Tag: Mary de Bohun

Book Review: “Queens at War: England’s Medieval Queens” by Alison Weir

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The fifteenth century in England was a time of war. Between a usurper king, fighting with France, and fighting amongst themselves, an English king must be prepared to go into battle at any moment, and his queen must be ready to support him in any way. During this period, there were five kings and queens, and while the kings get a lot of attention, it is the queens who should get their flowers for what they did in times of distress. Alison Weir explores the lives of the final five Plantagenet queens in her final book in the England’s Medieval Queens series, entitled “Queens at War.”

I would like to thank Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. I am a big fan of Weir’s books, and I have thoroughly enjoyed her England’s Medieval Queens series. I wanted to see which queens Weir would focus on in this book and how she would approach their lives.

The years covered in this last book are 1399-1485, covering the reigns of Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III. The queens featured in this book are Joan of Navarre, Katherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville (spelled Widville in this book), and Anne Neville. While I am familiar with the stories of Katherine, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Anne, Joan is a less well-known figure to me. Weir gives her readers a bit of background information about how Joan of Navarre was Henry IV’s second wife after his first wife, Mary de Bohun, died. Joan was married previously as well, to John IV de Montfort, Duke of Brittany. While she did have children with John, she never had royal children with Henry IV. Weir shows how Joan was treated as the stepmother to King Henry V after he married Katherine of Valois.

Weir explores Katherine of Valois’ relationships with both Henry V, the warrior king, and Owen Tudor, the man she fell in love with after the death of Henry V. We get to see how Katherine’s son, Henry VI, and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, dealt with the rising Yorkist faction. With her husband taking ill, it was Margaret of Anjou who was the figurehead for the Lancastrian cause in a conflict that would be known as the Wars of the Roses. Eventually, a young man named Edward IV would become King of England, and he shook the English court by marrying an English woman, Elizabeth Widville (Woodville). Finally, Weir explores the downfall of the Plantagenet dynasty and the end of the young Yorkist regime with Richard III and his wife Anne Neville.

Overall, I found this an informative and easy-to-follow book. It was a bit of a review for me as I am familiar with this period, but I found myself learning new information in this book, which was exciting. I think if you want to learn about 15th-century queens or if you are a fan of England’s Medieval Queens series, I recommend you read “Queens at War” by Alison Weir.

Book Review: “Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King” by Dan Jones

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English history is filled with kings who had to fight for their crown, both at home and away in foreign lands. Men like William the Conqueror, Henry II, Henry IV, Edward IV, and Henry VII can be considered warrior kings, but one stands above them all. He only ruled for a little over nine years, but he proved his worth time and time again, especially against his French adversaries, and secured the crown of France for his young son. He was the son of Henry Bolingbroke, King Henry IV, and the grandson of John of Gaunt. He was Henry V and his story is one of the most remarkable tales in English medieval history, told masterfully in Dan Jones’ latest book, “Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King.”

I have been a fan of Dan Jones and his books for a few years now and always jump at the chance to read his latest book. When I heard that he was writing a biography about Henry V, it was an instant pre-order for me because it is Dan Jones’ first biography and I did not know much about Henry V minus the main points about his life and reign.

It was a miracle that Henry V became King of England. Henry was the son of Henry Bolingbroke and Mary de Bohun, the grandson of John of Gaunt, and cousin to King Richard II. He was the son of an Appellant lord who was banished from England for opposing Richard II, so the likelihood that he would even be the next Duke of Lancaster was significantly small. Jones shows his audience what Henry’s childhood was like before his father was banished and after he returned and took the throne from Richard II. It was a dramatic change for the young man as it meant that he had to adapt to life as the Prince of Wales, which meant that he had to fight for English control of Wales and against those who also claimed his title, primarily Owain Glyndwr and the Percy family (including Henry Hotspur Percy). The fight for Wales culminated in the Battle of Shrewsbury where Henry Percy died and the army of Henry IV was victorious. Henry V was shot in the face with an arrow and almost died, but Doctor John Bradmore saved his life.

After the arrow incident, we see a different side of the young Prince as he is more mindful of religious matters. When his father Henry IV falls ill, we also see Prince Henry take more of a leading role in politics as part of a council meant to help the king rule England. When Henry IV died on March 20, 1413, the young King Henry V was ready to rule. He believes that to be a strong ruler, he must show it by facing the English’s mortal enemies, primarily France, in battle. He led England to great victories against the French, including the Battle of Agincourt, which was marked as one of the greatest victories for the English during the Wars of the Roses. Henry V was a competent ruler who made England a powerhouse in European history. He was able to secure the French throne for his young son Henry VI, the only child of Henry V and his wife Catherine of Valois before the great warrior king died on August 30, 1422.

I was thoroughly impressed with this biography and I am surprised that it took Dan Jones this long to write a biography. You can tell his passion for the life of Henry V through every page. I hope Jones will write another biography soon. If you are a Dan Jones fan, a medievalist, or just a fan of fantastic biographies, I highly suggest you read, “Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King” by Dan Jones.

