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    We Three Kings: King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V
    We Three Kings: King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V
    We Three Kings: King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V
    Ebook375 pages7 hours

    We Three Kings: King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V

    By N. Beetham Stark

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    This book covers the lives of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V from 1377-1422 A.D. and is sub-titled, “Bad King, Fair King and Good King?” The challenge is to decide which of these three kings was really the good king. The scholars will tell you that Henry V was a great king because of the large portion of France that he managed to conquer. But the fine print in history tells a different story, one of suffering, brutality and needless slaughter. The book challenges the concept of “greatness” and forces the reader to examine history more carefully.

    The deeds of these three kings are brought to life through the eyes of two Irish brothers. One is a scribe and one an archer. They travel the endless miles with their kings and record all that happened so that the reader can come to know these men through the eyes of two different men.

    The two Irish brothers eventually retire to Ireland as old and spent men, but not until they have survived many skirmishes with the Welsh, the Battles of Shrewsbury, Agincourt, and many sieges in France. They are there when Henry IV has Archbishop Scrope beheaded and they suffer through unending money shortages that plagued all three kings. They are the eyes, ears, and noses of history that tell us what is thought to have really happened. They knew the trench people and could smell the stench of their rotting bodies. They saw men fall from dysentery and other diseases, all so that one man might call himself “King of all France.”

    These fellows might have been your ancestors living at that time. If they could speak to you today, they might say something about learning from these three kings and avoiding their mistakes. All men in government should read this book and use it as a lesson in what not to do.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherN. Beetham Stark
    Release dateJun 14, 2011
    ISBN9781458038166
    We Three Kings: King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V
    Author

    N. Beetham Stark

    Nellie Beetham Stark was born November 20, 1933, in Norwich, Connecticut to Theodore and Dorothy Pendleton Beetham. She attended the Norwich Free Academy and later Connecticut College in New London, CT before graduating with a MA and a Ph.D. degree in Botany (Ecology) from Duke University.Stark worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a botanist for six years and then joined the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada where she worked on desert and forest ecology and later tropical nutrient cycling. She has consulted in many countries, working for some time in Russia, Australia and South America. She developed the theory that explains why tropical white sand soils cannot grow good food crops and described the decline processes of soils. She has also developed a science of surethology, or survival behavior which describes how humans must adapt to their environments if they hope to survive long term. She has 96 professional publications and has published in four languages.Her life long hobby has been English history, with emphasis on naval history. Her family came originally from Tristan Da Cunha in the South Atlantic in the early 1900’s. Her grandfather was a whale ship captain for a time which spurred her interest in naval history. She also paints pictures of sailing ships which she has used as covers for her historical novels. She has built several scale models of sailing ships and does extensive research on ships and naval history, traveling to England once yearly.Stark was awarded the Connecticut Medal by Connecticut College in 1986 and the Distinguished Native Daughter Award for South Eastern Connecticut in 1985. She was named outstanding Forestry Professor three times by the students of the University of Montana, School of Forestry.Today she writes historical novels, mostly set in England. She has published some 21 novels in the past twenty years, mostly on the internet. She lives on a farm in Oregon and raises hay and cows.Stark's two most popular book series are:Early Irish-English History1. The Twins of Torsh, 44 A.D. to 90 A.D.1. Rolf "The Red" MacCanna, 796-8462. An Irishman's Revenge, 1066-11124. Brothers 4, 1180-12165. Edward's Right Hand, 1272-13076. We Three Kings, 1377-1422The Napoleonic Wars at Sea (Benjamin Rundel)1. Humble Launching - A Story of a Little Boy Growing Up at Sea, 17872. Midshipman Rundel - The Wandering Midshipman, 17953. Mediterranean Madness - The Luckless Leftenant Rundel, 17974. The Adventures of Leftenant Rundel, 1797-17995. Forever Leftenant Rundel, 1800-18036. Captain Rundel I – Trafalgar and Beyond, 1803-18067. Captain Rundel II – Give Me a Fair Wind, 1806-18098. Captain Rundel III – Bend Me a Sail, 1810-18139. Admiral Rundel – 1814-1846

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      Book preview

      We Three Kings - N. Beetham Stark

      We Three Kings

      A Tale of King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V

      An Historical Novel

      by N. Beetham Stark

      * * * * *

      Discover other titles by N. Beetham Stark at

      Smashwords.com or at NBeethamStark.com.

