Henry Percy
Encyclopedia
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(20 May 1364/1366 – 21 July 1403) was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy and a descendent of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and...
, 4th Lord Percy of Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
. His mother was Margaret Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby
Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby
Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby was an English aristocrat, son of Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby and Euphemia de Clavering....
and Alice de Audley. His nickname, 'Hotspur', is suggestive of his impulsive nature. His date of death is known but not the exact year of his birth.
Early career
It is unclear where Sir Henry was born; either at Spofforth CastleSpofforth Castle
Spofforth Castle in the village of Spofforth, North Yorkshire, England comprises the ruins of a hall range and is all that remains from a fortified house. The current castle was built by the Percy family in the early 13th century, with alterations made in the 14th/15th centuries...
in Yorkshire, Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle
Alnwick Castle is a castle and stately home in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. It is the residence of the Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest, and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:Alnwick...
in Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
, Northumberland, or Warkworth Castle
Warkworth Castle
Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval building in the town of the same name in the English county of Northumberland. The town and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast...
in Warkworth
Warkworth
Warkworth may refer to:*Warkworth, Northamptonshire, England*Warkworth, Northumberland, England* Warkworth Castle* Warkworth Hermitage*Warkworth, Ontario, Canada*Warkworth, New South Wales, Australia*Warkworth, New Zealand*John Warkworth...
, Northumberland. He early acquired a great reputation as a warrior, fighting against the Scots and the French. He fought against the Scottish forces of James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas
James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas
Sir James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar was an influential and powerful magnate in the Kingdom of Scotland.-Early life:He was the eldest son and heir of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas and Margaret, Countess of Mar...
at the midnight Battle of Otterburn
Battle of Otterburn
The Battle of Otterburn took place on the 5 August 1388, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scottish and English.The best remaining record of the battle is from Jean Froissart's Chronicles in which he claims to have interviewed veterans from both sides of the battle...
in August, 1388 and was captured, but later ransomed. He went to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
in 1391 and served as Governor of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
from 1393 to 1395.
After his return from Valois Dynasty
Valois Dynasty
The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, succeeding the House of Capet as kings of France from 1328 to 1589...
France, Harry joined with his father and helped depose King Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
in favour of Henry of Bolingbroke
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, who later became King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
. He also was the co-commander with his father in the Battle of Humbleton Hill
Battle of Humbleton Hill
The Battle of Humbleton Hill was a conflict between the English and Scottish armies on September 14, 1402 in Northumberland, England. The battle was recounted in Shakespeare’s Henry IV...
.
Rebellion and death
Later, with his paternal uncle Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, he led a rebellion against Henry IV in 1403, forming an alliance with the Welsh rebel, Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. Before they could join forces, Hotspur was defeated and killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury
Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland....
when he raised his visor to get some air (as he was wearing plate armour which restricted air circulation) and was immediately hit in the mouth with an arrow and killed instantly.
Henry IV, upon being brought the body after the battle, was said to have wept and ordered the body buried. Hotspur was buried in Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch, Shropshire
Whitchurch is a market town in Shropshire, England on the border between England and Wales. It is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the town is 8,673, with a more recent estimate putting the population of the town at 8,934...
, but was later exhumed, by order of the same king, when rumours circulated that he was still alive. His body was first displayed in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, impaled on a spear, but was later cut up into four quarters and sent around all of England. His head was stuck on a pole at York's gates
York city walls
The English city of York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England...
.
Marriage and children
He married Lady Elizabeth MortimerLady Elizabeth Mortimer
Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys was an English noblewoman, who, as the granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, was in the line of succession to the English throne. Her first husband was Sir Henry Percy, known to history as "Hotspur"...
, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and Philippa. Philippa was daughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Ulster and 5th Baron of Connaught, KG was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
and Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster
Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster
Elizabeth de Burgh, Duchess of Clarence, suo jure 4th Countess of Ulster and 5th Baroness of Connaught was a Norman-Irish noblewoman who married Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence.- Family :...
. Lionel was the son of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
and his consort Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault, or, Philippe de Hainaut was the Queen consort of King Edward III of England. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her future husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years...
.
Henry and Elizabeth had two children:
- Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 2nd Earl of NorthumberlandHenry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland...
(3 February 1392/1393 – 22 May 1455). - Lady Elizabeth PercyLady Elizabeth PercyLady Elizabeth Percy was the daughter of Henry Hotspur Percy and Lady Elizabeth Mortimer.She married John Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford in 1404. They had the following children:...
(d. 26 October 1437). She married John Clifford, 7th Baron de CliffordJohn Clifford, 7th Baron de CliffordSir John Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford, also 7th Lord of Skipton, KG , hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland was an English peer.-Life:...
in 1404. They were great-great-grandparents of Jane SeymourJane SeymourJane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, third Queen consortQueen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
Hotspur in literature
Harry's squire, John HardingJohn Hardyng
John Hardyng , English chronicler, was born in the north.As a boy he entered the service of Sir Henry Percy , with whom he was present at the Battle of Shrewsbury . He then passed into the service of Sir Robert Umfraville, under whom he was constable of Warkworth Castle, Northumberland, and Kyme...
, wrote a history of England which is largely a story of the greatness of the Percy family. This history is one of the sources for Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
, which was subtitled "With the Battle at Shrewsburie, between the King and Lord Henry Percy, surnamed Henry Hotspur of the North". In the play, he is portrayed as being of the same age as his main rival, Prince Hal (Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
), when in fact Hotspur was considerably older, Prince Henry being a teenager of 16 at the time. In the climactic battle of the play, Hal kills Hotspur in one-on-one combat.
Hotspur has three of Shakespeare's most famous lines in Henry IV, Part 1; the first two of which he speaks immediately after being stabbed by Prince Hal. The first line is "O Harry, thou hast robbed me of my youth!". The second, cut off in mid-sentence by his death and completed by Prince Hal, is "O Percy, thou art dust, and food for—". Prince Hal completes the line: "For worms, brave Percy". The third is his response to the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
leader, Owen Glendower, who boasts "I can call spirits from the vasty deep!" To which Hotspur replies, "Why, so can I, and so can any man. But will they come when you do call for them?"
Hotspur is a central character in the novel A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury (1972) by Edith Pargeter
Edith Pargeter
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM , also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was a British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both...
.
In C.S. Forester's Hornblower Series, "Hotspur" is the name of one of the ships under Horatio Hornblower's
Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
command.
Hotspur in sport
The Percy family owned large tracts of land in TottenhamTottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
with the local football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
choosing the name Hotspur.
Harry Hotspur statue
On Friday 20 August 2010, the statue of Harry Hotspur was unveiled in Alnwick, Northumberland. The idea of a bronze statue was to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Percy family in Alnwick.Ancestry
Further reading
- Rose, Alexander: Kings in the North – The House of Percy in British History. Phoenix/Orion Books Ltd, 2002, ISBN 1-84212-485-4 (722 pages paperback)
- Nigel Tranter, The Stewart Trilogy, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent : Coronet Books, 1986. ISBN 0-340-39115-4. Lords of Misrule, 1388–1396. A Folly of Princes, 1396–1402. The Captive Crown, 1402–1411.
- Edith PargeterEdith PargeterEdith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM , also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was a British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both...
's historical novel, A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury, (1972) deals with the relationship of Henry of Bolingbroke, later Henry IV of England, and Henry Percy, from their early friendship until Percy's death as a rebel at Shresbury. "Examines England's history during the early 15th century, detailing the key players including Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, and Owen Glendower".