Battles Behind the Songs
Lady Ailith Bystoune

Battle of Shrewsbury
July 21st, 1403. Henry Percy AKA Hotspur led a rebellion against Henry IV of England AKA Henry Bolingbroke, culminating with this battle. Immortalized by William Shakespeare in Henry IV Part One. 

In 1399, John of Gaunt, Bolingbroke’s father died and Richard II of England, who was Bolingbroke’s  cousin, denied Henry the right to automatically inherit his father’s lands. Bolingbroke had taken part in the Lords Appellant’s rebellion in 1387 which had weakened Richard’s rule. Richard had not punished Bolingbroke at that time possibly because he relied on Gaunt’s support to maintain his crown, so with his death, Richard was free to punish Bolingbroke. Henry Bolingbroke, however began a military campaign and with the help of Henry Percy (among others) and imprisoned Richard (who died in prison shortly thereafter) and crowned himself Henry IV King of England in October of 1399. 

In 1400, Owain Glyndwr AKA Owen Glendower declared himself Prince of Wales and set about trying to wrest Wales from English control. At first, Hotspur and his family, supported King Henry in his campaign against Glendower having been promised land and money, but the King never paid up causing a schism between him and the Percys. Percy joined with his father and the Earl of Worcester, his uncle Thomas Percy, and they publicly renounced the King. Hotspur then went to Cheshire, which was an area that was hostile to Henry IV as they had been loyal to Richard II, and recruited an army. Hotspur intended to meet Glendower and join forces with him against King Henry IV but Glendower might not have been aware of or in agreement with Hotspur’s intentions (seeing as Hotspur was the same person who had marched against him in the years before to quell the rebellion in Wales). In Shakespeare’s play Glendower joins Hotspur at Shrewsbury. 

King Henry had been embroiled in battles with the Scots and had been marching his armies to join Percy’s, but the King heard about Percy’s plans and took his army to meet him at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Both armies arrived at the Severn River on July 20th. The King offered terms of surrender to the Percys who refused and the battle began on July 21st. Archibald Douglas, the Scottish 4th Earl of Douglas, fought alongside Percy and was captured; Douglas is also a character in the Shakespearean play. 

King Henry and his son, Henry Monmouth AKA Prince Hal (soon to become Henry V, who also gets his own Shakespearean play), had superior numbers but Percy had skilled archers from Cheshire. The barrage of arrows led to much of the King’s right flank fleeing, but his left flank commanded by Prince Hal stood their ground. Prince Hal was shot in the face with an arrow but survived with a scar on his face. Hotspur charged the King and cut down Sir Walter Blount, who carried the King’s banner. During the assault, Hotspur was shot in the face with an arrow and killed. Because the King’s banner had fallen there was a lot of confusion as to who was still alive and who was dead, however, the situation soon became clear and the battle ended. 

The Percy rebellion continued after Hotspur’s death. In 1405, Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland, Hotspur’s father, joined with the Archbishop of York in another failed rebellion against Henry IV. And again, in 1408, Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland attacked Henry IV at the Battle of Bramham Moore, where the Earl of Northumberland was killed.