      We Three Kings: A Tale of King Richard II, King Henry IV and King Henry V

      Written by N. Beetham Stark

      Copyright 2010 by N. Beetham Stark

      Cover art by N. Beetham Stark

      Published by Smashwords, Inc.

      ISBN 978-1-4580-3816-6

      All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form

      without the written permission of the author or trust agents.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

      * * * * *

      Dedication: This book is dedicated to Tintagon, Tarsie and Picatso and their mutual friend, P.P.

      We are slaves to our history for if we do not heed the lessons of our past, we are not likely to have a future as a species. Man lives by bread and knowledge of past events that have made us what we are.

      N. Beetham Stark

      Acknowledgements

      The author is indebted to noted historians for insights into these men’s lives. Of special importance were: John David Griffith Davies, 1935, King Henry IV, Ian Mortimer, The Fears of Henry IV, 2007, Bryan Bevan, Henry IV, 1994, Desmond Seward, Henry V, The Scourge of Medieval Occupation, 1983 and many others.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1 – Escape from Ireland

      Chapter 2 – Life in Richard’s Court

      Chapter 3 – Ireland and Trouble

      Chapter 4 – Life in Henry’s Court

      Chapter 5 – The King Takes a Bride

      Chapter 6 – Betrayal and the Battle of Shrewsbury

      Chapter 7 – Taxes

      Chapter 8 – There Will Always Be War

      Chapter 9 – Wales

      Chapter 10 – Death of a King

      Chapter 11 – A New Ruler in the Saddle

      Chapter 12 – France and Harfleur (Honfleur)

      Chapter 13 – Agincourt

      Chapter 14 – England Welcomes a Hero King

      Chapter 15 – Return to France

      Chapter 16 – Rouen and The Ditch People

      Chapter 17 – Return to England

      Chapter 18 – Death of a King and a Dream

      Postscript

      About the Author

      Introduction

      It is extremely difficult for a writer to reconstruct lives as complicated as those of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V almost seven hundred years after their deaths. Inevitably some errors of judgment will be made because often there are significant holes in the historical record. Here I have tried to portray the lives of these men as accurately as history will allow, but certain in my knowledge that at some point I will err. Before I begin, I wish to beg forgiveness from any that I have offended.

      Richard II was born in Gascogne in 1367, son of the famous Black Prince. His father had been a brave warrior fighting for Edward III, Richard’s grandfather until the Black Prince was struck down by some mysterious disease. Richard had an invalid father for his younger years who could not train him in the politics of the court or warfare. He was not groomed as a ruler because his father was unwell and the father was in line to inherit before his son. When The Black Prince died, Richard was sent to England to live with his cousins, Henry and sisters, children of John of Gaunt. He was a strange boy, spoke almost no English and had led a solitary life among older people. He never fitted in well with the rambunctious English cousins. When Edward III died, Richard was but ten years old. He was crowned as king because his father had also died. He was under the protection of a regent for his earlier years. When he assumed authority and declared that he would rule without benefit of Council, he started a long chain of sad events. He had a group of favourites who regularly received gifts, titles and other advantages from Richard. When the heads of noble families died, Richard would often disinherit the heirs, giving their lands and castles to his friends instead. That did not win him friends among the English nobles. There are many instances of his unstable and tyrannical rule. He was clever and shrewd, but not of a fighting heart. His marriage to Isabella of France saved him some problems. She was able to curb his violent temper and bring him some stability, but then she died, leaving behind a backwash of destruction.

      We see evidence of a lack of valor in Richard. For instance, he abandoned his army when he saw the size of Henry’s army. Henry had returned to England after being exiled from England for life. Richard knew that his misdeeds were catching up with him. Some historians believe that Richard went north to raise another army to face Henry, but there are doubts about this thesis. He had already enlisted most of the eligible warriors in the north and would have had trouble in finding many men there able and willing to fight.