Biography: King Henry V

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mw03074(Born September 16, 1387- Died August 31, 1422). Son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun. Married to Katherine of Valois. He only had one son Henry VI.

Henry V was a soldier from birth. He did so much for his country, yet he died too soon, leaving his kingdom in the incapable hands of his baby son Henry VI.

At the age of fifteen, Henry V fought alongside his father against the Welsh rebels under Owain Glyn Dwr and the English rebels under Edmund Mortimer and Henry “Hotspur” Percy. Henry’s relationship with his father in the later years of Henry IV’s life was not great. The two argued about many issues, but it was mostly about the English involvement in France. Henry IV wanted to press his claim to the French throne while France was in the midst of a civil war between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs; Henry IV supported the Armagnacs while Henry V supported the Burgundians. This issue would never be resolved between them as Henry IV would die in 1413 and Henry V became king.

As king, Henry V desired to regain the lands in France that he believed was rightfully his, but unlike his father, he was able to get the full support of Parliament to do so. Henry V tried to negotiate with the French to regain all of the old Angevin Empire,  but when that failed, he invaded on August 11, 1415. On October 25, 1415, the Battle of Agincourt took place. Even though the French had the English outnumbered, the English had longbowmen. The French lost some 6,000 men whereas the English only lost 400 men.

Agincourt was a tremendous victory for the English, but the French refused to fall. Henry V gained support from Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor and John, duke of Burgundy and started a new campaign in August 1417. In the spring of 1419, Normandy fell to Henry V. In May 1420, Henry V signed the Treaty of Troyes with the Burgundians which recognized him and his heirs  as heir to the French throne. In order to cement this new alliance, he married the daughter of the French King Katherine of Valois.

Everything seemed right in Henry’s kingdom, but he still wanted to gain more French land. In 1421, he went back to France and was able to gain control of the Dauphin’s stronghold of Meaux in May 1422. Unfortunately, in the winter of 142, Henry V fell ill from dysentery and died on August 31, 1422. He left his kingdom in the hands of his infant son Henry VI. Even though Henry V’s reign was one of the shortest of any English king since the Norman Conquest, it was one of the most successful. England was in a position of power on the world stage thanks to the actions of Henry V.

Biography: King Henry IV (aka Henry Bolingbroke)

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(Born April 3, 1367- Died March 20, 1413). Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of mw03072Lancaster. Married to Mary de Bohun and Joan of Navarre. He had 7 children with Mary, including the future Henry V. He was the 1st king from the house of Lancaster.

Henry was the son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster and was born at Bolingbroke Castle on April 3, 1367. Early in his life, he became one of the Lords Appellant who were opposed to the rule of Richard II. He stepped down from this role in 1389 and in 1390, went on his first adventure, journeying with the Teutonic Knights to Lithuania. Two years later, he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. During this time, he visited numerous courts in Europe and was held in high regards. He was a handsome young man, but it was early in life where Henry’s ill health that plagued him during his reign started to appear.

Henry was a good person to help the king, however the only one who failed to realize this was Richard II. He banished Henry in 1398 for ten years, but when John of Gaunt died the following year and Henry became the next Duke of Lancaster, Richard II took all of his lands and banished him forever. This was the last straw for Henry. While Richard was occupied with unrest in Ireland, Henry took his chance and invaded England, forcing Richard to abdicate. The next one in line to the throne was Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, but he was only eight years old, so Parliament agreed that Henry would be a better choice to be king. His reign as Henry IV began on September 30, 1399.

However, not everyone was happy with Henry as king. Henry IV’s first rebellion that he had to deal with was by the earls of Kent, Salisbury and Huntingdon, just a month after he became king. Henry took care of this rebellion quickly and violently. It is also believed that this was around the same time that Henry ordered the death of Richard II. A few months after the first rebellion, Henry IV had to deal with a second rebellion in Wales, where Owain Glyn Dwr was declared Prince of Wales in September 1400. This revolt was quickly put down, but Owain evaded capture for several years, leading to guerrilla style warfare.

Owain’s supporters grew not only amongst Welsh barons, but English ones as well, including the Mortimers who were upset that Henry was king and not Edmund, who was Owain’s son in law after he married Owain’s daughter. Another supporter was Henry “Hotspur” Percy, the son of the earl of Northumberland who believed that he did not get the recognition that he deserved after he fought against the Scots. These forces came together and fought against Henry at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, where Henry defeated Hotspur easily and killed him. Henry was not going to let the rebel army get away and by 1408, they were all but eliminated.

Two years before this, in 1406, Henry IV took James I of Scotland hostage and his young heir was sent to France. James was in the English court for 17 years as a hostage and for that time, the relationships between England, Scotland and France were good. Things were looking up for Henry IV, except for his health. Starting in 1406, his health was in decline and there was a serious concern for his life. He tried to govern, but he became more reliant on his Parliament. In 1409, Henry’s son Prince Henry was made chancellor over Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. Arundel returned in 1411 when Henry and his council were debating if he should step down in favor of Prince Henry, which Henry refused to do. Henry died in 1413 from some sort of wasting disease at the age of 45. His son Prince Henry would succeed him as Henry V.