SCENE I. Paris. A hall of state. The First part of King Henry the Sixth  Shakespeare homepage  |  Henry VI, part 1  | Act 4, Scene 1 

 Previous scene  |  Next scene  SCENE I. Paris. A hall of state. 

 Enter KING HENRY VI, GLOUCESTER, BISHOP OF  WINCHESTER, YORK, SUFFOLK, SOMERSET, WARWICK, TALBOT, EXETER, the Governor, of Paris, and others  GLOUCESTER  Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. 

 BISHOP 

 OF WINCHESTER  God save King Henry, of that name the sixth! 

 GLOUCESTER  Now, governor of Paris, take your oath, 

 That you elect no other king but him; 

 Esteem none friends but such as are his friends, 

 And none your foes but such as shall pretend 

 Malicious practises against his state: 

 This shall ye do, so help you righteous God! 



 Enter FASTOLFE  FASTOLFE  My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais, 

 To haste unto your coronation, 

 A letter was deliver'd to my hands, 

 Writ to your grace from the Duke of Burgundy. 

 TALBOT  Shame to the Duke of Burgundy and thee! 

 I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next, 

 To tear the garter from thy craven's leg, 



 Plucking it off  Which I have done, because unworthily 

 Thou wast installed in that high degree. 

 Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest 

 This dastard, at the battle of Patay, 

 When but in all I was six thousand strong 

 And that the French were almost ten to one, 

 Before we met or that a stroke was given, 

 Like to a trusty squire did run away: 

 In which assault we lost twelve hundred men; 

 Myself and divers gentlemen beside 

 Were there surprised and taken prisoners. 

 Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss; 

 Or whether that such cowards ought to wear 

 This ornament of knighthood, yea or no. 

 GLOUCESTER  To say the truth, this fact was infamous 

 And ill beseeming any common man, 

 Much more a knight, a captain and a leader. 

 TALBOT  When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, 

 Knights of the garter were of noble birth, 

 Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage, 

 Such as were grown to credit by the wars; 

 Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, 

 But always resolute in most extremes. 

 He then that is not furnish'd in this sort 

 Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight, 

 Profaning this most honourable order, 

 And should, if I were worthy to be judge, 

 Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain 

 That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. 

 KING HENRY VI  Stain to thy countrymen, thou hear'st thy doom! 

 Be packing, therefore, thou that wast a knight: 

 Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death. 



 Exit FASTOLFE  And now, my lord protector, view the letter 

 Sent from our uncle Duke of Burgundy. 

 GLOUCESTER  What means his grace, that he hath changed his style? 

 No more but, plain and bluntly, 'To the king!' 

 Hath he forgot he is his sovereign? 

 Or doth this churlish superscription 

 Pretend some alteration in good will? 

 What's here? 



 Reads  'I have, upon especial cause, 

 Moved with compassion of my country's wreck, 

 Together with the pitiful complaints 

 Of such as your oppression feeds upon, 

 Forsaken your pernicious faction 

 And join'd with Charles, the rightful King of France.' 

 O monstrous treachery! can this be so, 

 That in alliance, amity and oaths, 

 There should be found such false dissembling guile? 

 KING HENRY VI  What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt? 

 GLOUCESTER  He doth, my lord, and is become your foe. 

 KING HENRY VI  Is that the worst this letter doth contain? 

 GLOUCESTER  It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes. 

 KING HENRY VI  Why, then, Lord Talbot there shall talk with him 

 And give him chastisement for this abuse. 

 How say you, my lord? are you not content? 

 TALBOT  Content, my liege! yes, but that I am prevented, 

 I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. 

 KING HENRY VI  Then gather strength and march unto him straight: 

 Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason 

 And what offence it is to flout his friends. 

 TALBOT  I go, my lord, in heart desiring still 

 You may behold confusion of your foes. 



 Exit 

 Enter VERNON and BASSET  VERNON  Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign. 

 BASSET  And me, my lord, grant me the combat too. 

 YORK  This is my servant: hear him, noble prince. 

 SOMERSET  And this is mine: sweet Henry, favour him. 

 KING HENRY VI  Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak. 

 Say, gentlemen, what makes you thus exclaim? 

 And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? 

 VERNON  With him, my lord; for he hath done me wrong. 

 BASSET  And I with him; for he hath done me wrong. 

 KING HENRY VI  What is that wrong whereof you both complain? 

 First let me know, and then I'll answer you. 

