Death of Henry V

On 31st August 1422 King Henry V of England (age 35) died at Château de Vincennes, possibly from dysentery, possibly from heatstroke. John Sutton 1st Baron Dudley (age 21) brought the body back to England. His son Henry succeeded VI King of England.

Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter (age 45) was appointed Governor to King Henry VI of England and II of France.

Chronicle of Gregory [1400-1467]. 31st August 1422. Also the same yere, the laste day of Auguste, the yere of oure Lorde MCCCCXXIJ, the good and nobylle Kyng, Harry the v aftyr the Conqueste of Inglonde, floure of chevalrye of Crystyn men, endyd hys lyffe in Fraunce, at Boys in Vincent [Map], be syde Parys, the x yere of hys raygne, to whom God graunte mercy. Amen.

Chronicle of Edward Hall [1496-1548]. 31st August 1422. The noblemen present promised to obserue his preceptes and performe his desires, but their heartes were so pensiue & replenished with doloure that one without wepyng could not beholdc the other. Then he sayd the seven Psalmes and received the blessed Sacrament, and in saying the Psalmes of the passion completed his dayes and ended his life the last day of August, in the yere of our lord. M.CCCC.xxii.

Chronicle of Enguerrand de Monstrelet [1400-1453]. 31st August 1422. Sir Hugh de Lannoy having accomplished the business he had been sent on by the duke of Burgundy, and having had some conversation with the king, returned to the duke. The king then sent for his physicians, and earnestly demanded of them how long they thought he had to live. They delayed answering the question directly; but, not to discourage hope, they said that it depended solely on the will of God whether he would be restored to health. He was dissatisfied with this answer, and repeated his request, begging of them to tell him the truth. Upon this they consulted together, and one of them, as spokesman, falling on his knees, said, "Sire, you must think on your soul; for, unless it be the will of God to decree otherwise, it is impossible that you should live more than two hours." The king, hearing this, sent for his confessor, some of his household, and his chaplains, whom he ordered to chant the seven penitential psalms. When they came to "Benigne fac, Domine," where mention is made "muri Hierusalem," he stopped them, and said aloud, that he had fully mtended, after he had wholly subdued the realm of France to his obedience, and restored it to peace, to have gone to conquer the kingdom of Jerusalem, if it had pleased his Creator to have granted him longer life. Having said this, he allowed the priests to proceed, and, shortly after, according to the prediction of his physicians, gave up the ghost the last day of August.

Thomas Walsingham [-1422]. 31st August 1422. The king, having suffered from prolonged illness, which he had contracted from excessive and long-lasting exertion, eventually succumbed to an acute fever accompanied by severe dysentery. This illness had so greatly weakened his strength that the doctors did not dare to administer any internal medicines to him, and they entirely despaired of his life. Seeing, therefore, that death was near, the Lord King, having summoned his dukes and others who could be present, wisely arranged matters concerning the kingdoms of both France and England, as well as the Duchy of Normandy. He made a will and designated that his debts be paid from his abundant treasures and valuables. Having received the life-giving Sacrament of the Body of the Lord and other sacraments pertaining to a Christian, in true repentance, with right faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, and with a sound mind, he bade farewell to this world and his people, and returned his soul to his Creator on the penultimate day of August, after having reigned for nine years, five months, and fourteen days. He left behind none like him among Christian kings or princes; thus, his death is rightly mourned, not only by the people of England and France but by all of Christendom.

