Henry had no accumulated wealth to fall back upon when he set himself to the task of providing for the many necessities of the campaign which he meditated14. On the contrary, he had found on his accession the public treasury15 empty and even embarrassed with debt. But his subjects were heartily16 with him in his purpose, and they came forward with liberal subsidies17. The first Parliament of his reign18 had continued to him the grant of a tax on stoneware, of tonnage and poundage which they had made to his father, and that which met in November 1414 had, as we have seen, been not less generous.
Henry, on his part, was raising money in every possible way. We find, for instance, a bond given to Paul Milan, a merchant from Lucca, for a loan of two hundred marks, and a debt of ￡478 18s. 8d. for cloth of61 gold and other merchandise supplied by the same Paul, the debt being secured on the tolls19 of coast from the ports of Southampton and Sandwich. Certain merchants of Venice, again, were given security for the repayment20 of a loan of a thousand marks on the customs of the port of London. These were ordinary transactions. We can hardly say the same for the pledging of the crown called the Crown Henry to the Duke of Clarence as security for the pay due to him and his men. It was to be redeemed21 before January 1st, 1416; should this not be done, the said Duke would be free to deal with it after his pleasure. Next we find a certain great tabernacle, once belonging to the Duke of Burgundy, of silver gilt22, and garnished23 with twenty-two sapphires24 and one hundred and thirty-seven pearls, pledged to various persons, among whom are the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, for the repayment of a loan of eight hundred and sixty marks; while some Norfolk creditors25 have a great circlet of gold pledged to them in consideration of a loan of a thousand marks. It will be remembered that Devonshire and Norfolk were at this time among the richest, if not actually the richest, counties in England.
Henry, it is clear, spared no expense in making his army as numerous and effective as possible. In that wonderful collection of public documents known as Rymer’s F?dera we find the contracts into which he entered for the payment and maintenance of this force. It will be interesting to give Dr. Lingard’s careful summary of their contents.
“1. Contracts were made by the Privy26 Seal with different lords and gentlemen, who bound themselves to serve with a62 certain number of men for a year from the day on which they were first mustered27. 2. The pay of a duke was to be 13s. 4d. per day; an earl, 6s. 8d.; a baron28 or banneret, 3s. 4d.; a knight29, 2s.; an esquire, 1s.; an archer30, 6d. 3. The pay, or security for its amount, was to be delivered by the treasurer31 a quarter of a year in advance; and if the money was not actually paid at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the engagement was to be at an end. As an additional remuneration, each contractor32 received the ‘usual regard’ or douceur of 100 marks for every thirty men-at-arms. 4. A duke was to have fifty horses; an earl, twenty-four; a baron or banneret, sixteen; a knight, six; an esquire, four; an archer, one. The horses were to be furnished by the contractor, the equipment by the King. 5. All prisoners were to belong to the captor; but if they were kings, the sons of kings, or officers high in command bearing commissions from kings, they were to belong to the Crown, on payment of a reasonable recompense to the captors. 6. The booty taken was to be divided into three parts. Two remained to the men; the third was again divided into three parts, of which the leader took two and left the third to the King.”
These arrangements strike us as being as liberal as they are business like. Henry, it is clear, would not run the risk of failure by starving his great expedition, or by neglecting to enlist33 on his side the interests of his troops.
In another important matter, little regarded or wholly disregarded before his time, he showed his remarkable34 capacity for military command. This was the medical service of the army. Generals, of course, had often taken their physicians with them into the field. We have, for instance, the diaries, with notes of symptoms and treatment, of the physicians who attended Alexander the Great. But now, for the first time, at least in English history, we find a commander-in-chief63 making regular provision for the medical and surgical35 treatment of his sick and wounded. Early in the year (the indentures36 bear date April 29th, 1415) the King had agreements drawn37 up with his physician Nicholas Colnet and his surgeon Thomas Morstede. Each was to have the daily pay of twelve pence, and to have a guard of three archers38, each archer receiving the daily pay of sixpence.
We do not hear of Nicholas Colnet being furnished with any assistance. Anything like hospital treatment of disease was probably impossible in a campaign of those days; and a staff of physicians could hardly have had any proper facilities for using whatever knowledge they may have possessed39. On the other hand, Thomas Morstede, the surgeon, was accompanied by a considerable establishment. When a wound had been received, life could often be saved, or efficiency preserved, by immediate40 surgical treatment. The surgeon-general, as we may call him, was accordingly directed to take with him twelve of his own craft. Each of the twelve was to receive the daily pay of an archer; and in addition to the daily twelve pence, a quarterly allowance of a hundred marks was assigned to each of the two chief medical officers.