      The death of Richard is one of those unsolved mysteries that creep up in history frequently. In this book I claim that Henry ordered, ‘no food and no water until it is done,’ but it is just as possible that his jailers or even Richard himself declared that there would be naught to eat or drink. Clearly, the presence of Richard alive in England would be a rallying point for his supporters to overthrow Henry IV and put Richard back on the throne. And why would his supporters want the tyrannical Richard back in power? He had been overly generous in his support of these men and they would be happy to receive his gifts and titles in future. They knew that Henry would not favour them thus. Even with Richard dead, there were those who claimed that he lived in Scotland and would soon lead another attack on England to win back his crown. These rumours persisted throughout much of Henry IV’s reign as a source of continuing vexation.

      Every historical writing that I have read portrays Henry Bolingbroke as the great usurper, except Ian Mortimer. After much study, I am convinced that Henry did what he had to do. I tend to agree with Ian Mortimer that Henry, although he did invade England, was actually elected to the throne by the Parliament. It was a case of, ‘in the right place at the right time.’ And there were no logical contenders. Edmund Mortimer at age eight was the next in line for the crown legally, but he was but a child and England had seen enough of child kings after Richard II. Much can be learned about the nature of the man by studying his letters and financial accounts.

      Henry IV was a special type of person and a keen understanding of how his mind might have worked is essential to coming to grips with the unfortunate series of events that plagued his years as King. Henry was born at Bolingbroke to John of Gaunt and his wife Blanche. His mother died shortly after he was born and so, he was raised by first an Irish nurse and later by his father’s second wife, Constanza. John’s concubine, Katherine Swynford was present in the household as well. He had several half brothers, the Beauforts and several sisters. Henry saw little of his father when he was growing up because John of Gaunt was the loyal servant of Richard II and was often away on diplomatic missions. Early in his life young Henry showed little interest in politics and we can safely say that with one young man and the Black Prince ahead of him in line for the throne that he was not being groomed as a future king. He loved to joust and took many honours in the lists. He went on Crusade and traveled to Jerusalem. He had only one significant battle experience before he came to the throne, so he was not an experienced military leader. He was charming, sociable, intelligent, well educated, very religious and most loyal to his father. In fact, John appears at times to have sheltered young Henry from the crudities, lies and deceit of Richard II’s court, perhaps not wanting his son to be corrupted by the intrigues that were occurring at the royal court. Henry showed no interest in the royal court that his father served and preferred to travel and meet sovereigns of other nations. He even traveled to Jerusalem at a time when there was peace in the Holy City. If he had designs on the crown early in his career, he would have been looking over his father’s shoulder daily to learn about politics, but he was off to the horses and jousts instead.

      Henry IV married well both times. He appeared to be devoted to Mary Bohun, his first wife and his second, Joan of Navarre, was a great comfort to him in his declining years. He had two sisters, Elizabeth and Philippa who were his childhood companions. His tutors were two of the finest scholars in the land. When Henry was disinherited and exiled for first ten years and then for life by Richard II, he went to the French court and was accepted by Charles VI and his court. A former friend who was also exiled, Thomas Arundel, joined him there and it appears that Arundel had a good bit to do with Henry’s return to England after only six months. Before his return from France, Henry could not have known of the overwhelming support that he would get from the English nobles and people. England was ready for a new king and they welcomed Henry.

      His father, John of Gaunt, was the richest man in England and controlled many thousands of acres of land, many castles, but that did not guarantee that Gaunt’s people and the Lancastrians in general would follow the son, especially after John of Gaunt died earlier that year. When Henry arrived at Bridlington on the east coast of England, men came to him from all over the country swelling his army to over 80,000 men in only a few days. Richard was captured without a fight in a near bloodless coup. To this point, Henry had stuck to the story that all he wanted on his return to England was the return of his lands.