Rex itaque diutina intemperie, quam ex nimio et diutino labore contraxerat, interim mcidit m lebrem acutam, cum dysenteria vehementi, quæ in tantum ejus vires consumpserant, quod medici eidem medicinas aliquas intrinsecas apponere non audebant, sed de ejus vita penitus desperabant. Cernens igitur Dominus Rex sibi mortem proximam imminere, convocatis suis Ducibus et aliis qui adesse poterant, pro regnis tarn Franciæ quam Angliæ, ac Ducatu Normanniæ, sapienter disposuit, testamentum confecit, et debita sua de suis thesauris et jocalibus superabundantibus solvenda constituib; sumptisque vivificis¹ Corporis Dominici, et aliis [quæ]² ad Christianum pertinent, Sacramentis, in vera pœnitentia, fide recta, spe certa, et caritate perfecta, et bona memoria, huic sæculo et suis valefaciens, animam suam suo reddidit Creatori, penultimo³ die mensis Augusti, postqnam regnasset novcm annis, quinque mensibus, et quatuordecim diebus: sibique similem inter Christianos Reges vel Principes non reliquit; unde ejus mors, non solum regnicolis Angliæ et Franciæ, verum toti Christianitati, non immerito⁴ est deflenda.

Note 1. vivifici in the printed texts.

Note 2. Omitted in orig.; supplied from (5) MS. Corp. Chr. vii. and the printed texts.

Note 3. Correctly, "ultimo", i.e. 31st August.

Note 4. merito in orig. and the printed texts; corrected from (5) MS. Corp. Chr. vii.

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Archaeologia Volume 65 1914 Section 4 Part 1. 31st August 1422. First, as to the funeral. King Henry died on the last day of August, on the Monday next after the feast of the Beheading of St. John, in the year of our Lord 1422, between the second and the third hour after midnight, at Bois de Vincennes in the parts of France,' so runs the official record on the Close Roll¹. There are at least three contemporary accounts of the funeral, in French, Latin, and English, together with a later version also in English. From these it is possible to form some idea of what must have been one of the most imposing pageants of the kind ever seen in this country.

Note 1. Close Roll, 1 Henry VI, m. 21 d.; Rymer, x, 253

Chronicle of Jean de Waurin [1400-1474]. 31st August 1422. Here it makes mention of the death of Henry King of England.

Chronicle of St Denis Book 43 Chapter 3. 31st August 1422. In the year previously mentioned, on Monday, the last day of August, Henry, King of England, at the place called the Bois de Vincennes, the most delightful castle of the King of France, departed the way of all flesh. Indeed, the cause of his death was an illness of dysentery¹, which is called Saint Fiacre's disease, because, as was commonly said, he had wished to transfer the precious body of the said most glorious saint from its rightful place to another, out of disordered desire, gravely offending the Creator and the said glorious saint. And, as is very likely, he had intended to bring that precious body to his kingdom of England. And because the will is considered equivalent to the deed, if one has done everything within one's power, he was therefore to be regarded as a sacrilegious person and a violator of the church.

Anno superius declarato, die autem lune ultima mensis augusti, Henricus, rex Anglie, in loco dicto le boys de Vincennes, castro regis Francie delectabilissimo, viam universe carnis est ingressus. Etenim sui decessus causa fuit infirmitas fluxus ventris, que dicitur infirmitas sancti Fiacri, eo, ut communiter ferebatur, quia preciosum corpus dicti gloriosissimi sancti a proprio loco in alterum ad sui inordinatum affectum voluerat et volebat transferre, Creatorem dictumque sanctum gloriosum grávissime offendendo, et, ut verissimile est, in se proposuerat illud corpus preciosum in suum Anglie regnum asportare. Et quia voluntas reputatur pro facto, si fecerimus quod in nobis est, ideo sacrilegus et ecclesie violator reputandus erat.

Note 1. "fluxus ventris" i.e. dysentery may be better translated as "diarrhea".

Chronicle of Normandy. When the siege was over the king left for Corbeuil, to order certain affairs, at which place, as God ordered it, he was attacked by a serious illness which afflicted him a long time. He was carried to the Bois-de-Vincennes, where he was ill about fifteen days, and then, as God ordained, he passed from this world to the other [31st August 1422]. His body, arrayed in his royal robes, was carried to Nôtre Dame at Paris, where a solemn service was per- formed for him, it was then carried to Rouen, where a solemn service for him was performed in the cathe- dral church of Nôtre Dame, thence it was transported to England and placed in a sepulchre at West- minster Abbey with his predecessors.

