Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 26.djvu/55

Henry V exhausted to attempt a pursuit, and at dusk withdrew again to Maisoncelles. Next morning they resumed their march to Calais, which was reached on 29 Oct.; there Henry remained till 16 Nov., when he crossed to Dover. On the 23rd he entered London, and was received by the citizens with a gorgeous pageant; he himself rode in simple attire to give thanks at St. Paul's and Westminster, and would not let the dented helmet which he had worn at Agincourt be exhibited to the people. Parliament had already met under the regent Bedford on 4 Nov., and marked its gratitude by granting the king the custom on wool, and tunnage and poundage for life, together with a tenth and fifteenth (Rot. Parl. iv. 62).

Except for a few weeks Henry remained in England till July 1417. Various matters both of home and foreign policy required settlement; old enmities were healed by the final restitution of the heirs of Mortimer, Percy, and Holland to their estates and favour; an attempt to pacify the Welsh border was made by appointing Sir Gilbert Talbot to treat with the last of Glendower's supporters (Fœdera, ix. 330); Scotland was to be secured by arranging for the release of her young king James (ib. ix. 417); while negotiations were opened with most of the continental powers and a number of treaties concluded (ib. ix. 364, 410–15). But the chief event of the year (1416) was the visit of Sigismund, king of the Romans. Sigismund's main purpose was to concert means for terminating the schism in the church. With this object Henry was in the fullest sympathy, and Robert Hallam [q. v.], the bishop of Salisbury, who had been sent as the chief English representative to the council of Constance in 1414, had been instructed to conclude a treaty with Sigismund (ib. ix. 167–8), and had acted in unison with him during the earlier sessions of the council in 1414 and 1415. But Agincourt had made Henry the arbiter of western Europe, and the conclusion of peace between France and England seemed essential to a termination of the schism. To promote peace Sigismund had visited Paris in March 1416, and when he came to England in the following month he brought with him an embassy from the French king. On 27 April he landed at Dover, after expressly declaring that he claimed no rights as emperor in England. Negotiations were at once commenced, but there was no actual cessation of hostilities. Dorset, the English commander at Harfleur, made a raid in March, and in May the French retaliated by plundering the southern coast of England, and by laying siege to Harfleur. Henry had proposed to command the expedition which under Bedford relieved Harfleur and defeated the French fleet in July, but was dissuaded by Sigismund. All this time, however, negotiations had been going on; William of Holland came over in May to assist Sigismund, and an envoy of the Duke of Burgundy was also present. Henry was willing to accept the mediation of Sigismund and a truce for three years on condition of retaining Harfleur, but the negotiations proved ineffectual owing to the influence of the Count of Armagnac (Rel. St.-Denys, xxxviii. 3–4). Des Ursins (p. 532) says that the French hoped to reap more advantage from war. Sigismund resented their action and determined on an English alliance, which Henry readily agreed to. A treaty was accordingly concluded at Canterbury on 15 Aug., Sigismund pledging himself to support the just claims of his new ally (Fœdera, ix. 377). The most important result of this agreement was that it led directly to the termination of the schism by the election of Martin V; for Henry it was a further triumph, because it separated Sigismund from his ancient alliance, and secured his influence in inducing the Genoese to withdraw the aid of their fleet from the French (Rel. St.-Denys, xxxvii. 10; cf. Proc. Privy Council, ii. 236). At the end of August Sigismund went over to Calais, where Henry rejoined him on 4 Sept. The negotiations were once more renewed, and ambassadors were despatched by the French king, who concluded a truce to last till 2 Feb. 1417 (Fœdera, ix. 386–7, 397). Burgundy had also sent ambassadors, and on 4 Oct. arrived in person and held a secret conference with Henry and Sigismund. As a result some form of treaty was agreed to on 8 Oct. It was asserted that Burgundy recognised Henry's claims to the French throne, and this was no doubt what Henry tried to obtain (ib. ix. 394); but, though Burgundy's action was regarded with suspicion in France (Bourgeois du Paris, p. 648), it does not appear that the duke consented to anything more than a truce for Flanders and Artois (, iii. 190).

On 16 Oct. Henry returned to England, and three days later met the second parliament of the year at London. The chancellor in his opening speech announced the failure of all attempts for peace and the necessity of a decisive appeal to the sword. The commons in reply granted two aids and authorised the raising of a loan on their security. During the winter Henry was busy superintending the preparations for his second expedition, men were collected and trained, and provision was made for the