      When Henry returned to London, a trial was held for Richard II and he was found guilty of poor governance. With the throne standing empty, the Archbishop stepped forward to emphasize that there was no king present to preside over Parliament. Henry stood up and offered to take the throne if they would have him. Those assembled welcomed Henry and voted to offer him the title of king. That is hardly a well-planned usurpation. Henry was the victim of circumstances. He was there and everyone knew that they did not want a child king in Richard’s place, so Henry was voted in as king. There are some who prefer to ignore the vote of Parliament and refer to Henry as a usurper.

      If he did plan to usurp the crown, the most that he was guilty of is poor planning, which was out of character for the man. When Henry saw the overwhelming support that he had against Richard, he knew that the country was tired of Richard’s tyrannical reign. Something had to be done. Now he was the richest man in the country and if he could reclaim his and his father’s wealth, he would be happy. The mistake that Henry made was that many of those factions that supported him for king had their own agendas that they would bring forth, expecting Henry to honour them, which he could never do. He did not have the strength of backing in Parliament that his huge army suggested.

      Once crowned, Henry IV was immediately beset with massive problems, even worse than those that Richard had faced. Henry wanted to be a good, fair and benevolent king. Had he been given some time to get settled in his new position, I believe that he would have been a fine king. But within days of his coronation, there was the Epiphany Uprising. The Scots were ravaging the north, burning and killing. The French were nibbling at southern English ports and the Welsh were up in arms over regulations that Parliament had laid upon them. When Owain Glyndwr, sometimes written Glen Dwyr, (ap Gruffydd) declared himself as Prince of Wales, Henry was forced to act. The Lollards were testing the integrity of the church and the government and he had his hands full with their uprisings. In the first five years of his reign, there were seven attempts on his life. He survived them all, but there was hardly time to plan what he would do for the country to improve living conditions. One problem after the other pounced upon him, demanding his attention. And with all of these distractions, Henry had made one fatal mistake. On his return to England, he declared that he would not levy taxes on his people except in time of war. He planned to govern using the income from the royal tax on wool and grains. But Mother Nature was against him when there were several years early in his reign plagued by severe rains and flooding. The sheep suffered from disease and less wool was available for export, dropping his income drastically at a time when he needed it most. Grain was scarce in soggy fields and the price went very high. He needed grain to keep his army fed and the money was never adequate. With insufficient income, Henry was strapped for money to use for ruling during his entire reign. At some points there was not even enough money for his household. His problems with the Percy’s, his former supporters, were largely due to his inability to pay the Percys what they thought they should get for defending the northern Marche (borders). Much of the time he was unable to pay his sons and their armies, Thomas who was governor in Ireland and Prince Henry who was conducting fighting against the Welsh. Remember that Henry was the son of the richest man in England and had inherited a fortune. It is quite likely that he had not learned how to manage money wisely even by the time he was thirty-three.

      When Henry became sick with some unknown illness that caused his skin to rupture into suppurating, foul pustules and his extremities to wither away, Thomas Arundel, now Archbishop of Canterbury and Henry’s son Prince Henry took over, governing the country on their own. Only as a last futile effort to hold onto life did Henry rise up and seize back his power. Surely those present in Parliament in 1411 when Henry declared that he was again fit to rule thought that the man would be dead in a week. But he fooled them. He lived for several years afterwards. The nature of Henry’s disease is puzzling. It has some of the elements of shingles at the onset, but soon looked more like poisoning from ergot, a fungus that infects grains and can kill a person. Henry loved fish and it is possible that he ingested a fish toxin, which caused his condition. No one knows. Henry was tenacious and hung on well beyond what other men might have endured. He is hard to understand, but I believe that he had intended to do good for England, if only circumstances had not ganged up on him. I think of him as the unlucky king.

