Henry V: The Conscience of a King

The book is excellent because it fills in what other bios overlooked because the author consulted documents that others missed

In his introduction, Malcolm Vale suggests that Henry V's reputation as a warrior-king shows only one aspect of his character, and not necessarily the most important one in letting us understand the man. To make his case, Vale looks at Henry's other activities – how he carried out the daily business of government, how he dealt with matters of the Church, his involvement in encouragement of the arts, etc. Since, unusually for the time, Henry often wrote letters in his own hand, Vale suggests that for the first time we get to hear the actual 'voice' of a monarch. This book is neither a history of the period nor a full biography of Henry. It is an extremely detailed look at various aspects of Henry's reign, but makes no attempt to tell his whole 'story'. Because of its focus on Henry's peaceful activities, it only touches on his wars in passing. It's academic in tone and assumes some familiarity on the part of the reader with the events and main players of the time. It's therefore not a book for beginners. Since I most definitely am a beginner to this period of history, I would have struggled badly had it not been for the fortunate circumstance that I very recently read a biography of Henry IV, which gave me some background to the political situation in England and Europe. However, this is not in any way a criticism of the book. Vale sets out his agenda clearly in his introduction and fully meets it. Each chapter covers one aspect of Henry's reign. Vale starts with a look at how the daily business of government was carried out, showing the high level of personal involvement of Henry in decisions large and small. He shows how a bureaucracy grew up to streamline this and take some of the pressure off the King, and also to provide a consistent approach during Henry's long absences in France. Vale goes into great detail over the uses of the various seals and signets and under what circumstances each was used. Henry is shown as having taken his duty as a monarch seriously, trying to provide justice and working closely with his council. Vale shows that, more than previous Kings, Henry's own manual signature often appears on documents, suggesting that this was done as an extra indication of his personal will in certain matters. Vale also discusses Henry's involvement in Church matters, both at home and abroad. Henry is shown as genuinely religious, with a desire to support and protect religious establishments while expecting them to live up to their part of the bargain by curbing absenteeism, reforming some of the areas of abuse and tending to the cure of souls. Partly because of the weakness of papal authority due to the Schism, Henry had considerable power over appointments, and Vale suggests that he was effectively head of the church within his own territories, two centuries before Henry VIII's break with Rome. Henry's interest in the peaceful arts comes under scrutiny too, showing his direct involvement in encouraging and even participating in them. It appears he may have composed music himself, as well as playing the harp. He read fairly widely, both religious and imaginative works, and commissioned translations. He also commissioned artistic work that formed part of the trappings of power – tapestries and textiles, ornamental and military metalwork, etc. The chapter I found most interesting discusses Henry's increasing use and promotion of the English language as his reign progressed. At the beginning of the reign, Norman French and Latin were still the languages of government, but from about the middle of his reign on, English begins to appear more often and Henry himself begins to write letters in that language. Vale suggests that this is a result of Henry's desire to show that, should he succeed in gaining the crown of France, the two countries would remain separate, distinct entities with their own laws and identities. At that time, English was seen as an unsophisticated language without the vocabulary or nuance required of a language of government. Vale shows how much of the formal language was adopted wholesale from Norman French, either anglicised or literally translated. He also shows that even now, six centuries later, some of the phrases put into use in Henry's time are still used in formal Parliamentary documents. This was the time of Chaucer and other early writers in English, and Vale discusses the literary development of the language, suggesting that the King's influence in promoting English was crucial in its growth. In conclusion, I feel Vale makes his case that there was much more to Henry V than simply being the warrior of Agincourt fame. The research that has gone into the book is clearly immense and it is well written and presented. Obviously I am not qualified to judge the accuracy of the facts or conclusions, but I found it a convincing read. Personally I found parts of it a little dry and repetitive and perhaps too detailed, but I put that down to a mismatch between reader and book. In tone, I would suggest it is aimed more at the academic reader, or at least a knowledgeable and enthusiastic amateur, than at the casual reader. Nonetheless I learned a good deal, not just about Henry, but about governance of the time, the growth of the English language, and the relationships between monarchy, religious institutions and the Papacy. 4 stars for me, but I'm confident this would be a 5-star read for someone with greater pre-knowledge of the period. NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Yale University Press.

Great book, probably a definitive biography, and great book dealer too. Thank You !

