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The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor

I recently completed The Eagle and the Hart by Helen Castor.  I read it as part of my Quarter 2 Historathon reads (tbat's a YouTube thing). Castor's book is all about the life stories of Richard of Bordeaux (Richard II) and Henry of Bolingbroke (Henry the IV).  The two men were cousins, but never close. Richard was brave but no soldier and Henry was the standard of medieval of chivalry.  Conflict was inevitable... well, at least in hindsight. 

Helen Castor, england, history, plantagenets, medieval,

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    In fact, Richard wasn't a great king and he became increasingly paranoid over time. Near the end, he maintained the throne by keeping the nobles in a state of permanent fear using a number of methods that actually seem pretty modern in terms of their psychological impact. For example, Richard required the lords to provide general statements of guilt that were to be reviewed by a special commission. What if you made a general admission of guilt? How would it be used? What if you didn't? How would that be interpreted?

    Given the way people were executed for treason back then, it's no surprise that people were quite intimidated.   
 
    Ultimately, Henry moved to dispose Richard while Richard was visiting Ireland in another attempt to keep the Irish beholden to English rule. Having removed Richard, Henry then had to work hard to establish himself and prove the legitimacy of his rule - not an easy given the throne was taken by force. If Henry could take the throne by force, then why not someone else? And Richard was King by the will of God.  

    One of the interesting take aways from this book for me is the fact that it was no easy task to maintain the throne, while actually getting things done in England. There was a fairly combative approach to relations between the Commons and the king, as well as between the cities and the king.  Often conflicts spun out of control into violence and other reprisals.  Being a king in medieval England was a difficult path to walk. 

    This was a good read if you are a fan of the medieval period. But it's a deep dive into just two men, and so maybe not the best place to start if you are just kicking tires on reading some medieval history.  And I found it started slow but really got quite good as the conflict started to pick up. One of the topics of medieval history that I am not interested in is the politics of the Commons. There was some of that in Castor's work, and perhaps that is why it started a little slow for me. 

    All in all, a good read and well worth picking up.  You may also be interested in that The Eagle and the Hart was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2025. 


Publication date: Oct 2024  | Publisher: Simon & Schuster    | Page Count:  576


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