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After the Battle of Shrewsbury
The axe fell with a solid thud, cleanly severing the head of Sir Thomas Percy. King Henry IV watched the execution from the castle ramparts with tears in his eyes. It was just two days since the Battle of Shrewsbury where another Percy, the famous Harry Hotspur, went down under a flurry of blades. His naked body was now propped up between two millstones near the city gate—having been unceremoniously torn from his temporary grave to thwart rumours of his survival. Henry had refused to look at him, certain that Harry’s staring eyes would condemn him, even in death. They had been friends once, a circumstance that made this whole situation more tragic than he wanted to admit. And Thomas, whose deportment had been flawless up until a week ago, disturbed him even more. Henry had done his best to save his life, but his closest advisors flew into a fury, calling the man traitor, and worse. The best he could do was commute the execution to mere decapitation rather than the full penalty, hanging, drawing and quartering.
This whole bloody rebellion caught the king totally by surprise and he mourned the loss of his valiant enemies more than they deserved. What had he done to merit their rancour? Surely they had their disagreements, but nothing so venomous as to warrant an attack on his throne.
And what about Hotspur's father, the Earl of Northumberland? If he had been present the outcome of the battle would have been much less certain. It was a terribly close call; only Hotspur's death determined who had won the day. Where was the earl and why hadn't he shown up?
Henry shook his head. He would think about that later; for now, he had more important things to worry about. His son and heir had been struck in the face by an arrow and had continued fighting until the end of the battle. Only then had he collapsed into the arms of his friends. The royal surgeons, confounded by the injury, professed themselves incapable of extracting the arrowhead from the base of Hal's skull, behind his cheek. In desperation, Henry had sent a messenger to London, ordering the famous surgeon and metalworker John Bradmore to be released from prison; the man had been caught counterfeiting, of all things. Then Bradmore would be brought to Kenilworth, where Hal would be waiting for him—if he survived the trip.
Unfortunately, Henry didn't have the leisure to sit by his son's side and wait for him to live or die. With Henry Percy on the loose, the rebellion still had a chance to succeed. He had to deal with the recalcitrant earl without losing another minute. He had already sent a messenger to the Earl of Westmorland, telling him to block Northumberland's progress, wherever he might be. But some tasks required the presence of the king and besides, Percy could be anywhere. Presumably he was coming south from Northumberland, but Henry could leave nothing to chance.
The king was right about one thing: Henry Percy was on his way south, though that wasn't his original plan.
Two months before, he and his son had their eyes on lands given to them by King Henry—Douglas lands, all in Scotland. Both Percys knew the king's offer was a hollow gesture to keep them quiet; they had to conquer the region themselves before they could claim it. It didn't help that they were owed a huge amount of money from their previous two years as wardens. Their resources were not infinite! Repeated requests for payment fell on deaf ears; the exchequer was hampered by the urgency of the Welsh rebellion, they were told. As far as King Henry was concerned, they were on their own; he had even sent a letter telling Percy he wasn't going to come north—he had business in London. That was just fine; as far as Percy was concerned, he needed money, not the king's dubious help.
Nonetheless, they couldn't resist the opportunity. Hotspur had laid siege to the Tower of Cocklaw in Teviotdale, deep into Douglas territory. Unfortunately, things hadn't gone well and the garrison put up a strong resistance. Frustrated, Hotspur negotiated with the tower's captain and they agreed upon a six-week truce. If Scotland's governor, the Duke of Albany didn't relieve the castle, they would surrender to the English. Meanwhile, Percy's army withdrew to England's side of the border.
It was Hotspur's idea to use the six weeks to organize a rebellion against King Henry. Rebellion! Even now, Percy was mystified about the abrupt change of plans. However, he knew his son still harboured deep resentment about the way the king had treated him the year before—demanding that he turn over Douglas and other hostages taken at Homildon Hill. It wasn’t a pretty scene and Harry had stormed out, threatening to see the king next on the battlefield. Percy hadn’t taken this tantrum seriously when he heard about it later, but perhaps he should have.
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