Historical+Reference

=How the Rebels would have liked to divide Henry IV's kingdom= Watch the video below to see how the map might have looked differently if Mortimer, Northumberland, and Worcester had their way. media type="custom" key="3896971" = =

= = =The History of Gunpowder= Gunpowder was discovered in China in the 9th century by [|Taoist]monks-[|alchemists] searching for an [|elixir of immortality]. The discovery of gunpowder was probably the product of centuries of alchemical experimentation. Saltpeter was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and there is strong evidence of the use of saltpeter and sulfur in various largely [|medicinal] combination's. A Chinese alchemical text from 492 noted that saltpeter gave off a purple flame when ignited, providing for the first time a practical and reliable means of distinguishing it from other inorganic salts, making it possible to evaluate and compare purification techniques.

__Gunpowder in Britain__
Gunpowder production in the British Isles appears to have started in the mid 13th century with the aim of supplying [|The Crown]. Records show that gunpowder was being made, in England, in 1346, at the [|Tower of London]; a powder house existed at the Tower in 1461; and in 1515 three King's gunpowder makers worked there.Gunpowder was also being made or stored at other Royal castles, such as [|Portchester Castle] and [|Edinburgh castle] = =

By the early fourteenth century, according to N.J.G. Pounds's study //The Medieval Castle in England and Wales,// many [|English] castles had been deserted and others were crumbling. Their military significance faded except on the borders. Gunpowder made smaller castles useless.[| Henry VIII] was short of gunpowder when he invaded France in 1544 and England needed to import gunpowder via the port of [|Antwerp]

__Richard II__
= = ==

He was the 8th King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He was born in Jaunary 1367 during the regin of his grandfather, Edward II and lived to c. 14 Feburary 1400. And he ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399 by King Henry IV. One of the most crucial parts of the way he became the King is the age when he became the heir = = to the throne; when he was only four, Richard became second in line to the throne--his older brother Edward of Angoulême died, and his father also died in 1376. The following year of Edward III's death, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten.

** The Principle of Legitimacy **
It is a system by which succeeding heirs to the throne are determined by following the genealogy through those who are most related to the king.

__**Passing of Power:**__

One of the main questions that we have been asking while reading Henry IV Part 1 is; How did Bolingbroke gain the throne? To answer this question one needs to first know that power in England at the time was passed in a father to son manner. This kept the rule within in the family, and also gave people the impression that the kings (or Queens) of the ime were in fact chosen by God. This implication helped to control rebellion and revolt because of the power that religion held in that era.

See a student's view of the change of power by clicking here ->[| changing power.pptx]


 * __The Line of Edward:__**

In Henry IV Part 1, we are introduced to Henry Bolingbroke King of England. However, this was not a title that he was born with rather, he usurped it. This conflict begins with Henry's grandfather, Edward III. Edward had fiver surviving sons at the time, Edward IIII the Black Prince, Lionel, John, Edmund, and Thomas. When Edward III died, power was passed to his eldest son, the Black prince. Unfortunately, he died shortly after, leaving his son Richard II to take the throne. Henry IV, happens to be John's son. Not the heir, not the heir's second brother, but the son of the THIRD man in line for the throne. However, Henry used his political cunning to plant seeds of dislike against Richard, (who to be far, was a bad King), and soon vaulted himself to Kingship, riding on the back of popularity among the Court.

__Extra Reading__:

 * Follow this link to [|an interactive family tree] of the 'Henrys' of __King Henry IV Part 1__.
 * This is a useful resource for doing research on the [|kings and queens of England and Britain.]

Read a student essay using this poem to better understand Henry IV, Part One.
 * A Child's Version of the the Henriad **

Bend down your head, King Richard the Second! Bend down your head And put on the crown! The people are singing //Good luck to King Richard!// All over the town. Bolingbroke's banished, The rebel has vanished, Richard is up, And Bolingbroke's down!
 * **Richard II 1377**

Bow down your head, King Richard the Second! Bow down your head And put off your crown! The people are wailing Bad luck to King Richard! And mock him at trailing His chains through the town. His dog as he lingers Licks Bolingbroke's fingers, Bolingbroke's up, And Richard is down!

Read a student essay on this poem || **Henry IV 1399** Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke, what will you do? The Kingdom of England is split into two!

Harry the Hotspur, the flame of the north, Is chafing to vanquish you, Henry the Fourth!

Douglas of Scotland is arming his clans To fight you a beat you and baffle your plans!

Owen Glendower, the Wizard of Wales, Is marshaling demons and devils with tails!

Richard's poor zany, a wandering elf, Is claiming, man say, to be Richard himself!

And Harry, your son, sits in taverns and sings, And cares not a straw for the glory of kings!

Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke, what will you do? 'I'll do a king's duty and see the things through!

'I'll show this young Hotspur, to bristling and bold, What happens to lords who don't do what they're told!

'I'll strike at the Douglas who scoffs at my sway And slit up his bagpipe for ever and aye!

'Glendower in Wales I'll besiege and beset - I was never afraid of the bogeyman yet!

'The wandering zany is nothing to dread - Let him say what he chooses, King Richard is dead!

'And my son, who has driven a thorn through my heart, Will learn in good season to take the King's part!' || **Henry V 1413** Henry was a wild boy, Fond of fun and fooling; When he was the Prince of Wales He made a hash of schooling; Rollicking with tosspots, Trying daddy's crown on, Henry was the sort of boy Fathers always frown on.

Henry was a brave man, Fond of martial phrases; When he was the English King He won his country's praises; Bucking up his soldiers, Urging rank and file on, Henry was the sort of man Women always smile upon. ||