Fourth and youngest son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his
first wife Blanche of Lancaster; born at Bolingbroke Castle (not, as
usually stated, in 1366, but) April 3rd, 1367, the day of the battle of
Navareta, in which his father was engaged. (_Compotus Hugonis de
Waterton_, Duchy of Lancaster Documents, folio 4,) In 1377 he was
attached to the suite of the young Prince of Wales, afterwards Richard
the Second. (_Comp. Will'i de Bughbrigg, Ibidem_.) His tutors were
Thomas de Burton and William Montendre. (_Ibidem_.) In 1380 he was
married to Mary de Bohun, youngest daughter and co-heir of Humphrey,
last Earl of Hereford, and his wife Joan de Arundel. The ages of bride
and bridegroom were ten and thirteen. A gold ring with a ruby was
bought for the bridal, at a cost of eight marks; and for the making of
this and another ring with a diamond, 28 shillings 8 pence was paid.
The offering at mass was 13 shillings 4 pence, and 40 shillings were put
on the book, to be appropriated by the little bride at the words, "With
all my worldly goods I thee endow." (_Register of John of Gaunt, II,
folio 48, b_.) The allowance made to Henry by his father was 250 marks
per annum--equivalent in modern times to about 850. He was not yet
twenty when he became one of the five "Lords Appellants," who renounced
their homage at Huntingdon, December 10th, 1386. Having succeeded in
compelling King Richard to swear that for twelve months he would not
oppose them, towards the end of that time they assumed an openly hostile
attitude. At the head of 40,000 men, they reached Hornsey Park,
November 11th, 1387; but it was not till the 14th that Henry and his
friend Nottingham joined the rest. On the 20th of December was the
encounter between the Dukes of Gloucester and Ireland at Radcote Bridge.
The Lords Appellants appeared before the City on the 26th, and encamped
at Clerkenwell on the 27th. They next granted themselves 20,000 pounds.
(_Rot. Pari_, iii. 248; _Issue Roll, Michs_, 14 R. II.) After the
King had recovered his power, May 3rd, 1389, Henry retired to
Kenilworth. (_Rot. Pat_. 22 R. II, part 3.) It was probably about
1390 that he committed the atrocity of drawing his sword on the King in
the Queen's presence, for which he was sent into honourable banishment.
His first journey abroad was to Barbary; but during 1391 we find him at
home, at Bolingbroke and Peterborough. In 1392 he visited Prussia and
the Holy Land. A safe-conduct had to be obtained from the King of
France, in May. Two immense sums of money were lent him by his father--
first 666 pounds 13 shillings 4 pence, and afterwards 1,333 pounds 6
shillings 8 pence. Sir Thomas Erpyngham was his fellow-traveller. He
was at Venice on December 4th (_Comp. Rob'ti de Whitteby_, 15-16 R.
II, Duchy Documents, folios 18, 19), and there or at Milan, in this
journey, he probably made the acquaintance of Galeazzo of Milan. His
wife died July 4th, 1394, at Peterborough. On November 25th, 1395, a
treaty was signed between the Dukes of Lancaster and Bretagne, by the
provisions of which Henry was to marry Marie of Bretagne, who afterwards
became his step-daughter. The treaty was not carried into effect; and
Marie married Jean Duke of Alencon, June 26th, 1396. The five noble
conspirators met again, to renew their guilty attempts, at Arundel, July
28th, 1397. Henry slipped out of discovery and penalty as is recorded
in the story; and was created Duke of Hereford, with remainder only to
heirs male, September 29th, 1397. A full pardon was granted to him,
January 25th, 1398 (_Rot. Pat_. 21 R. II, Part 2.) His petition
impeaching his former friend Norfolk was presented January 30th. The
two appeared at Windsor, April 28th, and were commanded the next day to
settle their quarrel by wager of battle. In the interim Henry visited
his father at Pomfret. The combatants met on Gosford Green, September
16th, and were separated by the King. Henry was allowed licence to
travel October 3rd, for which sentence of banishment was substituted on
the 13th. (_Rot. Pat_. 22 R. II, Part 1.) He took leave of the King
at Eltham. The armour in which the duel was to be fought had been sent
by Galeazzo of Milan, "out of his abundant love for the Earl," at
Henry's request. (Froissart, book four, chapter 94.) Henry meant to
have gone to Hainault; but by his father's advice, he settled in Paris.
