Henry Percy

“ He does not seem to have reverted to his old trade; or, at least, if he did so, he made it profitable, for we find his son, Sir Anthony Percy, figuring as Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1699. There can be no doubt that, although he was treated with undue harshness, his claims had no real foundation. At first he alleged that his grandfather, Henry Percy, was a son of Sir Richard Percy, a younger brother of Henry, ninth Earl of Northumberland—an allegation which would have made Sir Richard a grandfather at thirteen years of age. ”

“ Hotspur and Douglas, with a chosen band of thirty, cut their way to the royal standard, beat it down, and, as they supposed, slew the king. But the prudent March had removed him to a place of greater safety; and it was only one clad in his armour that had fallen. At last Percy, pressing on ahead of his men, was brought down by an unknown hand. His followers, doubtful whether he had taken the king or had himself perished, falteringly raised the cry ‘Henry Percy King.’ But the king lifted his voice and shouted to them, ‘Henry Percy is dead’ (Annales Henrici IV, p. 368) . ”

“ The Earl of Northumberland was unwell, and remained at Berwick; but his son Henry Percy commenced his march towards Cheshire, where he expected to be reinforced by the gentlemen of that county, who had always been attached to the memory of Richard II., and he was not disappointed in that respect. Percy, with Earl Douglas and a great army, departed out of the northern parts, leaving his (Percy’s) father sick, and came to Stafford, where his uncle the Earl of Worcester and he met, [3b] and increased their forces by all the means they could devise ”

“ After a long parley, in which a truce of two days was even said to have been agreed on, the Scottish earl of March, fighting on the royal side, forced on the battle in the afternoon, the royal right being commanded by the prince of Wales. Hotspur was killed, the earls of Douglas and Worcester, Sir Richard Venables of Kinderton, and Sir Richard Vernon were captured, and the rebel army dispersed. Worcester, Venables and Vernon were executed the next day. Percy's body was buried at Whitchurch, but was disinterred two days later to be exhibited in Shrewsbury. ”

“ The Perpendicular additions, including the armorial shields over the gateway, must have been later than 22 Richard II., when Maud, the Lucy heiress, carried Cockermouth Castle to Henry Percy, who agreed to quarter her arms. The Umfranville shield commemorates Maud’s first husband, Gilbert, Earl of Angus. The Nevile shield is that of Henry Percy’s first wife, who was a daughter of Ralph Lord Nevile. As this Henry was a very considerable person, and survived till 1408, it is probable that he built or rebuilt the upper part of the gatehouse between 1388–9 and 1408. ”

“ He was consecrated by the Pope at Avignon, 23rd May 1344. During his episcopate in (Edward III.'s reign) [105] 1349, Norwich was visited by "Black Death"; over 51,000 are supposed to have fallen victims to the dread plague. He founded Trinity Hall at Cambridge, 1350; was sent to Rome on an embassy there. He died January 6, 1354. He was buried at the church of St. Mary of Avignon.
Thomas Percy (1355-69) , brother of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, against the wishes of the monks, was elected to the see. ”

“ Sir Thomas Percy, Knight, a younger brother of Henry Percy, first Earl of Northumberland, was created Earl of Worcester and Lord High Admiral of England in 1397, and taken prisoner at the battle of Shrewsbury, and beheaded in that town in 1403.
[2b] Owen and Blakeway’s History of Shrewsbury, vol. i. p. 186; Carte’s History of England, vol. ii. p. 659. The battle is stated, in Gough’s edition of Camden’s Britannia, vol. ii. p. ”

“ The Earl Percy, on the other hand, distrusted the Bishop, since, unlike the Duke of Gloucester, he knew himself to be hated by gentle and simple in those parts, and more by simple than the others. Many poor men—even all of the countryside—had sworn to murder him, for he was very arrogant and oppressive, inflicting on those starving and disturbed parts, many and weary taxes for the benefit of his lord, King Henry the Seventh, and the wars that he waged in other places. ”

“ PERCY, WILLIAM, sixth Baron Percy (1183?–1245) , was son of Henry de Percy, eldest son of Agnes de Percy and Josceline de Louvain. He was in his fifteenth year on his father's death in 1196. His uncle Richard [q. v.] , who thereupon assumed the administration of his lands and his baronial rights, refused to relinquish them when William attained his majority. His lawful guardian was William Brewer [q. v.] (Abbreviatio Placitorum, p. 86) . In 1200 William was appointed one of the two custodes of the county of York under William de Stuteville (Rot. de Obl. et Finibus, p. 109) . ”

