WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.080 Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.820 be diving into this one. Yeah. Imagine wielding, 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:07.639 you know, absolute power, shaping the destiny 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:10.939 of nations only to have it all snatched away. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.720 It's quite something. It really is. History has 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.379 these figures that just loom so large. Absolutely. 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.120 And today you're joining us as we delve into 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.440 the really tumultuous life of Henry V. He's a 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:26.019 figure whose story Dan Jones recounts so vividly 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:29.359 in his historical biography, Henry V, The Astonishing 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:32.450 Triumph. just keeps fascinating people. It does. 00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:35.409 Jones really brings that period to life, doesn't 00:00:35.409 --> 00:00:39.109 he? The grit and the sheer unpredictability of 00:00:39.109 --> 00:00:41.890 it all. Totally. And if you're keen to understand 00:00:41.890 --> 00:00:44.329 the man behind the legend, we've put a link to 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:46.950 Jones's book on Amazon in the description. Definitely 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:48.670 check it out. Yeah, it's a great read. So prepare 00:00:48.670 --> 00:00:51.109 to have your understanding of this, well, iconic 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:53.490 king deepened as we explore the complexities 00:00:53.490 --> 00:00:56.369 of his reign. And hey, if you enjoy this deep 00:00:56.369 --> 00:00:58.329 dive, please hit that like button and subscribe 00:00:58.329 --> 00:01:00.729 for more. Okay, so where do we start with Henry? 00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:03.950 Context is everything, right? Exactly. Let's 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:06.609 unpack this. Jones kicks off by plunging you 00:01:06.609 --> 00:01:09.230 right into that medieval world. Henry's born 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:13.239 September 16, 1386, Monmouth Castle. But it's 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:15.719 not just about a royal birth. No, it's about 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:17.500 the family he's born into, the Lancastrians. 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:20.760 His grandfather, John of Gaunt, I mean, arguably 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:22.840 the most powerful nobleman in England. Right. 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:26.019 Super wealthy, a soldier, diplomat, even a patron 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:28.840 of Chaucer, protector of Wycliffe. Yeah. A huge 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:32.500 figure. Absolutely huge. So young Henry, he inherits 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:35.480 this, this incredible privilege, but also this 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.659 immense weight of expectation. And potential 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:40.980 danger, too. Yeah, because the political climate 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:43.319 under Richard II, that was the backdrop, wasn't 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:45.400 it? And it was anything but stable. Not at all. 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:47.560 Richard relied on his favorites, you know, Burley, 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:50.480 De Vere. And that really alienated a lot of the 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:52.819 other nobles. Jones paints him as, what was it? 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.739 Flittish, quarrelsome, petulant, not exactly 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:58.980 kingly stability. Doesn't sound like it. And 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:01.060 this created tension. And Henry's father, Bolingbroke, 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:02.680 he's right in the thick of it. And Bolingbroke's 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:04.760 marriage to Mary de Boel, that was significant 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.159 too, right? Bringing in those big earldoms, Hereford, 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.479 Essex, Northampton. Hugely significant. It boosted 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:12.539 Lancastrian power, but probably made Richard 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:16.099 II even more wary of them. And young Henry loses 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:19.460 his mother quite early on. Ah, yes. Mary de Bohan. 00:02:20.079 --> 00:02:22.620 Jones suggests that loss might have fostered 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:26.879 his love for music, learning, books, God. Gave 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.979 him that serious side, maybe. It's plausible. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.639 Then you have Bolingbroke getting involved with 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:33.479 the appellants, challenging Richard directly. