Christmas Celebrations in 1399
A Sharp Lesson in Keeping your Friends Close
Your Enemies Closer
And your Family Closer still
By Anne O’Brien
The
celebrations over Christmas and the New Year in 1399, including the Epiphany on
6th January 1400, were the first to be held by King Henry IV after his
usurpation of the throne. He was still a
widower after the death of Mary de Bohun, but Henry had his young family to entertain. Four sons and two daughters; Henry, Thomas,
John and Humphrey; Blanche and Philippa.
Prince Henry was the oldest son and oldest child at 12 years. They would expect some Christmas jollity.
It was in
fact a relatively quiet Christmas, held at Windsor, where Henry was apparently
recovering from food-poisoning.
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| Windsor Castle |
But
there would be masques and jousting, feasting and music, Henry being famous for
keeping his own troop of minstrels and mummers, as his father John of Gaunt had
done before him.
Furthermore Henry was
planning a great tournament on the day of the Epiphany, 6th January, at
Windsor, to which the lords of the realm were invited, to celebrate the new
reign. For the royal youngsters it would
be a time of great excitement.
What Henry
did to know was that on 17th December, in the Abbot's lodgings at Westminster,
a secret meeting had been held by some of these prominent lords who were
invited to the Epiphany merriment, to hatch a plot. To assassinate Henry and his four sons on the
occasion of the tournament and to restore King Richard II, who was at this time
imprisoned in Pontefract castle, to the throne.
What Henry
could never have guessed, even if he had heard rumours of the conspiracy, was
that the prime plotters were members of his own family, cousins or second
cousins or connected by marriage, and some of the most powerful magnates at his
court.
- Edward, Duke
of Aumale, heir to the Duke of York and so Henry's cousin.
- John
Holland, Duke of Exeter, married to Henry's sister Elizabeth.
- Thomas
Holland, Duke of Surrey, John Holland's nephew.
Both of the
Hollands were related to Henry through the marriage of their mother Joan of
Kent to Edward, the Black Prince.
- Thomas, Earl
Despenser, husband of Constance of York who was Edward of Aumale's sister.
Because of
their previous loyalty to King Richard, these magnates had all been demoted
from Duke to Earl, or Earl to Lord in the case of Despenser, in the first
months of Henry's reign. For this reason
they had a particularly sharp axe to grind.
Included in
the conspiracy was young clerk, Richard Maudeleyn, who, dressed in suitable
armour with a closed helm and on horseback, would pretend to be King Richard
until the real king could be released from his imprisonment and brought to
London. The plotters intended to stir
the Londoners into supporting their previous king.
Imagine
this: this group of royal cousins all celebrating Christmas and New Year with
Henry at Windsor. Now there's a macabre
thought, Henry still malingering from whatever had attacked his guts, while his
close relatives sang and danced with the youngsters and contemplated their
bloody massacre.
Henry's
reign would all have been over by the Epiphany and Richard restored, except for
the fact that Henry was warned on the 4th January, two days before the
event. Who betrayed the conspiracy to
him? The finger points very firmly at
Edward of Aumale since he was the only one of the plotters not to pay the
penalty for treason, and in fact helped Henry put down the risings. This scenario seems more likely than the
rumour of a London prostitute who, picking up on the detail of the plot from a
talkative customer, and passed the message on.
The end
result was predictable. Henry, recovered
from his ailment, lost no time in riding hard and fast for London, by a
round-about route so that he would not be intercepted. Once there he lodged his children in the
Tower for safety and then began to collect troops, paying out substantial sums
for those who would take up arms in his name. London was quick to rise to
Henry's support.
The rebels,
hearing that they were discovered, fled, but were apprehended. Despenser was executed in Bristol when trying
to find a ship to take him to France. Exeter, his escape-ship driven aground in
a storm, was beheaded at Pleshey Castle, his head sent to be displayed on
London Bridge. The Holland Earl of Surrey
was executed in Cirencester with other plotters, his head sent to Henry in a
basket.
A gruesome
end to the plotters, but they would have assassinated Henry and his children
without a qualm. In the days that
followed, Henry sat in judgement on the rest of the rebels who were rounded up
and also executed, including the hapless Maudeleyn. Twenty six were to meet their death but Henry
pardoned many more, seeing the need sometimes to be magnanimous to win support
for the young reign.
By February
King Richard II too had died, it was said from self-inflicted starvation. A likely story.
So when you
are enjoying your Christmas Celebrations, amidst the company of your friends
and family, when you have had quite enough of them and would really like them
to go home, remember the treacherous events that almost wiped out the family of
King Henry IV in 1399 and count your blessings.
The
Queen of the North
To those around her she was a
loyal subject.
In her heart she was a traitor.
1399: England’s crown is under
threat. King Richard II holds onto his power by an ever-weakening thread, with
exiled Henry of Lancaster back to reclaim his place on the throne.
For Elizabeth Mortimer, there is
only one rightful King – her eight-year-old nephew, Edmund. Only he can
guarantee her fortunes, and protect her family’s rule over the precious
Northern lands bordering Scotland.
But many, including Elizabeth’s
husband, do not want another child-King. Elizabeth must hide her true ambitions
in Court, and go against her husband’s wishes to help build a rebel army.
To question her loyalty to the
King places Elizabeth in the shadow of the axe.
To concede would curdle her
Plantagenet blood.
This is one woman’s quest to turn
history on its head.
Anne
O’Brien
Anne
O’Brien was born in West Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in
History at Manchester University and a Master’s in Education at Hull, she lived
in East Yorkshire for many years as a teacher of history.
She now
lives with her husband in an eighteenth-century timber-framed cottage in the
depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire, on the borders between England
and Wales, where she writes historical novels. The perfect place in which
to bring medieval women back to life.
Very interesting. Enjoyed learning a small part about a time period I know little of.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, thank you Anne, and a merry Christmas to you!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the post, but have no sympathy at all for Henry IV. He'd just turned on his first cousin, Richard II, and would shortly see to Richard's death. Henry had no right to the throne, and if the Epiphany Rising had succeeded, it would have been no more than Henry deserved. I'm not defending everything Richard II did, but I don't defend anything Henry IV did. Not my favourite king.
ReplyDeleteFascinating, Anne. It was a ruthless time!
ReplyDeleteI have to confess to being on the side of the plotters. Henry IV was a usurper and deserved his sleepless nights. By his own treacherous act he put the lives of his children in danger.
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy, family Christmas that must have been! Doesn't bear thinking about! Great article!
ReplyDeleteQueen of the North looks great! :)
ReplyDeletewow its very informative i like it
ReplyDeleteChristmas Eve