“ The 1st earl of Northumberland, father of the famous Hotspur, Sir Henry Percy (q. v.) , was killed at Bramham Moor in 1408, while in arms against the king, and his title and estates were forfeited. But, by an act no less gracious than politic, Henry V. restored them in 1414 to this earl's grandson, Henry (1394-1455) , then a prisoner with the Scots, whose l1berat1on he had no difficulty in procuring from the duke of Albany during the time of James I.'s captivity. ”

“ Another officer of the Grenadiers who won similar distinction at the Sandbag Battery was Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Henry Percy (afterwards, Lord Percy) . A number of his men at one time charged too far and became surrounded by the enemy. To add to their peril, they were without ammunition. Colonel Percy, coming to their assistance, successfully extricated them from this dangerous position and led them to where they could obtain cartridges. Just before this he had charged alone into the battery, only being repulsed by a great stone that struck him senseless to the ground. ”

“ A fast-growing army, led by the brave Sir Henry Percy,—whom men called Hotspur, from his mighty valor and his impetuous temper,—and by the Earl of Douglas, most valiant of the Scottish knights, was even now marching upon Shrewsbury to raise the standard of revolt. [Pg 138]
"Hotspur a rebel? Worcester a traitor?" exclaimed the king in amazement, as he read Lionel's tidings. "Whom may we trust if these be false?" ”

“ Now if you girls——"
"I say!" broke in Percy.
"Hello! He's come to life!" laughed Roy.
"Has your watch stopped again?" demanded Will.
"This is the first I heard about you fellows going on a cruise," went on Percy. "I—I really, I don't know that I can quite make it, don't you know."
"Oh, mercy! What a calamity!" whispered Allen, in the depths of a sofa cushion.
"Will you—will you go out where it is very rough?" asked Percy.
"Rough! You should see the water along the New England coast!" cried Henry Blackford. "Why, even when it's smoothest, a boat nearly turns on her beam ends." ”

“ But Knox’s own letters, and those of Kirkcaldy of Grange and Sir Henry Percy, prove that they were intriguing with England as early as June 23-25. Their conduct, with the complicity of Percy, was perfectly well known to the Regent’s party, and was denounced by d’Oysel to the French ambassador in London in letters of July. {136b} Elizabeth, on August 7, answered the remonstrances of the Regent, promising to punish her officials if guilty. Nobody lied more frankly than “that imperial votaress.” ”

“ PERCY, HENRY, eighth Earl of Northumberland (1532?–1585) , born at Newburn Manor about 1532, was second of the two sons of Sir Thomas Percy who was executed in 1527 as a chief actor in the northern rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. Brought up with his elder brother Thomas, seventh earl [q. v.] , he took part as a youth in border warfare, and on Queen Mary's accession was appointed governor of Tynemouth Castle. He was returned to the House of Commons in 1554 as M.P. for Morpeth, was knighted in 1557, and became deputy warden of the east and middle marches. ”

“ He contended that the very difficulty of the enterprise was the reason of undertaking it; and he wished not to be too far from Sir Henry Percy, lest that gallant knight should not be able to do his devoir in redeeming his pledge of winning the pennon of his arms again.
Hotspur was not altogether that impatient spirit which poetry has described him. He longed, indeed, to follow the Douglas, and redeem his badge of honor; but the sage knights of the country, and such as were well expert in arms, spoke against his opinion, and said to him, “Sir, there fortuneth in war oftentimes many losses. ”

“ The representation of the earlier Percys had passed away through the daughters of Earl Thomas, beheaded in 1572, but his earldom of Northumberland (created anew for him in 1557) had passed to his brother Henry, under a special remainder, and appears to have become extinct in 1670, though persistently claimed by James Percy, “the trunk-maker.” The last earl's daughter Elizabeth, a great heiress, was mother by Charles Seymour, 6th duke of Somerset, of Algernon, 7th duke, who was summoned (in error) as Lord Percy in 1722 and created earl of Northumberland in 1749. ”