Nearly a month later Morstede presented a petition to the King praying for a sum of money for the purchase of such things as were necessary for his office, and also that all persons engaged in the surgical service of the army should be directed to act under his instructions, and should receive such wages as he should appoint. A third request was for a transport-service, modestly limited to a chariot and two waggons41, Morstede64 wished also to know what wages he was to receive, and how many attendants were to be allowed him. The King’s reply granted the chariot and waggons for the ambulance service and twelve assistants; but it is not clear that these twelve were the same surgeons whom Morstede had been originally directed to take with him.
Sixpence a day could not have been a very attractive remuneration. Accordingly we are not surprised to find Morstede afterwards applying to the King for power to press, “as well within as without franchise42 birth, persons of his craft such as he should choose to accompany him.” In the following year, that it may not be necessary to return to the subject, the King issued a writ43 to Morstede and William Breowardine, his colleague, to this effect:
“Know ye that we have appointed to you, conjointly and severally, surgeons and other workmen, to take and provide without delay for the making of certain instruments necessary and fitting for your mystery, such as may be required for our present campaign beyond the sea.”
The army, raised and equipped with such care and forethought, numbered, it is said, six thousand men-at-arms and twenty-four thousand archers. Cannons44 as effective as the manufacturing skill of that day could produce, and other engines of war had been procured45. So effective and so well prepared an army had never before been collected in England for service abroad. A splendid relic46 of the expedition remains47 to this day in the Record Office. On July 20th a roll was prepared in which should be written the names of all who were to set forth48 with the King. It is still to be seen, a65 splendid example of the caligraphy of a time when that art was approaching its perfection.
The army was on the point of embarking49, Henry himself having come to Southampton to superintend the operation, when everything was delayed by the discovery of a conspiracy which had for its object nothing less than a change of dynasty.
Its ringleader was Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, second son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. He had received his title from Henry, but he seems to have conceived the hope of advancing his fortunes more effectively by supporting the elder branch of the Plantagenets. “He intended,” says the record of his trial, “to kill the usurper50 Henry of Lancaster, and to set the Earl of March upon the throne.” He had married Anne, the Earl’s sister, and in the event of the Earl dying without issue, as actually happened nine years later, his own son Richard would be heir to the throne.8 This conspiracy, therefore, was a premature51 attempt to assert the claims which were afterwards advanced for the house of York, whose head at this time was the conspirator’s elder brother. The Earl had also, it is said, what may be called a second string to his bow in a person supposed to be Richard the Second, escaped from the Tower. This pretender, Thomas of Trumpyngton, was then in Scotland. With the Earl of Cambridge were associated Sir Thomas Grey of Heton, in Northumberland, who was probably the intermediary of the King’s enemies on both sides of the Scotch52 border, and Lord Scrope of Mersham, nephew of the Archbishop66 of York whom Henry the Fourth had executed. Scrope was the King’s intimate companion.
The plan of the conspiracy was to conduct the Earl of March to the Welsh border and then proclaim him king. Henry Percy, who had not yet returned from Scotland, and some Scotch lords were to create a diversion in the north.
The King acted with his accustomed vigour53. The conspirators54 were at once put upon their trial and found guilty. They were too dangerous to be spared. It would be impossible to carry on the war with vigour if the enemies of the dynasty were to be allowed to plot against it at home. But Henry, though he was stern, was not cruel. The guilty persons were executed, but without the indignities55 that usually accompanied the punishment of treason. The friendly relation between the Earl of March and the King was not disturbed by this rash attempt. The story that the Earl encouraged the conspirators and then betrayed them, may be safely disregarded.
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1
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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6
disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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7
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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8
contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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10
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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11
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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12
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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13
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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14
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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15
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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16
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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17
subsidies
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| n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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18
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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19
tolls
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| （缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏 | |
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20
repayment
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| n.偿还，偿还款；报酬 | |
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21
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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22
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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23
garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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25
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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26
privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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27
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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28
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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29
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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30
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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32
contractor
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| n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌 | |
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33
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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34
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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35
surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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36
indentures
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| vt.以契约束缚（indenture的第三人称单数形式） | |
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37
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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39
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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40
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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41
waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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42
franchise
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| n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权 | |
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43
writ
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| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
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44
cannons
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| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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45
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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46
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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47
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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48
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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49
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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50
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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51
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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52
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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53
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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54
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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55
indignities
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| n.侮辱，轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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