(_Ibidem, chapters_ 96, 97.) Here he fell in love--such love as was in
him--with the beautiful Marie of Berri, whom he would have married had
not the King interfered and prevented it. Henry never forgave Richard
for this step. On the 3rd of February, 1399, John of Gaunt died, and
Henry became Duke of Lancaster. He landed at Ravenspur with Archbishop
Arundel, July 4th, marching at once in open defiance of the Crown,
though his own son was in the royal suite. Had Richard the Second been
the weak and unscrupulous tyrant which modern writers represent him,
that father and son would never have met again. On the 7th of July
Henry reached Saint Albans, where, if not earlier, his uncle of York met
him and went over to his side. Thence he marched to Oxford, where his
brother of Dorset probably joined him. His march Londonward is given in
the last article. From the 3rd of September all the royal decrees bear
the significant words, "with the assent of our dearest cousin Henry Duke
of Lancaster." He commenced his reign on the 29th of September in
reality, when he forced Richard to abdicate; but officially, on the 1st
of October, 1399. His first regnal act was to grant to himself all the
"honours of descent" derived from his father; in other words, to revoke
his own attainder. He was crowned on the 13th of October. A year
later, November 25th, 1400, Archbishop Arundel received him into the
fraternity of Christ Church, Canterbury, which must have been an order
instituted for those who remained "in the world," since a large
proportion of its brethren were married men. From this point there is
no need to pursue Henry's history, further than with respect to such
items of it as bear upon the narrative. In 1404 he refused the request
of the Commons that the superfluous revenues of the priesthood might be
confiscated, and the money applied to military affairs. At this time,
it is said, one-third of all the estates in England was in the hands of
the clergy. For the part that he took with regard to the marriage of
his cousin Constance with Kent, see the article under the former name.
He died of leprosy, at Westminster, March 20th, 1413, aged 46. His
second wife, by whom he had no issue, was Jeanne, daughter of Charles
the Second, King of Navarre, and Jeanne of France; she survived him
twenty-four years. The children of Henry the Fourth, several of whom
are mentioned in the story, were:--1. Henry the Fifth, born at Monmouth
Castle, August 9th, 1387; married, at Troyes, Katherine, daughter of
Charles the Sixth, King of France, and Isabeau of Bavaria, June 3rd,
1420; died at Vincennes, August 31st, 1422, aged 35.--2. Thomas Duke of
Clarence, born in London, 1388 (probably in May); a "brother" of
Canterbury; married, 1412, Margaret de Holand, sister of Edmund Earl of
Kent, and widow of John Marquis of Dorset; killed in the battle of
Baugi, March 29th, 1421, aged 33.--3. John Duke of Bedford, born 1389;
married (1) Anne, daughter of Jean Sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy, at
Troyes, April 17th, 1423; (2) Jaquette, daughter of a Count of Saint
Pol, at Therouenne, April, 1433; he died September 14th, 1435, aged
46.--4. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, born 1390, admitted a "brother"
of Canterbury 1408; married (1) Jaqueline, Duchess of Holland and
Hainault, 1422, and repudiating her without any formal divorce, married
(2) Alianora, daughter of Reginald Lord Cobham of Sterborough, about
1428; murdered at Saint Edmund's Bury, by his uncle Cardinal Beaufort,
February 23rd, 1447, aged 57.--5. Blanche, born at Peterborough, 1392;
married, at Cologne, July, 1402, Ludwig of the Pfalz; died at Neustadt,
May 22nd, 1409, aged 17.--6. Philippa, born at Peterborough, July,
1394; married, at Lund, October 26th, 1406, Eric King of Denmark; died
at Wadstena, January 5th, 1430, aged 36.