Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 29.djvu/441

John 'Book of Hours,' now in the British Museum (, Account of a Missal); it has often been engraved. It gives him a fleshy face and highly-coloured complexion, retreating forehead, prominent and arched nose, and well-marked chin. Although less brilliant than his brother, Henry V, his abilities were good. He was clear-sighted and full of resource. In war he was brave and prudent, and in peace a wise counsellor. In his administration in France he showed that he was not a mere warrior; for, accepting the policy of Henry V, he laboured to make the conquered people contented, and above all to knit Normandy close to England by ties of self-interest and good rule. The exigencies of war brought about the ruin of his work in this respect, though, indeed, it could never have been successful; and he was forced to lay repeated burdens on the province until, the upper class being for the most part in exile, the peasants were driven to a desperate revolt. Brought up, as he evidently was, under the influence of the Beauforts, he adhered to the best traditions of his family, and always exhibited respect for constitutional government. His high character and his powers of command, no less than his exalted position, enabled him to restrain the unruly ambitions which distracted England during the later years of Henry VI. He was a strict churchman. If in his punishment of offenders he was sometimes over-stern, he was naturally humane and never wantonly cruel. In spite of a pride that was not ill-founded, he was, as may be gathered from his answer to the commons in 1434, not destitute of true humility. His temper was hasty, but he was ready to sacrifice much to put an end to discord. Above all the men of his time he is conspicuous for his fidelity and unselfishness, and he stands in marked contrast to his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, in that he never allowed his own interests to hinder the performance of his duty. His motto, 'A vous entiere,' expresses the character of his life. With never-failing courage he supported a long and disheartening conflict, and the failure of the cause to which he devoted himself was due to no fault or mistake of his.



JOHN (d. 721),, called , bishop of York, said to have been born of noble parentage at Harpham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was educated at Canterbury by Archbishop Theodore, who perhaps gave him the name of John. The assertion that he was a master of arts at Oxford is of course a fable (, De Antiquitate Univ. Cantabr. i. 106, repeated by later writers, see, Worthies, ii. 497).