Henry Bolingbroke

I wrote not too long ago about Bolingbroke and his adversarial relationship with hui cousin, Richard II. It might be useful to see him as an individual, starting with his youth.

Henry was born c.April 1367 at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire to John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. John was Duke of Lancaster, having inherited that title (as well as estates and great wealth) from his father-in-law, Henry Grosmont. He was named in honor of his maternal grandfather.

He was given a tutor, Thomas Burton (one of Henry Grosmont's old servants), when Henry was seven, and at nine was given a military tutor, William Montendre. Hugh Herle, Gaunt's household chaplain, was also a tutor, teaching Henry to read and write fluently in French, English, and Latin. (When Henry eventually came to the throne, he was the first monarch in England since the Norman Invasion of 1066 to address his subjects in English other than French.)

By the age of 14 he was traveling with his father, riding and hunting and even jousting, a sport which he enthusiastically embraced. At a particularly aggressive joust in 1389, a "joust of war" with uncapped lances, Henry traded strokes with one of the most formidable jousters in Europe, Sir Jean le Maingre. Sir Jean declared Henry one of the most admirable of al the challengers.

During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, he was trapped in the Tower along with Richard II. He narrowly escaped with the help of a guard, John Ferrour of Southwark, who stood between Henry and the angry mob and convinced the mob to allow Henry to flee.

Contemporary chroniclers reported that he never lost a battle when on crusades. John Gower (contemporary and friend of Chaucer) said he was "full of knighthood and all grace."

In 1381 he married Mary de Bohun; he was 14, she was not yet 10 (their first child was not born until five years later). Mary was the daughter of the Earl of Hereford. Through her he would become Duke of Hereford as well as Lancaster. The illustration shows his coat of arms blending the two titles.

He almost didn't become earl of Hereford, and almost didn't marry Mary because of the schemes of one of his uncles. Tomorrow I'll explain how the youngest son sometimes struggles to gain more power for himself.