Henry IV. Henry V and the continuation of the Hundred Years` War.

Henry IV (1367 - 1413)

Henry was born in Lancashire in April 1367. His parents were cousins, his father John of Gaunt, third surviving son of Edward III, his mother descended from Henry III. In 1377 Henry's cousin, Richard II became king. In 1386, Henry joined a group of opposition leaders - the lords appellants - who outlawed Richard's closest associates and forced the king to accept their counsel. In 1398, Richard took revenge, banishing Henry after he quarreled with another member of the court. The following year, John of Gaunt died. Richard seized the family estates, depriving Henry of his inheritance and prompting him to invade England. He met little opposition, as many were horrified by the king's actions. Richard surrendered in August and Henry was crowned in October 1399, claiming that Richard had abdicated of his own free will.

Henry's first task was to consolidate his position. In 1403, Glendower allied himself with Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and his son Henry, called Hotspur. Hotspur's brief uprising, Henry's most serious challenge, ended when he was killed in battle with the king's forces near Shrewsbury in July 1403.

Northumberland's subsequent rebellion in 1408 was quickly suppressed and was the last armed challenge to Henry's authority. However, he also had to fight off Scottish border raids and conflict with the French. 

As Henry's health deteriorated, a power struggle developed between his favorite, Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, and a faction headed by Henry's half-brothers and his son, Prince Henry. From 1408 to 1411 the government was dominated first by Archbishop Arundel and then Prince Henry. Uneasy relations between the prince and his father persisted until Henry IV's death in London on 20 March 1413.

Henry V (c.1387 - 1422)

Henry V was one of the great warrior kings of medieval England, famous for his victory against the French at the Battle of Agincourt.

Henry was born in 1386 or 1387, the son of the future Henry IV. He was created prince of Wales at his father's coronation in 1399. He showed his military abilities as a teenager, taking part in the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. He then spent the next five years fighting against Owen Glendower's rebellion in Wales. He was also keen to have a role in government, leading to disagreements with his father.

The Hundred Years’ War is the term used to describe a series of conflicts from 1337 to 1453, between the rulers of the Kingdom of England and the House of Valois for control of the French throne. These 116 years saw a great deal of battle on the continent, most of it over disputes as to which family line should rightfully be upon the throne of France. By the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the population of France was about half what it had been before the era began.

The root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic, and social crises of 14th-century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a gradual rise in tension between the kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders, and Scotland. The dynastic question, which arose due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext.

The dispute over Guyenne is even more important than the dynastic question in explaining the outbreak of the war. Guyenne posed a significant problem to the kings of France and England; Edward III was a vassal of Philip VI of France and was required to recognize the sovereignty of the king of France over Guyenne.

The war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. Although primarily a dynastic conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French and English nationalism. By its end, feudal armies had been largely replaced by professional troops, and aristocratic dominance had yielded to a democratization of the manpower and weapons of armies. The war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire, composed largely of commoners and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, became a factor leading to the civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).

Historians commonly divide the war into three phases separated by truces: 1) the Edwardian Era War (1337–1360); 2) the Caroline War (1369–1389); and 3) the Lancastrian War (1415–1453), which saw the slow decline of English fortunes after the appearance of Joan of Arc in 1429.