Chronicle of Charles VII of France Volume 1 Chapter 1. 31st August 1422. On the death of King Henry of England.

De la mort du roi Henry d'Angleterre.

Note 1. The subject of this chapter can be found, though much abridged, in the following French chronicle, chapter 1. See also Religieux de Saint-Denis, book 43, chapters 2 and 3. [See Chronicle of St Denis Book 43 Chapter 2 and Chronicle of St Denis Book 43 Chapter 3].

La matière de ce chapitre se retrouve, mais très-abrégée, dans la chronique françoise ci-après, chapitre 1. Voyez aussi Religieux de Saint-Denis, livre XLIII, chapitres 2 et 3.

Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris. 31st August 1422. 356. Item, on the last day of August, a Sunday, King Henry of England passed away at the Bois de Vincennes¹, who at that time was the regent of France, as previously mentioned; and he remained at the Bois until the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in September, to be arranged as befits such a prince. On that day after dinner, his body was carried to Saint-Denis without entering Paris, and the next day, the feast of the Octave of Our Lady, his service was held at Saint-Denis in France, and there were always a hundred torches burning along the way and at the churches.

356. Item, en ce moys d'aoust, le darrain jour, à ung dimenche, trespassa le roy d'Angleterre Henry au Boys de Vincennes¹, qui pour lors estoit régent de France, comme davant est dit; et fut audit Boys tout mort, pour l'ordonner comme à tel prince affiert, jusques [au jour de] TExaltacion Saincte Croix en septembre. Et ce jour après disner fut porté à Sainct-Denis sans entrer à Paris, et le lendemain, jour des octabes Nostre Dame, fut fait son service à Sainct-Denis en France, et tousjours y avoit cent torches ardans en chemin comme aux églises.

Note 1. Henry V breathed his last at the Château de Vincennes on Monday, August 31, at two o'clock in the morning, surrounded by his brother, the Duke of Bedford, his uncle, the Duke of Exeter, and some other high dignitaries; his body was transported on September 15 to the Abbey of Saint-Denis (National Archives, Xia 1480, fol. 267, 259).

Henri V rendit le dernier soupir au château de Vincennes le lundi 3i août à deux heures du matin, entouré de son frère le duc de Bedford, de son oncle le duc d'Exeter et de quelques autres grands dignitaires; son corps fut transporté le i5 septembre en l'abbaye de Saint-Denis (Arch. nat., Xia 1480, fol. 267, 259).

Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris. 352. Also, in that year, there was a remarkably hot spell in June and July, with only one rainfall, which affected the lands. As a result, the vegetables and fields were scorched, yielding less than half of their usual produce; and it was necessary to pull up the beans and barley by hand, roots and all, without using a scythe or sickle. Due to this intense heat, there was an unprecedented outbreak of smallpox, covering so many children that they were unrecognizable; many prominent people, especially among the English, were also affected, and it was said that the King of England had his share of the illness. Indeed, many small children were so severely affected that some died, and others lost their sight.

352. Item, en celle année fist merveilleusement chault en juing et en juillet, et n'y pleut que une foys, dont les terres se sentissent, pour quoy les potaiges et les mares furent aussi que tous ars aux champs, et ne rendirent pas la moitié de leur semence; et convint aracher les advoynes et les orges à la main, racine et tout sans faulcher ne soyer. Et pour celle grant challeur fut si grant année d'enfans mallades de la verolle que oncques de vie de homme on eust veu, et tant en estoient couvers que on ne les congnoissoit; et plusieurs grans hommes l'avoient, especialment des Angloys, et disoit on que le roy d'Angleterre en ot sa part. Et vray est que moult de petis enffans en furent si aggrevez que les ungs en mouroient, les autres en perdoient la veue corporelle.