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After sorting out the Lollards, Henry next
discovered some other nobles had been plotting to overthrow him. Their plan was to replace Henry with Edmund Mortimer, one of the Mortimer descendants who appeared
in an earlier episode. The plotters were going to assassinate Henry as he boarded a ferry at Southampton on his way to have another battle in the Hundred Years War.
The plotters, though, made one serious mistake; they hadn’t asked Edmund if he wanted to be King and when he found out their plans he straight away
went and told Henry who was not best pleased. He had the plotters tried and executed and remained good friends with Edmund. The moral of this story is that if
you are plotting to put someone on the throne do check that they want to be there. Should you be considering such a move and not have a suitable candidate, I am
willing but not necessarily able.
Dear old Bill Shakespeare, William to those who didn’t know him that well, wrote about this plot in his play Henry V. However, it would seem he
decided to change history as he never mentioned that it was Edmund who warned the King. It’s in Act II, Scene II, if you want to look it up.
After this problem, Henry then set off for France, he was probably
able to transfer his ticket for a later ferry, and landed in Normandy. He then besieged the town of Harfleur. Besieging means cutting it off from all others by
surrounding it and letting no one in or out. The idea is that, after a while, the people will run out of food and beg for mercy. Then the attackers can just overrun
the town. However, Henry forgot that as long as he stayed waiting outside the walls of Harfeur, the French, under their King Charles VI could build up an enormous
army ready to come and attack Henry.
The two armies met at a place called Agincourt and, despite having fewer men, the English won. The most significant reason for the victory was the
English archers who used long bows. They could fire an incredible amount of arrows in quick succession, possibly by having the next lot of arrows all placed in
the ground, point down, in front of them.
The defeat was devastating for France and over the next few years Henry was in a strong position when negotiating with the French to try to end the war.
Forward to 1420AD
