The powerful Percy family had been active in helping Henry to obtain
the throne,[3] and had spent large sums in defending the North against
invasions from Scotland.[4] They expected a royal reward for these
services, and were sorely disappointed because they did not get it.
As young Henry Percy said of the King:
"My father, and my uncle, and myself,
Did give him that same royalty he wears;
And,--when he was not six-and-twenty strong,
Sick in the world's regard, wretched and low,
A poor, unminded outlaw sneaking home,--
My father gave him welcome to the shore:
. . . . . . . .
Swore him assistance and perform'd it too."[1]
[3] Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, with Henry Percy, Earl of
Northumberland, and his son, Sir Henry Percy, or "Hotspur" (S257).
[4] See the "Ballad of Chevy Chase."
[1] Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Part I, Act IV, scene iii.
But the truth is, King Henry had little to give except promises.
Parliament voted money cautiously, limiting its supplies to specific
purposes. Men of wealth, feeling anxious about the issue of the
King's usurpation,--for such many regarded it,--were afraid to lend
him what he required.
In 1406 the House of Commons (SS213, 217) took a very decisive step.
It demanded and obtained first, the exclusive right of originating all
"Money Bills," or in other words, of making all grants of money which
the King asked for. This practically gave the people the control of
the nation's purse.[2] Secondly, the Commons demanded and obtained
from the King that he should not in any way interfere with the right
to deliberate what action they should take in regard to making such
grants of money. Besides being held in check by the House of Commons,
the King was hampered by a council whose advice he had pledged himself
to follow. For these reasons Henry's position was in every way
precarious.
[2] This right of originating "Money Bills" had been claimed as early
as the reign of Richard II, but was not fully and formally recognized
until 1407. See Taswell-Langmead's "English Constitutional History,"
p. 260, and Summary of Constitutional History in the Appendix, p. xii,
S13.
He had no clear title to the throne, and he had no means to buy
military support. In addition to these difficulties, he had made an
enemy of Sir Henry Percy. He had refused to ransom his
brother-in-law, a Mortimer,[3] whom Glendower had captured, but whom
the King wished well out of the way with others of that name.
[3] Sir Edmund Mortimer: He was uncle to the Edmund Mortimer, Earl of
March, who was heir to the crown. See Bailey's "Succession to the
English Crown."
Young Percy proved a dangerous foe. His hot temper and impetuous
daring had got for him the title of the "Hotspur of the North." He
was so fond of fighting that Shakespeare speaks of him as "he that
kills me osme six or seven dozen of scots at a breakfast, washes his
hands, and says to his wife, Fie upon this quite life! I want
work."[1] This "fire eater," with his father, his uncle (the Earl of
Worcester), the Scotch Earl of Douglas, and, last of all, Owen
Glendower, now formed an alliance to force Henry to give up the
throne.
[1] Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Part I, Act II, scene iv.