
council and treasurer to pay him and his son a large sum conformably
to the grant made in the last parliament, and to their indentures, so
that no injury might arise to the realm by the non-payment of what was
due to them.' To this letter he signed himself 'Your Matathias, (p. 146)
who supplicates you to take his state and labour to heart in this
affair.'"
There is so much sound reasoning also and good sense in the review of
these proceedings, presented to us by the same pen, that we cannot do
better than adopt it. The Author's subsequent researches have all
tended to confirm that Editor's view:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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