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.520 That whole business, the Battle of Radcot Bridge, 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:39.460 Devere getting beaten in exile. That was a direct 00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:41.419 poke at the king's authority. And Richard II 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:43.520 wasn't the forgiving type, apparently. He wanted 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.569 revenge for that. Which directly leads to Bolingbroke's 00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:48.610 problems later on. Richard sets up that duel 00:02:48.610 --> 00:02:50.870 between Bolingbroke and Mowbray, then exiles 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:53.550 them both. Seems decisive. It looked that way. 00:02:53.669 --> 00:02:56.370 But then, 1399, Richard makes the mistake of 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:58.669 going off to Ireland. Just as John of Gaunt dies. 00:02:58.930 --> 00:03:01.110 Perfect timing for Bolingbroke. Too perfect, 00:03:01.189 --> 00:03:03.949 perhaps. He comes back, supposedly just to claim 00:03:03.949 --> 00:03:06.150 his inheritance. Yeah, right. Nobody really bought 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.189 that, did they? Jones makes it clear it was seen 00:03:08.189 --> 00:03:11.469 as a power grab. And it worked. Richard is deposed. 00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:14.560 Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV. Imagine being young 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.620 Henry, maybe 12 or 13, watching your dad overthrow 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:22.620 the king. Talk about upheaval. Must have been 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.340 formative, to say the least. And then boom, suddenly 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:27.819 he's showered with titles. Oh yeah, almost overnight, 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.719 Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:34.719 Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Aquitaine. A lot. 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:37.740 It wasn't just for show, either. It was signaling 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:41.360 the new dynasty, Henry's crucial role. He even 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.879 had a sort of mini -coronation. Setting him up 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:46.000 as the clear heir. And they didn't just wrap 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.099 him in cotton wool. He gets thrown into the deep 00:03:48.099 --> 00:03:50.639 end pretty quick. Right into the Welsh Rebellion. 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:53.759 Owain Glynder. That was a serious, long -running 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:56.219 fight. And Henry's right there. He even loses 00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:58.159 Conwy Castle at one point that has to win it 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.120 back. His dad's teaching him the ropes, apparently. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.599 How to defend castles. A brutal but... Necessary 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:05.620 apprenticeship, you could say, because Glinder 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:08.000 wasn't just some minor rebel. No, he was smart, 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:10.259 used guerrilla tactics, tried to get alliances 00:04:10.259 --> 00:04:12.860 with Scotland, Ireland. And you had those persistent 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:15.340 rumors that Richard II was still alive somewhere. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.939 That just added fuel to the fire, constantly 00:04:17.939 --> 00:04:20.720 undermining Henry V's legitimacy. Made young 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.120 Henry's job in Wales even harder, I bet. Definitely. 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:26.019 And then that instability boils over into the 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:29.920 Percy Rebellion in 1403. Hotspur. Fueled partly 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.720 by those Richard II rumors again, leads straight 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.600 to the Battle of Shrewsbury. Big one. Hotspur 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.660 gets killed. And Henry himself gets wounded. 00:04:37.800 --> 00:04:40.019 That famous head wound. Oh yeah, the arrow. Yeah. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.699 Or shard to the face. And that incredible surgery 00:04:43.699 --> 00:04:46.279 by John Bradmore, Jones really highlights how 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:49.879 dicey that was. Utterly perilous. Removing an 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:52.000 arrowhead stuck in the bone next to the eye. 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:55.250 Without modern medicine. Amazing he survived. 00:04:55.670 --> 00:04:57.910 Makes you wonder how that brush with death affected 00:04:57.910 --> 00:05:00.790 him. Jones mentions him visiting Walsingham, 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:03.250 the pilgrimage site, around then. We can only 00:05:03.250 --> 00:05:05.629 speculate, of course, but facing your own mortality 00:05:05.629 --> 00:05:08.509 like that, so young amid all that political chaos? 00:05:08.769 --> 00:05:11.009 Yeah. It must have left a mark. Shaped his purpose, 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:13.670 maybe. Could well have done. And even after Freesbury, 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:16.389 the challenges didn't stop, did they? Henry V's 00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:18.990 reign was never totally secure. Not really. More 00:05:18.990 --> 00:05:21.529 conspiracies kept popping up. Fake Richard II, 00:05:21.709 --> 00:05:24.649 the Mortimer claimed to the throne. It was relentless. 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:28.449 And as Henry IV's health starts to fail, young 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:31.410 Henry gets more involved in actual governing. 00:05:31.709 --> 00:05:33.970 Yeah, they set up royal councils. Parliament 00:05:33.970 --> 00:05:36.129 even starts recognizing him as fit to govern. 