485. Henry IV: The Usurper King (Part 1)

The Rest Is History

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 18.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 August 2024

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…” Henry IV has been portrayed as both a shadowy, obscure figure, and a strong king who was loved by his people. Prior to ascending the throne, Henry, the son of John of Gaunt, was admired for his glamour, clemency, courage and strong faith, but these sympathies quickly turned to suspicion when he became a ruling regicide. Indeed, after a failed rebellion in 1388 against Richard II, Henry led a second coup against the king, and successfully usurped the throne in 1399. Once king, keen to gain legitimacy, he delivered his claim to the throne in English, and vowed to respect the will of the people. But he had inherited a divided country, which was surrounded by enemies in France, Scotland and Wales. And, despite being elected to the throne by his peers, and, as some sources claimed, prophesied by Merlin and selected by a greyhound, Henry quickly lost popularity, and himself faced violent rebellions. When the brewing uprising in Northern Wales finally erupted in the autumn of 1400, with the Scots following suit not long thereafter, Henry would need all his allies to stand firmly by his side… Join Tom and Dominic as they explore the life and reign of Henry IV, an epic tale of plunder, rivalry and jealousy. _______ *The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.* If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York. *The Rest Is History LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall* Tom and Dominic, accompanied by a live orchestra, take a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history’s greatest composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for listening to the rest is history.
0:02.2	For weekly bonus episodes, add free listening, early access to series and membership
0:07.3	of our much-love chat community, go to the rest is history.com and join the club. That is, the rest is History. is History.
0:15.0	The Rest is History. . . . . . . . The rest is history. Oh sleep, oh gentle sleep, nature's soft nurse. How have I frighted thee that thou wilt no more weigh my eyelids down and steep
0:37.9	my senses in forgetfulness? Wilt thou upon the high end giddy mast seal up the ship boy's eyes and rock his brains in cradle of the rude,
0:47.6	imperialist surge, and in the visitation of the winds, who take the ruffian billows by the top curling their monstrous heads
0:55.6	and hanging them with deafening clamor in the slippery clouds that with the hurly death itself
1:01.7	awakes.
1:03.7	Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose to the wet sea boy in an hour so rude, and in the
1:10.8	calmest and most stillest night, with all appliances and means to boot, deny it to a king?
1:19.4	Then happy low lie down. Unneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
1:27.0	So those are the words of the dying King Henry the 4th in Shakespeare's play Henry the 4th part 2 and Tom we were talking
1:38.8	about this just before we started recording Shakespeare's plays Henry the 4th, Part 1 and 2 are my favorite Shakespeare plays.
1:46.4	And mine. Oh, Tom. Well, we know this, don't we? Because we went together to see Rich
1:52.4	the 2nd, Henry the 4th Part 1, Henry the fourth part one, Henry the fourth part two and Henry the fifth.
1:55.7	Yeah. In one day at the roundhouse and I've completely forgotten that I went with you.
2:00.3	You did, apologies for that. We were remembering that we'd both seen the
2:04.0	production and you were talking about it clearly as though you'd been with somebody else and
2:08.0	I was slightly offended by that that I'd been eclipsed in your recollection.
2:13.2	No, I'm very sorry.
2:14.2	Yeah, and then you described it as an ordeal.
2:16.0	A pleasant ordeal.
	...

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