The influence of relations with Scotland and France

French: Richard’s pro French stance

Given that Richard Il had been decidedly pro-French and was married to a daughter of the king of France, it was unsurprising that Anglo-French relations were particularly difficult in the early 15th century.

French: Duke of Orleans

• Although the duke of Orléans had lent tacit support to Bolingbroke when he invaded in 1399, his motivations were primarily to cause difficulties for England

• He was no doubt horrified when Henry successfully took the throne from Richard, leaving England with a considerably more experienced military leader as king

• Consequently, the duke of Orléans made things as difficult as possible for Henry IV

French: the young dowager queen

should have been returned to the French court with all her valuable dowry, but the negotiations for this were hostile and in 1401 she was returned without any of the wealth she had brought with her on her marriage.

Subsequently, the duke of Orléans endeavoured to increase Henry IV's embarrassment as much as possible, challenging him to armed combat on two occasions during 1402-3, which Henry declined on the grounds that Orléans was not a worthy opponent because of his lower rank.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: east it is

a region that lies in modern-day France, mainly in the area of Gascony.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: 12th and 13th century

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the people in this area were in general loyal to the Angevin royal family (notably Henry II, Richard I and John I), who also ruled England between 1154 and 1216.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: Henry III

King John's successor, Henry III, however, had to give up many of his family's claims in France in 1259. As part of peace negotiations with the French king, he formally surrendered a considerable amount of the Angevin territory and agreed to keep the title of duke of Aquitaine as a vassal of the French crown.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: Renewal of this area by Edward III

In 1337 Edward IlI renewed the English monarchy's claim to this area of France and refused to undertake an act of homage to the French king, thus beginning the Hundred Years War.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: Unpopularity of Henry IV

Subsequently, the territorial claims of England and France in this area were hotly disputed and this friction was increased in the early 15th century by the fact that Richard II, who had been born in Bordeaux, was very popular in Aquitaine, while Henry IV was not. In what was probably a deliberate insult to the English, therefore, in 1401 Charles VI granted Aquitaine to his heir, the Dauphin Louis.

This triggered a serious outbreak of piracy on both sides in the Channel, which neither king sought to curb, while the English sent a fleet to Aquitaine in 1402, although this was intercepted by the French.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: Impact of finance

the hostilities in Aquitaine were extremely damaging to Henry IV. The cost of defence of the region was significant, but probably more significant was the negative impact that the widespread piracy had on trade. In 1405, for example, the Hanseatic League placed significant trade restrictions on the English doing business in the Baltic on the grounds of English involvement in piracy.

French: status of the Duchy of Aquitaine: the support of the Scots

The French at this time were supported by their traditional allies against England, the Scots, which made the threat from the northern border all the greater for the new Lancastrian regime. The Channel became increasingly dangerous because of piracy and in 1403 French troops invaded Aquitaine, forcing the English army there into retreat.

French: Bolingbrook's way of dealing with the nobility

Henry IV displayed his wisdom in dealing with the nobility of the area, however, successfully mollifying them to the extent that the central area of Gascony remained loyal to the English crown.

French: attacks in 1404

it was a period of great tension, with two French naval attacks on the English south coast in 1404.

French: Parliaments criticisation

Parliament heavily criticised the inadequate defences, which were linked to the mismanagement of royal finance as a result of the extravagance of the king's household

Scotland: start of bolingbrook’s reign

At the very start of his reign, Henry IV appears to have sought a more peaceful relationship with Scotland, presumably as he was very aware of his own weak position both domestically and abroad.

Scotland: Henry’s reasoning for executing war

The King of Scots, Robert III, however refused to recognise the legality of the usurpation and made a number of raids on the northern counties of England.

On 10 November 1399, therefore, Henry informed parliament that he would execute war against Scotland

Scotland: An act of homage

in early 1400, Henry wrote to Robert III and other lords demanding that they performed an act of homage to him as their 'good lord.'

Scotland: the impact of the act of homage

Unsurprisingly, the Scots did not comply and in August Henry invaded with an army of more than 15,000 and he was obliged to borrow money in order to support them, which was risky given his fragile political and financial situation at the time.

Scotland: George of Dunbar

Henry was assisted by the defection of George, earl of Dunbar

In the event, the English met with very little resistance and reached Leith (near Edinburgh), where there were various diplomatic exchanges with Robert Ill's envoys, but no decisions were reached and by the end of the month the English army returned home having gained little.

Scotland: Henry’s return

as he returned with his army from Scotland, he learned of Owain Glyndwr's rebellion in Wales and travelled quickly to put down this more serious threat.

Scotland: continuation of his reign

Poor relations with Scotland continued for the rest of the reign. with various attempts at diplomacy, chequered with border raids and bursts of fighting.

Scotland: actions taken in 1402

• It was not until 1402 that more decisive action was taken by the English, when the earl of Northumberland, George of Dunbar and Henry Hotspur defeated a Scottish raiding force at Homildon Hill, taking various important captives, including four Scottish earls

• this incident was to cause problems for Henry IV's security, as the ransoming of captives proved a matter of contention between the Percies and the Lancastrian king, being a factor in causing Hotspur's rebellion in 1403

• Henry IV himself never fought in Scotland after his abortive mission of 1400, as he was first preoccupied with the threat from Wales, and later became too ill