The True Story of Henry V, the Warrior King of England

Описание: Henry V: The Warrior King of 1415

Born in 1386 or 1387 as Henry of Monmouth, the future Henry V grew up during the reign of his paternal cousin Richard II, who ascended the throne after the death of their grandfather, Edward III. When Henry was about 13 years old, his father, Henry Bolingbroke, seized power from the increasingly tyrannical Richard, disregarding the laws of succession and claiming the crown as a grandson of Edward III. Now King Henry IV, the usurper placed his eldest son—who had never expected to become king—next in line to the throne.

The relationship between the two Henrys was further complicated by the king’s poor health. Shortly after Henry IV’s coronation in 1399, the young Henry was named Prince of Wales. Although he initially exercised authority on behalf of his father, the two clashed over foreign policy, and the king eventually attempted to sideline his son. Though they personally reconciled toward the end of the ailing king’s life, historian Ian Mortimer notes that Henry’s only role in government at that time was “to stand by and wait for the king to die.”

The prince was described as “as fiery a soldier of Mars as of Venus, inflamed in his youth by their torches.” After the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, Henry spent five years in Wales suppressing a rebellion. As Frulovisi wrote, “amid the worthy tasks of war, he found leisure for excesses more typical of unrestrained youth.”

In 1415, Henry and his army sailed for France. They successfully captured the town of Harfleur, but the month-long siege took a heavy toll: about one-third of the king’s soldiers died of dysentery.

On October 25, Henry and his vastly outnumbered English troops clashed with French forces at Agincourt. Although historians disagree on the exact size of each army, estimates place the English forces between 5,000 and 9,000 men, while the French numbered between 12,000 and 30,000.

By all logic, the French should have won. However, Henry had a secret weapon: the longbow. As Teresa Cole explains for History Extra, when French cavalry attempted to charge the English archers, they encountered a sea of sharpened stakes protecting them. Arrows rained down upon the unfortunate French soldiers, driving their horses into panic and causing massive destruction within their ranks. Those who reached the English front lines were easily cut down, their bodies piling up and blocking further advance. Anyone who slipped or fell in the mud had “little chance of rising again,” instead suffocating under the crushing weight of fallen comrades.

During the bloody battle, approximately 6,000 French soldiers were killed either on the battlefield or by Henry’s men. In an unprecedented move, Henry ordered the execution of prisoners. Despite all odds, Henry had won a crushing victory—yet, as historian Peter Ackroyd observed, “no crushing victory ever had such a fragile outcome.”

The king returned to London, where 20,000 citizens welcomed him as “the master of England, the flower of the world, the soldier of Christ.” Over the next two years, he consolidated his power at home and enjoyed the growing influence his new status afforded him. But Henry would not rest on this success for long. In February 1417, he launched a second invasion, capturing Caen, Normandy, and Rouen, forcing the French king Charles VI to seek peace.

On May 21, 1420, Henry and Charles signed the Treaty of Troyes, which disinherited the Dauphin (the future Charles VII), appointed Henry as regent of France, and arranged Henry’s marriage to Charles’s daughter, Catherine of Valois. The couple married a month later, and on December 6, 1421, Catherine gave birth to a son, also named Henry.

By this point, the king had returned to France, undertaking further military campaigns to crush all remaining local resistance. Although he appeared to have achieved his goal of ruling both England and France, historian Dan Jones writes that “the task of turning this into political reality demanded every ounce of his immense presence.” On August 31, 1422, Henry died, most likely from dysentery contracted during the siege of Meaux.

“With the same astonishing speed that characterized every action of his life,” Jones adds, “England’s extraordinary warrior king vanished.” Shortly after his death, historian Thomas Walsingham praised Henry as unparalleled among Christian kings and princes. His contemporaries echoed this sentiment, contributing to a growing chorus of admiration that cemented Henry’s status as one of England’s greatest rulers.




The early years of Henry V’s rule witnessed two potential crises: a religious uprising led by his former friend Sir John Oldcastle, and a conspiracy aimed at deposing Henry in favor of a distant relative, Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March. Henry easily crushed both threats and turned his focus to the primary priority of his reign—war with France.