Henry IV, part
1
At Henry V's Funeral,
Gloucester accuses the church of trying to control young Henry
VI, though Winchester of the church denies it. A messenger
brings news that the French are revolting, Dolphin (Dauphin)
Charles is king, the English Lord Talbot is taken prisoner,
and the English army under the Earl of Salisbury is weak and
close to mutiny. Bedford vows to go to France to fight. At
Orleans, the Dolphin, losing to Salisbury, meets a virgin/prophetess
named Pucelle who seems to have God's protection. The Dauphin
allows her to help them fight; he also wants to marry her.
At the Tower of London, Winchester will not let Gloucester
see Henry VI. They fight, but the mayor breaks them up. At
Orleans, Talbot, freed from the French, greets Salisbury.
While spying on the enemy in a tower they are hit by a cannonball
and Salisbury is gravely hurt and dies, while Gargrave is
hurt. Talbot swears revenge.
Talbot fights Pucelle and loses, though he doesn't die. The
French capture the city and the Dolphin marries Joan la Pucelle
(Joan of Arc), naming her a saint. They celebrate, but the
English attack at night by surprise. The Dolphin and Joan
of Arc flee and the English recapture the city. Talbot (named
"great warrior") visits by invitation the Countess
of Auvergne. There she tries to imprison him (she finds him
a "silly dwarf" rather than a warrior), but his
soldiers rescue him (foreseen by Talbot). The countess, impressed,
feeds them all. At a garden, Richard Plantagenet argues with
Somerset about whether he (Plantagenet) is base and scum because
his father, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, was executed for treason
by Henry V -- thus starts the War of the Roses.
At the Tower of London, Edmund Mortimer, the 5th Earl of March
(who's in jail), meets his nephew, Richard Plantagenet. Mortimer
explains that Henry IV imprisoned him because the Percies
wanted him to be king after Henry IV deposed Richard II. Then,
during Henry V's reign, Richard Earl of Cambridge (married
to Mortimer's sister, Richard's mom) rose against Henry V,
failed, and was beheaded. Mortimer declares Richard his hear,
then dies. At parliament, Winchester and Gloucester regrettably
make peace and Richard Plantagenet is declared the Third Duke
of York by young King Henry VI (though Somerset disagrees).
Henry VI goes to France to be crowned King while Exeter (Henry
VI's great uncle) repeats the prophesy that Henry V will win
all and Henry VI will lose all. In France, at Rowen (pronounced
ruin), Joan of Arc (Pucelle) and the Dauphin fight the English.
The Duke of Bedford (Henry V's brother) sits, dying, and observes.
The French retreat and Bedford, observing, dies happy, afterwhich
Talbot and Burgundy find him. Talbot marches to Paris but
Pucelle convinces Burgundy to fight for France.
In Paris, King Henry VI declares Talbot the Earl of Shrewsbury.
Next, Falstaff returns with a letter from Burgundy stating
his intentions. Falstaff himself is banished for cowardly
behavior in battle. Finally, Henry VI tries with little success
to calm the furor between Somerset and the Duke of York. Talbot
arrives at Bordeaux to fight, only to find that he is surround
by French: the Bastard of Orleans, Charles, Burgundy, Alen‡on,
and Reignier. York cannot send men without Somerset's horses,
and Somerset refuses to help York, so Talbot is greatly outnumbered.
Talbot's son John meets his dad at Bordeaux to help fight.
They both die in battle.
At London, Henry VI agrees to a peace settlement, including
marriage to Margaret, the daughter of a Frenchman, the Earl
of Armagnac. Reignier Winchester is now Cardinal and plans
even more to suppress Gloucester (Lord Protector of Henry
VI) and control Henry VI himself. At Angiers, York defeats
the French and captures Pucelle. The Earl of Suffolk catches
Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Reignier and gets the idea
that she should marry Henry VI, to which her father agrees.
York sentences Pucelle to death by burning at the stack. She
denies her own father, then claims she is pregnant yet still
a virgin, but York is not swayed. She curses England to despair.
York is informed of the peace settlement and regrettably makes
peace with Charles the Dauphin. In London, Henry VI decides
to marry Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Reignier, and not
Armagnac's daughter Margaret. Gloucester is very disappointed
and fears trouble, as is confirmed by Suffolk's statement
of intent to control Margaret (via an affair with her), Henry
VI (through Margaret), and the Realm.
a A Henry IV,
part 1 bibliography
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