“ The chief care for the youth devolved, however, upon his uncle, Robert Umfraville, whose martial exploits against the Scots did much to restore the waning fortunes of the house of Umfraville. After the Lancastrian revolution, to which Robert Umfraville early adhered, Henry Percy, called Hotspur, became guardian of young Gilbert's lands. The Umfravilles and the Percys were closely related, the Earl of Northumberland's second wife being the widow of the Earl Gilbert of Angus who died in 1381, who was Robert's uncle of the half-blood. ”

“ HAY, LUCY, Countess of Carlisle (1599–1660) , was the second daughter of Henry Percy, ninth earl of Northumberland, by Dorothy, widow of Sir Thomas Perrot, and daughter of Walter Devereux, earl of Essex (Collins, Peerage, ed. Brydges, ii. 342) . She was born in 1599, and married on 6 Nov. ”

“ With his small army the Earl of Douglas passed rapidly through Northumberland, crossed the Tyne near Brancepeth, wasted the country as far as the gates of Durham, and returned to Newcastle as rapidly as they had advanced. Several skirmishes took place at the barriers of the town: and in one of these Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur) was personally opposed to Douglas. After an obstinate struggle the Earl won the pennon of the English leader, and boasted that he would carry it to Scotland, and set it high on his castle of Dalkeith. ”

“ Percy has but the virtues and accomplishments of a military adventurer, for in society he is boisterous, self-willed, and unaccommodating; while Henry, to bravery equally gallant and undaunted, adds all the endearing arts of social intercourse. ”

“ And thys yere was the battelle of Shrewysbery, in the wyche was slayne Henry Percy and Thomas Percy taken, and two dayes kepte, and after was honged and be-heddyd and hys hede with one qwarter of Henry Percy set on London brygge. And in this battelle was slayne the erle of Stafforde under the kynges banner. And this battelle was on Mary Mawdlyne evyn. And in the lent afore was the blasynge sterre that clarkes callyd it Stell.. cemate. [5] And William Serle that was cheffe yomane with kynge Richard was drawne and honged and heddyd at Tyborne, and the qwarters saltede. ”

“ The Earl of March, the true heir to the throne, was not only living, but still a young man, and had been brought up much in Henry's society. So far, however, from entertaining any jealous fear of him, like his father, he at once received him with the utmost courtesy and kindness, gave him the most unlimited freedom, and full enjoyment of all his honours and estates. He displayed the same generous disposition in reversing the attainder of the Percies, and in recalling the young Lord Percy from Scotland to the full restoration of all his titles and demesnes. ”

“ Percy knew his public, and he knew how to make his work attractive to it. The readers of that generation enjoyed their ballad with a large infusion of Percy. If the scholars of this generation prefer to take theirs without, they know where to get it.
The materials for the "Reliques" were drawn partly from the Pepys collection at Magdalen College, Cambridge; from Anthony Wood's, made in 1676, in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford; from manuscript and printed ballads in the Bodleian, the British Museum, the archives of the Antiquarian Society, and private collections. ”

“ Several of the younger ladies were clearly girls, and the gentlemen slim bright youths such as our friends had seen the day before in New York. The ladies were working on bands of tapestry, and one of the young men had an open book in his lap. Percy afterwards learned from a lady that this young man had been reading aloud—that he was from Boston and was very fond of reading aloud. p. 268Percy pronounced it a great pity they had interrupted him; he should like so much (from all he had heard) to listen to a Bostonian read. Couldn’t the young man be induced to go on? ”

“ Engrossed in the outfitting of his expedition, Edward delegated the suppression of the Scots to Warenne, Earl of Surrey, the Guardian of Scotland, who sent ahead his kinsman, Sir Henry de Percy, with a strong force. Percy advanced through Annandale to Ayr, and, two or three days later, stood face to face with the insurgents near Irvine. There was dissension in the Scots camp. Sir Richard Lundy went over to Percy, 'saying that he would no longer war in company with men in discord and at variance.' Besides, the English force was no doubt much superior. ”

“ Percy's Followers make HENRY prisoner.
Elliot.—Thank Heaven! thank Heaven!—one then is in their grasp!
A truce, Lord Percy. See thy prisoner safe,
Ere his mad father sound a rescue—off!
Thou wouldst not draw thy sword upon a friend? ”