00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:38.129 You can see the transition happening. He's building 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:39.810 his own reputation, especially with his military 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:42.490 experience in Wales, even if Glynder wasn't totally 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:45.670 defeated yet. And key enemies start dying off 00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:48.829 Northumberland, the younger Mortimer. That strengthens 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:50.870 the Lancastrian hand. But it also seems to create 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:54.000 this... This tension between father and son. 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:56.800 Jones describes it as almost having two kings. 00:05:57.139 --> 00:05:59.519 You get that sense of Henry V being impatient, 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:03.000 right? His father's ill, fading, and Henry's 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.060 ready. He wants the crown. And then March 1413, 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:09.819 Henry V dies. And Henry V steps up immediately. 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.220 And quite smoothly, considering everything that 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:15.079 had gone before. No major opposition to him taking 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:17.759 the throne. The coronation's April 9th, 1413. 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:19.980 Apparently there was terrible weather, seen as 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:22.379 an omen. Chroniclers interpreted it both ways, 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:24.560 apparently. Yeah. Austerity to come, but also 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.420 that he'd stamp out vice. You know, medieval 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:29.980 interpretations. Right. And one of his first 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:33.060 moves is interesting. He buries his father properly 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:36.160 in Canterbury, near Becket's shrine, showing 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.420 respect despite the past tensions. And then adopts 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:42.540 this policy of reconciliation, reaching out to 00:06:42.540 --> 00:06:45.139 old enemies, pardoning plotters. Which makes 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:48.279 you ask, was that genuine forgiveness or just 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:51.480 smart politics, consolidating his power? Probably 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.279 a bit of both, wouldn't you say? Yeah. He needed 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:57.389 stability. Bringing former enemies into the fold 00:06:57.389 --> 00:07:00.029 was a good way to achieve that. But he also kept 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:02.029 experienced people from his dad's government, 00:07:02.089 --> 00:07:05.350 like the Bufords, alongside his own guys. Shows 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:08.339 a practical streak. But he faces domestic trouble 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:10.560 pretty quickly with the Lollards, Old Castle's 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.360 rebellion in January 1414. Yeah, the Lollards 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.939 were religious dissenters. Henry hits back hard 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:17.939 and fast against the uprising. But Jones notes 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:20.399 he also showed some mercy, right? Not just wholesale 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.819 slaughter. Some were executed, but others imprisoned 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:25.100 or pardoned later. It highlights his commitment 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:27.959 to orthodoxy, religious stability, and the law. 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:30.639 Archbishop Arundel was pushing hard against the 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.779 Lollards, too, of course. Henry seemed determined 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:35.639 to bring order. That whole Oyster's Parable Jones 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.699 mentions may be more symbolic than literal, but 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:42.000 illustrating his approach to fair justice. Possibly. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:44.459 Trying to show he'd enforce the law for everyone. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:46.980 But you get the sense his mind is already turning 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:50.379 elsewhere. Across the channel. France. Absolutely. 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:52.959 Those old English claims to the French throne? 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.079 They're clearly on his agenda. He even builds 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.879 the Pleasance at Kenilworth. Jones suggests it 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:00.720 was partly a place to think about the challenge 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:03.800 of France. And then comes the famous story, the 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.160 tennis balls. Ah, yes. The Dauphin supposedly 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:09.339 sends him tennis balls, mocking his youth, whether 00:08:09.339 --> 00:08:11.079 it actually happened exactly like that or not. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:13.540 It served its purpose, didn't it? Henry's furious 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:16.740 response, it galvanizes him, gives him perfect 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:19.699 propaganda for war. Exactly. It solidifies his 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:22.199 determination. And then the preparations begin 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.389 in earnest for 1415. Huge scale. Massive undertaking. 