The Passing of Henry V

The Passing of Henry V

      Today marks the anniversary of the passing, in 1422, of King Henry V of England. Things would go essentially downhill from there.

      The victor of Agincourt would be succeeded by his 9 month old son, henceforth named Henry VI. His was not a pleasant succession. England fell into dissension with factionalism among various nobles as to who, during Henry VI’s minority, would rule the country. Meanwhile, from the heights of success in the Hundred Years War at Agincourt, leading to the marriage of Henry V to Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles IV, King of France. Charles would also name Henry V as his heir. While Henry VI would be formally crowned King of France, in reality he was not. Rather, over his reign, and notwithstanding his marriage to Margaret of Anjou, an effort to further solidify the claim on the French throne, the French would push England out of the country save for the remaining toehold in Calais.

     The weakness of Henry VI, combined with significant acrimony between the English nobility generally and Margaret of Anjou, would precipitate what is today referred to as the War of the Roses (at the time typically referred to as the “Cousins War”). Ultimately, Henry VI would be deposed by Edward IV assisted by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and a/k/a “the Kingmaker.”

      Today is as well the anniversary of the birthday of the Roman Emperors Caligula and Commodus.

      All in all, it’s just not a good day in the terms of historical events.