Since I have read many of the Yale English Monarch series I went in initially thinking that this was another book in their wonderful series, while I was wrong about that it was still interesting I just felt that if Yale did not advertise it as a straight biography then I might have thought better of it. As it is not a straight biography, it is more a critical analysis of the reign of Henry V; the man not the myth from Shakespeare. We learn how Henry V used his powers in petitions, laws, language and the arts. His usage of English as an official language in his letters is groundbreaking. Mr. Vale though does become a bit repetitive towards the end, going over usages and other ways Henry V exercise his power. Decent but not great.

This is an excellent book to read as we mark the 6003rd anniversary of Agincourt. To understand Agincourt, the battle and the campaign, we have to understand Henry V. It was his cause, his decision to attack France in 1415, his leadership and generalship that were at work and were at risk. As Vale makes abundantly clear he was a man of his time, not something else, although in our attempts to coin a catchy phrase, and appeal to our readers, we constantly used anachronistic comparisons and contrasts e.g. he has been compared to Machiavelli, Napoleon and even Hitler. ‘A man of his time’. What does that mean? It means a time before Columbus, before Newton, before Darwin, before Freud; and a time before Luther and Calvin, though importantly after John Wycliffe. A time when there were three Popes, reduced to one partly as a result of Henry’s efforts at the Council of Constance; and a time when the Holy Roman Empire meant still meant far more than Voltaire’s famous phrase would suggest. A time before Machiavelli, but after Marsilio of Padua. A time when Christendom meant something, but was under serious threat from Islam, in the shape of the Ottomon Turks; and when France was still the leader of Western Christendom in the Crusade, but was rent by the civil war between Burgundians and Armagnacs. A time before maps. Henry was a devout Christian, and he was what we could call the Roman Catholic. He was also a virtually absolute ruler. He had dynastic ambitions, but he also wanted to unify Christianity, starting in England, and then in Europe. Hence he detested the Lollards at home and then worked to elect a new Pope, as a prelude to another Crusade. He allied with Sigismund, the German Emperor. He wanted to put an end to the French war, on his terms, as a prelude to a wider peace, again on his terms. Above all, he wanted to make peace by making war. Henry’s ‘medieval’ way of looking at the world - in particular his belief that God was on his side - helps to explain why he had ambitions which, by modern standards and in the light of the modern way of thinking about the world, seem unrealistic and even deranged. It explains why he undertook the Agincourt campaign in the first place, why he decided to march for Calais after being delayed at Harfleur, and his vaulting ambition. Unless one is also a fundamentalist Christian of a peculiarly Anglocentric kind, it does not explain why he won. In Henry’s mind, Agincourt must have resolved all doubts. After that victory, he had no doubt at all that he was on a mission; and that he and his army, and navy, were superior to anything the French could muster. The numbers didn’t really matter, nor did the size of France, and the (to others) impossibility of conquering her town by town. This was why he wanted Agincourt Day celebrated as a holiday throughout England; and why his spokesmen informed Parliament that Agincourt, like Crécy and Poitiers, were sure signs of God’s favour.

Excellent and highly enjoyable historical study of various facets of the reign (I was especially interested in the chapter on the development and promotion of the English language during Henry's time). Mr. Vale makes no bones about being a fan of McFarlane's unfortunately now scorned-upon take on the king, and this reader for one is very happy about that! Most importantly he opens with the words "[a]bstract judgement is not always the most helpful tool of historical analysis", and he ends with these equally sage words: "historical writing ought not to be a form of advocacy in which denigration and the exposure of alleged inadequacies have a primary role to play." One in the eye for Ian Mortimer there!

Study mainly. but then read completely too.

This is a lively and engrossing study of medieval England's most popular and successful of monarchs. Its difficult to find something new to say on Henry, but this is exactly what Malcolm Vale has managed in this rounded portrait of the king. We get a concise and balanced view of the whole of Henry's life and reign, not just accounts of his battles and endless wars. This is the most entertaining and informative of all the books I have read on Henry V. In particular the king's love of music and his deep piety are give equal place in the narrative which is a refreshing change with biographies of Henry V. I thoroughly recommend this book for a fresh appraisal and outlook on this most splendid of kings away from the myth of Shakespeare and Agincourt.

Very good read indeed