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:30.810 Ships, soldiers, supplies, money, all meticulously 00:08:30.810 --> 00:08:33.450 planned. But even then, right on the verge of 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:36.429 leaving, there's that internal threat, the Southampton 00:08:36.429 --> 00:08:39.970 plot. Crikey, yeah. Cambridge, Scrope, Gray, 00:08:40.149 --> 00:08:43.570 conspiring against him. Scrope had been close 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:45.769 to him, too. Which makes Henry's reaction even 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:48.470 more striking. Right. Ruthless. No hesitation, 00:08:48.850 --> 00:08:52.190 no leniency. Executions right before they sail. 00:08:52.409 --> 00:08:54.690 Sends a brutal message, doesn't it? Don't cross 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:56.889 me. Sets the tone for the campaign. It certainly 00:08:56.889 --> 00:09:00.570 does. So off they go to France. First stop, Harfleur. 00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:03.830 And that wasn't easy. Tough landing, tough siege. 00:09:04.110 --> 00:09:06.710 Henry gives the ultimatum. And then kicks most 00:09:06.710 --> 00:09:09.090 of the citizens out, repopulates it with English 00:09:09.090 --> 00:09:11.129 settlers. That's a statement of intent right 00:09:11.129 --> 00:09:13.529 there. Long -term plan. Definitely. Then comes 00:09:13.529 --> 00:09:16.049 the march towards Calais, and that turns into 00:09:16.049 --> 00:09:18.230 a nightmare. Oh, absolutely. The French have 00:09:18.230 --> 00:09:20.210 broken the bridges over the Somme. Supplies are 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:22.490 running low. Disease is hitting the army. Morale 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:24.690 must have been plummeting. And Henry imposes 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:27.250 incredibly strict discipline. That story of hanging 00:09:27.250 --> 00:09:29.350 the soldier for stealing from a church. Shows 00:09:29.350 --> 00:09:31.289 his iron will, but also the desperation, maybe. 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:34.169 Keeping control in dire circumstances. And all 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:37.570 this leads up to October 25th, 1415. Agincourt. 00:09:37.750 --> 00:09:41.090 The big one. The English are massively outnumbered. 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:43.889 Conditions are terrible. Muddy field. And yet. 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:46.730 Henry's leadership, that famous speech, whatever 00:09:46.730 --> 00:09:50.070 the exact words were. Clearly worked. The English 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:53.190 longbowman, the terrain, French mistakes. Yeah. 00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:55.909 It leads to this absolutely stunning, unexpected 00:09:55.909 --> 00:09:58.289 victory. Astonishing, but controversial too. 00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:00.669 The killing of the prisoners. Deeply troubling 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:03.370 for us now. Jones puts it in context, though 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:05.429 the brutality of the time, the alleged French 00:10:05.429 --> 00:10:08.070 threats beforehand, the focus then being on the 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:10.350 sheer number of French nobles killed. Still, 00:10:10.490 --> 00:10:13.110 it's a dark stain. No doubt. But the victory 00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:15.370 itself was undeniable. His return to London, 00:10:15.509 --> 00:10:18.769 pure triumph. Huge celebrations. Parliament's 00:10:18.769 --> 00:10:21.149 thrilled, grants him loads of money, recognizes 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:23.649 his achievements. He's at the peak of his prestige. 00:10:23.990 --> 00:10:25.610 But he doesn't just rest on his laurels, does 00:10:25.610 --> 00:10:28.169 he? He's thinking bigger picture, European politics, 00:10:28.509 --> 00:10:30.789 papal schism, even a crusade. Always thinking 00:10:30.789 --> 00:10:32.970 strategically. He visits St. Weinfried's Well 00:10:32.970 --> 00:10:35.990 back in Wales in 1416, maybe reflecting, and 00:10:35.990 --> 00:10:39.139 then welcomes Emperor Sigismund to England. Forging 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:41.779 alliances. Using his Agincourt fame diplomatically. 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:43.899 Smart. And then he gears up for round two in 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:46.600 France, 1417. Yeah, but this time it's different. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.419 Not just a raid, but a full -scale conquest of 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:53.779 Normandy. Sieges of cane, fillets, grinding methodical 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:56.139 work, even destroying abbeys and cane during 00:10:56.139 --> 00:10:58.500 the fighting. And crucially, he's not just conquering, 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:01.360 he's administering. Setting up government, encouraging 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:04.100 settlers, minting coins, claiming the French 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:06.720 throne. This is annexation. You're making it 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.059 English territory. Meanwhile, things are still 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:10.980 happening back home. Old Castle finally gets 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:14.139 caught and executed in 1417. Heresy and treason 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.840 ties up that loose end. But France itself is 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.259 tearing itself apart, isn't it? Oh, the Burgundian 00:11:19.259 --> 00:11:22.340 -Armagnac Civil War. Utter chaos. Which, frankly, 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:25.200 helps Henry enormously. No question. The Burgundians 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.240 even take Paris. While Henry's busy besieging 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.620 Rouen. And that siege, 1418 into 1419, brutal. 