 BASSET  Crossing the sea from England into France, 

 This fellow here, with envious carping tongue, 

 Upbraided me about the rose I wear; 

 Saying, the sanguine colour of the leaves 

 Did represent my master's blushing cheeks, 

 When stubbornly he did repugn the truth 

 About a certain question in the law 

 Argued betwixt the Duke of York and him; 

 With other vile and ignominious terms: 

 In confutation of which rude reproach 

 And in defence of my lord's worthiness, 

 I crave the benefit of law of arms. 

 VERNON  And that is my petition, noble lord: 

 For though he seem with forged quaint conceit 

 To set a gloss upon his bold intent, 

 Yet know, my lord, I was provoked by him; 

 And he first took exceptions at this badge, 

 Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower 

 Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart. 

 YORK  Will not this malice, Somerset, be left? 

 SOMERSET  Your private grudge, my Lord of York, will out, 

 Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it. 

 KING HENRY VI  Good Lord, what madness rules in brainsick men, 

 When for so slight and frivolous a cause 

 Such factious emulations shall arise! 

 Good cousins both, of York and Somerset, 

 Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace. 

 YORK  Let this dissension first be tried by fight, 

 And then your highness shall command a peace. 

 SOMERSET  The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; 

 Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then. 

 YORK  There is my pledge; accept it, Somerset. 

 VERNON  Nay, let it rest where it began at first. 

 BASSET  Confirm it so, mine honourable lord. 

 GLOUCESTER  Confirm it so! Confounded be your strife! 

 And perish ye, with your audacious prate! 

 Presumptuous vassals, are you not ashamed 

 With this immodest clamorous outrage 

 To trouble and disturb the king and us? 

 And you, my lords, methinks you do not well 

 To bear with their perverse objections; 

 Much less to take occasion from their mouths 

 To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves: 

 Let me persuade you take a better course. 

 EXETER  It grieves his highness: good my lords, be friends. 

 KING HENRY VI  Come hither, you that would be combatants: 

 Henceforth I charge you, as you love our favour, 

 Quite to forget this quarrel and the cause. 

 And you, my lords, remember where we are, 

 In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation: 

 If they perceive dissension in our looks 

 And that within ourselves we disagree, 

 How will their grudging stomachs be provoked 

 To wilful disobedience, and rebel! 

 Beside, what infamy will there arise, 

 When foreign princes shall be certified 

 That for a toy, a thing of no regard, 

 King Henry's peers and chief nobility 

 Destroy'd themselves, and lost the realm of France! 

 O, think upon the conquest of my father, 

 My tender years, and let us not forego 

 That for a trifle that was bought with blood 

 Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife. 

 I see no reason, if I wear this rose, 



 Putting on a red rose  That any one should therefore be suspicious 

 I more incline to Somerset than York: 

 Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both: 

 As well they may upbraid me with my crown, 

 Because, forsooth, the king of Scots is crown'd. 

 But your discretions better can persuade 

 Than I am able to instruct or teach: 

 And therefore, as we hither came in peace, 

 So let us still continue peace and love. 

 Cousin of York, we institute your grace 

 To be our regent in these parts of France: 

 And, good my Lord of Somerset, unite 

 Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot; 

 And, like true subjects, sons of your progenitors, 

 Go cheerfully together and digest. 

 Your angry choler on your enemies. 

 Ourself, my lord protector and the rest 

 After some respite will return to Calais; 

 From thence to England; where I hope ere long 

 To be presented, by your victories, 

 With Charles, Alencon and that traitorous rout. 



 Flourish. Exeunt all but YORK, WARWICK, EXETER and VERNON  WARWICK  My Lord of York, I promise you, the king 

 Prettily, methought, did play the orator. 

 YORK  And so he did; but yet I like it not, 

 In that he wears the badge of Somerset. 

 WARWICK  Tush, that was but his fancy, blame him not; 

 I dare presume, sweet prince, he thought no harm. 

 YORK  An if I wist he did,--but let it rest; 

 Other affairs must now be managed. 



 Exeunt all but EXETER  EXETER  Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy voice; 

 For, had the passions of thy heart burst out, 

 I fear we should have seen decipher'd there 

 More rancorous spite, more furious raging broils, 

 Than yet can be imagined or supposed. 

 But howsoe'er, no simple man that sees 

 This jarring discord of nobility, 

 This shouldering of each other in the court, 

 This factious bandying of their favourites, 

 But that it doth presage some ill event. 

 'Tis much when sceptres are in children's hands; 

 But more when envy breeds unkind division; 

 There comes the rain, there begins confusion. 



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