Henry V of England

Henry V was king of England from 1413 to 1422. His campaigns in France, especially the victory at Agincourt, strengthened his claim to the French throne.

Battle of Agincourt: A 1415 battle in which English forces under Henry V defeated a larger French army. This victory made Henry’s French campaign famous and strengthened his negotiating position.
Lancastrian dynasty: The English royal house descended from John of Gaunt that ruled from 1399 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Henry’s legitimacy and French ambitions rested on his position as a Lancastrian king.
Henry IV of England: King of England from 1399 to 1413 and the first monarch of the House of Lancaster. Henry V inherited the throne from his father, whose seizure of power had left political divisions.
Henry VI of England: King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed king of France from 1422. Henry V’s infant son inherited both crowns but could not preserve his father’s conquests.
Siege of Harfleur: The 1415 English siege that captured the Norman port of Harfleur after a costly campaign. Its losses and sickness left Henry’s army weakened before Agincourt.
English claim to the French throne: The dynastic claim asserted by English monarchs to the French crown through descent from French royal ancestors. Henry used this inherited claim to justify renewed war and demand recognition as heir.
Richard II of England: King of England from 1377 to 1399, deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, who became Henry IV. Richard’s deposition formed the unsettled political inheritance Henry V had to manage.
John, Duke of Bedford: The younger brother of Henry V who governed English-held France as regent for Henry VI. Bedford tried to maintain the French territories Henry V had won.
Battle of the Seine: A 1416 naval engagement in which an English fleet broke French control of the Seine estuary. The victory secured an important supply route for Henry’s operations in Normandy.
Parliament of 1414: The English parliament summoned by Henry V that granted funds for his planned campaign in France. Parliamentary taxation helped finance the invasion that began in 1415.

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