      The third king is Henry V. When I originally conceived this book, the subtitle was to read, Bad king, fair king and good king. But as my research into the life of Henry V progressed, I became aware of a problem. To the English, Henry V is one of the most revered and respected Kings in all of English history. But, after reading in many sources about his life, I had grave doubts. Henry was a most intelligent, secretive, and complex person. He thought nothing of sending his troops out to burn, murder, rape and plunder while he knelt in prayer. It is likely that he did not truly relate the teachings of the Catholic Church to his daily life. It is more likely that he chose to ignore religious teachings and clerics in general, believing them to be only conduits that he did not need to access God. There is every reason to think that he believed himself to be gifted by God as the ‘Scourge of the French’ and that he was doing God’s will no matter how brutal or gory the results might be. He was a man who could not accept failure, but there is reason to believe that on occasion he had reservations and even worries about what he was doing. Success after success compelled him to forge forward, leaving a trail of bloody, dead and mangled bodies in his wake. He favoured the use of cannon which could reduce stone walls to piles of rubble, leaving thousands dead within. He did not flinch at starving out the stronger castles and cities.

      He also believed that he had a God-given right to the crown of France. While I can see that his ancestors ruled Normandy and Acquitaine, I still cannot understand how he could think that he was entitled to the entire country. Edward II claimed that by virtue of his relations to the French ruling family, he was entitled to rule France after Charles IV died. That started the Hundred Years War. As it was, Henry V conquered about a third of France by brute force. If he had lived another six weeks, he would have inherited the entire country from his father-in-law, Mad Charles VI. His insistence on marrying the Princess Catherine, daughter of Charles, was clearly a means of getting a legal hold on the French crown. There is little evidence that he cared deeply for the woman. Fate came to bite him in the end. His only son inherited the weakness for madness that had plagued his grandfather, King Charles VI. Henry V’s son, Henry VI, managed to lose all of France that his father had worked hard to win! Many hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen and Englishmen died so Henry V could gain a bit of France, only to have it frittered away by an unwitting son.

      Henry V can be applauded for his conquests, but his methods leave much to be desired in a good king. Henry must take responsibility for the conduct of his troops while in France since it was he who had sent them there and it was he who could not pay them or send victuals. As a result, hungry soldiers preyed on the poor farmers, taking what they wanted, imprisoning some for ransom and taking horses and wagons whenever they wished. Many an English soldier gathered loot only to die of starvation before he could get home. Henry’s policy of scorched earth turned to bite him time and time again as his soldiers could find no food because the peasants were too scared to stay and farm their lands or they too had died of starvation or warfare. Had Henry been able to control his soldiers once out of his sight, the campaign in France may have taken on a different aspect. Henry did try to control his men upon landing at the Seine by outlawing theft, and rape, but that discipline fell apart under the harsh conditions that the men had to face. As it was, Henry and his men destroyed all that had made the conquered lands valuable in the first place. I let you, the reader, decide who was really the good king.

      Read and you will learn of the lives of these fascinating men through the eyes of two Irish brothers.

      Look over your right shoulder that you may see clearly into the future.

      Selected References:

      John David Griffith Davies. 1935. King Henry IV. A Banker, London.309 p.

      James Hamilton Wylie. 1969. The History of England. AMS Press, N.Y.4v

      Kirby, J. L. 1971. Henry IV of England. Archon Bks. 280 p.

      John S.C. Abbott. 2009. Makers of History, Henry IV. 340p.

      Mortimer, Ian. 2007. The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England’s Self-made King. Jonathan Cape, London.480 p.

      Bevan, Bryan. 1994. Henry IV. St. Martin’s Press, NY. 241 p.

      Desmond Seward. 1987. The Scourge of God. Viking Press.

      Allmand, C. T. 1983. Lancastrian Normandy: The History of the Medieval Occupation. Oxford.

      Chapter 1 – Escape from Ireland

      Mona lay on her pallet, sweat pouring from every pore of her body. Her body heaved with every tortured breath. The wind howled out side their tiny cobble stone hut, making the smoke from the fire ring swirl around the room. Jed stood beside the pallet, watching his two brothers, Rye and Devan play by the fire ring. He had been playing his harp to comfort his mother, but now it was no longer working. Rain pelted the thatched roof sending rivulets of water under the hide door hanging. The woman moaned and then let out a scream. Jed thought, Best find Fa now. Her time has come and she suffers much. He turned and ran for the door, grabbing a sheep skin to keep him dry. He ran off to the north, about a mile. He knew that his father spent most of his time there drinking with a woman named Senta who made her own liquor. He had seen him there many times sipping whiskey while his sheep went wanting and his crops were rotting in the fields. Why must we have another mouth to feed just now, he thought. Jed had helped his mother raise the two younger brothers and it was Jed who plowed the fields and planted the crops. It’s him, it is. Whenever he is home he is all over Ma and she gets with child again. Why must I have such a vile father?

