Henry V: History's Man or Shakespeare's?

This two-part lecture will explore the life and afterlives of a legendary king.

Part One: 6.30 to 7.15pm
Henry V: Conquest and chivalry
Dr Craig Taylor, Centre for Medieval Studies and Department of History

Henry V (1513-1422) is often presented as the most remarkable and successful king of England during the middle ages. His historical reputation depends first and foremost upon his great victory over the
French at the battle of Agincourt on St Crispin's Day in 1415. Yet historians continue to debate whether his success owed more to good fortune than careful planning, and whether the victory came at the expense of chivalry and his honour. Moreover, the attention paid to Agincourt overshadows the following five years during which Henry consolidated his rule in England, conquered huge swathes of France, and ultimately forced the French king to adopt his as his heir. This lecture will consider all of these questions and thereby reconsider Henry's legendary status.

7.15pm to 7.35pm Refreshments

Part Two: 7.35 to 8.20pm
Variant texts, variant Henrys: Shakespeare and the performance legacy
Dr Judith Buchanan, Film and Literature, Department of English and Related Literature

In 1599 Shakespeare's play about Henry V and his against-the-odds victory at Agincourt was first performed. This play survives in two variant texts, the Quarto version of 1600 and the Folio version of 1623, and the differences between the two are more telling about how Henry is to be remembered than might first appear.  The second half of this two-part lecture will consider Shakespeare's account of Henry, and the ways in which this popular play has since been variously adopted and performed in different historical moments in response to a range of different interpretive priorities.  It will include some readings from the play and some illustrative film clips.

Website: http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/public-lectures/summer-2011/henry-v/