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.220 Jones describes the suffering of the people inside. 00:11:34.809 --> 00:11:37.690 Awful stuff. But Henry doesn't let up. He's strategically 00:11:37.690 --> 00:11:40.730 relentless. Rouen's fall is massive. Basically 00:11:40.730 --> 00:11:42.850 secures Normandy. And sets the stage for the 00:11:42.850 --> 00:11:45.909 ultimate prize. The Treaty of Troyes in 1420. 00:11:46.250 --> 00:11:48.370 Quite incredible, really. The treaty recognizes 00:11:48.370 --> 00:11:50.909 Henry as heir to the French throne, regent of 00:11:50.909 --> 00:11:54.090 France. And he marries Catherine of Valois, the 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:56.590 French king's daughter. He's basically won. On 00:11:56.590 --> 00:11:58.769 paper, anyway. King of England and soon to be 00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:00.809 king of France. It seems like the absolute peak. 00:12:01.049 --> 00:12:04.250 But Jones raises the question. could it actually 00:12:04.250 --> 00:12:07.029 work governing both kingdoms? Yeah, the logistics 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:09.769 alone. And the English parliament wasn't entirely 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:11.889 thrilled about a permanent union either, were 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:13.889 they? There were definitely underlying concerns. 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:18.049 And then things start to go slightly wrong. Setbacks? 00:12:18.269 --> 00:12:21.529 The defeat at Beaujolais in 1421. His brother 00:12:21.529 --> 00:12:24.470 Thomas gets killed there. A big blow. Personal 00:12:24.470 --> 00:12:26.629 and strategic loss. Henry has to go back to France 00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:28.789 himself, even though his own health is starting 00:12:28.789 --> 00:12:31.929 to decline. Still pushing on. The siege of Meaux 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:34.570 is one of his last campaigns. He's clearly unwell 00:12:34.570 --> 00:12:36.350 by this point. But his mind is still active, 00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:38.789 isn't it? Still thinking big. He commissions 00:12:38.789 --> 00:12:41.490 that guy, Gilbert Lenoy, to scout the Holy Land 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:43.649 for a future crusade. Even while he's fading. 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:47.100 Amazing ambition. But the illness wins in the 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:51.399 end. August 31st, 1422, near Paris. He dies. 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:54.639 So young, really. Given everything he achieved, 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.639 it's remarkably short reign in the grand scheme 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:00.860 of things. And his legacy, it's complicated, 00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:03.759 isn't it? Very. Immediately, his baby son, Henry 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:08.279 VI, inherits this huge, unwieldy, dual kingdom. 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:12.019 Which, spoiler alert, Doesn't end well. No. And 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:14.460 values on Henry V himself have swung back and 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:17.559 forth over the centuries. Paragon of kingship. 00:13:18.419 --> 00:13:20.639 Ruthless conqueror. Shakespeare obviously gave 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.620 us the heroic version, which is hugely influential. 00:13:22.820 --> 00:13:25.279 But the history, as Jones shows, is much more 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:29.179 complex. Brilliance, piety, ruthlessness, ambition. 00:13:29.850 --> 00:13:31.970 all mixed together. And you see the contrast 00:13:31.970 --> 00:13:34.750 starkly after his death. His brother Bedford 00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:36.710 tries to hold on to France, does pretty well 00:13:36.710 --> 00:13:38.850 for a while. But ultimately, it all unravels. 00:13:38.850 --> 00:13:40.830 All those gains in France are lost within a generation. 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:42.970 Makes you question the whole enterprise. It really 00:13:42.970 --> 00:13:44.750 does. Well, thank you for joining us on this 00:13:44.750 --> 00:13:47.350 deep dive into Henry V's life and times. It's 00:13:47.350 --> 00:13:49.190 quite a story. Absolutely fascinating. So what 00:13:49.190 --> 00:13:51.929 was your favorite aha moment or maybe the most 00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:54.230 surprising thing you learned today? Let us know 00:13:54.230 --> 00:13:55.690 in the comments. We'd love to hear your thoughts. 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:58.039 Yeah, definitely share your thoughts. And please 00:13:58.039 --> 00:13:59.919 like and share this discussion if you found it 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.679 interesting. Okay, so we'll leave you with this 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:04.080 final thought to mull over. Think about that 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:07.779 balance between ambition and legacy. Did Henry 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:10.919 V's relentless drive for triumph, for conquest, 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:14.320 ultimately serve his long -term goals for England 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.539 and France? Or did it actually undermine them? 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:19.799 And what might have happened if he hadn't died 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:22.440 so young? What could European history have looked 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:24.779 like? Something to ponder. Thanks for listening.