      He reached the stone house where Senta the Viking Woman lived. He could hear laughter within, boiling out into the drenching rain. He did not wait to knock but burst through the wooden door and stood before his father, who was seated on a low bench with a woman spreading her legs before him. Jed was angry. His mother might be dying because of this man and yet he sat there enjoying himself.

      You must come at once Fa. Mother is in her last hours and needs you, he said with much emotion, wiping the rain from his face.

      Then to emphasize what he had said, he turned to leave the disgusting sight. His father bellowed out, Tell her ta wait. I’m busy just now.

      Jed wheeled around and shouted, Come any later and you will come to visit her corpse! He headed out into the rain. He had delivered his younger brother Rye all alone and it had been frightening, no terrifying. All he could think of was the blood and the terrible pain that his mother suffered. He thought that these children were not his fault and he shouldn’t have to bring them into the world.

      Back at the hut he found his mother nearly comatose. He could see the tip of a small head trying to come out, so he put his hand gently in, shouting at his younger brothers to stoke up the fire and heat some water. He found a bit of cloth and went to assist his mother. Soon he had a small boy child wriggling in his cloth. He wiped the child and tried to comfort the mother, but she barely stirred. A bright pool of blood began to form on the pallet, slowly turning black. Jed tried to stem the flow of blood but it was useless. As he knelt by her side, his mother reached out to him. She said, My Jed, you must know the truth... but then her voice failed to a low whisper and Jed could not hear her. Your Fa...

      "Speak to me, Mother. I am here by your side, but the woman was unable to speak. An hour later, he heard her exhale a huge breath and then there was no more. She was dead!

      About then, Dunstan, his father, stepped through the doorway, dripping with water. He pushed the boy aside and knelt beside the dead woman. Speak to me, my Mona. Speak! he shouted.

      Then, after a long pause as the truth seeped into his pickled brain, he clenched his fist and swung at Jed who was but ten years old. You did this! It was you what killed her! Then he strode out of the hut and into the rain, a mean snarl upon his face. They did not see him for over a month. Jed covered the body with a throw and knelt to pray.

      Jed went to milk their one cow and returned to make them supper. He felt horrible. He knew that all of the work of the family would fall on his young shoulders now. He would have to grow the crops, take care of the sheep and feed the family. And there was no Ma to talk to or ask for advice.

      He found a bit of clean linen and dipped it into the warm milk. The liquid flowed into the child’s mouth and soon he began to suck on the cloth. I will never be able to keep this tiny one alive, he thought.

      The next day the three boys found an old broken wooden shovel and dug a grave for their mother in the orchard. Jed made a crude cross of willow branches woven to resemble the Gaelic Cross. They said a prayer for her soul and then went back to try to sort out their lives. Jed took over running the household at once, but he began to train Rye in the art of bread making and cooking. Rye was nine and old enough to realize the seriousness of their plight. Their nearest relative was an ancient aunt who lived nearly two hundred miles away. No one even knew her name.

      At six Jed had made himself a bow and some arrows. He took up hunting seriously when there was no meat for the table. He shot birds and made a spear to catch fish. His mother was heard to say once that she had cooked up every manner of bird that flew in the Irish skies. There was a small lake nearby and Jed fished there regularly. Now he arose before dawn each day to hunt for birds and anything edible that roamed the wild countryside near Castleblaney. As soon as he had made a kill, he returned to make breakfast for the boys and then resumed the daily work in the fields. The fences were in poor shape so he spent many days cutting coppice to weave new fences. He taught himself to weave cloth from the wool of their twelve sheep and he kept the house clean.

