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Henry The Sixth

King's College Cambridge

Henry the Sixth is an interesting example in the rewriting of history. The general impression we have of him now is of a pious man more interested in building colleges and praising God than fighting wars. Every year the provosts of Eton and King's College Cambridge, both of which he founded, lay roses and lilies on the memorial which now stands where he died in the Tower.

This portrayal of Henry the Sixth is the result of the efforts of an Italian historian, Polydore Vergil, hired by Henry the Seventh. After a turbulent period for England's monarchy, Henry the Seventh wanted Henry the Sixth portrayed as saintly, to lend weight to succession from him. So Vergil went to work and his efforts were so successful that they still create the popular image of Henry today.

Polydore Vergil's portrayal of Henry the Sixth cannot be trusted. It was official history, designed for political purposes. According to Bertram Wolffe, reader in medieval history at Exeter University, there is no real evidence to support the view that Henry was excessively god-fearing or saint-like. He had been king since he was nine months old, and rather than shying from kingship, and wanting to go and live in monasteries, Henry was keen to get on with being king. The nobles on his ruling council had to tactfully resist such childish meddling. It is true that Henry did spend some time in a monastery, but government budgetary figures from 1433 reveal why. In that year the government was so short of money that not even the young king's basic living expenses could be met. The unusual step was taken of sending Henry and his entire household to the monastery at St Albans for four months, from Christmas 1433 until April 1434. The king got to live for free; or rather the monks had to pay for him. 1434 was also the year that the Duke of Burgandy, who had supported English interests since falling out with the Duke of Orleans in 1419, transferred his alleigiance back to the French king Charles the Seventh. Henry sent his uncle Gloucester off to campaign in Burgandy, indicating that while he was no soldier, he was not a pacifist.

As soon as he took full royal powers in 1437 Henry got on with the two obsessions of his reign, building the colleges at Eton and Cambridge. His secretary's letters to Rome show that what he really wanted to do was sell indulgences through these institutions. Indulgences were a means of paying money to offset the problems that sins might cause in the after-life. Henry wanted to compete with Rome itself in the sale of indulgences. He also insisted that his new chapels at Eton and King's exceed all other churches and cathedrals in England for sheer size. Finding that some existing cathedrals were bigger than the planned originals, there was much expensive demolition of work already done. Henry also found out about William Wykeham's unique achivement in founding Winchester College and its twin New College, Oxford, in 1382. The fact that Henry didn't know about Wykeham's colleges before building began shows an unfortunate lack of research. Plans were again scrapped, and redrawn. The original number of scholars planned for Eton and King's was twenty five, but this was increased to ninety to put Wykeham in the shade. Henry does not seem to have been interested in learning. The scholars were there as an unimportant add on to religious institutions where the provision of indulgences was the main purpose. The number of scholars was increased only for added prestige.

Wakefield Tower, Tower of London - traditional place of Henry's death

The lack of steadfast purpose in the building of the colleges was also shown in the other two main jobs of fifteenth century kingship, fighting wars and judging disputes. Henry gave out favours widely and indiscriminately, with little thought to consequence. Vacciliation in foreign policy led to the loss of all English possessions in France except Calais by 1453. Henry went mad, and in March 1461 he was deposed by Edward of York. Henry returned to the throne for a short time in 1470, when the powerful Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick fell out with Edward. But in 1471 his son the Prince of Wales was killed at Tewksbury, and Henry himself was murdered in the Tower. The traditional place given for this murder, in a little shrine in the Wakefield Tower, does of course add to Henry's air of sanctity. Here a memorial alter stands, where Eton and King's College lay their roses and lilies.

The story of Henry is a sad one, and we almost miss the gloss that Henry the Seventh placed upon it. But the fact is the two great monuments to Henry the Sixth actually reveal how worldly ambition can express itself in apparently unworldy ways. The story of Henry the Sixth reminds me of Chaucer's Summoner's Tale where a Friar hides worldy ambition in the disguise of spirituality. Like Henry the Seventh we might want a different story, but the past is notorious for pulling the rug from under people who think it supports and validates them. The past is chaotic, like the present. We think we know it, and then we don't. It's almost as though the past is still happening, still alive, still full of doubt and argument as to the outcome. Perhaps this is a good thing. Life would rather continue turbulently on rather than be placed in a dusty book on a shelf in a college library. That what I think when I look at King's College Chapel.