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 Historical
Henry V
 by Keith Dockray
$45 / Tempus Publishing /
2004
Thanks to William Shakespeare,
Henry V has become one of England's most famous kings. His transition
from the fast-living playboy "Prince Hal" into the
pious King of England and hero of Agincourt is wellknown. But
how closely does it jibe with reality? Keith Dockray's Henry
V attempts to answer that question. He explores the life
of the real Henry V, and tries to determine where mythology ends
and history begins.
Dockray begins not with the details of Henry V's life, but with
his legend. He starts with contemporaneous accounts from both
English and French chroniclers who, even the most virulently
anti-English, admired Henry V's valor and piety. From there,
he examines presentations of Henry in later centuries.
Dockray notes the sometimes ambivalent nature of Shakespeare's
Henry V. Laurence Olivier was able to stage the play as
a patriotic call to arms during WWII while Kenneth Branagh later
presented it as an anti-war, anti-tyranny drama. Finally, he
explores some of the criticism which was heaped on Henry V in
later years. Once an icon of chivalry, in many quarters he became
infamous as a religious fanatic, an imperialist warmonger, and
a coldblooded killer.
Dockray's unconventional approach is actually quite effective.
It helps us to understand the things which were important to
writers in each of those time periods, and gives us some insight
into how myths are made and used. More importantly, it allows
us to make allowances for Dockray's preconceptions when he begins
exploring the real life and legacy of Henry V.
Dockray cannot be faulted for lack of research. He examines books
borrowed by the young prince and expenditures for musical instruments
to determine that Prince Henry was well-educated and loved a
good tune. However, one quickly gets the sense that Dockray does
not like Henry V very much. Much as he dedicated his Richard
III to reclaiming that infamous king's reputation, he seeks
here to turn the larger-than-life Henry V into an all-too-human
figure.
Does he succeed? At times. A look at Henry's troubled relationship
with old Henry IV suggests that he was keenly ambitious and may
even have tried to usurp the throne before his time. He also
produces evidence suggesting that Henry V was quite capable of
supporting atrocities when they suited his cause, and of persecuting
heretics who disagreed with his ascetic, strait-laced vision
of Christianity. He suggests that Henry's famous triumph at Agincourt
owed more to bad weather and French incompetence than to English
military genius and he points out that Henry's triumphs were
short-lived. Within 30 years after his death, France once more
controlled Normandy and England was embroiled in the Wars of
the Roses.
Yet despite all this, Henry still remains a compelling king.
All his flaws only make him more human. By the standards of his
times, Henry V was no more cruel than most of his fellow leaders.
His ambition and his single-minded piety make him easier to admire
than love, but it's impossible not to admire him.
After finishing Dockray's book, it is clear that Henry V did
indeed represent the finest flowering of English chivalry, with
all the good and bad that it entailed.
—Kevin Filan
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