      When his father did return, Dunstan Boyle was less than helpful. He would usually cull out a sheep and take it off with him to sell so he could buy more liquor. He rarely left without giving Jed a good beating, often leaving him with bloody cuts and numerous bruises. Jed cringed when the old man was there, unable to do much of anything. The loss of a sheep was always a problem, but usually new lambs would be born in the spring. When he could find no game in winter, he would slaughter a sheep. He grew root vegetables and peas as well as wheat and oats for their food. It seemed as if his work was never done and he was always tired.

      Whenever Jed looked at little Robby as they had named the babe, he wondered how the child had lived so long. It was all he could do to find food enough for him and get him to eat it. But Robbie, unlike Rye and Devan, was a precocious child. He was walking and talking before he was supposed to. He was under foot as much as afoot. Somehow he seemed to flourish.

      Several years earlier Jed’s mother had spoken to Father Hurley about teaching her sons to read and write. The good priest had promised that he would if the boys came to Mass regularly. Now Jed did not miss a lesson and he began to bring Rye with him. They would both learn to read and write. At first it was mostly Latin, but Jed’s mother, who had grown up in a well-to-do family, objected. She wanted her sons to learn French, English, Latin and Gaelic all at once. She was fluent in all four languages and often engaged Jed in conversations where she would use words from other than his native Gaelic. He learned quickly and was most fond of his mother.

      Jed began to train his younger brothers to help with the many chores of running their little farm. He taught Rye to bake bread, but he also made him a bow and arrows so that he could learn to hunt. In Jed’s mind there was a plan forming, but it was too soon for him to realize what it was. He trained Devan to milk the cows and tend the garden. They were getting by but the periodic beatings from his father were beginning to wear on Jed. Whenever he saw the old man approaching, he would run for the nearby wood.

      Then one day as he sat in a blind awaiting the sight of a sea bird, he had an idea. He had often thought about the time that he had seen the English soldiers in 1394 marching back to Dublin. Among them were several thousand of Richard’s Cheshire archers, their bows shining in the sun light as they marched along. Jed had marveled at their fine uniforms with the emblem of a white hart upon their breasts. He had been fascinated by the discipline that kept them well in stride, even when they were attacked by Irish guerillas. Some men told him that they had been sent by King Richard II of England to make peace among the warring Irish peoples, and particularly the chieftain Art McMurrogh who had been up in arms at the time. Now Jed had become one of the finest archers in all of Ireland. He could hit a bird in flight when others would miss. Everyone spoke of his skill with the bow. When he went to market to sell their wool, he was often challenged to a shooting match by other boys who soon regretted their challenge.

      I can march like those English soldiers and shoot with them too! I can be as fine a soldier as any of them. I know it. I must settle things here in Ireland and then make for England. I’ll join King Richard and offer to be his archer. He must surely be a fine king if he can calm the quarrelsome Irish! So a plan began to form in his mind. Now he knew what he must do. He said nothing of his plan to his brothers, but whenever he could get time to himself, he went over his plan in detail. He would sit sometimes for an hour, stroking his harp lovingly and thinking of his future. He began to train his brothers regularly and hid from his father as much as he could. Old Dunstan rarely came home. There was no woman there for him now. He had never even visited her grave nor had he even gazed upon his newest son who was beginning to grow rapidly. Jed tried to keep Robbie away from his father for fear that the latter might kill him and blame him for the death of his wife.

      Jed set a date as 10 September, 1397, which would be his fourteenth birthday. When the day finally came, he was ready. His brothers had become competent at mending bruises and preparing food and Rye was becoming nearly as fine an archer as he was. Jed intended to leave on the morrow after breakfast. He would say goodbye to his brothers, wishing them well and then he would set off to the east to find a boat to take him to England. But the unexpected happened. Dunstan appeared before supper, roaring drunk and raging at Jed for being the cause of his wife’s death. Jed had a plan to deal with Dunstan too, but he was not ready to execute it just yet. Now, in a panic, he stood before his father and told him what he thought of him. "You are nothing but a useless drunkard, a vile womanizer who does not care for his sons and deserves none such as we are. I shall hate you all

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