Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603 -- Fiction; Historical fiction
"The King to the mayor and sheriffs of York, greeting: Whereas of our
special grace we have granted to our cousin Elizabeth who was the wife
of Henry de Percy, Chevalier, commonly called Hotspur, the head and
quarters of the same Henry to be buried: we command you that the head
aforesaid, placed by our command upon the gate of the city aforesaid you
deliver to the same Elizabeth, to be buried according to our grant
aforesaid." And, with a droning voice the Earl followed other pieces of
the body of that Henry Percy about the realm, a certain quarter of him
having been placed upon the gate at Newcastle, another at Chester,
another at Shrewsbury, and so on. And when he had done with Hotspur,
the Earl went on to read of the fate of the father of Hotspur, Henry,
the Fourth Lord Percy of Alnwick. This lord fell at Bramham Moor
fighting against King Henry IV, as Hotspur had done at Hately Field,
fighting against the same King four years before. This lord’s head and
quarters were placed upon London Bridge: one quarter upon the gate of
York, another at Newcastle, and yet further pieces at King’s Lynn and
Berwick-on-Tweed. Lugubriously and in a level voice this Earl read out
all the writs that he had collected, whether by the King’s hand or Privy
Seal, whether of setting up or for burial. He looked gravely upon the
Lady Margaret and asked her what she learned from them. And when she
said that she learned that those Percies were very gallant men, he shook
his head and said that he found from them this lesson, that it is not
healthy for a Percy to rebel against a King Henry that slew a Richard.
For, just as Henry IV had put down King Richard II by the aid of the
Percies that afterwards rose against him, so King Henry VII had put down
and slain King Richard IV on Bosworth Field with the aid of that Percy
that there spoke to her. And very surely it would be upon no Bramham
Moor or Hately Field that that Percy would fall, for he was determined
to be a very good liege man of King Henry VII and that was all he had to
it.
Then the Lady Margaret said boldly that, for this present King she knew
nothing of him, nor either could anybody, seeing that he had reigned but
a little while. The Percy made sounds of disagreement and anger, for he
was afraid of having such things said in his Castle, and moreover
desired to be in his bed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account