He speaks the language of everyday Englishmen and has a sense of humor and popular appeal, as he notes that the men who fight will remember what their feats "with advantages" (4.3). "For he to-day that sheds his blood with me/
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, / This day shall gentle his condition" (4.3).
Henry may not have a legitimate claim upon the throne through his usurper father, but he does understand the mentality of the English soldier, and provides a unifying force for the soldiers in a way that is unique and unlike other English kings before him. This is greater legitimacy than any title, and more meaningful than the prayers for Richard II which he has bought. Henry is able to use his disadvantages and make them into a new style of leadership for an English king. He finds his source of legitimacy in the support of the common people.
Henry also has problems of justifying his legitimacy because of his youth and previous lifestyle. He was known as an undisciplined prince who preferred drinking to leading and fighting. This is one reason why he is so quick to cast off Falstaff's friendship, to show that he has made a break with the past. But his memory of tavern life makes him willing to go amongst the common people helps him understand when people need to be rallied. Without pretending to be a commoner in the night before Agincourt, he would never have known what to say to make his overmatched soldiers fight with such fervor. The Englishmen initially say that the king will be 'ransomed' rather than die by their sides. But Henry, speaking as a soldier in disguise says
KING HENRY V
I myself heard the king say he would not be ransomed.
WILLIAMS
Ay, he said so, to make us fight cheerfully: but when our throats are cut, he may be ransomed, and we ne'er the wiser.
Henry accepts responsibility that as a king, the decision to go to war was his. He calls the responsibility of kingship terrible when speaking to himself: "Not all these, laid in bed majestical, / Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave" (4.1). But he never lets his troops see this side of himself. He knows, from the experiences that cause some people to question his legitimacy, that troops crave a common touch, not complaints about the responsibility of kingship.
Henry's legitimacy derived from a feeling of sympathy with ordinary people is contrasted with the French attitude, as the French see legitimacy deriving from fine horses and armor:
Constable
Tut! I have the best armour of the world. Would it were day!
ORLEANS
You have an excellent armour; but let my horse have his due.
Constable
It is the best horse of Europe (3.7).
The French Dauphin's patronizing attitude towards Henry's love of tennis and drinking reveals his deficits as a leader, and the problematic attitude of the French aristocracy in general. But Henry uses his experiences with common people to rally his troops and to win. This becomes Henry's greatest legacy as an English king: more so than Richard or his father, Henry has the personal qualities needed to govern England as a royal with a common touch.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. December 5, 2009.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/henryv/henryv.3.7.html
The representations to be found in literature are echoed in the history of medieval times, akin to art imitating life in the most literal sense. Before the emergence of the major dissenters who gained much ground in medieval times, the papacy fought against anticlerical dissent from many other sources as well. Much of this centered on allegations of corruption within the Catholic clergy and the perceived decadence of certain leaders.
Medieval Europe and the Evolution of the Church State How Constantine's Deception lead to a Holy Roman Empire And the virtual collapse of the Christian church The Decline of the Roman empire and the rise of tribal powers Constantine and his "conversion" o The Edict of Milan grants legal rights to Christians o The Council of Nicea The first church council conducted under the governmental oversight of the Roman empire. Diocletian reorganized the empire in attempts to rebuild
Introduction Joan of Arc was just a young girl when she took command of the French army against the English in the Hundred Years War. In the 15th century it was unheard of for a woman, much less a teenage girl, to lead men—let alone lead them into battle. Joan donned the attire of the soldiers and led them courageously not because she wanted to be a man or because she
During the speech, he claps the men's shoulders, and makes human, tactile contact with the soldiers. Even though he is a king, everyone is part of the family of soldiers, and through nobility they can lift themselves to high birth: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;/for he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,/This day shall
This gave her husband the right to sell any of her property and she was not in a position to object in any way. Religious women with their vows of obedience and poverty really had no reason to get involved in legal matters and were untouched in any way by the legal structure. Widows were the only women who held in legal position in the society. "She (a widow) regained
Assignment 1 According to Gutek (1995), the church in the medieval period exercised a virtual dominance of formal education through direct or indirect means. During this period, formal education was supervised by clerics though it was not a pre-requisite for practicing religious life or leadership. Since the church has a virtual monopoly over formal education, there were different kinds of educational institutions associated with chivalry, the guilds and the church during
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now